Best way to buy an engagement ring?
- Thread starter buzzlightyear
- Start date
if you want quality and affordable price, i can give you recommendation.
Ring Sam from Saffo Jewelers in Sydney... he is a top guy and well respected in GOLD Wholesale and Bullion exchange industry. His son designed and made my wife's diamond earrings and i can tell you it is way better than what one would buy in chain stores and way cheaper too.
if you need more info, feel free to PM me!
Ring Sam from Saffo Jewelers in Sydney... he is a top guy and well respected in GOLD Wholesale and Bullion exchange industry. His son designed and made my wife's diamond earrings and i can tell you it is way better than what one would buy in chain stores and way cheaper too.
if you need more info, feel free to PM me!
I'm going through the same process myself at the moment. I weighed up all options ie buying a diamond separately, buying a ready made one, hand made etc and ended up getting one designed and made (still in the 'being made' stage). I went to a few different designers and found them to be quite expensive.
I was recommended a place in Melbourne CBD and I have ended up going with them as they don't put the obscene mark-up on the diamonds. They all come GIA certified and the jeweller doesn't try to upsell you - he talked me out of going a bigger diamond.
To give you an idea I'm getting three rings made - an engagement ring and 2 rings to go either side. The centre stone is a 1.2ct cushion cut, D colour and VVS inclusions. Symmetry etc are all good. It's a split shank halo ring with .2ct diamonds of the same quality (not certified) and the 2 bands are set with the .2ct diamonds to match. The price... $10,350 which I think is very reasonable.
I haven't seen the finished product yet but the friend who recommended me had her engagement ring designed by them and it is really well made.
If you would like their details let me know. In about 3 weeks time I will be able to comment on how mine look.
I was recommended a place in Melbourne CBD and I have ended up going with them as they don't put the obscene mark-up on the diamonds. They all come GIA certified and the jeweller doesn't try to upsell you - he talked me out of going a bigger diamond.
To give you an idea I'm getting three rings made - an engagement ring and 2 rings to go either side. The centre stone is a 1.2ct cushion cut, D colour and VVS inclusions. Symmetry etc are all good. It's a split shank halo ring with .2ct diamonds of the same quality (not certified) and the 2 bands are set with the .2ct diamonds to match. The price... $10,350 which I think is very reasonable.
I haven't seen the finished product yet but the friend who recommended me had her engagement ring designed by them and it is really well made.
If you would like their details let me know. In about 3 weeks time I will be able to comment on how mine look.
Not 100% sure on that one sorry, from memory it was VVS1 but, but not willing to say so for sure. All I cared was any inclusions were not visible to the naked eye.
Ok well that's a pretty good deal for a local merchant.
Not necessarily. With my engagement ring, for example, the centre stone is an oval diamond. With oval diamonds, a common issue that many have is a sort of "bow tie" that appears in the centre of the stone. This is caused by the way the diamond is cut and subsequently, how it reflects light.
A lot of the stones we looked at, had this to some degree (obviously very well cut stones are rarer than ones of a lesser quality, especially in more niche shapes like oval). We went for the one that had the best light distribution as this makes a bigger difference than 1-2 colour grades would (even though they also fit in the budget) and it certainly impacts the value more as well. It got valued for three times what my husband paid and that's not an inflated valuation because I saw one in store that was the same price, although it was on a much simpler setting.
I thought so too. Especially compared to the others I went to.
I forgot to add that their after sales service is good too.
Only bummer is they don't have credit card facilities so that's $10k worth of Qantas Frequent Flyer points I miss out on.
+1. Weddings have turned into one of the biggest, most overblown displays of bad taste in existence.
Bought mine from a pawn shop and had it cleaned ... granted this was 12 years ago but diamond studded band, large stone engagement ring (okay, it's not high quality) and diamond/ruby eternity ring set cost me $470 all up.
Together they take up room from finger base to first knuckle - and I have long fingers.
Since I've bought other diamond/band sets from the pawn shops for 1/3rd the price retail.
I have also had odd diamonds and sapphires already owned reset into a wide band for around $600 about 10 years ago.
Perhaps it's just me but I don't "get" this expensive ring thing.
Together they take up room from finger base to first knuckle - and I have long fingers.
Since I've bought other diamond/band sets from the pawn shops for 1/3rd the price retail.
I have also had odd diamonds and sapphires already owned reset into a wide band for around $600 about 10 years ago.
Perhaps it's just me but I don't "get" this expensive ring thing.
Agree completely.
An expensive ring is "marketed" to us as a status symbol of "look how wealthy you/we/he is/are".
But unless you own outright the things that matter ( house , car, essential furniture) to me it is a symbol on how wealthy you HOPE to be. More like, "One day I hope to be able to afford this ring and own my home and car".
My wife and I got married at 22. We had just bought our first PPOR at $72.5k Engagement Ring Cost $120 and Wedding Ring cost $80. we paid for the wedding $7k all up.
Fast forward to 2013. She wears three rings, All Tiffany and Co, all worth $5k plus, all bought for significant events, 15 years anniversary, birth of child, etc and we paid cash each time.
And all bought after we paid off PPOR, CARS etc..and PPOR is worth a lot more than $72.5k.
She treasures every ring because of the meaning that "we bought this to celebrate our great achievement in life as team and partners", regardless of value.
I think that is what matters.
A ring should be a symbol to mean something not a statement of wealth.
Remember, the wealthiest, lonely, unloved and sad person in the world can buy any ring they want to say LOOK at ME!!!. BUT, regardless of what they pay and how much it is valued, it is just a trinket.
Not wishing to offend, just how i see it, Peter 14.7
Isn't a car in the same category as a ring? At least with a ring, you know (or least hope) that you will wear it for the rest of your life. I never understood how cars got elevated to the same status as a house when really they are more similar to an expensive TV or something.
Luxury Car yes.
I have lived most on life in regional AUS , so a car is essential to get about.
Since 1991 we have had businesses so every car has been a tax write off. Yes we did have a 2 toys, MX5 and Alfa but now have Subaru Forester and Hilux Ute. When we lived Sydney wife had company cars and I had none.
If we lived in Paris we could get by without a car but we live in Australia, cars are essential and the value in earning lost by un-billed time lost by using public transport cannot stack up.
Regards Peter 14.7
I don't mean not having a car at all but not having a reasonably expensive car (say one that costs a third of your yearly salary or more). That's considered pretty normal. My husband works part-time in a retail warehouse and has colleagues who own cars that cost more than their annual salary. This is considered "normal" but spending a fraction of that (say several thousand) on a ring is considered "extreme". They may be required, like a fridge is required, but they are not assets any more than any other household item.
No that is ridiculous. I agree. I know sales reps who had WRX with my wife and could not afford to fuel them!
We only really bought one silly Car the ALfa for $46k and lost $20k in two years. All others been good buys held long time. We even made money on the MX5 when we sold it.
Best advice I can give re cars, Buy Japanese Owned and Built Only, Avoid Aussie and Never European. Our Subaru is just gone 196,000km and never cost more than $300 to service every10k km.
Peter
Not quite sure if this is a typo
LOL nahh.
My wife was sales manager with her were younger sales reps who were paid car allowance and would buy Imprezza WRX (for ego ) and then bring motor bike in some days as they could not afford the fuel! In that case the car did coat as much as base salary. And insurance $$$$$.
My wife is too pricy now for them to get a look in.
Peter 14.7
I so wish I had the courage, an investor friend purchased the most magnificent diamond ring at least 60% less than my diamond ring which cost $30K, he researched till the cows came home and got the best diamond in the US. I thought he would get ripped off, not so, there are bargains to be had a bit like property I thought ... lots of research, homework and then just have the courage to jump in
Damn, I paid too much, or hubby did
Damn, I paid too much, or hubby did
