Diamond Engagement Rings
Discussion
I am looking for a diamond engagement ring and really was after some advice as to where the best place to look is. I am ruling out the large high street jewellers such as Goldsmiths etc. as they are making ludicrous margins on selling stuff, so have been looking at small independents and also internet based people such as Vashi and 77 Diamonds. Are there any other recommendations or people I have missed or also should avoid?
Eddie Cain on here made mine for me, it is superb and highly recommended.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
robinh73 said:
I am looking for a diamond engagement ring and really was after some advice as to where the best place to look is. I am ruling out the large high street jewellers such as Goldsmiths etc. as they are making ludicrous margins on selling stuff, so have been looking at small independents and also internet based people such as Vashi and 77 Diamonds. Are there any other recommendations or people I have missed or also should avoid?
Intrigued by this, although not in the market for jewellery myself, I Googled jewellery mark ups, and landed on a jewellery making Forum.There was a post on there, from 2009!!, where a guy said that when he first started, (no idea when that was), jewellery mark ups were 300% to 500%!
That should give you pause for thought, when you’re looking in the windows of Hatton Garden.
It all became clear then, when I think of the times in the past when I’ve been looking for a gift for my wife, and I’ve narrowed it down to e.g. a gold bangle at £525, and I’m looking at it, turning it over in my head, shall I, shan’t I?
Then the jeweller says something like, “It’s obvious that you like it, tell you what, I fancy going to lunch, give me £475 and it’s yours.”
Me, as the punter, thinks, “That’s a touch, I can’t turn that down.”
The jeweller is thinking, “Can’t be bad, I paid £100 for it, wholesale.”
I used Diamonds Factory. A great price for it's spec, a gorgeous ring, really great to deal with.
Others seem to think so too - https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.diamondsfacto...
Others seem to think so too - https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.diamondsfacto...
Butter Face said:
Eddie Cain on here made mine for me, it is superb and highly recommended.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Second this. Not only is it more personal, with a highly trustworthy individual, but it also worked out as a better price than going to a high street chain.https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Butter Face said:
Eddie Cain on here made mine for me, it is superb and highly recommended.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
+1https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
And mine.
I agree with your thinking as to not going high street. We bought a vintage diamond engagement ring 20 years ago from a high street shop, that we have just upgraded with a larger ring.
The first ring is worth nowhere near what we paid for it 20 years ago.
The new larger ring we purchased from an independent dealer that we now know fairly well and have just had it valued for insurance at four times the price we paid and am assured we would get our money back if we wanted to change it in the future.
If you are happy to go pre-owned you will get far better bang for your money.
Or perhaps purchase the stone from a diamond dealer and have it set which will also get you a far nicer ring for way less money than high street shops.
The first ring is worth nowhere near what we paid for it 20 years ago.
The new larger ring we purchased from an independent dealer that we now know fairly well and have just had it valued for insurance at four times the price we paid and am assured we would get our money back if we wanted to change it in the future.
If you are happy to go pre-owned you will get far better bang for your money.
Or perhaps purchase the stone from a diamond dealer and have it set which will also get you a far nicer ring for way less money than high street shops.
Elliot at The Diamond Shop in Hatton Garden sorted me out a very decent 2 carat rock and a nice ring for an extremely reasonable price (i.e less than half what a thieving "posh" jeweller would ask) Was recommended to me by several mates who'd done the same.
http://www.thediamondshop.co.uk/#&slider1=2
http://www.thediamondshop.co.uk/#&slider1=2
The bargain hunter in me agrees with all that is said in this thread, but from experience, it's not always the ring or the price that is important, but sometimes the way in which you find it.
First marriage involved a Valentine's Day trip to NYC and a surprise proposal over dinner. In those days it was still two dollars to the pound, so I did the total stereotype thing and let her choose her ring from Tiffany's. For sure I could have done better elsewhere, but it didn't cost the earth and it was more than just a ring, but a memory too.
Second marriage I was determined to have a jeweller I know make the ring for me. That went out the window when my (current) wife came home and said she had tried on a ring in our local (very expensive) jewellers and loved it. She knew I was going to have one made so she described it so I could go take a look. I went in, bought it, paid through the nose, but she got the ring that she found and she fell in love with.
Trying not to get married anymore... It's too expensive.
First marriage involved a Valentine's Day trip to NYC and a surprise proposal over dinner. In those days it was still two dollars to the pound, so I did the total stereotype thing and let her choose her ring from Tiffany's. For sure I could have done better elsewhere, but it didn't cost the earth and it was more than just a ring, but a memory too.
Second marriage I was determined to have a jeweller I know make the ring for me. That went out the window when my (current) wife came home and said she had tried on a ring in our local (very expensive) jewellers and loved it. She knew I was going to have one made so she described it so I could go take a look. I went in, bought it, paid through the nose, but she got the ring that she found and she fell in love with.
Trying not to get married anymore... It's too expensive.
It may or may not be a consideration OP, but for us it was import to ensure that any diamond we bought was conflict free (IE not what is often referred to as a blood diamond)
A further description - https://www.theknot.com/content/the-scoop-on-confl...
A further description - https://www.theknot.com/content/the-scoop-on-confl...
My wife pointed out a whopping great solitaire diamond ring second-hand in the little local jewellers. It was from the 1920s and referred to as old brilliant cut; less facets than brilliant cut now. Whopping great? Nearly two carats. On condition the diamond was certificated, I bought it and had it reset in a modern setting. All up, £5,000. At the time Boodles were selling 2 carat solitaire rings for £28,000 but suggested they would negotiate.
She loves it and no one has ever tried to count the facets.
Geek Corner: the old brilliant cut was apparently designed to sparkle most in yellow light like gas light or candle light.
She loves it and no one has ever tried to count the facets.
Geek Corner: the old brilliant cut was apparently designed to sparkle most in yellow light like gas light or candle light.
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