PriceScope

A wonderful community of people passionate about high quality diamonds. A great resource, whether for pre-purchase help or becoming more knowledgeable about gems.
Also a lot of great eye candy as members share their collections.

This site used to be a pretty mature and self-controlled crowd sharing information about gems, jewelry and etcetera. But those members are being run off by the trolls and childish cliques that have taken hold, due to inadequate moderating.

The moderator only seems to stop by every other day or so, after allowing flare ups to grow unchecked into big messes. When she does show up, what she'll do is unpredictable. She often seems to react with favoritism, join in on pile-ons, or not fully read the posts involved before choosing someone to call out. She does this publicly and even shares information about it with the rest of the forum, as if trying to win a popularity contest. Then she demands the courtesy for herself of being replied to in private only (then, likely as not, just ignores those replies).

In my experience, people who are being paid normally have to tend to all parts of their job adequately and also treat customers/members in an unbiased and polite way, handling anything that might embarrass someone behind the scenes. That is not what I've seen lately, so I was surprised to discover that the moderator is a paid employee rather than a volunteer. Things are going downhill.

This website is very informative for those looking to buy diamonds. Me and my fiance researched a long time before purchasing my engagement ring. People on this forum are really knowledgeable and friendly. We learned about the 4 Cs (Carat, Cut, Clarity, Color). We also used the HCA Tool on their site to estimate a diamond's appeal based on it's cut. Very informative site. I highly recommend it to those shopping for jewelry.

A lot of misinformation on this site, particularly for colored stones. The worst thing I have noticed is whenever a vendor/dealer/jeweler gives their (truly) professional opinion, they are ganged up on by the chronic posters. How is shutting down tradespeople helpful to consumers trying to make an informed decision?

My best friend liked mine so much I bought her one. Again great quality and fast shipping. The owner answered any questions I had quickly and accurately.