Engagement ring in Antwerp.

whoopwho

Hi
Could anyone tell me is it really worth ones whiles going to Antwerp to purchase an engagement ring on a budget of 3500euro for the ring??
All feedback on experiences in Antwerp very welcome.

homer1982

It is worth it big time believe me. We went and had a similar budget. I got the ring independently valued after it was made by a different jeweler to the one I got if from and it was valued at double what i paid for it and we got it valued here for insurance company and it was valued at four times what we paid. Another advantage is that you can like us get it made from scratch and get exactly what you want. We went with Philippe Harold as he's name kept coming up as the man to go to and he certainly was great for us, email him first and make sure to arrange an appointment with him and I'd definitely stay at least 2/3 days so you can call in to him each day to see some progress.
If you need and more help don't hesitate to get back to me as I've been in your position before.
Its a nice city also but beware of the beer its strong.

omeatheopian

It would be worth it if you were to walk into a jewellers on Grafton street and buy the ring, however, if you go to Diamant or Voltaire, you will not be saving when you consider what you are going to pay for flights accommodation food & drink etc. If on the other hand, you want a midweek break in Antwerp, then fire ahead.

whoopwho

homer1982 wrote: »

It is worth it big time believe me. We went and had a similar budget. I got the ring independently valued after it was made by a different jeweler to the one I got if from and it was valued at double what i paid for it and we got it valued here for insurance company and it was valued at four times what we paid. Another advantage is that you can like us get it made from scratch and get exactly what you want. We went with Philippe Harold as he's name kept coming up as the man to go to and he certainly was great for us, email him first and make sure to arrange an appointment with him and I'd definitely stay at least 2/3 days so you can call in to him each day to see some progress.
If you need and more help don't hesitate to get back to me as I've been in your position before.
Its a nice city also but beware of the beer its strong.

Thanks for your reply.
Did you bring your ring home with you then, as I'd really like to be coming home with my ring? Wer you waiting long for a reply from Phillipe Harolde as I've emailed him but havnt heard anything back?

whoopwho

omeatheopian wrote: »

It would be worth it if you were to walk into a jewellers on Grafton street and buy the ring, however, if you go to Diamant or Voltaire, you will not be saving when you consider what you are going to pay for flights accommodation food & drink etc. If on the other hand, you want a midweek break in Antwerp, then fire ahead.

Thank you for your reply. We had planned on getting away for a few days anyway and flights at the moment with aer lingus and ryanair reasonable. I have taught about putting the money we would spend travelling towards the ring here instead but apart of me thinks I will get more for my money there unfortunately.

omeatheopian

whoopwho wrote: »

Thank you for your reply. We had planned on getting away for a few days anyway and flights at the moment with aer lingus and ryanair reasonable. I have taught about putting the money we would spend travelling towards the ring here instead but apart of me thinks I will get more for my money there unfortunately.

No worries at all, just my tuppence worth! Best of luck with it whatever you decide to do mate

homer1982

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. We flew out with Ryanair for pittance, got a bus from Brussels Charleroi airport to Antwerp(short journey), we stayed in The Park Inn Radisson which is on the square beside the zoo and train station it is a standard enough hotel but for 3 night we paid 240 for it and I could have no complaints. Phillipe Harolde sometimes he can be slow to reply back to you but this is generally due to the fact that as one of the most popular jewelers he gets invited to conferences all over the world.

We had the ring made for us from scratch so it took a few weeks but it arrived securely as he does point out he has had no security problems with this. You may see a ring in he's place that you like and all will be fine regarding this.
After you have met him and gone through most of the detail of picking out the band and diamond(s) it will be at least 2 hours, time will fly by in there believe me. My advice is to go for a quick drink just up the road in Beer Central(you'll need it) there is a woman form Cork that co-owns it and she will give you some helpful info about the area.

Best of luck

hickory

Went to Hearts & Arrows and brought my ring home with me. Was recommended them by a few friends and thought they were really good.
A friend of mine went later and was communicating quite a bit with Harold Philippe but she found he was pressurising her into a decision, trying to get her to put a non refundable deposit on a diamond before she left. She nearly purchased from him but left the shop and went to Hearts and Arrows and was really happy with their service.
Both of our rings were worth the trip when they were valued at home. You go with them to get the diamond set in the ring.

gmf1024

We also went to Hearts and Arrows - though not to buy an engagement ring. We just happened by it as we actually hadn't intended buying a ring but we were in Antwerp...:o.
My wife saw a ring that she really liked but it was too big. They resized it for her and she had it an hour later [including a little haggling and they were very nice about that as well].
Unfortunately when we got home I noticed that a diamond had become loose. When I rang them on the Monday, they told me to post it straight back. On the Friday the fixed ring arrived with profound apologies and the money for posting it over in the first place.

bhoy2012

Hi all

I have just booked flights to Antwerp for january. I will only have 1 day there so obviously i need to preplan.....a few questions:

1. Any other suggestions as to which stores to go to?

2. How much haggling can i expect to get away with? (I have heard of people getting up to a third of the listed price)

Thanks in advance

fresh30

We are just back from Antwerp after buying our engagement ring there. The day we arrived to visited four out the five recommended jewellers from the ADJA. First we went to Geretti, who were nice and informative. The next jeweller we went to was Joaillerie du Centre, who I found really nice and helpful. He gave me the most options of ring setting to choose from seeing as i didnt want the standard solitaire.
Next we went to diamondland who I found to be rubbish when I explained what I was looking for, the girl just kept pushing solitaires on me telling me she could put diamonds around it - not what I wanted at all. Philip Harold didnt have a huge selection either and only showed me solitaire's when i explained what i wanted he said he could would get a ring in the morning for me and to come back. But by that stage I had decided on a ring I'd seen in Joaillerie du centre. It was now 5pm, we went back and haggled got 20% discount for paying cash and another couple of hundred off. The ring is stunning never thought we could afford the ring I wanted to it is exactly what i've always wanted. Have yet it get it valued but would definitely recommend going to this jewellers. My fiancee had emailed him before we left and siad that before we got there he had quoted him the best prices I think the difference between this jewellers and the others is that he gives you his lowest price where as the other up the prices abit in order to allow for haggling. Just my opinion.

scaffrey82

I went to Antwerp on Jan 3rd. We took a flight to Charleroi airport with Ryanair, took a bus to the train station and then a train to Antwerp which took about an hour and a half. We stayed in Sir Plantin (wouldn't recommend it though as it was a 15 minute walk from the centre and we had to pass through, in my opinion, dodgy neighbourhood). We were advised not to buy from the jewellers in the train station due to fake diamonds etc... I can't say if that is true but because there was doubt planted we veered away from them. We only visited the jewellers that were noted on the AJDA. I was not impressed with Diamondland at all! I felt they had no time for us. We went to Orsini's too as we read some great reviews about them, but we had doubt in our mind about them too after Philippe Harold had made a comment about 'stay away from the guys on the corner'... We looked at 2 diamond rings there and one had a very rough girdle so it put us off completely. We sat with William in Philippe Harold who showed us 2 diamonds but that were outside our budget! They didn't show us anything for our budget saying I would need to double it to get the spec we wanted! He gave us a cash price for the diamond, but said he couldn't give a band at cash price. Cash price was less 21% on the diamond. We went back the next day and sat with Harold himself, who we didn't find overly polite, and there was no congratulations from anyone I might add on our engagement, no champayne receptions either!! We ended up buying from Philippe because we liked the rings, and because we were confident at all the good reviews we had read previously about it. So if we paid a little more it was worth it for peace of mind that we were getting the real mccoy. The ring had to be sized so we had to leave with out it, but it arrived safely today from Antwerp, with IGI documentation also. And I have to say, I love it! So for honesty and a fab ring, I would recommend Philippe Harold. Im dying to get my ring valued to see if we really did make a saving!

KK4life

hey folks,

i'm planning on popping the question in the summer (there is a reason why i'm waiting till then) but anyway i want us to go to antwerp for the ring but would plan going soon after asking her to marry me.

My question is, how long in advance would we need to make contact with Philippe Harold and other jewellers prior to visiting Antwerp?

Thanks in advance
paddy

frogstar

KK4life wrote: »

hey folks,

i'm planning on popping the question in the summer (there is a reason why i'm waiting till then) but anyway i want us to go to antwerp for the ring but would plan going soon after asking her to marry me.

My question is, how long in advance would we need to make contact with Philippe Harold and other jewellers prior to visiting Antwerp?

Thanks in advance
paddy

Hi

I presume you don't know what type of ring your partner would be looking for? Asking because a standard solitaire can be made on the day as they are a popular choice so settings would be in stock

Other types such as halos etc... Would need to be made and take longer (unless already made in shop - most likely Geratti / Diamndland have a selection of ready made styles)

You don't really need to give much notice unless you know exactly what you want and who you want to make it. You could email them a few days before saying you are going over (appointments not actually necessary) or you could mail them a month before to discuss styles.

Mine is from Geratti. I would not recommend Phillipe Harold. Everyone I know who used him have lovely rings but all said he was not a nice man to deal with. I didn't like him either and he out me off, no matter how reliable he is!

Diamondsnd I wouldn't recommend either. It's just a shop, nothing personal

Joe Katz s a nice man, on the pricey side.

Best of luck

KK4life

hey Frogstar,

Thanks a million for your reply. No I couldn't be confident enough to be sure what ring she would want. My knowledge of jewellery is limited to say the least.

I've being looking at boards and similar sites for a little while and at first i thought Philippe Harold seemed to be getting all great reviews but that seems to have changed lately with plenty of less favourable reviews. i only came across gerattin relatively recently and have seen nothing but good reviews so they do look promising.

I don't like the sound / idea of diamondland. I don't mind paying a little extra (within reason) if she really likes a ring from J katz.

Exciting times. thanks for your help

link_2007

Apologies for bumping an old thread. Does anyone know which of the ADJA member jewellers has the biggest selection of rings to look at? We're only going to Antwerp for a day and want to bring the ring with us.

frogstar

link_2007 wrote: »

Apologies for bumping an old thread. Does anyone know which of the ADJA member jewellers has the biggest selection of rings to look at? We're only going to Antwerp for a day and want to bring the ring with us.

Diamondland and geratti will have the biggest and are more like a shop, you can just walk in

Phillippe harold and joe katz will have the least as they generally make to order

I didnt go to the fifth one and cant remember the name but i think they have a decent selection. They are all v close to each other

If you have a style in mind, email them before you go and they wilk tell you if they have similar in stock, solataires are stocked everywhere, other unusual styles might be a bit more tricky to get but not impossible

link_2007

Thanks frogstar, that's very helpful.

Now I need to find out what kind of ring she wants, without giving away the fact that I'm going to ask her to marry me.

frogstar

link_2007 wrote: »

Thanks frogstar, that's very helpful.

Now I need to find out what kind of ring she wants, without giving away the fact that I'm going to ask her to marry me.

That will be the tricky part all right. If shes into jewelry she will probably have an idea. Too me 2 months to know what I wanted.

Are you planning to propose over there? Its a lovely place so a few days would be nice. Do some resesrch before you go om 4 c's, prices etc.i find the site "truth about diamonds is good for knowledge Cash is king so bring cash and you will get a discount

Best if luck with the proposal!.

engaged1315

Hi Homer 1982! I seen you mentioned a while ago that you went to Antwerp for your ring with a budget similar to mine of in and around 3500. I was just wondering as to what standard of ring you got. What I mean by that is what was the carat size, colour and clarity rating! I am still between two minds of heading to Antwerp myself and would love to see what value I would get compared to here! Thanks in advance!

Noisin

engaged1315
Im thinking of going to Antwerp too, my buget will be similar to yours 3,500 or 3,000. Will you let me know what standard of ring you get for this amount, carat sixe, colour and and clarity rating. Ive been on the net all day and I haven't found one bad review for Geretti Jewellers the sales person is Marc look at Tripadvior, it doesn't seem to be ADJA approved where as Phillippe Harold is ADJA approved but he gets a lot of bad press. I couldn't care less if he is rude as that wouldn't bother me im fairly blunt myself. Id really appreciate if you let me know how you get on or from anyone who had a similar budget going to Antwerp regards what you got with that amount of money.

homer1982

sorry for the delay in getting back to you, but for 3500 you can get a very good clarity and colour diamond, we got a 1.14 caret marquise style diamond. Phillippe Harold was great for us so I cant fault him, its alot of money for most people so he will be very direct and matter of fact as there is no point in him being nice and charming you out of more money that you can afford and he made this very clear to us when we met him so I found him very good that way. one piece of advice when meeting any of the jewellers is to give them your budget minus 500 as they will always show you diamond right on the border of your limit so to give yourself more choice tell them that your budget is 3000. He also gave us advice on the ring and that white gold is alot less expensive that platinum with less maintenance and it will stay shiny longer its only a gimmick that jewellers use to squeeze more cash out of you.

There is a reason that there are only a few jewellers ADJA approved by the way, alot of dodgy looking places over there, and its the places on the list that look the part that are the most dangerous, you have been warned.

We had the ring valued back in Ireland by a few independent valuers with one of them supplied by insurance company and after paying just 3300 it was valued each time at 11000.

homer1982

I just left a post on my experience of buying in Antwerp, I have recommended a few friends and they have all had nothing but good experiences in buying their engagement rings over there but its entirely up to you. There is better value over there and also its a nice place to visit, but be careful of the beer its tasty but strong.

Noisin

Homer1982 Thanks very much for the reply and the helpful tip, well definitely go minus 500 of my budget initially. Thanks for the advice.
I don't plan going for more than 2 days 1 night over there, might go for two nights but we're trying to keep the buget low so I am hoping to do as much decision making as I can before I head over. The more I see the more Ill get confused.
We will go to Pillippe Harold and the other 3 ADJA memebers as there is only 4 of them on the ADJA website listed and that's it. But ive read so much good reviews on Geratti that im going to go visit them too. Did anyone buy in Geratti with a similar budget of 3,000 to 3,500 what carat and colour did they get for that kind of money. Im a bit worried about them not being ADJA approved. Did anyone buy from these even though they are not ADJA approved. They have got such good reviews and seem very reasonable from reading reviews on tripadvisor so I would buy from them just I would be worried paying that kind of money if their not approved if im not getting the quality I think I amm getting. Any advice or tips would be appreciated.

frogstar

Hi

I bought from geratti in march last year and had that budget. They were great to deal with

Im confused as they were one of the five adja members when I bought (there were five members)

Its only after reading this thread I see they are no longer a member. I don't know why but I need to get my wedding ring so will ask marc. Tip: get your wedding ring too as it will save you money and time!

Noisin

Frogstar, thanks for the reply and for confirming that they were a member as from my search on tripadvisor and on different blogs and Boards I got the impression that they were from other peoples comments. But I double checked the ADJA website just there again to confirm and No they are not listed so that's why I had my doubt about buying from them. But the reviews they get are excellent. I emailed Marc and I asked him were they a member as some reviews said they were no reply yet. Id be afraid to buy unless it was from a reputable jewellers as ya know yourself, just hassle!! Yip the plan is we're going to buy the engagement ring and the 2 wedding bands all together and then we're eloping!!!. If you don't mind answering my question about what you got for 3,000-3,500 regarding the carat, colour and the cert. Id appreciate it.

frogstar

I got an oval .91 carat D vs1 with a halo of diamonds and a shoulder of diamonds. I was able to negotiate as mine was ready made so had more bargaining power

Noisin

Frogstar Thanks for that, good to know I can get a D colour with that Budget as I want a D colour I don't mind how small it is. Ill definitely be visiting Geratti just il have to do more research as to why they are no longer a member of ADJA!!!

Beruthiel

Noisin wrote: »

Im thinking of going to Antwerp too, my buget will be similar to yours 3,500 or 3,000.

Noisin, consider getting one custom made to her exact specifications.
Very easily done on the budget you have given.
Here are my comments on my trip to Antwerp.

Noisin

Beruthiel thanks for the advice I would consider getting one made but you hear some scare stories that the diamond people thought they were getting wasn't what arrived by courier, or when they got it valued as the colour cut etc wasn't as they had been informed it turned out to be lower quality. This wasn't necessarily Phillippe Harold but I did read a good few negative reviews about him too. But im going to contact all the ADJA so I will be emailing Phillippe Harold. Thanks.

frogstar

Hi noisin.

Easier said that done but try to trust your jeweler. I was a bit like you, all panicky thinking everyone is out to rip you off etc...

Just on the D color etc... its hard to tell the difference between colours so imo D E and even F arw v good.

I found the website called the truth about diamond s v good to understand how prices arw made up etc

Noisin

Frogstar thanks for the tip on the website, yip its very good. Anyone looking for information on diamonds
www.truthaboutdiamonds.com is excellent.

Uriel.

I am just wondering for anyone who has gone down the Antwerp Route, how did you manage the consultation.

I am a bit lucky (I think) that my GF knows an engagement is probably on the cards in the next 12 months (we have discussed things generally). She wants the engagement to be a surprise in so far as it can be and doesn't want to do the token ring thing. But she has been good enough on my pleading, to give me an idea of the type of ring she would like. So I have a few sample photos she has sent me.

I am just wondering did Antwerp goers contact the jewelers before hand with general specs and/or photos of what you wanted?
Would there be any point in trying to get some indication of price range before hand (as in the cost of doing a certain style etc...). I would have no clue how much it would cost for the type of ring my GF has in mind. Would you give the jeweler an indication of your budget? Over state or under state etc..?
Thanks.

Basq

Uriel. wrote: »

I am just wondering for anyone who has gone down the Antwerp Route, how did you manage the consultation.

Went earlier this week... had 2 appointments scheduled (one for Jouillerie Du Centre and the other for Gerreti).

Jo Katz and Philippe Harold were both closed til end of the month, and Diamondland has been closed for 6 weeks.

We found an amazing setting in the window of Jouillerie Du Centre where we had our first appointment - and the guy in there (Ludo IIRC) was absolutely amazing. Gave us some top-notch advice on white gold vs platinum, round vs princess etc. Put us completely as ease and was professional, welcoming, honest and just a very genuine bloke.

We're going back to him for our wedding bands more than likely as he never pushed anything on us.. welcomed us to go to our next appointment in Gerreti's (see below) before deciding anything.

Uriel. wrote: »

I am just wondering did Antwerp goers contact the jewelers before hand with general specs and/or photos of what you wanted?

Gerreti asked me for style, rough budget (etc) before going over but as mentioned, absolutely nothing there wowed us... or more likely, we had both made up our mind already. But found them a LOT less friendly than Joullarie Du Centre.

Uriel. wrote: »

Would there be any point in trying to get some indication of price range before hand (as in the cost of doing a certain style etc...). I would have no clue how much it would cost for the type of ring my GF has in mind. Would you give the jeweler an indication of your budget? Over state or under state etc..?
Thanks.

I don't think any would tell you if you were under or over budget as budget could be very much dependent on diamond quality.

Read up on 4 C's (website mentioned above - www.truthaboutdiamonds.com is great) but basically a 1.0CT D Colour VVS1 (Very Very Small Inclusions 1) diamond would cost considerably more than a 1.0CT F Colour SI2 (Small Inclusions 1) diamond.... probably twice the price for the former, if not more.

We spend the guts of an hour looking at diamonds, and the difference when you're willing to sacrifice small inclusions that would only be seen under a microscope (SI's SHOULD be eye-clear.. no inclusions seen without using a microscope) is HUGE!

Stick to the ADJA members if possible... it's worth bearing in mind that ADJA are having some issues (unaware of the specifics) with Gerreti.

liam7831

We got a ring in March in Joaillerie du Centre in Antwerp, very nice guy to deal with, there is always room to haggle though. Anyone looking for any details pm me.

Noisin

I got pm from Basq but I cant send any pm's because I don't have enough posts on boards, think I have to send 20 before I can. Not sure I did try to pm Basq but couldn't. Geratti's got back to me re ADJA approved and basically said 'We are members of ADJA ,but this organisation is not any more recognized by the city of Antwerp ,as we are now ,supervised by the City of Antwerp ,creating a new and real Quality-label for Jewellers ' .

sparky_2011

Just wondering if anyone who has been in Antwerp recently saw if Philippe Harold was still around? His website seems to be gone.... Got the engagement ring with him last year and want to enquire about wedding bands now so hoping he's still in business!

link_2007

sparky_2011 wrote: »

Just wondering if anyone who has been in Antwerp recently saw if Philippe Harold was still around? His website seems to be gone.... Got the engagement ring with him last year and want to enquire about wedding bands now so hoping he's still in business!

His email (per the ADJA website) is jeweller@skynet.be Maybe drop a mail and ask.

royster999

Thinking of going to Antwerp to purchase engagement ring.

Hoping from someones experience in Antwerp they would have idea of price of below ring:

3 stoned ring
Carat 1 (Centre stone 0.6 carat, side stones 0.2)
Colour grade F
Clarity VS2 or greater
Cut round very good-excellent
18 ct yellow gold ring

Have seen rings as above this weekend in Dublin for around 3,500 so just weighing up whether its worth the trip..

Thanks in advance!

tarmon

Hi Sparky,
Did you manage to get in touch with Philippe Harold? I am going to Antwerp soon and am looking to get a ring cleaned with him. I've emailed but no response back.

Thanks

Voltaire Diamonds: Seamus

Many thanks for mentioning Voltaire Diamonds on this thread.

I would be delighted to show you our range of engagement rings at our offices on Harcourt Street in Dublin. Due to our low overheads, our prices are significantly more competitive than retail.

Please visit our Youtube channel to view some of the rings we have made recently:

www.youtube.com/voltairediamonds

In addition, we offer a complete hassle free after sales service.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Séamus

www.voltairediamonds.ie

genericguy

Voltaire Diamonds: Seamus wrote: »

Many thanks for mentioning Voltaire Diamonds on this thread.

I would be delighted to show you our range of engagement rings at our offices on Harcourt Street in Dublin. Due to our low overheads, our prices are significantly more competitive than retail.

Please visit our Youtube channel to view some of the rings we have made recently:

www.youtube.com/voltairediamonds

In addition, we offer a complete hassle free after sales service.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Séamus

www.voltairediamonds.ie

Have to give a recommendation to voltaire. The standard of service is absolutely outstanding. a total no-BS approach, not afraid to show you less expensive items, comprehensive after sales service. Highly recommended.

Slattsy

Can i ask, you mention a comprehensive after sales service, what did you need them for?
Stone fall out, or one go off colour?

(not trying to be smart, genuinely interested, maybe Seamus could expand on this)

Voltaire Diamonds: Seamus

Hi Slattsy,

Hope you are well.

There are a number of reasons why a client may need after sales service. Here are some:

Ring needs resizing
Diamond and ring needs to be cleaned
Ring needs rhodium plating in the case of white gold
Ring needs new insurance valuation
Centre stone becomes loose due to knock or movement of one of claws
Small diamond is lost from ring in case of ring with several small diamonds

Hope that helps.

Kind regards
Seamus

Slattsy

Spot on.
Appreciate the prompt reply Seamus.

Good to hear (wink wink)

:-)

Lainey_b01

Heading to antwerp tomorrow :-) Have appointments with 3 jewellers including philippe. He has been very quick to respond to our emails... So far. Will post next week with review of experience!

Lainey_b01

Finally getting round to posting this!

Our experience buying engagement ring in Antwerp. 

We got engaged 8 weeks ago and a trip to Belgium was panned at same time (Valentines Weekend) . I don't have much jewellery that is anyway expensive, what I do have are mainly cosmetic pieces fresh from high street or penny's so the thought of wearing and minding an expensive ring was an issue for me. No way would I be comfortable wearing an expensive whopper. For this reason we improssed a strict budget. 

NUMBER 1 tip re Antwerp.... Jeweller's don't open on a Saturday. If ring setting in stock and want same day delivery you will need to have deposit down by lunchtime. We knew what we wanted so only had time for two jewelers visits before sticking down deposit. If you not 100% on what you want take two week days at least. 

NUMBER 2 tip re Antwerp . It's intense buying ring, have look at home before you leave to get idea of what looking for. Best to go over with an idea.      

NUMBER 3 tip... Make sure you very comfortable with the 4 C's. We put emphasis on carat, colour and cut as they are the bits you see without a microscope! 

NUMBER 4 tip email jewellery in advance letting know as much details as possible including ring size if known. Make appointments also. 

GETTING THERE 
We flew to Brussels on the Friday 6.50 am flight, got train from airport to Antwerp, €11.20 each way & train departs every half hour. Earliest time you can be in Antwerp is 10.25am local. Antwerp station is beautiful so leave some time to explore! It's the number one thing to do on TripAdvisor! 

DIAMOND SHOPPING 
Diamond District is right beside the station and in fact many jewellers have shops in the station. We only looked at the ADJA jewelers all of which are within 5 min walk of station. There used to be 5 approved jewellers  but now only 4 listed on website, not sure of the background as to why one was removed. Another of approved jewellers, Diamondland, didn't respond to any of my mails and seen on a forum that they were closed 3 months earlier. 

We ended up visiting two jewelers, Phillipe Harold and Joe Katz as we travelled on a Friday we had to have our decision made by 12.30 if wanted ring same day. Luckily I knew what I wanted so was very straightforward. 

 Philippe Harold shop very easy to find. By time we arrived another irish couple from same flight were in front of us discussing rings with Philippe so we dealt with his colleague William. They had details in email to hand so knew exactly what I was looking for. William then asked for confirmation of budget and how we would like be paying (cash). I chose the setting (hailo) and the balance gave us choice of centre diamond. Once we had all details of the ring setting and diamond we went to our next appointment with Joe Katz 

Joe Katz operates out of an office rather than shop so bit different from what we were expecting. It's a 4 minute walk from philippes. He is on second floor and tight security at entrance, make sure have  identification with you as you won't get in otherwise. Joe is well used to irish visitors, had the Irish sayings and all down to a tee. Joe had some lovely hailos but unfortunately out of my narrowed down choice of settings they were eeither too small or one too large formy nnarrow finger! I have to say though that the quality of centre diamonds on offer in same budget were much less in quality compared to Phillipe Harold. This remphasied the high quality on offer in philippe. I don't know how much the settings were that Joe katz had on offer but they were very similar so I would have been surprised if there was a big price difference. We thanked Joe for his time cancelled out third appointment and returned to philippe Harold to put down deposit. 

We met Philippe on our return and he went through everything with us. I have to say I read a variation of reports on how people didn't like his approach but we had no problems, perhaps because we knew what we wanted. As the setting needed to be altered to my size we left and returned 4.5 hours later 

What to do while waiting for your ring.. 
Antwerp is a lovely city with loads to do. The old town is about a 14 minutes walk away so we went for a bite to eat, loads of high street shops on the way down but we had done enough shopping for the day! There is also a zoo beside the station, I was surprised seeing how near it was to city centre. Belgium is famous for its beer and rightly so. Go chill out in Bier Central on the main street on right facing the station. it's beside Kelly irish pub. They have a huge beer menu with interesting beer facts! It rained the day we were there and really disappointed we couldn't check out the zoo so this pub was a great find. Once store called  we were only a short strole away from my ring :-). Our papers and cert followed us in the post. He also included an copy of valuation should we need it for insurance etc. 

Insurance... Ever since I've been small my mam had warned us to insure our engagement rings as she lost hers in second year of marriage. Once we got home from our fab weekend I started to look into this. We rent an apartment so purchased contents insurance and listed ring as specific item. Ring has excess of €50 and covered for it worldwide. Plus didn't need to get valuation as Zurich only needs it if ring is in excess of €6k so that another few euro saved! Insurance was €111. 

Is it worth going to Antwerp... Yes! The more you have the more you save in my opinion. We were planning a weekend break anyway so suppose killed two birds with one stone. And Belgium is a lovely location to visit weither it be antwerp, Brussels or Bruge. We were looking at a very similar ring in a jeweller in Grafton St, but for slightly less we got a colorless diamond (E) instead of near colorless (G). Rest of specs were comparable. 

Hope this has helped, let me know if you have any questions. 

antfred7

I have some questions that can maybe be answered by people who have already been through the process.

• Is there any advantage to travelling to Antwerp for the ring if the budget range is 3 - 4K euro max?
• In terms of logistics - if we fly to Brussels airport whats the best way to get to Antwerp from there?

Thanks,

Lainey_b01

antfred7 wrote: »

I have some questions that can maybe be answered by people who have already been through the process.

• Is there any advantage to travelling to Antwerp for the ring if the budget range is 3 - 4K euro max?
• In terms of logistics - if we fly to Brussels airport whats the best way to get to Antwerp from there?

Thanks,

Hi, yeah definitely worth the trip. We had similar budget and got much better rock than on offer over here for very similar ring and same price.

Train to antwerp every 30min from Brussels airport. €11.20 each way. Diamond district outside antwerp train station. See my above post on 28th for our review of experience. We stuck to ADJA jewellers only, jewellers don't open on a Saturday!

Blingy

Be sure to make an appointment with the jeweller before going.

antfred7

Lainey_b01 wrote: »

Hi, yeah definitely worth the trip. We had similar budget and got much better rock than on offer over here for very similar ring and same price.

Train to antwerp every 30min from Brussels airport. €11.20 each way. Diamond district outside antwerp train station. See my above post on 28th for our review of experience. We stuck to ADJA jewellers only, jewellers don't open on a Saturday!

I have one more question, I have searched and found many references but wanted to get the info from someone who has been.

How do you make sure your not being ripped off?
Any resources that you checked in advance that you would recommend?

Thanks again and sorry for all the questions!