Exclusivity Conception Poll: HW vs. Tiffany

[zoebartlett]

I definitely view HW as more exclusive/prestigious than Tiffany, and I think most people do, not just PSers. Tiffany has really done that to themselves by selling the less expensive silver jewelry and branded stuff like playing cards (!). When high school girls wear your jewelry, you can't really claim to be exclusive, IMO.

I also don't get the defensiveness regarding Tiffany, but I think Circe's theory is solid. And the thread that inspired this is beyond strange!

I agree, Thing2!

 

[TristanC]

Sometimes on a positive thinking forum, we try to bend over too far backwards to accommodate these threads.

In the real world, if the argument goes on anywhere near this long, there is typically a simpler way of ending it.

Just look at the argument initiator, say following :"You're an idiot, you know that right?" and walk off.

 

[kenny]

Tristan, you are so much like me it's scary.

 

[mrb09]

Sorry, but I had to opine. I did a little ebay search, and I found this listing: http://cgi.ebay.com/Harry-Winston-P...08843?pt=Designer_Jewelry&hash=item3367bd914b

Check out that cert, this RB has a 67% table!!! Most of us, who have become cut obsessed, would laugh if shown that by an independent jeweler, and we'd have to set the search tab to "fair cut" to even find a stone like this online.

I'm sure it's pretty, but it just goes to show you how selective most of us have become with the information learned on pricesope! Of that, I appreciative for sure.

 

[Pandora II]

It's just barely in the luxury category, and even then only in the high carat-weight pieces (at least, IMO).

I find that true for all luxury brands. Wasn't there a thread here awhile back that Graff diamonds of about one carat are price competitive with HW and Tiffany?

Normally I would think of Graff being way more exclusive than either HW or Tiffany's for diamonds but if I can take the same money and get a Graff, HW, or Tiffany's, is one really more exclusive than another? Graff's may be less known but then so are a lot of other small boutique houses that very very few people have heard of.

I don't think of HW or Tiffany pieces as being iconic until you get into the rare signature pieces or high carat range. HW to me means large colored rocks or the diamond wreath necklaces; Tiffany's design is more defined to me by the Jean Schlumberger line. Neither one is in the reach of most consumers.

So brand exclusivity doesn't impress me unless I see you with something that gave the brand its exclusivity - a rare stone, a large stone, or a very unique design.

Graff were cheaper than HW, Cartier and Tiffany for an almost identical ring. Not only that but they had all the GIA reports there in a folder for immediate scrutiny. (I was taking my baby brother on a spot of engagement ring reconnissence at the time).

Graff would blow any of the others out of the water for me.

One of my big issues with Tiffany is that their coloured stones aren't always up to much. This really saddens me as on a purely gemmological side they were big hitters. I'm not talking about what was sold in the shops here but the behind the scenes stuff.

Having worked for big luxury brands in the fashion industry in Italy for many years I have just never got the whole label for the sake of the label thing. All the design staff are sitting round in jeans and T-shirts - almost certainly unbranded - and churning the things out. Gucci, Valentino, Versace, Ferre, Missoni, Coach, etc etc... their names are all on designs that I did and I've never met the people at the top of the companies nor do I even own a pair of socks from any of them - nor was I paid enough to even buy one of my own pieces for my portfolio! Perhaps for that reason the only thing that counts to me is the quality of the raw materials and the workmanship - the only glamour involved is the end result of a photoshoot and what the advertising gurus create with it...

Or maybe I'm just a cynic...

 

[AmeliaG]

Ah, Pandora. The underbelly of the fashion industry. I bet you have some stories you could tell.

I always wondered if people so fixated on brands are cognizant of whether what they're buying has any relation to how the brand got its name. Tiffany's and HW didn't get their brand name recognition on account of their diamonds; Graff and Royal Asscher did. Tiffany's big selling card has always been design. Design is personal and not everyone values it enough to be willing to pay a premium for it but in my view, that's what Tiffany's is selling. I love good design and I'm willing to pay a premium for it whether its from Tiffany's or somewhere else. My favorite Tiffany ring is the Victoria band ring (that would be my dream ring sigh) but the idea of getting GIA certificates for all 50 or so of the under 10 point marquise and round diamonds to evaluate diamond quality would be ludicrous. I don't even think PS vendors would do that.

Workmanship and materials are of course very important but its a balance which I think every consumer needs to prioritize themselves.

 

[Imdanny]

Doesn't Tiffany use SI1 diamonds now? And wouldn't those diamonds be the small diamonds in their pieces? I'm not saying there's anything at all wrong with SI1 diamonds if you choose to buy one, but if that's what Tiffany is now working with, I don't consider this "luxury" level quality control, and it's not as if Tiffany's prices aren't high. I had very little respect left for Tiffany, but the straw that broke the camel's back was Laurie's comment in another thread about if a S. piece made today were to be compared to ones made in the past, the craftsmanship is probably not the same. The fact that their best designer has never been replaced with anyone comparable, while companies like Cartier and Van Cleef have great designers has never bothered me that much. But this thought, that from high to low, their quality is likely diminished is it. I'm not willing to consider them to be a true "luxury" brand like Cartier, Van Cleef, Winston, Heyman (thanks again, Laurie for that one). They might have been once, but they're not now. I frankly think the question of "exclusivity," which, yes, as was pointed out in another thread, does have a specific meaning, of HW vs Tiffany is not a serious one.

 

[Imdanny]

Tiffany's cards

For a base line comparison (not "luxury" playing cards), I was at a gas station the other day, and they had "Aviator" brand cards for $2.99.

 

[Imdanny]

One of my big issues with Tiffany is that their coloured stones aren't always up to much. This really saddens me as on a purely gemmological side they were big hitters. I'm not talking about what was sold in the shops here but the behind the scenes stuff.

Yes, and they are famous in part for that, and as I'm sure you know for marketing tsavorite and tanzanite. If you look at their treatment list (available on their website), their stones are treated to the nth degree. I'll take your word for the behind the scenes stuff (make perfect sense considering everything else they've done) and the stones you can see at their website aren't better than a "good" mall quality store. They've done a lot of great things in the past, but so what? I don't have any faith in them as a company anymore.

 

[speed51133]

Seriously. I have lived in about 5 cities in the USA. Every one of them had a Tiffany's and I bought things from there for former girlfriends. Help I am now in dc and there are like at least 3 Tiffany's within a short drive.

Harry Winston only has like 5 "salons" in the USA and the cheapest engagment ring is like 25k.


No doubt in the world that hw is more exclusive. Tiffanys has a seperate section in the store for just crappy silver charms that cost like 20$

I will say the tiffanys on rodeo drive in Beverly hills is very very nice. But the harry Winston next door blows it out of the water. The physical decor of the store isn't even comparable.

 

[CharmyPoo]

To me, Tiffany is almost like Coach but at least there aren't tons of Tiffany Outlets around. With that said, many of my daily staple pieces are from Tiffany. But I would never use a coach purse.

 

[SB621]

HW hands down.

I have a real issue with Tiffany's with their colored stones as they are typically treated, but don't disclose that. My friend who has a sapphire wedding band and spent a fortune on it from Tiffany...yup heated and probably treated as well. Their peals also treated...why pay that much money for things that don't have the quality backing it.

With all that stuff, on mother's day my SO gave me a charm that represents our son on my Return to Tiffany's charm bracelet that he buoght me when we first started to date. I will probably get another charm again this mother's day. I don't mind these types of gifts as they are tradition now...but I wouldn't buy anything else from Tiffanys or recommend them.