Engagement rings-Cheaper abroad??

Karlrove

Hi, Im just wondering if there is a difference in price in engagement ring abroad compared to here in Ireland. For example,would a diamond ring be cheaper to get in New York than somewhere in Dublin? And if so,would it be worth buying one in New York? Thanks for any advice!

Karlrove

Hi, Im just wondering if there is a difference in price in engagement ring abroad compared to here in Ireland.Im new to this! For example,would a diamond ring be cheaper to get in New York than somewhere in Dublin? And if so,would it be worth buying one in New York? Thanks for any advice!

Ickle Magoo

Moved from PI, think you'll get better advice here OP. :cool:

Tracy Jacks

Congratulations! We recently bought my engagement ring in Antwerp in January. My boyfriend surprised me with the engagement and the trip away (I'm a very lucky girl). It's the diamond capital of Europe and there's lots of jewellers but it's recommended that you buy jewellery from the Antwerp Jewellers Association. My boyfriend and I were able to pick out the diamonds and I never would have gotten the same cut, clarity or colour of diamonds in Dublin with our budget. I also have very small fingers so it was cool to have a ring specially made for me. PM if your need any info - would have no problem recommending the guy.

Side Show Bob

Karlrove wrote: »

Hi, Im just wondering if there is a difference in price in engagement ring abroad compared to here in Ireland.Im new to this! For example,would a diamond ring be cheaper to get in New York than somewhere in Dublin? And if so,would it be worth buying one in New York? Thanks for any advice!

Don't worry about the cost of putting it on her, think about the cost of taking it off her!

Karlrove

anyoine help??!!!

ana_conda

I have heard that diamonds are cheaper in America, so it would worth at least shopping around whilst on your visit. Lets face it everywhere is better value than Ireland!

While were on the subject I noticed while visiting the rock of Gibraltar that the rings in the window were very good value! Not sure if it's because of special tax savings. It was only a passing glance but something to note for anyone thinking of shopping in Spain.

gogul

Just bought a ring 2 weeks ago in Dubai for a much better price, and quality, than anywhere in Dublin, and myself and my fiancee got a week's holiday out of it too. After Dubai, the best place to go would be Antwerp. I would definitely advise against Dublin; they have a 70% (or close to) profit margin on all jewellery.

Karlrove

what about new york anyone? is antwerp really worth the trip,what type of savings?

SuzieD

Hi,

Congratulations on deciding to get engaged! Buying an engagement is such an important decision that it's crucial to buy from someone you trust. You want to ensure that you get the best cut, clarity, carat and colour as well as an authentic, ethical stone. It is said that 80% of New York diamonds are treated. I also know couples who came home from NYC only to discover that their diamond was cracked.

The top expert on diamond rings in Dublin is Eoin McDonnell of Precious Diamonds.
http://precious.ie/

He'll create a bespoke ring for you - which isn't as expensive as you think. He's very personable so you've nothing to lose by giving him a call for a no-obligation chat

Best of luck with the proposal.
Suzie.

gogul

My fiancee got a ring in New York a couple of years ago and was given a faulty certificate, so the only experience I know of was a bad one. I cant give you any details on the discounts that your could get in Antwerp, but it is known as the second best, after Dubai, place to buy diamonds (pratically all the diamonds in the world come through Antwerp), both for price and for quality.
There is a shop in Ireland, http://www.voltairediamonds.ie/ that will travel to Antwerp for you, with the 4 Cs that you are looking for and bring them back at a very good price (or so I'm told)!
I would definitely stress how important it is to research the 4 Cs and decide which you would like to go for before travelling anywhere; it could save you alot of time and money

cormac21051983

We went to antwerp to buy my fiancee's ring and it was so worth it.

we only went to jewellers that were part of the Antwerp Diamond Jewellers association (ADJA) and and they were unreal, it is an education in diamonds and it really is worthwhile.

we bought hers off Joe Katz Jewellers and its unreal. we got it valued when we got home and we were told to insure it for over 2 and half times the value of what we paid....
its a lovely city too and only about an hour on a plane.

who the fug

Would you not have to pay duty and VAT on rings bought outside the EU

Tracy Jacks

I got my ring in Antwerp in January. We bought my ring from Joe Katz too. He's really nice and there's no bs, tell him your budget and he will show you what you can get and spend lots of time showing you different diamonds - explain the 4 c's to you etc...

Karlrove

do they do emeralds etc too?

Karlrove

Hi,Have been trawling through boards to find the best place to go to get a ring. Antwerp seems to be the place everyone is recomending.I will be in New York on holidays with fiance, would it be worth it to get the ring here considering I'll be there with Fiance? Or should I come home and go to Antwerp? I'd love to hear any opinions as Im fairly new to all of this. Also,in Antwerp they specialise in diamonds,but what about other stones,emeralds etc?? Also is there a particualr district in New York to go to when buying the ring?? Sorry for all the questions!

Karlrove

anyone? would be greatful for ant thoughts. k

jollygood

check my previous posts re. New York. I can't fault it - pricewise and selection - go there.

magneticimpulse

Antwerp as a city to visit is a dive. Nothing to see there and not worth the hassle going there. If you happen to be going to New York why dont you want to get it there.

Also, I dont think women want mad expensive rings...you know your gf the best and what she would like...so it depends if you really do need to go abroad to make a saving. Apparently Voltaire diamonds is meant to be good.

magneticimpulse

Antwerp is the most boring dull city ever. Definitely do not recommend visiting the place. 2 hours was enough for me in that place and the people were so rude even thou my boyfriend was completely fluent in Flemish and French.

As others said, Voltaire diamonds in Ireland is meant to be excellent service.

Toots

Threads merged.

CollieRoddz

gogul wrote: »

Just bought a ring 2 weeks ago in Dubai for a much better price, and quality, than anywhere in Dublin, and myself and my fiancee got a week's holiday out of it too. After Dubai, the best place to go would be Antwerp. I would definitely advise against Dublin; they have a 70% (or close to) profit margin on all jewellery.

Hi, did you happen to get your ring valued back in Dublin by any chance? Could you recommend a place in Dubai?

sillysocks

I got my engagement and wedding rings in Dubai and would highly recommend it. For the price of the rings here we got the rings plus a weeks holiday over there!

I'd reccomend Cara jewellers in the Gold & Diamond park.

Both my rings were valued back home for insurance at almost 4times what we paid for them.
If they don't have what you want made up you can get a ring specially made in 2 or 3 days. Wherever you go make sure to get a valid cert for the diamond so you know it's authentic an that also makes valuing the ring easier back home.

CollieRoddz

Hi Sillysocks, thanks for that, now its just a pity that aerlingus dont fly to Dubai anymore! ugh

sillysocks

No bother, if it helps you can fly with Ethiad from Dublin ti Abu Dhabi direct and then they include the price of a coach transfer to Dubai in the airline ticket-think the coach transfer only takes around 45 mins.

We flew Air France via Paris but would def do the Abu Dhabi way next time.

Staplor

I went to Antwerp with herself for the ring, very happy at what we got, found Katz a bit too pushy, much preferred Philippe Harold. Heard amazing things about Dubai, I know of someone who got a ring for 10k in Dubai, got it valued here for 30k :eek: it's the size of a feckin grape. If you do Antwerp I'd say head up to Bruges. The ring we got was delivered to us within a couple of weeks.

William3

Hey guys, does anyone know if engagement rings in Krakow are cheap, yet good quality. Going there soon and thinking of popping the Big Question....ANY HELP WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!!

Dr Robert

Popping the question in a few months and gonna head to Antwerp to buy the ring for herself. It's all a suprise so need a bit of advice.

Firstly, my gf has real small fingers.

Do they cater for all sizes or would you have to get one made up? If so, how long does this take to get your ring?

If it's more than a few days do they send the ring to you or do you have to collect it?

Any help is very much appreciated

beagle001

Why nit check out diamonds-USA.com,cannot praise them highly enough.
They have great rings,save a mint and it's all great quality.
The Missus lost a diamond from a piece we bought of them and they took it back replaced the diamond and fixed it up better than new free of charge.
I cannot praise them enough customer service top class.

meglome

I've bought stuff at auction here and it's massively cheaper than the retail price.

When buying rings at auction some will be second-hand but many are just ex-stock, brand new. I've seen stuff go for less than 25% of the retail. It's cheap enough to buy rings and have them remade to a style that suits you better if you don't see something you like.

I know these guys and they are very nice people. John Weldon Auctioneers. http://www.jwa.ie

cormac21051983

Dr Robert wrote: »

Popping the question in a few months and gonna head to Antwerp to buy the ring for herself. It's all a suprise so need a bit of advice.

Firstly, my gf has real small fingers.

Do they cater for all sizes or would you have to get one made up? If so, how long does this take to get your ring?

If it's more than a few days do they send the ring to you or do you have to collect it?

Any help is very much appreciated

yeah they cater for anybody and they cutom make all the rings, you basically build the ring with them as you want it.

what we did is visited them, looked at loads of stones, and decided what we wanted, we went home then and it was delivered by post about a week later.

gogul

CollieRoddz wrote: »

Hi, did you happen to get your ring valued back in Dublin by any chance? Could you recommend a place in Dubai?

Just got the ring valued on Wednesday and the value came in as 3.5 times the value of what we paid in Dubai....well worth the trip me thinks!

We went to GIANNI MARTINELLI in the Gold and Diamond Mall and they were very helpful. I think they have numerous shops around Dubai

Tracy Jacks

Dr Robert wrote: »

Popping the question in a few months and gonna head to Antwerp to buy the ring for herself. It's all a suprise so need a bit of advice.

Firstly, my gf has real small fingers.

Do they cater for all sizes or would you have to get one made up? If so, how long does this take to get your ring?

If it's more than a few days do they send the ring to you or do you have to collect it?

Any help is very much appreciated

I have really small fingers too and only realised how small when I went to jewellers to try on rings in Dublin, nothing fitted my finger. As mentioned before I got my ring in Antwerp and they were able to make it to measure so it fits perfectly. We picked out the stones, picked out the band, designed the ring etc... on a Thursday afteroon and were able to pick it up on the Friday evening. Good luck with the proposal!

Dr Robert

Tracy Jacks wrote: »

I have really small fingers too and only realised how small when I went to jewellers to try on rings in Dublin, nothing fitted my finger. As mentioned before I got my ring in Antwerp and they were able to make it to measure so it fits perfectly. We picked out the stones, picked out the band, designed the ring etc... on a Thursday afteroon and were able to pick it up on the Friday evening. Good luck with the proposal!

That's fantastic and the same timelines would suit perfectly.

Can I ask what jewellers it was?