Engagement ring help.

Engagement ring help.

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Greendubber

13,128 posts

202 months

Sunday 18th October 2020
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Seems expensive (the one you posted)




I paid £1200 for this from my pal who made it to order, .70 carat princess cut diamond, cant recall the clarity etc but it's good, ring is platinum.

If you're anywhere near the midlands try and visit a few workshops in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter. You wont pay the huge mark ups you see in shops.

2 GKC

1,884 posts

104 months

Sunday 18th October 2020
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I’d think about going antique. A lot of the modern stuff is massively marked up crap.

anonymous-user

53 months

Monday 19th October 2020
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I wouldn't buy anything new from a high street retailer. It can often be a total rip-off.

I bought my wife's engagement ring from a Bonhams auction.

Beautiful full diamond trinity ring by Cartier that still lists/retails for £17k and I paid £4200 for it. Immaculate condition with the original Cartier box etc. Had it polished and cleaned prior to giving it to her, and it came out stunning.

So now she wears some pretty nice 'bling' and it cost less than some high street pieces that do not look anything like as good.

Conversely, I have absolutely no interest in jewellery, and my wedding ring is a plain silver band and cost £30. My wife took me into a local jewellers to get me to choose my wedding ring and I asked them to show me the 'cheapest' silver band they had, which was £99, I said no thanks. Bought one off the internet.

Walk into any high street jewellers and start asking for engagement/wedding rings and the price list magically inflates.

Edited by anonymous-user on Saturday 24th October 11:48

ecain63

10,588 posts

174 months

Friday 23rd October 2020
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I know I've been named here at the beginning of the thread as a possible helper, but I feel there are already plenty of diamond experts in the room idea

My angle:

At the end of the day, your eyes will tell you more than any certificate. View the stones, not just the prices and the specs. Bluenile / 77 etc are a minefield. Auctions are a good shout but you need to know what you are doing or be very lucky.

It's currently a very expensive time to buy as material prices are high (platinum is good value however). Auctions are often sold out by foreign buyers with superior exchange rates and covid means viewing items is restricted.

There's a bit of negativity in here towards retailers and markups. I don't understand this myself because in the same breath people are complaining that the high street is dying. Bottom line is things cost money. Those things include profit, service, bills etc. I'm not saying that you should all rush out and pay over the odds, but I fail to see how in 2020 you can have a 0.70ct Princess cut in platinum made for £1200 unless it's been pawned, built from scrap / traded material or an absolute dog of a stone. Anyone advising that this is a normal and achievable figure for a "built to order" item needs an education in reality. Or tell me where you're buying them so I can sack my supplier.

Anyway. Apologies for the little rant at the end. Lol.

If you want any figures for a build let me know. I don't price match or promise cheap diamonds, but what I do is supply a quality item with a view that you'll be happy with what you've bought and won't look back wondering if you should have done better.

ctrph

155 posts

124 months

Friday 23rd October 2020
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ecain63 said:
There's a bit of negativity in here towards retailers and markups. I don't understand this myself because in the same breath people are complaining that the high street is dying. Bottom line is things cost money. Those things include profit, service, bills etc. I'm not saying that you should all rush out and pay over the odds, but I fail to see how in 2020 you can have a 0.70ct Princess cut in platinum made for £1200 unless it's been pawned, built from scrap / traded material or an absolute dog of a stone. Anyone advising that this is a normal and achievable figure for a "built to order" item needs an education in reality. Or tell me where you're buying them so I can sack my supplier.
Haven't you had the memo, Jewellers should do things at cost price, we shouldn't be allowed to add margins and make a profit!


ecain63

10,588 posts

174 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
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I'd be interested to see the cert for this. For obvious reasons it may explain the £1200 figure. Pics are obviously not perfect, but if you're going to say it's got good clarity then you need to back it up. From here it looks yellow and included.

Tlandcruiser

2,788 posts

197 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
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£2400, your mad.



Greendubber

13,128 posts

202 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
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ecain63 said:


I'd be interested to see the cert for this. For obvious reasons it may explain the £1200 figure. Pics are obviously not perfect, but if you're going to say it's got good clarity then you need to back it up. From here it looks yellow and included.
I have the cert somewhere, the ring was made by a lifelong pal. He sourced a selection of stones, showed me each one and we decided on which one to use. It does look a little murky in the picture but I can assure you it doesnt look yellow in the flesh.

ecain63

10,588 posts

174 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
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Ok, so for comparison sake.....

We have 3 princess cuts on GIA's (but you could have IGI or HRD and achieve the same), E / F VVS2. 0.71-0.79t with 4.9-4.97mm spreads. Proper stones that look good in person. Set in a platinum mount, sized to fit. You're looking at similar money to the original post. That's without adding a margin that pays the bills and ensures we continue to trade / provide a service.

If the ring in the original post had a cert number that we could compare to, then we could see if they are selling a cheap stone or a good stone.


ecain63

10,588 posts

174 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
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Greendubber said:
ecain63 said:


I'd be interested to see the cert for this. For obvious reasons it may explain the £1200 figure. Pics are obviously not perfect, but if you're going to say it's got good clarity then you need to back it up. From here it looks yellow and included.
I have the cert somewhere, the ring was made by a lifelong pal. He sourced a selection of stones, showed me each one and we decided on which one to use. It does look a little murky in the picture but I can assure you it doesnt look yellow in the flesh.
For £1200 he's had someone through a bedroom window. There's no way, unless he already owed you money. Or it's a random cert with no evidence to say it's genuine

Greendubber

13,128 posts

202 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
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ecain63 said:
Greendubber said:
ecain63 said:


I'd be interested to see the cert for this. For obvious reasons it may explain the £1200 figure. Pics are obviously not perfect, but if you're going to say it's got good clarity then you need to back it up. From here it looks yellow and included.
I have the cert somewhere, the ring was made by a lifelong pal. He sourced a selection of stones, showed me each one and we decided on which one to use. It does look a little murky in the picture but I can assure you it doesnt look yellow in the flesh.
For £1200 he's had someone through a bedroom window. There's no way, unless he already owed you money. Or it's a random cert with no evidence to say it's genuine
Hes a good friend, there is every chance he took a hit on it to be honest.



Edited by Greendubber on Saturday 24th October 09:33

ecain63

10,588 posts

174 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
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You'll need to post the cert. Still looks yellow

Greendubber

13,128 posts

202 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
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ecain63 said:
You'll need to post the cert. Still looks yellow
If I can muster enough enthusiasm to find it to satisfy someone on a forum I might, but I do appreciate where you're coming from.

The most important thing is she likes it! smile

Edited by Greendubber on Saturday 24th October 09:47

ecain63

10,588 posts

174 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
quotequote all
Greendubber said:
ecain63 said:
You'll need to post the cert. Still looks yellow
If I can muster enough enthusiasm to find it to satisfy someone on a forum I might, but I do appreciate where you're coming from.

The most important thing is she likes it! smile

Edited by Greendubber on Saturday 24th October 09:47
You're not doing it to satisfy me. The point is, you've stated that you bought a "good clarity" 0.70ct princess cut, built to order, for £1200. And, you've also advised the OP goes to Birmingham and to not pay inflated highstreet prices. That's like me saying I went to BMW HQ and bought a new M3 for £20k, because my mate works there and he's a really good egg. Oh, and people here should go to dealers in that area and not pay other main dealer prices because they're overinflated.

If I made that claim I'd be hounded for invoices / proof of purchase etc. If I did manage to produce that info then I can only imagine the damage to //M3 sales and residuals. Nobody would ever pay list, or even discounted list again. This is the same with any product that has a "value". No matter who you give a back rub to, no matter how convincing your forum post is, the fact remains that A: it can't be done for less than cost, or B: if it was done then it's because there's something dodgy or wrong with the product / company.

I await appearance of the the cert. Or more meat in the story of how you got it for £1200. Was it bought in 1990 for example?

Greendubber

13,128 posts

202 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
quotequote all
ecain63 said:
Greendubber said:
ecain63 said:
You'll need to post the cert. Still looks yellow
If I can muster enough enthusiasm to find it to satisfy someone on a forum I might, but I do appreciate where you're coming from.

The most important thing is she likes it! smile

Edited by Greendubber on Saturday 24th October 09:47
You're not doing it to satisfy me. The point is, you've stated that you bought a "good clarity" 0.70ct princess cut, built to order, for £1200. And, you've also advised the OP goes to Birmingham and to not pay inflated highstreet prices. That's like me saying I went to BMW HQ and bought a new M3 for £20k, because my mate works there and he's a really good egg. Oh, and people here should go to dealers in that area and not pay other main dealer prices because they're overinflated.

If I made that claim I'd be hounded for invoices / proof of purchase etc. If I did manage to produce that info then I can only imagine the damage to //M3 sales and residuals. Nobody would ever pay list, or even discounted list again. This is the same with any product that has a "value". No matter who you give a back rub to, no matter how convincing your forum post is, the fact remains that A: it can't be done for less than cost, or B: if it was done then it's because there's something dodgy or wrong with the product / company.

I await appearance of the the cert. Or more meat in the story of how you got it for £1200. Was it bought in 1990 for example?
I've already said it was made for us by a life long friend, he may well have taken a hit on it. If he did I dont know by how much as I'm not in that game. He works purely by word of mouth making pieces that people commissions so he's a one man band in a small workshop. He did his apprenticeship when we left school with an old boy who handed his business over to him about 20 years ago which he continues to this day. I've just asked him to make our wedding bands but that'll be about 3 months wait as he's stacked and had had a few issues getting material due to Covid. Hes an honest bloke so I doubt he's had our pants down.

He suggested I'd be paying £3 to £3.5k if I went around the corner and got it from a jewellers shop.

My advice to go to Birmingham was to seek out the workshops that will sell you a ring significantly cheaper than the glitzy jewellery shops.

ecain63

10,588 posts

174 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
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If you want your wedding bands made in less than 3 months you could ask any other workshop. Plain bands take a day at most if the material is in stock. If it's blanks to order then 24-48hrs. Stone set stuff depends on stock but usually no more than 4 or 5 weeks if import.

Takes me about 30 mins to make a ladies wedding band if i have the raw material here

Greendubber

13,128 posts

202 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
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ecain63 said:
If you want your wedding bands made in less than 3 months you could ask any other workshop. Plain bands take a day at most if the material is in stock. If it's blanks to order then 24-48hrs. Stone set stuff depends on stock but usually no more than 4 or 5 weeks if import.

Takes me about 30 mins to make a ladies wedding band if i have the raw material here
I'm not getting married until Nov '21 so I'm in no rush, plus I've told him to fit it in when he has time as we have such a long way to go. The Mrs is super organised so 'had' to order them over 12 months in advance.

2 GKC

1,884 posts

104 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
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Did you get out of the wrong side of the bed? 😀

ecain63

10,588 posts

174 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
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2 GKC said:
Did you get out of the wrong side of the bed? ??
No, not at all. However, after 13 years of earning my income making and selling jewellery I get a bit frustrated with the way advice gets banded about on forums. There are many good businesses out there that would look after the OP, producing quality products and with price tags that don't take the piss. benchmarking the internet supplier is a poor substitute for using your eyes in a good independent retailer.

anonymous-user

53 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
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2 GKC said:
Did you get out of the wrong side of the bed? ??
ecain has got a point though.

If someone has posted a wholly unrealistic price for a ring, as someone in the industry I would expect him to say so.
By calling it out, he will prevent others from thinking that kind of price is normal and wasting their time trying to unsuccessfully seek out a smilier item at a similar price.

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