Anybody better value than Reve Diamonds? Engagement Ring from a diamond dealer?

Guardsman01

I must confess that having been devoted to my search for an engagement ring for a couple of weeks now and having visited Hatton Garden jewellers and the online trade too I have seen no evidence whatsoever of this "ability to haggle" of which you speak. The reaction to any suggestion that one might pay less than the price on the ticket, as it were, is that the price is what it is and you pay for what you get.

Fuzzy_Duck

ajdj wrote: »

From personal experience, I can recommend Marlow's in the Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham.

They have a prominent shop by the clock tower roundabout. I used them to purchase my other half an eternity ring about 3 years ago. She then used them in the new year to buy my engagement ring (we're 2 girls getting married )

They specialise in diamonds and can be haggled down. Easy to deal with, ask them their best price and push for a further discount. They'll make it very clear when you've reached the best price.

I live in Birmingham and having visited most of the Jewellery Quarter shops, that's the best value I've found. I understand Hatton Garden in London has similar shops but I've never been there. Definitely worth the trip to Birmingham if you can.

I wasn't impressed with Marlows personally. My partner and I live in Birmingham, and we went to the Jewellery Quarter shortly after getting engaged. We thought we may as well get our ring fingers measured and get some inspiration for our wedding rings whilst we were there. Every shop we went into was more than happy to measure us, show us their wares and explain what they could do for us. We had literally just stopped at Marlows to look in the window when a pushy member of staff came out and asked us what we wanted. We said we were just browsing at this point as we weren't getting married for another year. She was immediately dismissive, telling us we were wasting our time as if we liked anything 'it will be gone by that time'.

We will be going back to the Jewellery Quarter for our wedding rings as the prices are amazing and there are a lot of shops that offer something a bit different. We definitely won't be bothering with Marlows though.

toto-toto

My fiancee (novelty not yet worn off) and I did some research and decided to have a nice little weekend in antwerp (diamond capital of europe). What a lovely city! A beautiful place with lovely food and sights and just so very easy to get to from London.

After trawling trip advisor we emailed a few of the shops in the diamond district we wanted to visit with an idea of size/design/spend and made appointments. This meant they had a few diamonds ready for us to see and you can really work out what you're getting for your money. You then get to see your diamond unset (which we both found really exciting) and can directly compare what happens when you go up or down in spend on any of the "C's".

we found a rock and a setting we really liked and then went to the other shops and did a comparison. we went back to our original vendor who happily price matched and threw in 6 extra diamonds on the band! It felt like a real occasion and we were treated so well by all the vendors we saw. Again most of these are whole sellers internationally and they are the guys who sell diamonds to birmingham/hatton gardens.

This means we get a rock we had seen up close, in a setting we designed (with bonus diamonds), made especially. We then agreed a price (without VAT and with an agreed exchange rate) and were able to pick it up in the UK when it was made.

The price was already agreed and they kindly agreed to give us a certificate for insurance. The value of the ring is THOUSANDS more than we ended up paying. Also if we'd got the nearest equivalent on bond street it would EASILY have been 3x as much.

Going to antwerp was the best decision and made it a lovely occasion - we even took the dog! And the ring was even fun to pick up in London.

ps having done this I would never buy a diamond from a website as you can't view the flaws before you buy. There is a lot of variation in the flaws i.e. a VS2 in one stone may have one small flaw you can't really notice, but in another stone its the whole stone that ends of looking a bit frosty, and this is all down to the location of the inclusion in the cut. Thus make sure you look at the stone directly out of the setting if you can.

ajdj

Guardsman01 wrote: »

I must confess that having been devoted to my search for an engagement ring for a couple of weeks now and having visited Hatton Garden jewellers and the online trade too I have seen no evidence whatsoever of this "ability to haggle" of which you speak. The reaction to any suggestion that one might pay less than the price on the ticket, as it were, is that the price is what it is and you pay for what you get.

Maybe London is different, in Birmingham I've always haggled and got a result. There are so many jewellers competing in a small area and cash is king. Google 'haggle in the Jewellery Quarter' and you'll see its common place.