Thanks Kambingkoh for the advice & suggestion, I can work with these. And like u said, don't rush in committing to one company, just needed a starting point to filter all the choices out there

Hi everyone - does anybody know if Lavin NY is legit? They don't seem to have many reviews online - I found probably less than 50 reviews after doing some online searches.

I'm asking because I asked both Lavin NY and ZCOVA if there are any round 1 carat diamonds with decent specs within the RM20k-22k range.

Lavin NY came back with this option:
Color: F
Cut: Excellent
Clarity: SI1
Price: RM22k

Whereas ZCOVA mentioned that 1 carat with decent specs starts from RM30k+. The price difference between the two is huge so I was just wondering if Lavin is legit.....and if it is, how come it is so much cheaper?

Thanks!

Hello, anyone got their wedding band/engagement ring from Eumayco? Any thoughts on Eumayco? I've visited them and find them attentive, very patient in answering my questions.
Just would like to get some thoughts/ideas before i made my final decision on wedding band with Eumayco.

Lavin is definitely legit. Although prices are based on 4Cs, but the discount given by supplier may vary depending on some other criteria such as the total carat amount purchased. Sometimes the cut quality does affect the price too more or less.

As far as Lavin is concerned, they have a lot of stones on-hand, therefore, possibly they get a good deal from their supplier. I am not sure whether the stones are on consignment basis or they purchased all the stones and sell to end consumers, but the main point is they are definitely legit.

As far as I know, ZCOVA doesn't keep any stone. Therefore perhaps their cost is higher.

Anyway, I would recommend you to get some quotations from both of them, or even other jewelers, to make a comparison. Look at the service that can be provided, the cut quality of the stones, etc.

Thank you! I feel a bit more assured knowing there is someone out here who can vouch for them. I was just a bit worried because the price difference is really huge and usually when something is too good to be true, it usually is too good to be true

Are there any other places you would recommend checking out apart from Lavin NY, ZCOVA and Tailored Jewels? And which one out of the three would you say offer the best in terms of workmanship of the ring setting and diamond quality?

appreciate recommendation on where to get men's wedding band

find it quite absurd that many names mentioned here (or the market itself) are selling at 2-3k (diamondless and design is quite uncle lol..)

looking for something really simple and classic (like cartier's 1895) ideally at 1k+

thanks in advance

i got my engagement ring there as well. have to say the service is good and patient, they even deliver me the polished ring in person (it got some scratches after few months my fiancee wearing it). price wise, it was also cheapest for me. no harm getting few quotes and see which is best in your own view

just to add to kambingkoh, yes you can actually view the actual diamond stone in their showroom as they keep the stock. in my case, i manage to get mine at a slightly lower than market rate as they claimed they bought the stone earlier (before the increase). on the other hand, zcova showroom you will likely only get to see fake ones and they will show you via their website to help you selecting the one you like before they proceed to order for you..

can share lavin contact to you if interested.not sure if got referral discount or not la haha..

thanks to kambingkoh for helping and providing tips in choosing my engagement ring too

This post has been edited by squidsquid: Oct 4 2021, 10:55 AM

Thank you for offering to share their contact but I already got in touch with them via whatsapp

Since you mentioned Lavin is the cheapest for you - do you mind sharing the other places you compared prices with? So I don't have to waste my time visiting those that I know for sure are more expensive than Lavin

For the final price, I think it is best if you managed to shortlist the diamond you intended to buy first, only that time you may get a better comparison in terms of price.

For workmanship, I can't say much since I am not their customer. I will recommend you to visit them and let them "sell" it to you instead.

For diamond quality, ZCOVA has an extra layer of assurance which is LUMOS. It is based on a tech by GeMex. Nonetheless, some may see it as a gimmick, some may not. I will say their stones are pretty good overall. Now, what I say here is just my own opinion, and it may not correlate with yours.

These days, I prefer to use DiamondScreener's cut estimator tool to see if a diamond falls within the range of AGS Ideal and GIA EX for cut:
https://www.diamondscreener.com/cut-estimator/

Again, all this tool should not be used as a selection tool, but more like a supplement tool. Also, since GIA's number is a round-up number, for example, 34.3 crown angle will be rounded up to 34.5 crown angle, again, this tool is at best can be used as a supplement tool/reference tool only.

What I like about DiamondScreener's cut estimator tool is that it has images of stone that falls within that table %, crown angle, pavilion angle for reference. And usually those stores are the above average well-cut stones. It may be useful to compare them with the stone you are interested with.

What you may want to compare may be their after-sales service. I think Tailored Jewel offers money-back guarantee, while ZCOVA offers pretty good servicing after-sales. As for Lavin, I am not too sure, so you may want to check it out with them.

I usually compare their prices with the other vendors that are usually mentioned here. Overall, they seem to be the cheapest. But then, you have to filter down til the diamond you shortlisted only can know the final differences.

Also, that does not mean there are not cheaper alternative in the market. Stores like Lazo Diamonds or Wah Chan are also famous for their prices.

Last but not least, selling at a cheaper price is one thing, selling great cut quality is another thing. When you are lucky, you may get it cheap/fair with good cut quality. Sometimes, you may get a stone that is not that good in terms of cut quality, but the price is great. Ultimately, there are still some judgement call only you yourself can make.

This post has been edited by kambingkoh: Oct 4 2021, 03:53 PM

Usually smaller family-owned jeweller may be able to give you a better price (at least that's what I think). There is a possibility that the price may be similar to the market ones, but I believe their gold content may be heavier.

For 1k+, I am not sure whether your desired price is slightly above 1k, or slightly below 2k, but I will probably say that slightly above 1k is almost impossible because there won't be much margin for the seller. Nonetheless, your chance may be better if you look for jewelers like Lazo because there are The Largest White Gold & Diamonds Specialist Retail Chain (Malaysia Book of Records). They also have their own production line as well. Therefore, their prices should be more affordable (logically speaking).


Hahaha, you may consider getting your wedding band from Lavin too, since you already their customer.

Dear kambingkoh,

I have surveyed Degem and 0.3 carat is about rm7.7k.
Do you think I should go Zcova for better value for money and higher carat?

For that price, I believe you are looking at their lazare diamond, which is their super ideal cut series. Layman term for super ideal cut means they have to sacrifice the diamond size just to cut it perfectly to get better shine. That's why it's more expensive

If you are looking for value for money, you should tell the sales person you are looking for GIA diamond. The last when I surveyed, their GIA diamond is priced very competitively. 0.3 carat, you can get your whole ring ard 3.5k. I think you can also check their gia prices in their website.

That's why you need to know what you want. Do you want bigger size or do you want better quality?

But no harm comparing prices around. You should always survey/research different jewellers for prices and quality before settling on your diamond ring. The after sale service is also very important.

If it is Lazare diamond, then I will say that the cut should be great.

But in real life, you can find similar or a diamond that can show their cut quality in a more transparent way from other vendors.

You did not mention the other specs other than the 4Cs. But nonetheless, even if it is an overkill D colour Flawless clarity, it will still be overpriced.

You can consider it if brand name is something you are looking for. If what you are looking for is just diamond, other generic jewellers will offer you better value for money.

Personally, I will be more interested in a brand if the brand offers something exclusive to their brand name, for example the Decagon cut from JannPaul. Or some very exclusive jewellery design a brand has.

0.74ct, F, VS2, Excellent Cut, with white gold ring band, IAG cert, RM 10k, okay?

I would prefer a cert from GIA/AGS.

Also, there are no details about the proportions, making it even harder to judge.

Actually this is lab-grown diamond, unless you want to resell your diamond, then the cert is more important.

Reselling may be one of the reasons, but another reason is the accuracy of the grading. Industry standard is from GIA. What if the F VS2 is actually a H SI1 from GIA? Of course, I always recommend people to just stick with what the cert says for peace of mind, since I believe 99.9% won't bring it to be graded by GIA again. So if you are one of those people, then we can ignore this point.

Now, let's move on to a more practical point - The price, for RM 10K, no it is not worth it. I was going to say it is worth it initially because I assume it was a natural diamond, not lab-grown.

Now since you mentioned that it is a lab-grown, then we can compare to other lab-growns in the market. Compare to the one you shown me, I will take this one:
https://www.brilliantearth.com/lab-diamonds...etail/12210110/

It is graded by IGI. Some said IGI not that good, but some industry people actually say it is pretty decent. For what's worth, some local jewelers are selling IGI graded stones, so I will say it can bring more confidence compared to IAG.

Now, let's look at the price, USD 1120 (credit card) / USD 1105 (wire transfer). Using wire transfer amount, the price is RM 4,633.47. Note: Malaysia credit card probably won't work, but you can give it a shot if you intended to get from this site. Also, as far as I remember, Brilliant Earth is not the cheapest.

18k white gold setting in Malaysia can range from RM 1500 - RM 2000 (assuming don't have side stones, just plain white gold). Usually comes with free resizing within certain period and certain sizes.

So 4633 + 2000 = RM 6633 (I am using the higher price).

If you want side stones, let's just add additional RM 1000. Total is also RM 7633.

This is a more DIY way, but you save some money (RM2k+ to RM 3k+) from what I can see. It is also my preferred way.

Of course, if the lab-grown diamond from IAG offered to you is from a chain-store, they can probably give you lifetime/limited time free polishing, but personally, I don't think it is something I need (just me though).

This post has been edited by kambingkoh: Oct 11 2021, 04:49 PM

Thanks for the input, yes it comes with side stones, but if you do it the DIY way, any further charges on the workmanship to combine both diamond and ring band?

The price I show you is inclusive of workmanship.