cost of custom work in the US versus UK

[charks]

Hi there,

I have a modest diamond in a plain setting.

As time goes by my diamond is beginning to look more and more modest - the dreaded diamond shrinkage syndrome!!!!!

So I'm toying with the idea of a halo.

Initially I fell in love with the Danhov Per Lei with a plain shank in platinum.

I found a dealer in the UK but the price was $4000 just for the setting.

I thought the price was slightly too high so I asked a local jeweller, with a reputation for good prices, for the cost of a setting

similar to the Danhov.

His quote was $5800.

I realise it will be handmade so a lot of work.

And I know it's out of the question for me to go to any of the great jewellers you use.

But I'm really interested as to how UK prices compare to US ones.

Thanks

Charlotte.

 

[kay1]

I got a quote from Steven Kirsch and VC for a halo, and both were about $4,000 - $4,500. Remember though you would need to pay VAT on top, and 2.5% duty as well if it's a set ring. Since the diamonds seem to be cheaper (well more options) in the US, it may just be worth it to buy one out there, have it set in a custom made setting and shipped here and pay the 22.5%

 

[Maisie]

I live in the UK and I can't afford the prices here. Plus I find the quality is lacking compared to the jewellery I have purchased from Whiteflash, Brian Gavin Diamonds and Wink Jones.

The biggest issue you would face would be paying VAT and import tax on your diamond (as well as the setting) when it comes back to the UK if you send it out to the US for setting. You will already have paid VAT on it when you purchased it the first time. It could be that it wouldn't be that much and you could factor it into your budget. It depends on how much you paid initially. I do think it would still be less than paying UK prices for a custom ring.

Alternatively you might be able to buy just the setting from the US and have your local jeweller set your diamond into it.

 

[kay1]

I live in the UK and I can't afford the prices here. Plus I find the quality is lacking compared to the jewellery I have purchased from Whiteflash, Brian Gavin Diamonds and Wink Jones.

The biggest issue you would face would be paying VAT and import tax on your diamond (as well as the setting) when it comes back to the UK if you send it out to the US for setting. You will already have paid VAT on it when you purchased it the first time. It could be that it wouldn't be that much and you could factor it into your budget. It depends on how much you paid initially. I do think it would still be less than paying UK prices for a custom ring.

Alternatively you might be able to buy just the setting from the US and have your local jeweller set your diamond into it.

I'd say a lot of the benefit of a custom setting is that they 'wrap' it around your diamond i.e. make it exactly for the diameter of the diamond, and also size the prongs for that diamond. This is even more important in a halo I think because you don't want a gap between diamond and halo, and you ideally don't want to see the prongs at all.

Technically you can ship your diamond out to be set, and prove it is the same diamond when it's shipped back in the setting to avoid double paying VAT on the diamond, but they may not believe you. I think if you're making a new ring, buy the diamond in the US, have it shipped to the designer, and pay the extra 2.5%. You'll still be better off than paying UK design price and also being limited to the choice of diamonds in the UK.

 

[Acinom]

Price with ERD would be 3.000 $ for a CAD/CAST setting and the quality seems to be very high. Perhaps other posters will have other recommendations as well. However, the cost for customs and VAT would be fairly high as has been stated before.

I live in the Netherland and had my setting custom hand made in LA. Buying a similar ring in Europe would have been far more expensive and there is less experience in working with the french cut diamonds that were used for my ring.

The US designer was able to work without my diamond: I could not send the diamond as I was running the risk of have to pay about 21% customs/tax on a diamond I have had for many years! I do not think working without the diamond would be feasible or advisable without the center stone.

So it depends on your specific wishes, ring design, center stone etc etc whether it would indeed save you money to go to the US. Perhaps a jeweller in (for example) France or Belgium could make the ring for you and you would perhaps be able to pick up the ring yourself in that case.

 

[SB621]

So there are several different variations in custom that will result in your price point.

You can get stock settings customized which is your cheapest option. Typically under 2k unless we are talking designer settings. It sounds like that is what you fell in love with.
You can go the CAD/CAST route which is all over the place in price pending what you are doing, but typically will keep you in the 1-6k range.
If you go hand forged that will typically start at 4k. All prices are USD.

What is the mm measurements of your diamond. If you have a common size (like 6mm for a 1ct) and you want to save money I would just order a stock setting halo that I loved. Even with VAT and import it will probably come in under other custom options.

Can you post a picture of the setting you love? That would help us look to see if there are cheaper alteratives out there.

 

[Maisie]

Is it this setting but with a plain shank?

 

[beachavendrea]

hi

i had my settings made in london by a bond street jeweller he doesn't have a shop but does work for lots of jewellers in central london, good names but i can't remember who they were. Baby brain sorry.

Anyway hope my picture works, this setting cost £2750. so just something for you to compare. it was handmade.

 

[pixgirl]

The exchange rate dollars to pounds is not in the dollar's favor.

 

[Maisie]

There is a vendor in Hatton Garden called Daniel Prince. His jewellery looks nicely made. Might be worth asking him for a quote?


http://www.danielprince.co.uk/About_Us.html

 

[dk168]

I am in the UK, and have stopped buy jewellery in the UK years ago after I had discovered the wonders of online shopping and importing jewellery from abroad.

I find the prices of jewellery, from pearls, gemstone, diamonds to finished pieces, are much cheaper when compared with prices in the UK, even after import duties, tax and handling charges are taken into account.

I made money by reselling pieces that I had bought via eBay and imported from US to residents in the UK.

I had been considering having my EC (purchased and set in Antwerp by Diamond House) reset by ERD in US, and made enquiry with the HMRC (tax office) about how to go about it so that I do not have to pay tax again on the diamond when it is returned to me after being reset.

They sent me a lengthy response about "Onward Processing Relief" (OPR), which needs to be applied prior to shipping the diamond out for reset.

I do not like the hassles involved (OPR aside, there is also insurance to be considered while the stone is being shipped, etc. etc.), and may go back to Diamond House and ask them to reset it for me instead.

DK

 

[kay1]

fyi i insured the BN ring I had for return to them (22,500 USD) and it cost $135. I imagine it's about 100 to 200 USD depending on the price of your item.

 

[Maisie]

fyi i insured the BN ring I had for return to them (22,500 USD) and it cost $135. I imagine it's about 100 to 200 USD depending on the price of your item.

Who provided the insurance?

 

[HoratioNelson]

I called Daniel Prince a while back for a quote on a ring with a halo (and pave in the shank/band). That was quoted at £1.5k to £2k. Equally, Durrants based in Hatton Garden would probably also do it for a similar figure (perhaps nearer to the £1.5k mark but don't quote me on that). I'd probably recommend looking at the latter because they seem to be doing halo/micropave work day in day out so seem to know exactly what they're doing. I'm sure Daniel Prince does as well, but Durrants seem to have an entire catalogue of work with halos.

 

[kay1]

fyi i insured the BN ring I had for return to them (22,500 USD) and it cost $135. I imagine it's about 100 to 200 USD depending on the price of your item.

Who provided the insurance?

BN told me to use G4Si so i did. There may be cheaper or better, i just posted that to give a ballpark figure.

 

[Maisie]

fyi i insured the BN ring I had for return to them (22,500 USD) and it cost $135. I imagine it's about 100 to 200 USD depending on the price of your item.

Who provided the insurance?

BN told me to use G4Si so i did. There may be cheaper or better, i just posted that to give a ballpark figure.

And this was from the UK? I'm interested because I didn't know there was shipping insurers for jewellery here. It would be very helpful to know

 

[kay1]

fyi i insured the BN ring I had for return to them (22,500 USD) and it cost $135. I imagine it's about 100 to 200 USD depending on the price of your item.

Who provided the insurance?

BN told me to use G4Si so i did. There may be cheaper or better, i just posted that to give a ballpark figure.

And this was from the UK? I'm interested because I didn't know there was shipping insurers for jewellery here. It would be very helpful to know

Yeah From the UK to BN. They told me to use this link http://www.g4si.com/bluenile but said the site was under construction so everything would be done under USD. I just had to put in the airway bill number etc and i got a confirmation it was insured.

Later there was a problem with the airway bill as they'd messed up the address, so i just emailed g4si and they changed the insurance to the new airway bill.

It was all pretty simple, although quite expensive if you think about it, a return to BN cost me over £150. That's not the end of the world on a ring you didn't expect to return, but it's too much to get diamonds shipped loose to check out or speculate on settings.

 

[krish82]

Have you tried Adiamor? that's where we bought my diamond. Later on we decided to get my ring customize and went to Kay's Jewelers... which we actually kind of regretted because we have ran into a couple of problems... Anyway, I asked Adiamor if they could customize the ring for me, and they said they could without any problem, and they gave me a final price the next day (not a quote), and it was only for $1,595! $1,000 less than kay's, but then we were not able to cancel anymore... anyway, here's my ring inspiration, and this is the ring that's going to cost $1,595 in 18K gold if bought from Adiamor.

 

[OoohShiny]

Many thanks all for the info on this thread about UK to US shipping and insurance, and also the tax stuff, it's very helpful!

I might well check out the Hatton Garden options for a ring too, as I'm not filled woth overflowing confidence in the last two places I've been to to check out custom work...

 

[GeorgeStevens]

OP: How much do you like to travel? Maybe a trip to NY would be worthwhile? I've never tried to rush a custom order, but with some advance planning, maybe you can drop it off and pick it up before you leave? Technically, you should be charged sales tax by the vendor (8.875% in NYC), but some vendors don't bother to charge it, and others will let you avoid the sales tax by shipping it to a FedEx in New Jersey and picking it up yourself the next day ("hold at location"). Some vendors won't issue a receipt (if it's a cash transaction), but if they do, trash it and anything else they included, put on the ring, and wear it wherever you're going. Your only cost is BA, Airbnb, and the currency exchange commission. With a quid worth $1.72, this may be a good time to do it.

 

[OoohShiny]

Hi George

You make some excellent points We are lucky that the £ is so strong at the moment! I'm not quite sure if it's going to level off or not, I think it might climb a bit more as it looks like we are creeping out of recession slowly and surely, although I'm not entirely convinced that's fuelled by much else than consumer debt lol

Anyway, it would be good to combine a trip with an added bonus, and one could always send oneself a letter or parcel while they were away on holiday...


Sadly, and I know I'm partly a weirdo for saying this (and most of my friends IRL and online tell me this regularly), I have no desire to travel to the USA despite the many temptations over there - I don't see why I should get eyeball scanned and fingerprinted like a criminal just to get past passport control! It's supposed to be the Land of the Free, not the land of the catalogued and monitored 24/7! So, although there is plenty over there I would love to see and do and I would love to meet up with some of the US members on here and some of my other forums, and I'm suuuure 'they' have no sinister ulterior motive for their constant and invasive data-harvesting... , there's no travelling there for me for the foreseeable future I can't even visit Canada and slip over the border because I'd probably get shot!

But, anyway, I digress... lol


I shall continue to enjoy the strong £ from afar and may well be putting an order in with BGD for some earrings shortly!

 

[GeorgeStevens]

Well, anyone in America can get on a plane without standing in front of a camera to scan their face... three or four times. I'm not sure the subjects of the Queen are any less subject to intrusive surveillance than Americans. But I don't live in America, Canada, or the United Kingdom of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

The other option is to have a Yankee friend bring it next time they're in London and accidentally leave it at your house.

 

[dk168]

I have thought about the option of sending a piece of jewellery out to the US for re-modelling, for the new piece to be collected in person, and it is certainly doable.

Would anyone be able to suggest a bench in LA for me please, as I'll be going there in July 2016 if all goes according to plan?

DK

 

[pyramid]

But I don't live in America, Canada, or the United Kingdom of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

Ah so you are in Scotland then.

The United Kingdom consists of 4 countries and not 3.

 

[GeorgeStevens]

I really don't know why they insist on keeping Scotland around. This kind of sums up the place.

As for the trip to LA, you can have it made anywhere and sent to LA or wherever you'll be.

 

[charks]

Another example of UK prices.

I have a pair of 12mm undrilled Tahitian pearls that would be great as dangles.

So I asked another local UK jeweller to give me a quote.

I wanted the pearls as detachable dangles so all I basically wanted was a 3/4 inch length of white gold chain with small melee diamonds - like a short piece of tennis bracelet if that makes sense - with the pearls fixed to the end. I would hang the chains from my existing studs.

He's come back with a quote of nearly $3000 - that does include the cost of 8 x 3pt diamonds.

Made with a plain white gold chain they would cost $700.

P.S. I ended up buying a Ritani ring setting from the US for under £1300.

 

[dk168]

Another example of UK prices.

A 7.5mm Akoya pearl with 0.06ct round diamond in 18k yellow gold is listed as 590 GBP (1 GBP is about 1.7 USD at the mo, that makes the pendant just over 1k USD) on the site of a high end jeweller in a city not far from where I live, and I can get a 8.5-9mm AAA+ pearl with 0.04ct round diamond in 18k YG with chain for 346 USD at Pearl Paradise!!! It is still way cheaper after adding 22% or so on top for custom and handling charges, no brainer really.

Visiting PP to spend some pennies is one of the reasons I am going to LA in 2016, and shall ask the nice peeps there if they know of a good and reliable bench in their patch.

DK

 

[pyramid]

It's cause Scotland pays for the rest of them with its oil money but after the referendum they may not have Scotland or the money.

I really don't know why they insist on keeping Scotland around. This kind of sums up the place.

As for the trip to LA, you can have it made anywhere and sent to LA or wherever you'll be.

 

[OoohShiny]

Well, anyone in America can get on a plane without standing in front of a camera to scan their face... three or four times. I'm not sure the subjects of the Queen are any less subject to intrusive surveillance than Americans. But I don't live in America, Canada, or the United Kingdom of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

The other option is to have a Yankee friend bring it next time they're in London and accidentally leave it at your house.

I was under the impression that anyone flying in from outside of America had to get a photo taken of their iris(es)? I may be wrong, of course, I don't know many people who have flown there recently to ask.

I'm sure I also read that they are taking fingerprints on the way on?


The above might all be urban myth, though - any non-American's who have recently flown into there for the first time would be best to comment! lol


Anyway, apologies for the Off Topic

 

[Rhea]

I was under the impression that anyone flying in from outside of America had to get a photo taken of their iris(es)? I may be wrong, of course, I don't know many people who have flown there recently to ask.

I'm sure I also read that they are taking fingerprints on the way on?


The above might all be urban myth, though - any non-American's who have recently flown into there for the first time would be best to comment! lol


Anyway, apologies for the Off Topic

It's true. The Brit I married hates to travel to the US and avoided for about 4 to 5 years recently, broke his streak help me visit family after surgery. I mentioned going for Christmas this year and i think he's back avoiding the US.