brooks

You people have come up trumps many times for me, here is the latest one I would like some help on.

I want to buy a Diamond Ring. Had a look around town on Saturday which clarified a few issues.

The major cost would appear to be the diamond, cut, carrat, colour and inclusions being the factors.

What do people typically spend? Where is a good place to buy - small independant or chain?

I also looked through the Argos catalogue and they have an Elizabeth Somethingorother range which looks pretty good, or is there something wrong with these rings?

I am an absolute beginner so any help would be really appreciated.

Thanks

DavidBrown

This was done about 2-3 weeks ago, do a search.

dsmith

Search is knackered still. - Try browsing the non-scooby related forum the week or so before christmas - there was quite a long thread about it.

Deano

dsmith

Ok I was bored so did it for you

http://www.scoobynet.co.uk/bbs/threa...threadid=60600

fast bloke

Brooks - Buy a cheap plastic ring instead. that way you won't set the expectation of a lifetime of expensive gifts, saving money for scoob mods etc

brooks

Thanks all. I would have tried the plastic ring if I didnt think it would in physical pain!

Thanks giys, I must have missed that thread, thanks for the link.

12LEE

Seconded. Don't buy Elizabeth Duke crap from Argos and avoid the High St at as many costs as possible. Take a trip to London and spend a morning perusing and haggling round Hatton Garden.

How much to spend. I recall a rule of thumb that:

a suit should be a weeks' wages
an engagement ring should be a months' wages
a car should be a years' wages

Shame I'm UB40 @ the mo!

Lee.

GaryC

Brooks - go to a good, top quality, independant jeweller and just talk to them. You will find they are very helpful, discuss the pros and cons of the four C's (Cut, Carat, Colour, Clarity) and show a number of examples within your budget(s)

I went to Berry's in Leeds who were superb and in the end persuaded me to spend LESS money than I had budgetted on

melpaul2002

I think it was my thread just before xmas, there were some good links that explained everything,

go for Vs1 and around colour H , that is about the best quality you will buy without prices getting really silly, depends on what you can afford i guess as to how tragic the prices are.

£ 850 got be about 1/3 of a caret with above quality, I coulnt find in all the shops i went to a more expensive one for the same size,

That was local shops and not major citys though.

and i was treated like a king in the shop makes spending the £ so much nicer.

subevo

just got engaged .done lots of research ,enough to bore you silly but if you want a cheap one go to argos, otherwise buy the best you can afford i.e. at least 2 months wages is now recognised as the norm or more if you wish.make sure the diamond is certificated by one of the 3 leading independant labs.the value is in the diamond it really dosent matter if its a platinum or gold ring.as someone previously said clarity should be vvs1,vvs2 or vs1 colour should be at least h or better. d being the best, z the worst.the value is in the cut.two almost identical diamonds weighing the same i.e. 1 carat the value of one could be twice the other due to the cut alone.the weight/cost is as follows. for example 0.5 carat £800 1.0 carat £2000 2.0 carat £8000.plenty of information is available on other web sites hope this helps.

Andy Tang

iTrader: (3)

A friend found a place in Hatton Garden.

They were friendly, explained the different grades of diamonds, different types of bands and offered a service to polish out scratches, etc, every year for free.

You pay more, but apparently the service and professionalism is worth the extra money.

C h a z

I believe Beaver Brooks to be a good place. They buy in all their own diamonds, and set them themselves. So you are not paying several different mark ups. They also certify each diamond, and there is free insurance. Well worth a look.

PS I do not work for the above, I sell Hi-Fi.

druddle

Get it from Australia !! I got my fiance's ring when we went to Sydney. Still insisted on a bloody expensive one but the gold is excellent quality and the diamond is fantastic.

Go for Emerald cut, it is a real break from the norm and very sophisticated. May dig out a pic if i can get one.

Oh and you get 10% of the cost back when you come home as British residents dont pay GST (like VAT). How cool is that. Might even help pay for the flight out there !

Sorry if it is not very helpful !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NM

You have mail!

andrew6321

two months wages? are they serious? Can anybody actually afford that?

Bottom line is that you and your partner should be happy with the ring. Where you get it and how much you pay is completely irrelevant.

ps - ever thought of titanium? Gold is so common these days...

MATTeL

Manufacturing a ring out of Ti would be extreme work.

You can also look at platinum (becoming very popular at the moment) or white gold which has been satinised (looks very similar to Ti when compared to my watch).

A price comparrison for a the same size and style of band is:
Silver £40
White gold
Platinum £900

A friend of the family is a goldsmith/jeweller, I can't find the white gold price because that was a present.

brooks

Would just like to say a HUGE thank you to all of you for the advice and offers/contacts offered. I have been blown away by how helpful you have all been. Thank you all so much. Simon

MarkCSC

Just got engaged myself and there is no arseing way I would spend two months wages on a ring. Bought a relatively cheap ring but it still looks good.

Anyway she loves it. Might buy her something later when we can afford it but right now there are more important things to spend money on.

brooks

Just a quick update. Thank to all you guys I ended up with a great ring for a good price; oh yes and she said yes. Thanks again people.

Dr Lurve

That's nice. Congratulations

Jolly Green Monster 2

Congratulation!

Mossman

Congrats! I will hopefully be in the same boat soon! (ish!)

Mossman

MichelleWRX1994

Congratulations

brooks

Thank you for your kind words.

Marc W

Brooks

I have a cousin that works in Hatton Garden and is able to make rings to order. I can put you in touch with him - email me a telephone number if you're interested. If you do go through a shop do haggle as the mark-up in the shops is unbelievable.

Marc

[Edited by Marc W - 1/7/2002 4:56:02 PM]