2 replies to this topic

[alexh83]

Hello!
First of all, hello and thank you for providing such a great place to find information on diamonds. I have been looking at rings for my girlfriend for the last 8 weeks or so, and I am delighted to find a place like this where I can hopefully get help from some experienced people, so thank you in advance.

Okay, well myself and my girlfriend have looked at a few engagement rings but the one we both seem to really like at the moment is the following from Ernest Jones in Platinum (+£500) —

[url]http://www.ernestjones.co.uk/webstore/d/8657882/tolkowsky+18ct+white+gold+hi+vs2+1%2f2+carat+diamond+ring/[/url]

Now when it comes to rings and diamonds I really have no idea. I have heard jewellers will give you a 15% discount on the spot and I got offered this ring for £3200 which is an £800 saving. My questions here are...

1. Is this ring really worth this amount of money, or is this priced like this just because Ernest Jones sell the ring.

2. Is this a good quality diamond, and do you know of anything similar i should be looking at maybe?

3. In terms of driving the price down how far would a jeweller go on there own exclusive stock, and also what advice would you offer me with regards to this ring. Do I barter for a specific price, do I look at an alternative.

All help and guidance welcome, and thank you ever so much in advance!

Alex

[davidelevi]

1. Given it's a pretty simple solitaire design with an unexceptional diamond, the price is a "typical" UK high street price. A very well cut, GIA-graded 0.50 H/VS2 from a competitive online source is about £1100-1200 (and this is likely to be considerably better looking, and probably whiter and clearer than the stone in the EJ ring), while a nice platinum solitaire setting is about £1000. Add on VAT at 20%, and you are somewhere around £2500-2600. Which is comfortably less than what EJ is asking - and these are not rock bottom prices: a J/SI1/VG (which is what that stone is likely to be) is £750, and a lower quality platinum setting can be less than £500, leading to an overall price below £1500 including VAT.

2. The problem with the diamond is that you are relying on the seller's word for colour, clarity and cut quality. I would not trust a UK high street jewellery chain store as far as I could throw them... but that's probably me remembering Gerald Ratners's words. If it were me, I'd look at getting a significantly better (at least better described) diamond, and choosing it with a lot more information than Tolkowsky or Ernest Jones are willing to provide.

3. It depends on what the item you are bargaining for is, who the jeweller is and quite a few specific circumstances. I (and a lot of others) got some terrific deals on end-of-line stock, but that's unlikely to happen with an "evergreen" like a platinum solitaire. A 15-20% off sticker is pretty normal in the UK high street, but things typically don't go much further.

[denverappraiser]

Alex,

I don't know Earnest from Adam Smith but I'm rather far away so I wouldn't worry about that. That said, you're relying on them for more than just color, clarity and cutting. 'Half carat' does not mean the same as 0.50cts., at least not over here. The difference between 0.48 and 0.51 may seem trifling but it's a big deal in this business.

Edited by denverappraiser, 28 December 2011 - 03:50 PM.