Engagement Rings (merged)

wanttosave

hi all

this is my first post so it may be bad , i got a ex girl friend a engagement ring thats what got me in debt . put it on my credit card . took me 3years to pay it off.

gkerr4

Just to speak on the original topic of this - i.e. how much to spend on an engagement ring - i think the un-written advice is 1 months gross salary - but I'm not sure if this was 'created' by the diamond merchants!!"

I recently proposed and spent pretty much a month's salary on the ring - It's just over 1/2 carat, brilliant round cut, colour 'D' and VVS2 in quality. I think the quality is more important than the size - if you are spending 2 - 3grand on a piece of jewellery you need to know what you are talking about and what exactly you are buying. Look up the diamond specifications and know what cut, colour, carat and clarity actually are before you start shopping. You can easily get a 1 carat diamond for under a grand, but it will have little black specks in it - do you really want that?

Anyway - the one thing I think now, is that actually i wish I had spent more on it - she is definately worth it and I know it makes her feel special every time she looks at it - and she will have to look at it every day for the rest of her life (i hope) so it better be bloody good! - buy the best you can

wilsons

Hi, I bought my now fiancée an engagement ring and all was well. I’ve recently got it valued at a different jewellers and it has turned out the carrot size of the diamond is actually 10% LESS than what we were told at time of purchase! Now the chap that valued the ring says that it was quite a considerable drop and that I should maybe take it back to where I purchased it and get it replaced? Now I’m not too sure what is the best way to go about this (guns a blazin vs polite) or how it stands legally! Any suggestions or well wishes would be greatly appreciated! Thanks…

donnalou

What Jewellers did You buy it from? Does it say the ct weight on your receipt? I would take it back at once if they are any decent jewellers they should be able to take the Diamond out and weigh it in front of you. Did the second Jewellers weigh the diamond?

Also why did you get it valued somewhere else? Did you not get an insurance valuation when you bought it, if not I would not be happy

macchicken

carrot weight should be printed on the inside of the band, eg. 0.75 for 3/4 of a carrot.
If the item is misdescribed eg. wrong carrot weight you are entitled to a refund under the consumer rights act.
Some jewellers say they dont give refunds but under the consumer rights act if an item is faulty or misdescribed then you are intitled to your money back, perhaps go to your local CAB and get this in writing first.
Then go in calmly, ask for the manager or owner explain the situation, say you would like a full refund, if they try and give you any crap show them you evidence, tell them you are quite prepared to go to trading standards. KEEP CALM. dont give them any excuse to chuck you out the shop.
This should keep you right.
good luck

RichyRich

Carat, surely?

skintchick

RichyRich wrote:

Carat, surely?

Indeed. Although it will only matter if you're writing a letter of complaint.

ManAtHome

skintchick wrote:

Indeed. Although it will only matter if you're writing a letter of complaint.

...or if you're a donkey..

There was an item on watchdog some time back about a similar complaint. Took a couple of appearances before the jeweller backed down and refunded the cash. Have tried googling without success, anyone else remember this?

donnalou

Carat weight in the shank is actually only average weight, Many rings are cast with carat weight in the original model.
ie one model is made .75 is stamped inside then sent off to the casters and 200 shanks come back with .75 inside.
This appears deeper if its been cast than if its engraved afterwards

wilsons

Thanks for the replies guys! Really appreciate it (and sorry about the spelling mistake!, was really lazy last night). I won’t mention the jewellers until I see how my next visit goes. I guess the following was down to ignorance on my part…I did get an insurance evaluation with it at the time of purchase (which I’m currently trying to locate for proof of purchase (the ring was purchased 10 months ago)) and I took it as gospel. We decided to get it valued somewhere else for a second opinion, which has now turned out to be a good idea.

The ‘carat’ is printed on the inside of the ring, and the ring cast is fit to hold that size of diamond, the only problem is the actual diamond they used is a lot less! I’m not really fussed on a refund, I’d be happy to settle for the proper diamond and for them to cover the cost of the now two evaluations I’m going to have to pay. I suppose depending on the outcome a small letter to the local paper might not go amiss…

Anyhow, I’ll keep you all informed on the progress (or lack of)