Engagement ring

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Discussion

cbmotorsport

Original Poster:

3,065 posts

117 months

Monday 24th October 2016
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Sorry for the O/T thread, but I know there have been similar topics in this forum before. I need a bit of advice.

Having a girlfriend who doesn't wear any rings, and having no reference point to get an idea of size, I thought I would buy a diamond online (maximising bang for buck hopefully - and giving me something tangible for the proposal) and assuming she says yes, go to a jeweller, have a nice day out, and have them set the ring in a setting of her choice or have one made to her specification and size.

However, I'm struggling a little bit to find a jeweller that is prepared to do this for me. Most seem to only be willing to make a ring or set a diamond if they supply the stone.

I'm looking for any recommendations in the London area for a good accommodating jeweller who can hopefully help me.

Thank for any help you can offer.

halfpenny43

1,014 posts

235 months

Monday 24th October 2016
quotequote all
cbmotorsport said:
Sorry for the O/T thread, but I know there have been similar topics in this forum before. I need a bit of advice.

Having a girlfriend who doesn't wear any rings, and having no reference point to get an idea of size, I thought I would buy a diamond online (maximising bang for buck hopefully - and giving me something tangible for the proposal) and assuming she says yes, go to a jeweller, have a nice day out, and have them set the ring in a setting of her choice or have one made to her specification and size.

However, I'm struggling a little bit to find a jeweller that is prepared to do this for me. Most seem to only be willing to make a ring or set a diamond if they supply the stone.

I'm looking for any recommendations in the London area for a good accommodating jeweller who can hopefully help me.

Thank for any help you can offer.
Look no further thank "Ecain63" from here - you can view his work in this thread;
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Eddie created an eternity ring for me from a very crude design I made on paper. we exchanged a few mails, I gave him the measurements - and got a stunning ring back.


rsbmw

3,464 posts

104 months

Monday 24th October 2016
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I would suggest proposing with a dummy ring, possibly from a bag of Haribo, then taking her down to Hatton Gardens, or Birmingham Jewellery Quarter, to select both ring and stone.

Since you don't know what she likes, you'll probably get the wrong shaped diamond!

cbmotorsport

Original Poster:

3,065 posts

117 months

Monday 24th October 2016
quotequote all
I have the stone, and I know she wants a fairly conventional ring - round diamond, solitaire setting. Tiffany style I believe.

Not sure how these things work, I assume you can buy settings ready made that you can choose from? Or have one made from scratch if you want something unusual or custom.

Just need a jeweller prepared to check her size, make or sell me a ring and set the stone for me really, from what she's said I doubt she'll want anything out of the ordinary.

Prohibiting

1,734 posts

117 months

Monday 24th October 2016
quotequote all
When I sourced my now fiancées engagement ring, I bought the GIA certified diamond online from Blue Nile (0.46, colour D, VVS1, brilliant cut) for £1250 if I remember correctly. The jewellers were quoting £3k for this quality of diamond rolleyeslaugh. I bought a matching pair of certified rubies (0.20 each, trillian cut, vivid colour, no heat treatment) from 'The Natural Sapphire Company' to sit each side of the diamond. I then went to Beards in Cheltenham (they have a store in London as well) and told them I wanted the stones set into a 18k rose gold band and they did it for £550. When it was done the staff said it was one of the most attractive rings they've seen in a couple of years and they had rings for £10k+ in the window. Even though I was only spending £550 with them, they treated me like any other customer.

Doing it this way it cost me £2550 and I had the ring valued at £4800 laugh The jewellers must make such big profits on rings. Obviously my partner absolutely loved it- I knew she wanted something a bit different from the normal solitaire. I can see a thread here "show your partners engagement rings"......



I recommend getting the best quality stones you can afford. Choose quality over size. It'll hold value and be worth more than a yellowed 1 carat diamond.

Edit: Just noticed you already have the stone. I recommend Beards to do it.


Edited by Prohibiting on Monday 24th October 11:39

cbmotorsport

Original Poster:

3,065 posts

117 months

Monday 24th October 2016
quotequote all
Thanks for both recommendations. Thats just what I wanted to do Prohibiting. Looks great.


Prohibiting

1,734 posts

117 months

Monday 24th October 2016
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Oh, and buy a nice hand made wooden ring box as well. I recommend 'Woodstorming' on Etsy- they have some lovely things on there.

CardShark

4,190 posts

178 months

Monday 24th October 2016
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If it must be London then it might be worth getting in touch with Dominic Hackett, he's normally known for helping PHers out with watches though I believe he can assist with having jewellery made up as well. Another person with a great rep, as already mentioned, is Eddie (Ecain63) though he's on the South coast.

http://www.hackettwatches.com

michael gould

5,691 posts

240 months

Monday 24th October 2016
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I have also purchased from Blue Nile .......1.9c E VSI1 mounted in platinum in a high "tiffany" setting ...........I saved more than 10k on high street prices....be aware that VAT is not included when you look at their online pricing .......good luck

Equilibrium25

653 posts

133 months

Monday 24th October 2016
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Prohibiting said:
...I then went to Beards in Cheltenham (they have a store in London as well) and told them I wanted the stones set into a 18k rose gold band and they did it for £550. When it was done the staff said it was one of the most attractive rings they've seen in a couple of years and they had rings for £10k+ in the window. Even though I was only spending £550 with them, they treated me like any other customer.


Edit: Just noticed you already have the stone. I recommend Beards to do it.
+1 for Beards in Cheltenham, they supplied my wife's engagement ring - superb service and quality of work.

ecain63

10,588 posts

174 months

Monday 24th October 2016
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Has anyone actually checked the reasons why the like of Blue Nile are slightly cheaper or the same as a good independent? Look at the stone dimensions.

If you compare like for like dimensions you will most likely see that they are no cheaper than a good indy. The Cheaper stones tend to be deeper / narrower than shallower / wider ones as shallower ones look bigger when set. Bigger looking stones are more in demand / more desirable hence price.

It's not all about the carat weight smile

For the OP: Very few indy's will have mounts ready on the shelf as there are so many style and stone size combinations available. If you want a ready made mount you should allow 24hr+ turnaround. For a custom job it depends on workload. Hatton Garden may throw up a same day job, maybe Birmingham. Maybe phone ahead in advance.

I am also available, but I also prefer to supply my own materials as I run a business and not a convenience store. The other reason why a jeweller will insist on supplying their own is the same reason many garages prefer to supply their own parts. If you supply your own oil for and 2 months later you have a major engine failure that can be linked to the oil, you have nobody to question but your bank when you need a loan to pay for the repair. If the garage oil is at fault then you can leave the bill with them. If I break a diamond that I supply then I have the pleasure of replacing it. If I break yours due to it having a hidden flaw, tough luck.!

smile

Eddie


Prohibiting

1,734 posts

117 months

Tuesday 25th October 2016
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With Blue Nile they have such a huge choice, you can be picky and can select one of the shallower wider ones. Yes they're more money but still cheaper by a large margin than a high street shop. I'm sure an independent would be closer but they still need to make a profit I suppose.

ecain63

10,588 posts

174 months

Tuesday 25th October 2016
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Prohibiting said:
With Blue Nile they have such a huge choice, you can be picky and can select one of the shallower wider ones. Yes they're more money but still cheaper by a large margin than a high street shop. I'm sure an independent would be closer but they still need to make a profit I suppose.
And that's the point.

An Indy is providing a personal service and doing low volume. You also have a reliable point of contact that's not just a big corporate with only money in mind.

Big internet box pushers are the killer for small family run jewellers. I hate them and have no intention of reducing my prices to meet the needs of the penny pinchers. I'm already far better value than the rip off high street con artists.

michael gould

5,691 posts

240 months

Tuesday 25th October 2016
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ecain63 said:
Prohibiting said:
With Blue Nile they have such a huge choice, you can be picky and can select one of the shallower wider ones. Yes they're more money but still cheaper by a large margin than a high street shop. I'm sure an independent would be closer but they still need to make a profit I suppose.
And that's the point.

An Indy is providing a personal service and doing low volume. You also have a reliable point of contact that's not just a big corporate with only money in mind.

Big internet box pushers are the killer for small family run jewellers. I hate them and have no intention of reducing my prices to meet the needs of the penny pinchers. I'm already far better value than the rip off high street con artists.
I totally support family run businesses, however, some in the jewellery business make the most ridiculous margins ........a very well known Liverpool based "family" jeweller makes 250 to 300% + VAT mark up on engagement rings. You do however, get a free glass or 2 of champagne presumably to assist in extracting your credit card from your wallet

I don't think that Blue Nile sell inferior diamonds, they just have a huge choice. The diamond I purchased from them has perfect symmetry and was 3 x the price of other inferior diamonds on their website of the same carat. They also offer a full refund if you don't like it ( which gives you the opportunity to have it independently valued)

That doesn't mean that businesses like yours can't offer a fantastic personal service and make a reasonable mark up and profit from the jewellery they offer. As you know, I have used your services and I would use you again without hesitation.

Porsche911R

21,146 posts

264 months

Tuesday 25th October 2016
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highstreet are twice the price though !

Blue Nile sell GIA diamonds so you can spec what you want for 1/2 the price, the choice is vast but it's still 1/2 the price like for like.

I also take my own oil when car is due for a service, why pay double ?.

I am happy to pay a good hour rate for a skill, but hate being ripped off on parts, that inc. the crazy high street diamonds prices or indy parts prices on cars.

of course indies want to supply the diamond and charge 200% more than the going rate you can buy a diamond for, it's not clients being penny pinching though, it's about what a stone is worth and what a skill is worth.

I sell stuff at cost price, but my hour rate is £85 to do any work, that's seems to be ok with my clients.

Buying rings and the like is a complete rip off imo. the example of the diamond with 2 rubies goes to show that 10 fold what can be saved.

I am shocked people turn down work if they are happy with the hour rate they charge, who cares where the parts come from ?

I do think on the whole though ave punters gets ripped off in all area's these days, and I am often shocked when I ask for quote to do work on , cars/hourse etc people do seems to want £800 day cash in hand for any little job !!!

Equilibrium25

653 posts

133 months

Tuesday 25th October 2016
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Do your research is the answer. It's perfectly possible to find a good independent (like Eddie above) or decent local jeweller (like Beards). Blue Nile gives you an idea of prices, so no-one is going to get away with ripping you off if you have done your research.

rat840771

2,023 posts

164 months

Tuesday 25th October 2016
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I was a Cheapskate, 13 years ago my sister worked on Royal Caribbean cruise ships, so she got me a 0.8 caret VS1 diamond and the ring it came on was free! Wife loves it and it really does sparkle. Think it was £700, similar ring over here would have been 3-4k!


Prohibiting

1,734 posts

117 months

Tuesday 25th October 2016
quotequote all
As said, I used Beards to construct the ring for me and I even asked them to quote me a price on the diamond I purchased from Blue Nile. They wanted over £3k for a like for like diamond which I got for half of that online laugh. I think colour D bumps it up a lot when jewellers quote.

Also prior to that, before discovering Blue Nile and without having done more research into it all, I went to a posh independent near Gloucester Cathedrial. Told him my budget of £2.5k, told them I wanted a high quality half carat centre diamond, 2 colourful rubies (which virtually all rubies are heat treated by the way to enhance their colour [the ones I sourced online are natural]), and set into an 18k rose gold band.... he literally looked at me as if I was joking with him and said I'd need a lot more £££ than that.

He also told me that with jewellers you know exactly what you're getting and they can provide a good quality diamond. Well that's not true because diamonds are GIA certified so anyone can source their own based on what they want. If I remember correctly, he showed me an example of a diamond and it was VS2 colour G. Obviously it still looked nice but not top quality and I expect he'd want an awful lot more than the equilivant from Blue Nile.

Oh, I'm also a "penny pincher" as I supply my own oils and fluids when my car gets serviced too rolleyes

Edited by Prohibiting on Tuesday 25th October 14:24

Equilibrium25

653 posts

133 months

Tuesday 25th October 2016
quotequote all
Prohibiting said:
As said, I used Beards to construct the ring for me and I even asked them to quote me a price on the diamond I purchased from Blue Nile. They wanted over £3k for a like for like diamond which I got for half of that online laugh. I think colour D bumps it up a lot when jewellers quote.
That's interesting. Our diamond, sourced by Beards and a colour D, was priced within a few percent (and I mean < 5%) of the very few equivalents available on BN. We went through the whole process with them though, from a window-shopping beginning to bespoke design and looking at lots of different stones before ours was sourced.

Just to add, I emailed Eddie (ecain63) before we started down the road with Beards. Again, great service and a willingness to explain everything - the sole reason for not using Eddie was location compared with us.


Prohibiting

1,734 posts

117 months

Tuesday 25th October 2016
quotequote all
Hmmm strange. I even thought that with such large margins I could setup my own online engagement ring service! Buy all the certified stones online, get Beards (or another willing jeweller to set them) and then sell with a £500-grand on top laugh.

I seriously thouroughly enjoyed the whole research, buying and design process that I even looked into Jewellery making/gold smithing courses believe it or not.