I purchased a 2.25 L SI2 diamond from Martin from USA Certed Diamonds and it is beautiful! I tried to contact him many times through e-mail but never received a response. I’m international so I have no idea how to call someone in the U.S. short of buying a calling card for tens of dollars with no guarantee that I’d be able to contact Martin. Finally I used my husband’s Skype subscription to contact Martin. After a couple of days of trying (it was Christmas, so he probably was pretty busy with family), I was shocked that I actually got through.
So the moral of the story is, don’t e-mail Martin. Call him. If you can’t get through, leave a voicemail and call again the next day. Call 20 times if you have to, it’s so worth it. You will not be able to get his prices, contacts and diamond expertise anywhere else.
Once I got through to Martin with a phone call, everything was great. The diamonds I was interested in were sold, so he found me a list of other diamonds (which were also sold quickly). Finally he helped me find a diamond with a HCA score of 2 that was located in NYC. I wasn’t sure (since I’m international, if I returned the diamond, I would lose custom fees on the diamond which is almost a thousand dollars, so I really did not want to return), so he got me a video and an Idealscope image of the diamond. He said he had someone examine it in NYC and it was eyeclean, but it was SI2, so I personally really wasn’t sure if it truly was completely eye clean. I liked the cut of the diamond though which was more important to me than an extremely eye clean diamond. I had a good feeling about it because I liked the cutter’s Instagram a lot, so I went for it.
Things might get complicated during the wire transfer and shipping, but Martin was UNFAILINGLY patient and professional even when I requested for minor things. I am very grateful for his patience with me. He also talked me through the wire transfer which took 5.5 days though it was supposed to take 3-4 days. You can always reach him on the phone if you have any questions. Then the diamond was shipped and he also reminded me to check on the delivery and make delivery arrangements as it was about to reach my country.
I opened it and to my relief and great joy, it was extremely white face-up for an L color diamond. I must be color blind because I would say that in 90% of lighting environments it is pretty much face-up sparkling white, maybe ivory, to me. I think that this could partially be due to the cut of the diamond. It is eye clean to me. Very, very pleased. I took some time to examine it in a ton of different lighting before confirming with Martin that I was going to keep the diamond. Asked Martin a couple more questions and again he was always very patient and responded quickly.
Thanks Martin for helping me purchase my dream diamond! I would encourage everyone to get quotes from him if you’re on a tight budget and want to purchase a great diamond with a HCA score of around 2 or less. I am very appreciative of his friendliness and great customer service even when issues crop up. That’s the kind of person that I am grateful to work with, not the kind of person that takes your money and is cold and unhelpful when you have a problem. Thank you to Pricescope for recommending him as a trusted vendor.
The diamond has been sent for setting, will update with a thread once it’s been set!
I met Martin through a friend, who had also recently purchased an engagement ring. To be honest, I knew nothing about engagement rings. I only knew that I was going to be spending a ton of money, and that I had to get it right. So for me, there was a lot of pressure.
I liked Martin after our very first conversation on the phone. He was really reassuring about everything – he assured me that he’d walk me through the entire process, and promised he’d get me the best possible stone with my budget. He was an excellent communicator from the very start. I also appreciated that he was patient, and was in no way condescending. He didn’t expect me to have a certain amount of knowledge, nor was he pushy. I sent him a bunch of photos from Blue Nile, and told him what attributes I was looking for, and he came back with possible options. I went over to his office in Toronto to talk it through. I was feeling quite unsure about paying so much money on something I couldn’t see in-person. However, he had a few examples of pear-shaped stones (the cut I wanted), and we compared. Even though those weren’t the ones I was about to purchase, it was good to be able to have a frame of reference, and being able to see the difference between one stone, and the next, was really important. In the end, I put my faith in Martin, who was so sure that the stone we agreed on would be brilliant. He was absolutely right.
In the end, when we worked out all the details for the setting with his jeweller, the ring was amazing. It was so much more beautiful that anything I could have expected. In addition, he helped me meet a deadline because I had plans to propose in Hawaii. Everything was basically done in about a month’s time. My fiance is ECSTATIC about the ring – and I can only thank Martin for this.
Here’s a photo of the ring. In person, it’s even shinier and more brilliant, and it sparkles like nothing I’ve ever seen!
I cannot thank Martin enough for the experience my fiancée and I experienced – effectively through two different processes – to end up with a spectacular diamond shown in full glory through a setting sourced through Martin.
After establishing our price point and ideal size of diamond, Martin started our process (through filtering available diamonds online and using Martin’s knowledge and experience to filter the options), we then selected 5-6 possible diamonds available, and using the HCA calculation, Martin helped guide us to identifying a first and second choice option. Both were available – through the next 12 or so hours, Martin had contacted both sellers and we went with his direction that our 2nd choice was the much better option. The diamond is truly spectacular.
We picked up the ring this past Wednesday evening – the final Tiffany ring and setting (selected by my fiancée and hints provided by Martin to get the most light, etc… to show off the diamond) truly do allow the diamond to “pop” and “wow” – it’s been catching my eye since we picked up the ring!
This review doesn’t really do justice to the education and enjoyment we received going through the diamond identification, selection and acquisition process (even though we’re a little older than most engaged couples – 2nd marriage – the thrill was palpable, and made a tremendous difference to our draining ring search through the internet and in the shops in the Greater Toronto area). Martin made the process uncomplicated and fun.
We thoroughly recommend Martin to anyone seeking engagement or other diamonds!!
I purchased a diamond through Martin at USA Cert Diamonds and I was weary. If you look at the reviews of him you’ll get the same experience from everyone. I was very careful because the website looked like it was from 1995. I sent him an email but I was also doing working my way through his site. He called me up and told me that he’d do the leg work of find the diamond itself. So i told him what I was looking for and the budget I had – and he went to work. Came back once but it was a touch above my budget. Came back again and it was the perfect diamond. I asked him far too may questions because I was worried it wouldn’t be perfect – it’s hard buying an expensive thing that you’ve never seen in person (in my defense) but he was very good about it, patient with me and kept reassuring me it was a very good diamond. He even had some special measurements he was doing to determine how much sparkle and fire it had – not just relying on the certifications. From there, you wire him money. I was worried about that so I asked for his business number and looked it up. Then he mails you the diamond.
When I took it to my jeweler (who is a gemologist) who made my ring – he asked how much I spent on the diamond itself. When I told him – his jaw dropped. He said it was better then the pricing he could get himself and that the diamond would be eligible for reappraisal in the GIA certificate as higher then it was already reviewed.
Basically, Martin found me an amazing diamond. In total, before Martin, I reviewed probably around 300-400 diamonds on my own – and he found me the best one. He’s extremely trust worthy (which is what you want when you wire someone that much money) and he knows his trade extremely well.
10/10 recommendation. You won’t find a better guy.
I’d like to concur with all of the great reviews that led me to Martin Sheffield of USA Certed Diamonds.
My own experience was awesome. I purchased a diamond from Martin last year and could not be happier. Martin is a true professional and helped me get the perfect diamond for a great price. Like many have pointed out the website is dated and may lead to some initial concern. But once I called Martin up I felt very comfortable and everything was handled by phone and email from that point.
Martin is very honest and is a straight-shooter. I knew exactly which diamond I wanted from the website and communicated that to Martin. Martin commented that the diamond I was looking at was a great choice and at a great value. He did not try to push me to look at other diamonds, add a setting, etc. I really appreciated this. He sent over pictures of the diamond promptly and I agreed to the purchase. There was some trouble with my bank during the wire transfer process which was frustrating for me as I had a lot going on at the time. Martin actually called my bank and worked with them to have the wire transfer go through. That level of service took me totally by surprise. A day or two later the diamond arrived at my local FedEx. I had the diamond tested and verified with the GIA cert. at my local jeweler and it was exactly as expected. From there I had the diamond set locally – which was perfect as I was able to use a setting I had seen in person and really liked. My fiance loved the ring. I too was very happy knowing I got a great deal! I had been searching for a diamond for months and was frustrated that the online retailers appeared to have the same prices (even the same exact diamonds) across multiple websites. I always like to find a good deal and for months I just could not find one that made me happy. If I had not found Martin’s website through PriceScope, I would have had to pay significantly more to buy the same quality diamond at a jeweler or online retail store. I highly recommend Martin to anyone that is looking for a diamond.
– Kyle
After dealing with many vendors for diamonds, I found USA Certed Diamonds on PriceScope.
First off, the website has a “vintage” look, which was definitely discouraging. But a few things changed my mind: the diamond listings were constantly updated, the many positive reviews found on PriceScope and other forums, and finally communicating directly with the owner Martin Sheffield.
NOTE: Martin is a busy person. I imagine he deals with a lot of inquiries, most of which are probably feelers and not serious buyers. With that said, his response time can be long at first. If you’re serious, I recommend following up with him if you haven’t gotten a response after a couple of days.
Process:
After establishing my needs and specifications with Martin, he produced a list of about 2 dozen diamonds that were currently available that feel within my provided guidelines. From that list, we narrowed it down to 4 diamonds, and requested videos and photos of those 4 diamonds. We finally settled on one diamond and sent the purchase order. Before this point, Martin and I communicated by email, but now that we were down to 1 diamond, we were speaking on the phone daily.
Martin then sent clear payment instructions to which I followed to the letter. Once payment was received by him, the diamond arrived at his office within 3 days. Since I was local to him, I came over for the big reveal. The diamond was absolutely gorgeous! Martin walked me through the verification steps of the diamond, including weighing, dimension measuring, and checking the all important GIA inscription on the diamond itself. Usually this service would cost you ~$100 at at a jeweler, but Martin has the necessary accreditation and tools to do this for you as a free added service.
Overall, I’m absolutely pleased and impressed by Martin’s work. Don’t let his website fool you, he is the real deal! My only regret was not finding him sooner.
My fiancé and I had a bad experience first time diamond buying experience when we were scammed but then we came to pricescope and Martin came recommended so we read and scrutinized through dozens of reviews before using him as our diamond purchaser.
We are so happy that he was the one who had helped us find a perfect diamond within our requirement and surprisingly quick too. Having done a lot of research second time around; we knew what we would be looking at and what was within our budget which made it very easy for us to see what a good deal Martin was able to offer us. On top of finding us the perfect diamond, he had also helped us with finding a reliable jeweller to make our setting. We did have some hiccups along the way but Martin was the one who took care of us and made sure we got what we wanted in the end. He really did go above and beyond to make sure we are happy to with everything. We really appreciate his services and would highly recommend him to all our family and friends.
We just gave him a call after a couple attempts on the website.
Hey guys,
a little late to post this as Martin and I went back and forth for a month before we found my perfect diamond. I must say Martin was the absolute best. I saw quite a few dealers during this time but Martin by far blew me away. He was on top of everything, worked tirelessly for me ( I wasn’t easy haha) and we got the perfect match. From the day we picked the diamond, to receiving it Martin was in contact with me always.
Do not judge based off the website, I was hesitant because of it at first but believe me. CALL HIM.
Thank you Martin. Elissa and I are grateful
If you’ve been reading on the forums, you’ve likely gotten the idea that the website is not the selling point here. For me in particular, the site was a way for me to discover what USA Certed Diamonds has to offer. The site led me into multiple phone conversations with Martin Sheffield, who even though was many many miles away from me, provided me much better service, insight, and expertise than my local jewelers. I was extremely picky with my diamond selection, and Martin understood that. He knew what I wanted and he knew what I was looking for. He remained patient throughout my search every step of the way, and made diamond recommendations to me that met my exact criteria.
They were also on top of the whole purchase and shipping process, informing me of updates during each step. I had it shipped to an independent appraiser in my area and they absolutely loved the stone. In fact, when I went to pick it up, they told me that “they couldn’t stop looking at it, it’s such a beautiful diamond”! Overall, Martin is the man and he will go the extra mile to get you what you want, and at a great value.
First of all i’d like to thank pricescope for this amazing forum. The amount of knowledge and resources that are available here are priceless. I started looking for a diamond ring a couple of months ago with literally no knowledge about diamonds whatsoever. After countless hours of browsing here on the forum I was able to narrow down the specs that i liked and could afford. I browsed through countless diamonds on sites such as james allen, whiteflash, blue nile, but I was hesitant on pulling the trigger on such a big purchase without ever seeing the product in person! Then I came across usa certed diamonds through the pricescope diamond search. At first what caught my attention was his pricing was lower than most of the competition but to be honest I was skeptical since I have never heard of them. What I realized after browsing through his site and some of the diamonds is that his office address was 10 minutes away from my work! ( i live in Toronto) After reading some reviews here on pricescope I was convinced usa certed diamonds was the real deal. I called the number listed on the site and Martin picked up right away. From there everything was a effortless process. All the research I did got me to this point and I knew what I wanted and could afford, but Martin took over from there. He assured me that he would source out a triple ex gia diamond that fit my budget and nothing less. I trusted his knowledge and experience in the business
(I think he’s being doing this for a long time) and he really delivered on his word. The whole process went extremely smooth with no hiccups whatsoever. He provided a list of diamonds that fit my budget and criteria and once we narrowed it down he made the call to ensure everything about the diamond was as it was advertised and most importantly that it was eye clean. He had the diamond shipped to Victor at Rose jewellery in downtown Toronto (his setting guy) who did a fantastic job at a great price point, who was also great to deal with. Overall the process from when i picked up the phone to when i had the finished ring in hand took about a month. The end result was a beautiful engagement ring that my wife to be to say the least was extremely happy and surprised( we’ve been together for 10 years, i dont think she was expecting one at this point). I cant say enough good things about Martin, his pricing and quality could not be beat, he was knowledgeable, professional, and most of all his customer service was top notch. I felt throughout the whole process I was in good hands and any questions and doubts I had were addressed promptly. So if you’re in the search for a diamond I’d highly recommend giving Martin at usa certed diamonds a call, you will not be disappointed. Thanks for reading.
Had the pleasure of purchasing a fantastic diamond through Martin Sheffield at USA Certified Diamonds. I have heard stories of people spending months searching for the perfect diamond but fortunately Martin has a great eye for amazing stones and was able to locate mine within a few days.
The entire process was extremely smooth. Once he located the perfect stone he took care of the process and included the appraisal, which most places charge $100 for.
His passion and knowledge come through in the diamonds he recommends my fiancee could not be happier.
Buying an engagement ring online was a great experience thanks to Martin Sheffield. He is a very knowledgeable gemologist and takes the time to get to know his customers and keeps in contact throughout the entire process. Martin even recommended a jeweler to do the setting and I couldn’t be happier with how the ring turned out! Highly recommended.
Thanks!
I found USA Certed Diamonds though Pricescope and was surprised to see that Martin’s office was in my city. Before finding Martin, I spoke with a bunch of dealers only to find diamonds that were way overvalued. Consistently people I met in this business prey on the mis-informed. Martin was the first broker that told it like it was and sincerely worked to get the best possible diamond for your budget. I spoke with him over the phone, then in person to select the diamond and in the end came back for an appraisal. The quality of diamonds through USA Certed were way beyond anything I found anywhere else and priced better too. We spoke at length about the HCA score and managed to find a diamond with an excellent score along with other excellent attributes. Overall it looks like a sparkler went off inside the diamond. Without a doubt I will be sending family and friends to Martin to buy their diamonds.
For over a decade, my family and I have always trusted Martin Sheffield with all our diamond purchases. I had the pleasure of working with Martin Sheffield once again when I was looking for my engagement diamond stone. Martin was extremelely patient and answered all my questions and concerns. He always responded to my calls and emails immediately. He is so knowledgeable and a true professional and master in his craft. Martin was able to find me a beautiful stone that fits within my budget. I wanted to Thank you again for all your help and guidance. You’ve made the whole purchasing process seamless. I would recommend you in a heartbeat to all my love ones, friends, and family members without hesitation!
I purchased a diamond from USA Certed diamonds last week. It was a referral from a pricescope member. Martin was very kind and responded quickly to all of my emails. He also called me a couple of times to iron out details. Martin was awesome to speak with over the phone and very knowledgeable. He went over all of the specs of the diamond, the proportions/cut/etc. He kept me informed every step of the way. I also liked that the company sends to a fedex office where you pick up the package. You must show your ID to receive the package. I had an expensive piece of jewelry stolen recently so the thought of mailing a diamond was nerve wracking! After the payment I made cleared, it was a Friday so my diamond was mailed out on Monday and I received it today (Tuesday). It was a fast and easy process. I would definitely recommend USA certed diamonds to anyone and I will buy from them again in the future. THANKS MARTIN!!!
Cecilia
I just wanted to firstly say thank you very much to pricescope, as well as Lorelei in particular. Both the site and Lorelei have been quick, responsive and very patient in answering all my questions and I cant say enough good things.
Now on to my testimonial for USA Certed Diamonds (http://www.usacerteddiamonds.com/)
I am in the Toronto, Canada area and am in the market for a ring.
I begin to research and self teach myself about the 4C’s, the different grading within each C and also about diamonds in general.
This led me to this site, as well as me searching in other forums. I initially was working with some other folks in my search for a diamond locally but was not able to find the “deal” that I wanted locally from a brick and mortar store.
I understand that there are still people out there that are hesitant to buy something “sight unseen” but the cost savings buying online were just too great a temptation.
I did the usual rounds of searching on Blue Nile, James Allen, Brian Gavin and the pricescope search engine itself to name a few places I looked.
Bluenile had great customer service, with a simple easy to use website but lacked the detail I wanted. James Allen had the detail I wanted but not the diamond I wanted, well at least not within my budget. Brian Gavin was a good mix between the two but again I was a little hesitant buying totally 100% online, as I did also want to have some level of local connections in case I need any thing else for the ring. I dont want to pay for shipping back for re-sizing or a cleaning.
I was nearly ready to pull the trigger on a diamond, but realized that the person I was dealing with while excellent at first lacked the extra level of detail that Martin was able to provide. The person I dealt with also had a similar business model as Martin (drop shipper) but definitely was not as good. I had asked for some diamond recommendations and was provided about 20 diamonds, none of which honestly jumped out at me. When I asked for a more larger list, I was met with some resistance where the person said that they usually only generate only about 10 diamonds for a customer usually. Fine, I then look over everything again and was recommended one diamond that I thought had potential, but wanted to confirm how the diamond looked with a picture or any further details. This is where the person started to show that lack of personal touch and wanting to go that extra bit (cant provide pictures, as vendor wont do it – alarm bells anyone? ).
So after just about giving up searching around, I came across USA Certed Diamonds and thought why not get in touch and see what they can do for me, as others have written some good reviews about them.
The first thing that will jump out at you when you go to their website is that it looks like its a relic from the 1990 era of websites. Thats ok with me, as long as I know that the company (Martin) is busy helping me find the perfect diamond for me instead of tweeting, blogging or posting videos. I dont care much about a flashy website, as long as I get the perfect diamond. My wife will be wearing the diamond everyday, not the website
Not to knock other companies, as other companies are larger in scale and have more resources but again they seemed to lack the personal touch and attentiveness Martin had.
I sent an email and did not receive a reply immediately (thats fine emails can get lost and buried), so I decided to give the company a call. I got the voice mail but got a call back within an hour. From that first phone conversation I felt totally at ease working with Martin. He wasnt pushy, knew what kind of questions to ask and said to let him do his part and begin the search. From that point on, he was excellent in replying and updating me via email as well as telephone.
Martin has access to all the diamonds other dealers have as well, and his pricing is very competitive right along the lines of blue nile. After some back and forth, he sent me a large number of diamonds to review and I also sent him a few I was interested in. I had found a few diamonds on my own and asked that while he was searching that he also take a look at the few that I was interested in as well, which he gladly did.
He actually got right back to me about one of the diamonds I had sent to him, and said that this was definitely the diamond he would recommend given the measurements and its other features, and that he actually went ahead and had already called the vendor that owned the diamond. He said that he spoke to him to confirm a few things, as well as put it on hold for me and to get back to him my thoughts.
I called him back, and after a few conversations he was able to confirm the diamond indeed met my criteria, as well was able to attain a picture for me. A picture is definitely worth a thousand words, and in this case I was sold. I had a bunch of questions about the inclusions on it, which he went over with me in detail and I honestly felt confident that this was going to be it.
I visited his office today and saw a whole wall of certificates dealing with diamonds and diamond grading, which I also read about before as well. It definitely is a confidence booster when the person you are working with isnt just a sales associate trying to push whatever they have on hand to you.
I could tell Martin is quite a busy guy, so that some what explains why his website isnt the most up to date, but I have to admit he did “wow” me with his customer service.
He answered all my questions, did not have any shady answers. He didnt brush off any of my questions, and if he wasnt sure he went and got me the answer and was willing to work with me.
I have seen some people where they have worked in an industry for so long, that they get “snobby” and show much less tolerance to hearing out new ideas, or dealing with questions. I had met a few people locally where they just brushed my questions aside as if it were nothing to them, which makes me wonder what kind of after sales service am I getting myself into.
Martin was more then willing to work with me on any concerns I had.
I am still waiting for the diamond to come in, but I am sure everything will go smoothly. I will post an update as things move along, but so far I cant say enough nice things about Martin.
Thanks to Martin and his expertise in diamonds I found my perfect diamond and I am in love. My experience buying a diamond through Martin was exciting and extremely satisfying. He knows his stuff and gives you an honest opinion while putting your requirements first.
I will definetely use his services again.
Nadia
Toronto
Starting off, I had no idea what to do in terms of buying a diamond. I had browsed jewellry stores, websites like blue nile and whiteflash, forums and read articles until my brother recommended Martin at IGS (http://www.independentgemservices.net). My experience with Martin at IGS has been exemplary. Not only did he provide excellent service, but he had written a handy booklet that explained, in depth, the process and selection of buying a diamond ring (which you can find at http://www.diamondguide.net/). After reading his diamond buying guide, I had emailed Martin with the specs of my diamond and he promptly responded with a list. He also provided his valuable insight to the HCA rating that I had not known about. With his assistance (I asked a lot of questions), I was able to choose one and it was shipped to his office. He didn’t open the package until I was at his office and he appraised the loose diamond, immediately. When I saw the diamond, it was just gorgeous and I was amazed at how much fire it had. It was absolutely stunning. With the loose diamond found, I could now focus on getting the proper ring.
He introduced me to a goldsmith, Victor, who also gave top quality service. Both Martin and Victor took good care of me and were readily available to answer my questions. Victor was able to design a ring after giving him an idea of how I wanted the ring to look. He called me up once a wax mold was made, and after I approved of it, the ring was ready about a week and a half later. Once the diamond was set and the ring was ready (took about 30 mins), he told me that future cleanings and resizing were at no extra cost for life. (Later on I had to get the ring resized, he came on his day off and had the ring ready in an hour).
With the ring, I went back to see Martin and he did a final appraisal for insurance at no extra cost.
I am so glad that my brother had introduced me to Martin. I am very grateful for Martin’s excellent service and taking the time to help me choose the right diamond. I highly recommend his services and I would recommend him to my friends who are also happening to approach that time in their lives. Overall, with Martin’s help, I was able to get a better, larger diamond than what you would find in stores, and the list of prices he provided me was better than whiteflash and blue nile. So if you’re in the Toronto area, I’d highly recommend going to see Martin at IGS.