Cartier Engagement Ring

tonyM_3

Hello all!

I'm currently shopping around for an engagement ring for my OH, and have found one that seems perfect in Cartier. Does anyone know if it would be possible to organise to purchase it duty free from one of their Heathrow shops on my way to/from overseas to save on the VAT?

I can't haggle to save myself, and don't know if places like that would budge an inch on the purchase price anyway. Hence my idea of trying to save on duty instead! Would there be any implications (legal or otherwise) in trying to do this?

Also, when it comes to insuring said ring, do I need an independent valuation first? I realise I'll be paying a bit of a premium for the Cartier brand, but how will this be reflected in the valuation? I wouldn't be too happy if I couldn't insure it for at least what I paid for it!!!

ncv2

My first bit of advice would be DON"T buy it! Do you have any idea how much mark up there is for the name? When I look at a ring I have no idea who makes it.
OH and I went to Hatton Garden looked at rings then looked at almost the same rings on BOnd street. A 1 caret ring was about 4k at HAtton Garden and under 1 caret was 10K at Cartier! The quality of the diamond in Hatton Garden was much better as well.

The name does not make the ring any more valuable, just costs you an arm and a leg!

Quote

ncv2 wrote: »

When I look at a ring I have no idea who makes it.

But the person wearing it would know.

ncv2 wrote: »

The name does not make the ring any more valuable...

Ermmmm...yes it does.

shellsuit

What about buying a ring from Argos and sourcing a Cartier ring box?

Only joking, haven't a clue sorry!

frannyann

Never, ever worry about haggling, they want your money more than you want their ring, shop around and play different shops off against each other, try 'Oh XX shop had this at XX less, can you go any better?'

Insurance will not be an issue, you can insure against anything, again just shop around and again haggle, the price quoted is never the one you end up paying.

sarah_elton

Re insurance, when I added my ring to our home insurance, they said the receipt was fine for the first year. It subsequently needs to be valued on an annual basis.

Baby_in_the_corner

You would definitely get more for your money at Hatton Garden - all our friends told us to go there, but I was dubious, having fallen in love with a ring in De Beers... in the end even one of the sales assistants in De Beers advised us to go to Hatton Garden! Got the exact same style ring made with double the diamond size for half the price. It's the most beautiful ring I've ever seen and everyone is amazed by it - including me, still!

tonyM_3

Thanks for the Hatton Garden tips, I do plan on checking some of the places there before making my purchase. Is there any consensus on some of the better stores to try first?

If I was to go for the Cartier option does anyone know if my plan to save on VAT at the airport will work?

sarah_elton

I can vouch for the quality to come out of Hatton Garden, though we did it completely anti-MSE.

Saw my ring in Goldsmiths and it was stunning. They'd bought it in from Hatton Garden as their store manager goes round to check out what the designers are doing. Obviously they weren't going to tell us where it came from. We could have trawled around trying to find it but were too lazy so it was actually bought from Goldsmiths (then they ordered one from HG in my size as it's a tension setting so can't be resized). I don't want to think about the mark-up we paid that went in Goldmsiths' pocket. :rolleyes:

Re airport duty, I don't know how it works to be honest... Presumably stuff you buy in duty free counts towards the allowance of what you're allowed to bring back into the country (so that plus whatever you buy abroad). Is there a limit these days on what you can bring back from the EU? Could you fly to Paris or somewhere and back and buy it on the way through? I'd ask on the Overseas Holidays boards - people over there should know...

cakey

when i got my ring (my first one) it was a de beers ring, absolutely stunning. when insuring it i had to provide the certificate of valuation. it basically provides the colour/ flaws etc.

i gave the ring to my little sister so she could get engaged to her fella. i could never have sold it because i loved it so much, this way i get to see it every once in a while

TediousPhoenix

tonyM wrote: »

Thanks for the Hatton Garden tips, I do plan on checking some of the places there before making my purchase. Is there any consensus on some of the better stores to try first?

There are SO many jewellers up there - we went into quite a few - but in the end settled on A&S. We fell in love with both the diamond and the ring.

This is what probably less than half your budget got us there (I LOVE showing it off!)