Buying Engagement Ring

LegacyUser

Anyone know if it is much cheaper to buy an engagement ring outside Ireland E.G. Holland or London ? Other threads on this didnt really answer the question . Seems to me there is always somewhere cheaper than Ireland . Would prefer not to buy over the Internet .

Thanks

pickarooney

Belgium (Antwerp) might be a good bet, but as I've never bought one I can't say for sure .

Nuttzz

New york, especially with the dollar the way it is at the moment, but it all boils down to how much you want to spend. i.e. if 2k is your busget then no point going to NY.

Gilgamesh

the only thing that is going to make jewelry cheaper is the exchange rates, US would be a bet.
Belgium is renowned for the most famous Jewellers in the world.
don't know if that means they're cheap though tbh

Sherlock

Cyprus has great value in jewellery and much better choice than here. Bought a ring there last year about a third of what you'd pay here. It was in Limassol btw. A week at this time of year is quite cheap and it'd be quite warm too.

holly_johnson

I would just be afraid that you wouldn't get what you think you're getting if you buy abroad.... maybe I'm being stupid, but somewhere like Turkey/Cyprus, I'd be afraid of getting ripped off and getting something worth less than I paid.
Unless you saw the cert that certifies the number of points in the diamonds etc...
Personally I never saw better (and bigger) jewellry than in Barbados. LOADS of jewellry shops with reputable branches (Harrison's etc) selling the stuff for peanuts. Also Florida is very good.

Biggest problem is that if you need the ring to be a different size than they have in the shop, you won't get it in two weeks. I wanted to buy my eternity ring in Florida last October, but because my ring size was different to the one in the shop, no can do. It would take an average of 3 or 4 weeks to get it back. Ended up buying it in Weir's (who have a great selection btw) and even from there it is taking 4 weeks.

hth!

DublinWriter

Arrgghh...brings back happy memories of trawling up and down Grafton St two years ago in a panic!

At the time I checked out the prices in Belfast and they weren't significantly cheaper. To be honest, you're best off sticking to the larger UK chain shops here in Ireland.

I had a feeling the smaller, independant jewellers were making up the price as they went along. I saw the perfect ring in Weirs on Grafton St, but when I asked the price it was €20K, feckin eek! It was a Tiffiny 1ct Solitare.

I eventually got something very very similar in Earnest Jones for about €2K - a .80ct, same mounting, looked fantastic. I was looking at similar rings in the smaller jewellers for about €5K.

You really need to bone-up on what makes a 'good' diamond. On nearly all single diamond rings (solitare) the cut will always be the same - the Antwerp cut. Diamonds are graded on their clarity (really poor ones look a little milky inside) and their colour and weight (carat).

If you're really inclined, you could check out DiamondWorld in Antwerp. Antwerp is the main cutting centre for diamonds and it is where all diamonds are usually certified. You could spend the weekend in Brussels (dirt cheap right now) and take a day trip to Antwerp.

WhiteWashMan

OfftheShelf wrote:

Anyone know if it is much cheaper to buy an engagement ring outside Ireland E.G. Holland or London ? Other threads on this didnt really answer the question . Seems to me there is always somewhere cheaper than Ireland . Would prefer not to buy over the Internet .

Thanks

first of all, set yourself a budget, and then think about how to get the best bang for your buck.

whatever you get in the end, you are always going to hear people go on about getting something that was worth so much more, for so much less.

its more about what your fiancé likes, than the cost. after all, shes the one that will wear it for the rest of her life. as long as she loves it, and its within your budget, what does it matter if you could have got something 30 euro cheaper in a jumble sale in Munich?

Oryx

I heard on the radio this week that south africa is a good place to go, but your budget would want to be big to warrant the trip! No matter where you go youll always find somewhere cheaper, but it would be more important to me not to be conned. Worked in jewellery for years, and saw some sad cases where when stuff came in for valuation, we valued it much less than had been paid - particularly with diamonds.

Buying diamonds is always tricky, stick with a reputable jeweller you can trust. There are four things that affect the price, cut, carat, colour, and clarity. (The famous four c's) A good jeweller will explain about your particular stone, and let you really examine it. Pricier stones come with certificates. Size isnt everything! You could get a 1ct stone for peanuts, but it could be just better than industrial quality :rolleyes: or a .25ct stone for more money but it would be top quality. Buying at holiday resorts etc is a minefield, you may have little comeback - bear in mind there are very good 'fake' diamonds about which even professional jewellers have a hard time sussing. All uk and irish precious metal is assayed and hallmarked as a guarantee of quality, you may not get this abroad.

If your budget is big, as with all things in life, do your homework. And bear in mind, your investment is not in the ring but in the woman... Good luck!

smileygal

Friend got hers in South Africa and was thrilled with it. Know someone else who got theirs in New York and chose stone in one specialist jewellers and brought it with security guard provided nearby to get it in chosen setting.

CathyMoran

I know of someone who bid on diamonds in an auction and got the jeweler to make up the ring - it was a gamble but luckily the girl in question loved the ring - as far as I am aware he tried to see if it would be cheaper to get it elsewhere in the EU but found that Ireland was the best in this case.

Chopper

Get her the next best thing from these guys
www.desertdiamondsco.com

At least that way when she throws it back at you (and she will, in any over the top "missunderstanding") you won't be so worried about it getting lost !

Lex_Diamonds

Those diamonds they make in the machines are exactly like the real deal. Way cheaper, so get that and save yourself a few bob, dont listen to the clowns that make you think you have to get a real diamond. :rolleyes:

Capt'n Midnight

Instead of diamonds (cf. blood diamonds . DeBeers cartel etc) how about a different stone - maybe something that matches the colour of the eyes of either of you.

smileygal

or birthstone if she's into that (and if it's a worthy stone!)

DublinWriter

Capt'n Midnight wrote:

Instead of diamonds (cf. blood diamonds . DeBeers cartel etc) how about a different stone - maybe something that matches the colour of the eyes of either of you.

Dude...if you go down that route then FFS check that she would be cool with a non-diamond option.

Having said that, Argos have some nice engagement rings, but to be honest, I'll like to have an aul' gawk and feel of something like that before I bought it on spec. All diamonds are individual and unique. Plus, with somewhere like Argos, you'd have a bit of a problem getting it re-sized if it didn't fit her.

Again, I got mine in Ernest Jones on Grafton St. Well worth a goo. They have a new outlet in the West Point in Blanchardstown.

mukki

John Brereton
29 Lower O'Connell Street
It cost a good bit but looked so much nicer then any others that we saw


whats the rule? 2 months basic?

fightin irish

mukki wrote:

John Brereton
29 Lower O'Connell Street
It cost a good bit but looked so much nicer then any others that we saw


whats the rule? 2 months basic?

LoL was only in here on Saturday and got a beauty of a ring for 2k(she lost the last one years back, i was 18yrs old then and it cost me 350 pound, that was a dam fortune to me at 18)

Any who John Berton's were fantastic and had quite a large selection, the staff were excellent and never tried to push a more expensive ring on me, they also did a deal for our wedding rings, A blond haired lady ..late thirties early forties, she did an excellent job!!

Hope this helps.

sceptre

mukki wrote:

whats the rule? 2 months basic?

Christ, just buy something you both like.

And that thing's only been two months since deBeers changed their adverts.

LegacyUser

got mine in Deborah Joy in the Square Tallaght. Took 8 days to get it resized ('cos I've fat fingers!). Lady was lovely when we went in to try rings on (he wanted to make sure he got me something I loved - and boy did he manage that!!!!) She explained everything about diamonds to us and didn't make us feel anyway uncomfortable - she was more than willing to let me try on as many rings as I liked.
You don't necessarily need a big diamond to make her happy - she may want a small diamond and suss out whether she wants yellow gold/white gold or platnum. Also if she wants a solitare (1 diamond) or a ring with 3 diamonds.
Tried other shops and they had teenagers without a clue behind the counter! Fiance's view was that if they couldn't tell you the quality of the diamond then it was a bad sign! When we were looking in H Samuel I couldn't tell where the diamond ended and where the gold began (didn't like that!)
btw the 2 mth thing is rubbish! Buy something you both like - don't buy it 'cos the price 'suitable' - you're a yuppy then! Why spend a load on a ring when you have your lives together to save up for.

LegacyUser

Thanks for all the advice . Think I'll have a quiet look around a few of the places mentioned in Dublin and maybe a look at some places like Antwerp on the web. I like the idea of surprising her with a trip to somewhere like Antwerp on a Saturday morning to pick an engagement ring but just want to make sure it wont be more expensive there than here

Capt'n Midnight

sceptre wrote:

Christ, just buy something you both like.

And that thing's only been two months since deBeers changed their adverts.

Traditionally it was one month, but also it was the property of the man until the wedding

Victor

mukki wrote:

whats the rule? 2 months basic?

It had been 1 month salary (after tax), but that was the diamond companies just gettign you used to the exorbitant prices.

Note: mark-up in jewellery is 200%+. Haggle, but not too much.

LegacyUser

Whatever you do dont buy a ring without girlfriend being present. Know of a guy that bought a ring when on holidays and then proposed to his girlfriend when he came back to Ireland. One big problem she hated the ring hardly ever wore it and she got him to buy her another one that she liked. What happened to old ring? She got goldsmith to melt it down with some other pieces of jewellery and turned it all into a bracelet.
Moral of the story: Get it right the first time, cheaper on the pocket.