Engagement Rings (merged)

Frontera2

devoncat wrote:

Congrats!!! Maybe you could have a quiet word with my BF who seems to be dragging his heals. There is a thread on this already. Sorry, i dont know how to insert a link. Try searching this forum for it.

Good luck.

And mine lol. 4 and a half years on from him saying he wanted to marry me - and still no ring!

don9999

I've read through the various threads on engagement rings and diamond rings, but my experience has differed somewhat. The typical advice is 'not' to go to a high-street jeweller, but to a smaller shop; for better value-for-money and/or better quality. However, I've not found that in the past few days.

Background:-
I'm planning to buy my wife an eternity ring. Traditional (apparently) ring, being a 5-stone diamond ring, in classical claw grip, on an 18 carat yellow-gold ring. Probably looking for about 1.5 carats total.

First I went to a series of high-street jewellers. They were all able to provide that exact ring, and all quoted around £1,750 give or take £50.

I then started to go to a few small, independant shops (in Cardiff, BTW!) They ALL offered the same ring, but at a 'higher' price! Prices started at around £2,000 and rose to about £2,500.

In ALL the above cases (high-street or independant) no certificates were to be provided, but all jewellers advised me that the clarity would be approximately SI1 or SI2 and the colour a G (Fine white).

A small jeweller offered me an equivalent ring with a certificate, but quoted £4,000!

So......is a high-street jeweller 'really' the worst place to buy a ring?

Indeed they actually offer some advantages that the smaller shops would not offer - including a no-quibble money-back guarantee up to the end of January (at most, the smaller jewellers could only offer a swap, but NO refund.)

In light of my findings, my current plan is to buy from Ernest Jones (a high-street Jeweller!) Price is £1,750, which includes a free valuation and a money-back guarantee.

Would appreciate if anyone has any advice! I wonder whether I could get a discount on this price.......I'm going to try, but not sure how much to ask for.

Cheers,
Don

funky-footprints

ooh is that my husband in disguise ? sorry .... don ....... (Cardiff would be our local too you see) im nagging for an eternity ring but 8 years marriage doesnt deserve one yet !!!! sorry cant answer your question .. good luck !

don9999

I'm afraid I'm not your husband......unless it's you 'sweetie' getting on-line under a pseudonym......?

Having looked at 'another' 6 or 7 sites on-line, I've come across one site 'Geraldonline' that appear to have a 'similar' ring costing just £799 (claiming to be a saving of 32%). Unfortunately it's only 1 carat as opposed to the 1.5 carats I've been looking for - that may well account for the full difference in price.

However.....this ring is certificated - it comes with a certificate confirming the colour, clarity etc.. BUT......they won't quote the qualities of the ring before I buy it! They will only quote the minimum (colour J, clarity I1) and say that the diamonds are usually better than that. So.....I could end up with excellent diamonds, or relatively poor-quality ones. For the same price! At least I suppose they offer a 30-day moneyback guarantee, so if I didn't like the quality, I could send it back). Would have been nice to know 'before' I bought though.

Anyone else got any suggestions on where I might look?
Ideally I'm looking for 1.25 or 1.5 carats over the 5 diamonds.

Cheers,
Don

boots_babe

Frontera2 -that's nothing. I had to wait 7 and a bit years for a proposal! By the time we get married it'll be 8.5 years!

catzeyes79

Hi Don,
I read your query and didn't really think i could add anything due to the price range you were looking at. Then I saw your reference at the bottom of your post.........Very funny.....LOL at the binary and 10 reference.
All i can say about the rings is that i have just got married and my wife and I ( yes my wife) decided that we coukd get a far better deal on preowned rings (second hand basically) My wife got a ring that should have cost 600 qiudish for just under 250.

All the best
:xmassign:

Sobraon

Hi Don.
As my wife's engagement and wedding ring were custom made she wanted a matching eternity ring. Getting one made in the UK seemed to induce a wide range of prices from the jewellers as you have seen.

What we did was to combine a break in Marmaris in Turkey with her having the ring made there. She was treated like royalty in the shop (I think most UK lady customers are), she was offered a wide range of diamonds to select from, including mountings and the design of the body of the ring was sketched and modified for her. We were invited back for a 'fitting' prior to the stones being set. Insurance certificate was provided

And I was treated seriously when we got down to the haggling over price!

Down side is, of course, that there is no UK hallmark but we went for a well established firm with a history and got a lot of ring for the money! Best of all is that she is delighted with her eternity ring.

SkippyB

Hi! Lucky You....My father has worked in Diamonds for many years and I would suggest the following to you as they have a very good reputation and one to one service is very good. Please remember though, with diamonds, you only get what you pay for...don't be tempted by cheap offers. There are many types of diamond and the cheap ones tend to be manafactured rather than natural...also the colourings will affect the prices. Blue and yellow tinges are very very expensive....

http://www.debeers.com/

Hope this helps!

mrsbez_2

Hi,

Having worked for high street jewellers and a small independent i would give the independents a try again.

Some independents are more expensive but it really depends on how business is going for them! (Try a reasonably large independent with a wide choice) Write down what you have seen elsewhere and see if they can offer you similar.

High street jewellers will generally tend to stock the same type of ring probably even manufactured in the same place! They will probably tend to be a standard G/H colour and SI1/2 or above. They don;t usually have much flexibility on price, but it's still worth asking!

As has already been mentioned, you do get what you pay for. You could get a 1.5 carat eternity for less if the colour/clarity is not as good. You really have to think about what is important to you in your purchase. I would recommend going for G/H colour or above (i.e A being best colour) and maybe SI2 or above. Ask for a leaflet from the jewellers to explain the clarity in more detail!

For example, i had my engagement ring made and had 3 smaller stones which are a good colour and quality, and they sparkle magnificantly making them look a bigger ring than they actually are.

I don't know many jewellers in Bristol but if you have chance to visit Worcester, pay 'Rock Lobster Jewellers' a visit, they have a large selection of diamond rings and usually have something for everyone and are good quality. If you have time, they will be able to possibly make a ring to your specifications and price.

you were looking at 18CT ring, but check what the diamonds are set in, some are 18ct with platinum claws around the diamonds. This may make them more expensive, but platinum is a stronger metal and will keep diamonds more secure.

Have just had a look at geraldonline, it seems reasonably priced, i think Gerald Ratner is one of the founding members. It depends if you want to see what you are buying. Ernest Jones is part of the signet group which also owns H Samuel. F.Hinds are a family owned are are quite reasonable, but go into the shop rather than online, not sure what the clarity and colour of the diamonds are though.maybe H/Si.

If you can wait till after christmas (maybe valentines) they all usually have sales on and you may find significant savings.

It's just my experience, but hope it helps! Happy shopping.

Debbie

across

thought i'd let you all know i'm still waiting for my ring back!!!!!the insurance said theyd pay and it went to ernest jones i was told it was due back 15/12/05 because they were busy for christmas and yesterday phoned to check it was there and guess what?!!! it is still in the workshop not been touched waiting for insurance to give go ahead!!! phoned insurance they said workshop will get back to me because they have been given the go ahead and they are lying!!!!everyone is passing the blame and i just want my ring back!! it is 5 weeks since it broke and i have had no ring for 5 weeks but i thought i'd have it back for christmas that looks unlikely! workshop not rung back at all!