Have I made a mistake...?

[Baconsarnies]

Today I put down a deposit for an engagement ring.

Total cost is £3,900.

My missus wants a Tiffany Novo but my wallet couldn't stretch, so I did my research on gradings etc, printed off the Tiffany Novo design and headed into London Hatton Garden (a diamond street for those not in the UK).

After going into 4 shops I found what I think is a brilliant diamond. It really did sparkle and have a wow factor vs others I had seen.

Specs:

0.62 carat
Colour D
VS1
Excellent symmetry
Excellent polish
Brilliant cut
GIA certified

The guy said as it was a loose diamond the cost would be cheaper because as soon as it went on the window and into a ring it would go up by £1k. It smelt like BS to me but he did show me to prove his point. He also said that he just had a load of diamonds come in ready for Xmas so a quality diamond of the one he showed me wouldn't be around for long.

He was smelling a sale and I just went for it... But now im thinking I've done wrong. Mainly because it felt quite quick, they I should have shopped around more?

I can still pull out as it's only a deposit, but he promises me the diamond and tiffany novo replica can't be beaten on that price. Any thoughts on this guys?

 

[AprilBaby]

Post the GIA report.

 

[Baconsarnies]

http://www.gia.edu/cs/Satellite?reportno=5166332356&childpagename=GIA%2FPage%2FReportCheck&pagename=GIA%2FDispatcher&c=Page&cid=1355954554547

Thank for checking this. I did ask if the stone was too small if it has side stones too but he thinks it will look fine...?!

 

[LoveLikeCrazy]

did she ask for a round or the novo? The novo is a cushion cut diamond. If she asked for a novo, she might not be happy with a round.

 

[Baconsarnies]

did she ask for a round or the novo? The novo is a cushion cut diamond. If she asked for a novo, she might not be happy with a round.

Ah yes, forgot that! My missus said she would be happy to get rid of the cushion for something that really sparkled. It was really taking the design if the novo but an exact replica is not a necessity. So I'm safe in terms of it being round.

I am also concerned by the band itself. The novo looks to have a slightly thicker band than others I have come across in shops so not sure if quality will be lower on this part. Not sure what I say to ensure quality in this aspect.

 

[Coralfish]

Hello,

I do think you will likely notice a difference in the quality of the band, though it depends how fussy you/she are. Best to ask to see examples of your prospective jeweller's existing work through a 10x loupe. Don't be afraid to go into Tiffany and ask to look at the Novo through a loupe to compare.

I looked up the Novo pricing http://www.tiffany.co.uk/Engagement/item.aspx?GroupSku=GRP10015&selectedSku=23599724

and it seems you can get a 0.5 carat centre stone starting from £4000.

It may be worth going into Tiffany and having a look. They can call rings in from other UK-wide stores and concessions to match the centre stone to your budget. It may be worth the smaller diamond for that magical (to some) blue box.

All that said, the diamond you have put a deposit on looks very good, having run it through the HCA. Being ultra ultra fussy, some prefer a slightly greater crown angle but this is an aesthetic thing.

Doing a price check on Blue Nile reveals that an Ideal+ cut diamond, D VS1 0.62+ carats, runs at around £2000 including VAT. Random diamond with such specs: LD04982345. I haven't run the HCA on that diamond, but hunting around you should be able to get one around that price that has a good HCA score.

This setting http://www.bluenile.com/uk/build-your-own-ring/diamond-engagement-ring-white-gold_23175?elem=title&track=product

looks closest to the Novo I think at £648 including VAT.

So you could have quite a similar ring from Blue Nile for £2648, with 30 day returns.

Wiser Pricescope Owls will mention that one could drop down to G in colour, certainly F without noticing too much of a difference, and get a bit more diamond for your money if you did want to go the internet diamond route. VS1 is a good place, some will say as far as VS2 for a surprise (unseen by fiancee till proposal) engagement ring.

Balancing against that though, is the personal experience of buying in a shop, which your current diamond provides.

To add: the Novo-style cushion diamond I think (I haven't looked into this too much) looks quite similar to the Blue Nile Signature Ideal Cushions I think, which are pricier than your average cushions by quite some margin, in case you wanted to go down the route of more exactly replicating the Novo. I am not sure about this though, someone with greater knowledge will be able to confirm.

A final thing to think about is whether the setting will be in white gold or platinum. White gold, depending on the wearer's body chemistry, will need to be rhodium-replated periodically to retain its white shine, whereas platinum will not, but will develop a kind of patina over time which some like.

 

[Coralfish]

To add, I found this page useful:

http://www.bluenile.com/engagement-rings/recently-purchased-engagement-rings

There is a UK version but the server is down right now. It is useful because you can see the size of the side diamonds compared to the central diamond. However the overall look will depend on the size of the ring, which is not stated on that page.

If you decide to go with the Hatton Garden jeweller, I think to ensure the quality of the sidestones, specify a minimum colour and clarity, and determine what size you would like them to be (eg. 1mm, 1.3mm etc). They can be chosen in proportion to your central diamond: smaller side diamonds will generally give the illusion of the central diamond being larger. (But the payoff is they may have slightly less sparkle, etc). The best thing is to look at the jeweller's existing stock and find an existing ring with a central stone of your stone's dimensions: then, see what size of sidestone looks best with it.
The only other thing to do would be to examine the quality of the actual setting of the sidestones into the metal, which as mentioned you should not be afraid to take a loupe and do. The jeweller will definitely have a loupe, or you can buy one cheaply from ebay or suchlike.

If you like the diamond but not the jeweller's settings and don't want to lose your deposit, you may be able to purchase the loose diamond and purchase a setting elsewhere. However it gets a little tricky regarding insurance of the stone in the setting process if not done by the jeweller from whom you purchased the diamond. In the USA they have Jeweler's Mutual, but I think it is rather trickier over here - I don't think it is as straightforward as the setting bench insuring a stone that has not been purchased from them. Worth clarifying if you go this route.

 

[Baconsarnies]

Thank you so much, this is exactly what I needed to hear. I saw the ring you mentioned on Blue Mole but when I set it to Platinum it came in nearer to the £3200 mark.

Based on your advice, I'm going to go around Hatton Garden again, go into other shops and see if I can beat the pricing further. Ideally I'd like to push it nearer to .7ct. More importantly though is the ring setting. I was so fixed on the diamond that this part wasn't really discussed.

My deposit was £100, so even if I lose this, I'll look at it as a slap on my wrist. Certainly not ideal, but placing £4k on a ring might make it worth while to do.

You've been such a huge help and taken a lot of time writing all that do thank you.

 

[Coralfish]

You are most welcome.

Phew, £100 is much less than I thought. Definitely worth looking around then, especially if that is what your gut tells you.

Make sure to run your numbers through the HCA and do post here if you are unsure of anything. The great thing is that you will see these diamonds in person so can consider the lower colours and clarity grades to get more bang for your quid. For example, some SI1 diamonds will be 'eyeclean'; some GIA Hs will look closer to Gs than Is; all this will be a boon in maximising your carat weight.

For a matter of £3200 vs £3900 I would definitely buy in person - it will be a fun and memorable experience and you will be able to get exactly what you want.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I just wanted to agree that you can go a little lower than D VS1 if your desire is to get a slightly larger stone. It is always of benefit to look at multiple stones before buying, in my opinion, especially when you don't have things like idealscope images to help you narrow down the selection. Not only that, you may be able to tell a difference in setting quality as well.

 

[OoohShiny]

I'm not sure if we are allowed to post personal recommendations or not (so please remove/edit this post as required, mods/admin) but I recently had an excellent experience with Durrants in Greville Street, just off Hatton Garden.

They are a family business, seem to be completely free of BS (in my experience) and will tell it straight, with none of the fawning insincerity and passive-aggressive 'you have to act fast!' sales crap.

If anything they are almost too straight - sometimes it's nice to have a little nudge in the right direction - but they really did leave all the decisions up to me and took into consideration all the elements I wanted in the ring, and came out with something better than I ever could have expected. (If you click my name you can see my threads and pictures within them.)

I was dealing with the younger bloke, Tom, most of the time but they are all good in there, and you can even speak to the guy(s?) doing the benchwork if you need/want to (I think it's Tom's dad? A no-nonsense 'london bloke', either way lol) so I would recommend a visit to them.

In my experience they were definitely a 'No Pressure' place, which I much prefer to someone feeding me BS about 'if you don't buy now...'

Pay them a visit and see what you think. You can also check out their website and facebook page (linked to from the website).

Hope that helps!


(FWIW I bought a (CBI ) stone separately and had them do the setting only, which they were perfectly happy to do. For the size and specs I have ended up with I have saved a lot of money compared to if I had bought a similar spec diamond here in the UK!)

 

[Baconsarnies]

You are all wonderful people ... thank you!

Update to my story... I managed to get my deposit back which is great news. I then learnt something quick...generally speaking dont shop where there is a shop front in Hatton garden as this is where the money and overheads go. I instead went to a workshop, that buzzes you in and you walk up many flights of stairs! They were making the rings in front of me! Immediately there is a cost saving here as many of the other shop fronts will use places like these to make your ring anyway.

So already in this new shop I've been shown multiple diamonds, and for the first time some high quality cushion cut diamonds. I was amazed at how sparkly they could get too. For a GIA certified high spec cushion cut at 0.71ct, I was quoted £3700 all in, which includes the tiffany novo setting replica. I was over the moon with this given my original quote elsewhere of £3900 for a 0.6ct.

I have a meeting on Monday where I'll be shown more diamonds, and I'll continue to shop around but your advice has been absolutely awesome so thank you. I believe I'm back on the cushion cut shape to truly replicate a novo and I wouldn't have thought without asking you lot so pay yourselves on the back!

I'll update you all again next week.

 

[OoohShiny]

Excellent stuff

Do you have an ASETscope? They are great for checking light return, although I always think one will look silly busting out some technology in front of those for whom it all comes second nature...