Where to Buy An Engagement Ring - HG, JQ or HS?

strawberries1

Has anyone ever had a solitaire stone fall out of a ring made at the JQ?

strawberries1

MunnyBoiler wrote: »

I vote for the JQ in Birmingham.

My husband bought my engagement ring from there and we ended up buying my Wedding ring from the same shop plus he bought his Wedding ring from a nearby shop.

Can you please tell me which store you bought yours from?

We went to the JQ and will return again this week for a purchase. I think we'll go into Neweys', Cirrus and Paul green again.

We were offered a diamond at Paul Green but they claim to have certified it themselves as they are certified to do so; ie the diamond was not certified by one of the two bodies I think certify diamonds worldwide. I was not aware jewellers could also be 'certified' to grade diamonds as I thot diamonds were certified by 2 main bodies worldwide. (Hope I haven't miss informed myself too much:cool:)

Has anyone bought an engagement ring from Paul Green, Neweys' or Cirrus at the quarter and had the diamond confirmed by another gemologist to be as he represented?

Pollycat

strawberries1 wrote: »

Has anyone ever had a solitaire stone fall out of a ring made at the JQ?

I find that quite a strange question.

Why would a stone be more (or less likely) to fall out of a ring from the JQ than anywhere else?
And even if you got 1 or maybe 2 replies saying 'Yes' what would that REALLY prove?

Katie-Kat-Kins

Jewelry Quater Birmingham.

strawberries1 wrote: »

Has anyone bought an engagement ring from Paul Green, Neweys' or Cirrus at the quarter and had the diamond confirmed by another gemologist to be as he represented?

Have never heard of Paul Green.

Had DH's wedding ring from Newey's and got a great price, they wouldn't be my first choice for an engagement ring, the service can be a bit supermarket like. I had my engagment ring from Cirrus, it is uncertified but a couple of other jewellers have commented upon what a nice stone it is and have been surprised that it isn't certified.

I had my wedding ring from SP Green on Augusta Street, and have had other things from them too. The service is excellent and they have some designs that you don't see elsewhere in the quarter. My wedding ring is a complete one off.

It is worth considering whether you actually want a certified diamond or not. If you aren't buying a huge one (full carat or more) and aren't planning to sell it then as long as you can see it in person before you buy it and satisfy yourself that you are happy with its looks then it probably isn't worth it. Certification adds a lot to the purchase price and there are lots of nice diamonds out there that have not been certified. The main thing is that you like it and are happy with the colour, clarity etc. However if I was buying online I would want the security of a certificate.

Many Jewellers will tell you the grading of the diamond as a guide but a certificate comes from one of the independant bodies and the jewellers have to pay extra for this so will pass this cost on.

I found Cirrus to be pretty informative of certification (I'd swotted before so was happy with the accuracy of what they said) and they are diamon merchants and supply many of the other JQ shops. The advantage of this is that they supply diamonds at pretty unbeatable prices. The disadvantages are that the settings are very much standard off the shelf ones. They aren't really too interested in customising a design or making something bespoke (beyond adding your choice of diamond to one of their settings). SP Green on the other hand have a number of their own designs created in their own workshop, can make something to order etc etc.

I'd go to all of them and see what you like before deciding.

My plan of action would be Newey's first for a good selection in a low pressure environment, they are quite happy for you to go away and think about it and have a good range of all the standard designs you will see in the JQ at fairly reasonable prices.

Then SP Green, get some advice from the very good assistants and try on some slightly more unusual designs, possibly including some that aren't diamonds. They are great in there at what suits you and what goes with what.

By this time you should have an idea of what you like and the likely price. You may even have a favourite. Then go to Cirrus, if the design you like is one they stock then they will match the price of any other shop in the quarter. If they don't stock it then back to where you saw the favourite.

Good Luck!


And don't forget to try on the potential engagement ring with a standard straight edged wedding band. Getting shaped to fit wedding bands can be difficult, so go in with your eyes open. If you want a certain style of wedding band make sure the engagement ring will compliment it. There is nothing worse than finding that you have to compromise on the wedding band or have the engagement ring reset a year later.

strawberries1

Thank you so much KatP:T for such an informative reply:j.
I appreciate the time you've spent to explain the JQ to me.

We're going again on saturday and will do as you've suggested!

Many thanks once again! U're a gem!!:D

Katie-Kat-Kins

Jewelry Quater Birmingham.

strawberries1 wrote: »

Thank you so much KatP:T for such an informative reply:j.
I appreciate the time you've spent to explain the JQ to me.

We're going again on saturday and will do as you've suggested!

Many thanks once again! U're a gem!!:D

Haha a gem! :rotfl:you comedian you!!!!

Glad to be of assistance, do let me know how you get on and post a picture too! I love to see rings

strawberries1

We went back to the JQ on Saturday. Popped into Neweys' first, then to Cirrus and bought it from there. :j

It's lovely. One of the staff there, Oliver, was very patient with us, talked us through various options. We bought the diamond and then the ring and he had it made in less than 2hrs.

We're very pleased with our purchase and want to say a very big thank you to everyone for their advice!! :T

Katie-Kat-Kins

Jewelry Quater Birmingham.

Yes we had a very similar experience with them for my engagement ring, do tell what you chose in the end!

Just a word of warning, they talk up their wedding rings and cleaning/replating but if you want to take advantage of either of these you need to go on a weekend, they will only do engagement rings on a saturday, which peed me off a bit!

swordsman2004

I am off to New York this month and was wondering if it was worth buying an engagement ring there or get in the UK? Anybody have an idea of what saving can be made and also make some suggestions on best places to try.

Thanks