Bluenile FTW.
Went to Harlings and Spence via friend referrals and what they offered for price and service were just not even close.
I felt better served via bluenile online chat than in person at those local shops. I'm sure there's better local jewelers but I just didn't have the time, and the diamond picking was just so simple and easy to go through the 100 diamonds I viewed to find the right one.
Harling's was not only pricey, but didn't have any diamonds in stock and had to order them, also email / phone contact that was promised didn't happen. Given option of alternate from GIA certification to save money did not interest me. No platinum rings in stock was very surprising.
Spence I was served with the whole "online diamonds are crap we have better selection" and service was all commission style pushing. Even after all the diamond research I was given the noob presentation which wasted 30 minutes of my time. The same spec'd ring I was quoted for 5k, I built for 3.4K on BN.
Finally, a gorgeous solitaire with a nice diamond for a price I was happy with. I don't know how they did it, but I ordered on a Tuesday before 1PM, and Fedex knocked on my door Wednesday 11AM. Custom selected diamond on a popular band.
Thanks for everyone's help in here, shoutout to Hondaracer for settling my nerves with ordering online. There are a few online sites, some rumoured to be cheaper than BN with similar quality of service, but I liked the livechat that was 24hrs and always there to answer my questions the most.
Advice for those looking on bluenile: go for signature ideal cut always, and then look at the GIA and visual reports for every diamond within your budget and specs
