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Engagment Ring Dubai or Antwerp?!

lbyrne121

Hi everyone
My boyfriend proposed and we are looking into where would be best to get a ring. more value for money, dubai or antwerp?
We are also looking into getting our wedding bands at the same time.
Any advice would be really appreciated..

Thanks

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Seesee

How about shopping local and buying in Ireland?

sareer

Dubai offers good value for money in terms of purity of gold. But that is, I would guess, more relevant if you look at the jewelry resale potentional.

sareer

It really depends if you want gold, silver, platinum and if you are also looking at diamonds, et al. How many karats, which level of purity or does it matter at all? Also, do you want custom made or off the rack? There wouldn't be a general "best place" in my opinion as each has its own USP.

CaraMay

Dubai is no longer great value as the dollar is so strong.

lbyrne121

I am look for approx 1 Cart diamond white gold band.. I know that the dollar rate is not good and that would have an impact on the price of diamonds. But my question is is there much of a difference between value in antwerp and dubai?
I looked around ireland and seen the prices of 1 carat rings and it was mental money. He is spending approx 5,500 on ring.

CaraMay

Go for .99 ish carat as it will be way cheaper than 1.0+

Jasper79

My own experience was looking at minimum €8k for a decent 1 ct stone, buying Dublin, Antwerp, New York were all coming in around the same. No Idea if Dubai would be any better.

As said the 1ct. label attracts a premium, moving down to .9ct can save a fair amount.

EagererBeaver

lbyrne121 wrote: »

I am look for approx 1 Cart diamond white gold band.. I know that the dollar rate is not good and that would have an impact on the price of diamonds. But my question is is there much of a difference between value in antwerp and dubai?
I looked around ireland and seen the prices of 1 carat rings and it was mental money. He is spending approx 5,500 on ring.

If you somehow find a 1ct stone for 5,500 (assuming that's Euro rather than GBP) please let me know! Not to be the bearer of bad tidings, but you'll likely either have to up your budget or lower your expectations. A 1ct stone, for that price will have to be absolutely awful on the other 3 C's, most likely wherever you go.

dinneenp

Give Anne Love a call here. She's in Glasgow and we found her very good value.

lbyrne121

EagererBeaver wrote: »

If you somehow find a 1ct stone for 5,500 (assuming that's Euro rather than GBP) please let me know! Not to be the bearer of bad tidings, but you'll likely either have to up your budget or lower your expectations. A 1ct stone, for that price will have to be absolutely awful on the other 3 C's, most likely wherever you go.

I already emailed Cara jewellers in Dubai and they gave me the following quotes, which is 1 Carat and is below 5,500 euro..

Ring as picture in 18k white gold

Center diamond – 1.00 carat – Pear shape – VVS2 – G

Side diamond – 0.35 carat total – Round Brilliant – VS-SI – F-G

Price : 19300/- AED

Ring as picture in 18k white gold

Center diamond – 1.00 carat – Pear shape – VVS1 – G

Side diamond – 0.35 carat total – Round Brilliant – VS-SI – F-G

Price : 20500/- AED

Jasper79

dinneenp wrote: »

Give Anne Love a call here. She's in Glasgow and we found her very good value.

Just had a look at that site, pretty much same prices as dublin for a decent 1ct stone.

Attachment not found.

Op can recommend you try the likes of Voltaire Diamonds or Bespoke Diamonds if you are near Dublin.

CaraMay

Cara are excellent. I got a lot of stuff there. Is their shop in Galway still open

lbyrne121

CaraMay wrote: »

Cara are excellent. I got a lot of stuff there. Is their shop in Galway still open

I dont know if they are still open there but my sister came back from there in Oct and she got an eternity band and it was only 450 euro and is identical to her wedding band which she got in ireland a year ago prior to getting her eternity band and cost 1,250 euro hence why I am really considering going to dubai but the only thing i am unsure about is if there is much difference in value between dubai and antwerp.

honey12345

Well worth your while going to Dubai to buy a ring I bought a 1.3 ct solitaire in Dubai about two years ago pain 5000 for the ring got it valued here in Weirs for 14000 I also bought a ring in Abu Dhab airport paid approx 900 valued here for 2000. I would lovee to go back

SarahMollie

honey12345 wrote: »

Well worth your while going to Dubai to buy a ring I bought a 1.3 ct solitaire in Dubai about two years ago pain 5000 for the ring got it valued here in Weirs for 14000 I also bought a ring in Abu Dhab airport paid approx 900 valued here for 2000. I would lovee to go back

Worth noting that the dollar/euro exchange rate would significantly impact on the savings here.

When you factor in flights for 2 people, hotels etc etc, is it really worth while?

Obviously if I was in the area I'd have a look but would question if its worth a special trip.

exaisle

Suggestion....stop being selfish....spend a grand on the ring and give the other €4500 to some charity where it'll do more good than sparkling on your finger. Then it'll make lots of people happier instead of just one.

CaraMay

exaisle wrote: »

Suggestion....stop being selfish....spend a grand on the ring and give the other €4500 to some charity where it'll do more good than sparkling on your finger. Then it'll make lots of people happier instead of just one.

Why don't you stop paying for Internet and give that to charity instead.

What a stupid post. People are entitled to spend what they want on whatever they want

biko

Or get a nice gold claddagh ring and spend the rest on the wedding or honeymoon*

*for disclosure, I am very much against diamonds.

CaraMay

biko wrote: »

Or get a nice gold claddagh ring and spend the rest on the wedding or honeymoon*

*for disclosure, I am very much against diamonds.

And I love them so each to their own

Behind the Fence

Myself and the OH travelled to Antwerp before Christmas with a very similar budget on a very similar ring. After a lot of looking we were really struggling until we went to l'Odyssee. We got exactly what we were looking for. Lora was the lady we dealt with and she was brilliant. The only thing about travelling to Antwerp is that you look at the diamond first and it can be difficult to judge without the full ring. They don't have as much interest in the band, it's all about the diamond. When we returned to Ireland we got the ring valued at 2 and a quarters time the price we paid. The likes of Phillipe Harold are very good but that bit more expensive. We found Lora and L'Odyssee brilliant (look up the reviews on TripAdvisor) and we couldn't recommend her enough, plus a trip to Antwerp is relatively cheap.

Arbiter of Good Taste

biko wrote: »

Or get a nice gold claddagh ring and spend the rest on the wedding or honeymoon*

*for disclosure, I am very much against diamonds.

And I think claddagh rings are tacky. But as Cara May says, each to their own

Toots

exaisle posts like that are neither constructive nor helpful. Please read the forum charter before posting.

Everyone else, back on topic

dowhatyoulove

I got my two rings and my husbands rings in Dubai/Middle East. There is very good value here but as far as I know at the moment the AED is pretty strong against the euro!

Very good quality and we've both had our rings resized as we lost weight, aftercare is amazing.

SarahMollie

Yep, AED is pegged to USD - €1 gets you $1.12 as of this morning. Its been worse in recent months, but its certainly a long way from the highs of a few years ago.

I was traveling back from Australia via Abu Dhabi and my jaw nearly hit the floor at the sight of all the amazing shiney things! I think I'd need to be in the right frame of mind to be buying expensive jewellery, but if I was there again and the exchange rate was a bit better, I'd be sorely tempted.

ella23

exaisle wrote: »

Suggestion....stop being selfish....spend a grand on the ring and give the other €4500 to some charity where it'll do more good than sparkling on your finger. Then it'll make lots of people happier instead of just one.

Suggestion, get off your high horse now for a second, how dare you call someone selfish for wanting to spend their own money on something they hope to have for the rest of their lives. Do you put all your extra money towards charity (every cent?) or do you put it in to savings. I'm sure you had to pay a few quid for laptop/smartphone/television/car did you? All of these are luxuries as is an engagement ring. And if you can't afford savings, then that is your issue, not this girls, as you sure have enough to pay for internet or credit on your smartphone or computer to get on to boards.ie. Ape!

bigpink

Would people spend that much on engagement rings?

CaraMay

bigpink wrote: »

Would people spend that much on engagement rings?

Yes if they choose to

SarahMollie

bigpink wrote: »

Would people spend that much on engagement rings?

In my experience yes (lots of friends recently engaged and we're chatty bunch!)

I heard somewhere that the average in Ireland is something like €3-3.5k

bigpink

SarahMollie wrote: »

In my experience yes (lots of friends recently engaged and we're chatty bunch!)

I heard somewhere that the average in Ireland is something like €3-3.5k

Jesus thats huge money that could be used on a house or something important

CaraMay

bigpink wrote: »

Jesus thats huge money that could be used on a house or something important

Yeah and you could also spend it in cheltenham .... I don't think that's a lot of money (as long as you don't have to borrow it)