International Cost

[paddymick_2000]

Hi,

I live in Ireland and have a question I hope you can help me with.

I plan to bring my girlfriend away for a holiday and get engaged and buy a ring.

Where would be a good place to go to get an inexpensive ring with little hassle.

Ireland is very expensive country, would europe or somewhere in the USA be the best option.

Hope you can help.

Thanks

 

[Lucky8]

By the sounds of it New York diamond district will be a good bet if you want to combine diamond purchase with a break. The US Doller to Euro rate is excellent!

 

[paddymick_2000]

I would always be nervious of buying in a different country.

There are also tax free districts in Europe and America, tax on $5K would pay for a nice holiday.

Its very hard to know

 

[oldminer]

I doubt there is a country on earth with more liberal laws protecting people who make a purchase with a credit card than the USA. You can pretty much buy something you like and if does not please you, it can be returned unless you agree to a no return policy at the time of the purchase. The VAT tax system in so many countries really does make jewelry more costly than here. Also, there is lots of competition in the USA for customers. With exchange rates as they are, your girlfriend has a US vacation coming, I''d bet.

Happy shopping.

 

[denverappraiser]

More than once I’ve had customers from Europe who will buy a stone from an online supplier in the US and will choose to fly to Colorado to pick it up. I’m sure this is entirely due to the excellent service I offer and that it’s completely unrelated to the snow conditions in Aspen.

Neil Beaty
GG (GIA), ISA, NAJA
Independent Appraisals in Denver

 

[paddymick_2000]

I dont think most people in europe realise that you can save so much by buying in the usa.

I am sure the selection is better too.

But do you relly think it would be the best place to buy in the world when you can go to Antwerp or South Africa

 

[ursulawrite]

I''m British and all of my friends bought their rings in England. One, for example, has a .3 carat (I would guess J or K colour) that cost her boyfriend £2800 (about $5000). I dread to think how much my other friends'' diamonds cost, being that they have .6 or .7 carats of a much higher colour.

 

[denverappraiser]

Date: 12/8/2004 2:17:24 PM
Author: paddymick_2000
I dont think most people in europe realise that you can save so much by buying in the usa.

I am sure the selection is better too.

But do you relly think it would be the best place to buy in the world when you can go to Antwerp or South Africa

Diamonds are a global commodity and shipping a handful of them across the world is remarkably inexpensive compared to their value. The big regional differences in the prices come from taxes and the value added by the dealers. Some dealers add a great deal, others add almost nothing. The same could be said about tax collectors.

Neil Beaty
GG ISA NAJA
Independent Appraisals in Denver

 

[PhillipSchmidt]

I don''t understand why the USA is cheaper to the degree it is. It is more then tax. The UK has a large market too. It should be comparable, but from what I know, a rule of thumb is that the price goes from Euro to pounds once it crosses the chanel. There is no explanation for this. VAT is 17.5% and that doesn''t equate. I also know shops mark-up jewellery up to 250%. In fact that is common for well known shops and nobody seems to want low priced good jewellery. They are wary of jewellery without the bells and whistles I guess. It seems people there want to buy from large companies rather then small. I think it cultural more then economical.

Diamonds in Australia are far cheaper, though there is still the high mark-ups to be found. Jewellers here took a long time to establish themselves and I think they have a corner on the market.

One day big US companies will come to Australia, maybe even the UK and work at a loss for 5 years till there is none left to compete.

Won''t bother me as a bench worker. There will still be work. Not everything can be made in Asia...

Phillip

 

[denverappraiser]

Date: 12/8/2004 7:30:46 PM
Author: PlatinumSmith

Won''t bother me as a bench worker. There will still be work. Not everything can be made in Asia...

Phillip

Don''t bet on it Bucko. Asia is a big place. There are some very skilled jewelers who live there that are willing to work far cheaper than you.

I''m willing to consider the option that the jewelers in UK are greedy. I''ve even willing to consider the choice that the jewelers in the US are just stupid. Both strike me as unlikely explanations for the disparity. Sure, some jewelers charge a lot and deliver some awsome service for their premium price. God bless ''em, they work hard at what they do. There are also dealers who offer a more streamlined approach and offer better prices with less falderall. Comparing the prices between a tony Bond Street jeweler with DirtCheapDiamonds isn''t a fair contest; They aren''t delivering the same thing. The difference between Blue Nile and Blue Nile UK is purely in the taxes, although there may be other taxes involved beyond the VAT.

Neil Beaty
GG ISA NAJA
Independent Appraisals in Denver

 

[i_like_tiffany_please_dont_hate_me]

Date: 12/8/2004 2:53:54 PM
Author: ursulawrite
I''m British and all of my friends bought their rings in England. One, for example, has a .3 carat (I would guess J or K colour) that cost her boyfriend £2800 (about $5000). I dread to think how much my other friends'' diamonds cost, being that they have .6 or .7 carats of a much higher colour.

I recently saw a 0.7 carat, platinum ring at a David M. Robinson, a nice, expensive, local brand of jewellers, it was around £4000 (about $7500 right now) but I only saw it in the window, so I am not sure of the specifications. also, there was a 1 carat platinum ring for £6100 - which is roughly my budget, by comparison, I could get a 1.8 H ideal cut vs2 stone, or 1.3 G H&A vs2 in an X-prong channel setting from whiteflash for only a little more than that. there is no way I would buy in the UK. thankfully, my gf is American, and I will be over there when I get it, so I won''t have to pay 40% import taxes

 

[nuhobby]

I have a friend going to South Africa. Can high-quality cut diamonds be found cheaply by a novice there?