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Cheapest place to buy an engagement ring?
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03-09-2009 9:47am#1
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I definitely recommend Amsterdam. In particular Coster Diamonds. www.costerdiamonds.com I proposed there and we spend a couple of days looking for a ring in other factories & shops on the main street. We found Coster Diamonds brilliant. We are even going back soon to the the matching wedding bands.
If you need anymore info on Amsterdam in relation to romanitc resturants, hotels etc., by all means ask.
Best of luck to you. 0 -
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Isn't there a bit on here about staying on topic? They can spend whatever they want on an engagement ring, it's no- one else's business.
OP, I do think you're maybe shooting yourself in the foot a bit with the whole Antwerp thing. It's a beautiful place, not far from Brugge if you wanted to rent a car, and the prices and attention to detail are fantastic.
We got engaged last year and waited for the right time to buy the ring, made an appointment with www.diamondland.be and drove down (we're living in Holland). We got there at about 11am and were made to feel very welcome by staff. We told them exactly what we wanted and what we were willing to pay for it and they didn't deviate from our wishes. We chose a stone and a setting, went for lunch to mull it over, called them and three hours later everything was done. There was a toss up between the only stone with our criteria or a platinum band but in the end we chose the stone and went with white gold. We even got to see it being made! In addition, because we bought from them, they put us up in a nice hotel not too far from the centre. So we had a lovely meal out and himself got to keep me in suspense a little longer (he wantted to propose again before I could wear it
).
Don't not do it because other people have, it's a lovely way and setting to remember...0 -
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Apologies, read the post a couple of days ago and failed to re- read it before posting.
I will reiterate that the cost is totally up to you though, and I would advise talking to your OH and coming up with a number that is reasonable. Don't break yourselves or get a loan, and wait until you have enough money saved. Antwerp is good because you're not looking at a finished product and get to have a look at all the stones within your price range, rather than seeing a ring and "falling in love" with it which can push the price up a bit unless you're gifted at haggling. The reputable sellers ( correct me if I'm wrong- is it the Antwerp Diamond Association/ ADA?) will budge a little bit but not a huge amount. They will give you time and good advice though. Do your research before you go and you will have no worries, there are plenty of sites where you can choose different options and see what the going rate is. Just google diamond calculator. Of course it's not about money, it's about the memory and the symbolism.
And good luck and congratulations to both of you, it's lovely being engaged
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Dostoevsky wrote: »Thanks to everybody. You've been great. I agree with all of you about the money: it's absurd. Not my thing at all. However, the gf has repeatedly said she will pay for the ring, and she means it. She just likes pretty things, but would get upset if I spent too much on it.
At any rate, I have booked a meeting with an Antwerp jeweller called Philippe Howard, who was highly recommended over on the engagement thread here in Boards.ie. This seems to be the easiest thing!
Now planning the proposal is much, much harder, especially when female friends tell me that girls remember every detail of the proposal for the rest of their lives - scary!
So, if anybody has any recommendations for romantic dinners or things to do in Brugge/Bruges, please don't hesitate to let me know.
Hi OP, glad you didn't rule out Antwerp in the end!! Philippe Harolde is great, our friends went to him for both the engagement ring and wedding rings. We would have gone there aswell but we could only make it on a Saturday and most of the ADA places are closed on weekends- just something to remember!
Bruges is even more romantic than Paris in my opinion, so you won't have any problems there. There is a beautiful hotel there called Martin's Orangerie if you're looking for somewhere to stay, right on the canal and they do boat trips aswell. I personally love it in winter but everyone's taste is different. 0 -
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It does seem to be the fashionable thing to do these days.
Sensible more than fashionable I would imagine.
leaving the rip off republic to either buy food,clothes,alcohol,cars etc is not "new" people have been doing it for ever
I think it shows a bit of thought and effort was put into it.
I researched for months, I took time off work, I traveled and went to a hell of a lot of effort to hide all this.
When we do things a lazy way, some women moan. when we go out of our way to do things right, some women moan.
it's very hard to win.
but this is also not news. 0 -
And that's fine. The question about people's motives comes when you have someone like the OP worried about money etc, and the first advice people give is Amsterdam, Antwerp, New York etc etc. It does seem to be the fashionable thing to do these days.
Well we drove there, just over an hour by car. Going to New York I would find ridiculous, but Antwerp is not miles away, the diamonds are without a doubt cheaper ( sometimes up to 50% ) , and it is very easily accessed from Brussels Charleroi- so if saving yourself some money is fashionable I say do it.
It is out of the question to spend, for example, two months wages on an engagement ring because of "tradition". We spent less than one months in Antwerp, and we couldn't be happier with it. We worked out a figure we could afford and went with that.
I definitely advise you to wait until you don't have any money worries because if you do, it will be something than you can be proud of, having earned it. We left two months between getting engaged and buying the ring, and are leaving three years between getting engaged and getting married! There's no rush, you'll have the rest of your lives together.0 -
Sensible more than fashionable I would imagine.
leaving the rip off republic to either buy food,clothes,alcohol,cars etc is not "new" people have been doing it for ever
I think it shows a bit of thought and effort was put into it.
What's sensible about going to Antwerp for a ring costing thousands when you can buy one in Dublin for a few hundred euro?
The only difference is if you're going to be telling people 'this ring is of x quality and only cost me €y. In which case it goes back to keeping up with the Joneses. Personally I think it vulgar to talk about prices of rings.
I got a ring in Dublin, less than a thousand, lovely ring, right design and nice and sparkly. Does that mean I put in less effort for than someone who went to Antwerp spent a few thousand more, for a ring that is never going to be sold or traded in any way? Who is more sensible
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What's sensible about going to Antwerp for a ring costing thousands when you can buy one in Dublin for a few hundred euro?
The only difference is if you're going to be telling people 'this ring is of x quality and only cost me €y. In which case it goes back to keeping up with the Joneses. Personally I think it vulgar to talk about prices of rings.
I got a ring in Dublin, less than a thousand, lovely ring, right design and nice and sparkly. Does that mean I put in less effort for than someone who went to Antwerp spent a few thousand more, for a ring that is never going to be sold or traded in any way? Who is more sensible
I don't think I've mentioned money at all on this thread, you don't need to spend to thousands.
I can't remember the exact cost of the flights but I think all in it was under 60e an a couple of hours of time. hardly an arm and a leg.
you found the right design in Dublin at the right price. that's great. I couldn't. so it was sensible for me to go, not fashionable.
Your saying it's not a competition, but you're turning this conversation into one.0 -
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I think heading abroad or importing makes sense for a couple who have a strong idea of what they want and don't want to shell out unnecessarily for it in Ireland. Almost anywhere is competitive compared to this hermetically sealed rip-off zone :pac: You can argue that a ring is a symbolic thing that shouldn't be reduced to a bargained-for commodity -- and in essence I'd agree, though most couples pay attention to what their social circle are wearing and base their own ring expectations on that, leading to particular requirements. In the end it's possible to argue that any type of ring should do (i.e. copper with coal accents), since it's a symbol and all. Wonder how many couples would opt for that? 0
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Intothesea wrote: ». In the end it's possible to argue that any type of ring should do (i.e. copper with coal accents), since it's a symbol and all. Wonder how many couples would opt for that?
exactly I mean I can easily turn the same argument on priz and suggest you can get lovely 20e rings in Argos, it's stupidity to pay a grand on a ring.
it's all relative.0 -
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Intothesea wrote: »In the end it's possible to argue that any type of ring should do (i.e. copper with coal accents), since it's a symbol and all. Wonder how many couples would opt for that?
Any type of ring would do, and have done for hundreds of years. Diamond engagement rings only became commonplace in the last century.0 -
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How Strange wrote: »What I don't like is the pressure to spend money you can't afford or viewing an engagement ring as an investment so saying 'I spent x in Antwerp and got it valued in Dublin at Y so we've already made money on it'. It's crass and tasteless and symbolic of all that was wrong in our society for the last 10/15 years.
People who view an engagement ring as an investment are bound for a shock if they try to resell. In the second-hand market achievable asking prices are usually 50% of the original cost. Paired with the no trade-in stance of Irish jewellers, this makes it wholly unwise to see a ring as anything other than a symbol. The idea that you can 'make money' on a ring is nonsense. I'd argue that the tendency to be crass with ring cash-comparisons is not automatically co-incident with the desire to save money, even though the 'boom' didn't exactly breed modesty, did it 0 -
Intothesea wrote: »People who view an engagement ring as an investment are bound for a shock if they try to resell. In the second-hand market achievable asking prices are usually 50% of the original cost. Paired with the no trade-in stance of Irish jewellers, this makes it wholly unwise to see a ring as anything other than a symbol. The idea that you can 'make money' on a ring is nonsense. I'd argue that the tendency to be crass with ring cash-comparisons is not automatically co-incident with the desire to save money, even though the 'boom' didn't exactly breed modesty, did it
OMG how can anyone see and engagement ring as an investment!! that means they are planning on selling it on in the future. not much hope for that marriage!
Back to the orignal question of where to go ...everyone I know seems to be going north for everything at the minute0 -
I think the 'investment' view might have to do with making the cash amount more tolerable for digestion, plus how many people can verify that there's no money in it -- given the cultural trend for being faithful to one ring
As for the OP's question, I recommend the internet (quelle suprise). At the very least I'd scope out what you can approach on Blue Nile (be very sure of the spec you're after though) and compare and contrast to similar items in Holland. If the 21.5% tax saving is on the cards for the purchase, I'd say it's no contest -- Antwerp for the win! :pac:0 -
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