Matthew Stephens

cant26 · 20-10-2017 11:26am #1

Hi all. Has anyone here purchased their engagement rings from this place? Any positive or negative feedback would be much appreciated.
Saw a few that are nice online but really don't want to waste time going to limerick if it's not a reputable place.
Going to check out Voltaire and loyes too but some of my friends weren't too impressed with Voltaire due to not being shown the actual diamonds while looking at rings.
We are in the west but will go to Dublin to see those two places. Any recommendations of similar places this side of the country!

Narsil · 20-10-2017 1:25pm

I always get my jewellery from Topaz on Upper Gerald Griffin Street Limerick. It's run by 2 professional jewellers and they are amazing. It's basically cutting out the middle man of a shop and getting your rings professionally made and to measure! I've gotten many things made and fixed over the years from them and I can't say enough good things about them!

We went into Matthew Stephens to see what styles we liked and jotted down the details (which came to a total of €2500 for 2 rings, one platinum with diamonds, one palladium). Walked straight up to the lads in Topaz (who were shocked at the MS prices) and they promptly quoted us €1460 for the same:D!!! Bonus was they engraved for free and mine was made to measure (as I've an awkward engagement ring). All same quality!

Voltaire Diamonds: Seamus · 21-10-2017 12:01am

Hi Cant26,

Many thanks for the mention, we look forward to welcoming you to Voltaire Diamonds. We have a selection of loose diamonds to show you when we meet, we also have a large selection of engagement rings in our stock should you choose one on the day we meet.

If have you have a bespoke design in mind our workshop can easily handmake for you.

We look forward to meeting you.

Many thanks again
Seamus

A2LUE42 · 21-10-2017 12:55am

Another recommendation for Topaz. The guy literally put a selection of diamonds on my wife's fingers so she could compare the different carrats side by side. I was expecting the ring search to take ages, but they were brilliant. After finalising what we wanted, they had it ready unbelievably quickly. Also, what we got in Topaz compared to another diamond ring purchased in the Crescent in Fields was far better value. (Strange to use value considering the cost of diamond rings :-) )

Edit. We also got a wedding ring made in Topaz to match the engagement ring. Just as happy with service for that too.

Pistachios & cream · 21-10-2017 7:50am

Another plus one for topaz. We got our wedding rings there, my husbands white gold plain ring was approx €400 cheaper.

My engagement ring was a very high setting with a split band so really hard to get a wedding ring to go with it. Went to a good few shops including Matthew Stephens and nothing worked properly. The jeweller in topaz took one look at the ring and said it would need to be custom made. He explained about the high setting etc and how my wedding ring would need to be lined up with the engagement ring.
It was also cheaper than the other wedding rings I'd half liked

In saying that, the shop is also the workroom so you don't get the 'engagement' experience' you might get in other jewellers. Nothing at all wrong with it but it's best to know so your not expecting a plush shop. I'd also advise having a good idea of what you want as I don't think he has a huge range on hand.

cant26 · 21-10-2017 4:32pm

Thanks for taking the time to reply. Topaz sounds like the type of place I'm looking for. Have zero interest in the engagement experience. Would rather get more bang for my buck so to speak than be paying towards a pretty shop.
Also saw some lovely rings on Keanes website. Don't know why I'm focusing on Limerick but unfortunately the places that I love in Galway are the likes of hartmans and cobwebs and my budget won't go far there! thanks again

cooperguy · 28-10-2017 10:45pm

Another vote for Topaz here. Got engagement ring and both wedding bands made here. Great quality and service but also cheaper than many other places

Faith · 15-10-2018 5:03pm

Mod note: money84, your posts have been deleted as they violate our charter. Please read the charter before posting again, specifically the bit that says

If you want to post a recommendation, criticism or review of a wedding related business, you must have either:

a MINIMUM of 20 posts
OR be an active member of Boards.ie for OVER 2 months

cant26 · 29-11-2018 10:21am

I just wanted to come back to this thread to update and thank all the posters for their suggestions.

We Took a trip to Matthew Stephens to try on some rings as I knew from their extensive Facebook marketing that they had a good selection. I knew I would not be buying there. They were very nice to deal with but I just don’t really buy into all the fanfare that goes with the whole “experience” and from all the research I had done I felt their rings are overpriced. Was also a bit surprised that they had no rings over the .9 carat.

Thank you to everyone who suggested Topaz. We sourced the diamond ourselves and brought it to Patrick in topaz. He was an absolute gentleman. Very refreshing to deal with no nonsense and right down to the job at hand.

I won’t lie, going from the glitz of Matthew Stephens to a small work shop type premises made me the tiniest bit uneasy to start with and I had a wobble at the thought of handing over the diamond, but there was no need to worry. I ended up with a beautiful ring. I absolutely love it.
It was valued at three times what we paid and while this is irrelevant as I will not be selling the ring, it is nice to know that we got value for money.
I would highly recommend topaz and when we finally get around to getting married we will be going back to topaz for our wedding bands.

Matthew Stephens

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