Halo ring - advice on Prices and Setting Style

[diamondnovice1980]

Hi everyone,

I'm nearing a decision on which ring to go for and would love to hear advice from people with more experience of diamonds and rings. I have a few questions:

- I have seen a very nice halo ring with a 1.4ct diamond in the middle and diamond shoulders. The style is perfect but I'm only looking for a 0.9ct centre diamond - the jeweller can make this for me but I am a bit concerned that the ring will not have the same style and/or impact with a smaller stone in the middle. Of course the ring will look different but as long as it retains the same style, I'm happy - is style retained regardless of the size of the centre stone in your experience? The measurements of the 1.4ct are 7.12 - 7.15 x 4.47 mm and the 0.9ct are 6.16 - 6.19 - 3.86mm.
- The 0.9ct stone the jeweller has recommended is priced at £4.5k retail (incl VAT) on BlueNile (it's GIA F/VS1/XXX). The price quoted for the ring is £8.1k. Do you think there's much room to negotiate on price? The jeweller is a high end one on Bond Street London.

Thanks for any advice you can provide.

 

[JulieN]

That is a very expensive setting. Few settings are worth that much, it would have to be superlative.

 

[WillyDiamond]

OP
Agree 100% with Julie in above post.

I recommend you take a step back and please read this post, this is the Bible on halo selection:

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/cushion-101-my-experience-in-making-a-harry-winston-halo.183473/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/cushion-101-my-experience-in-making-a-harry-winston-halo.183473/[/URL]


Lots of people on this forum have used VC, SK and ERD, they are the most popular, although there are others

Edit: Re-read your post.......stone from BN.......GIA XXX is a start but most on PS want to see ASET images, etc, not just the dimensions. BN will not supply ASET images.

 

[Gypsy]

WHOA. That's a LOT of money for a setting. TOO MUCH.

Are you willing to shop in the US?

 

[diamondnovice1980]

Thanks for the link to the halo bible, I'll have a good read.

I should be clearer that the jeweller is providing both the diamond and the setting (it just so happens that the exact diamond he is proposing is available on BN so I can see what I could buy it for!). I guess therefore he is charging a higher margin on the diamond than it would cost me on BN plus a high price for the setting. The jeweller is Moussaieff.

The setting is very beautiful and more intricate than others I've seen so it's worth a premium to me to some extent... on the other hand I want a good deal (of course) so the comments that it seems expensive are very helpful - I'll need to work out what my best price is!

I'm looking to buy locally as seeing before buying is a must and I'm not in the US for a while.

 

[distracts]

Okay now that I see the jeweler, that price makes sense. Moussaief isn't a "budget" option by any means. I don't know a ton about them but I can easily believe they have amazing quality. I don't know that I would ever use the phrase "good deal" in conjunction with them... but that doesn't mean it's a BAD deal, just that you're certainly paying well for what you're getting.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Okay, so Blue Nile for the diamond is around $7700 US and the stone and setting are about $13,900. So that is around $6200 for the setting. That is extremely high for a halo ring for a .9 ct diamond.

I will tell you honestly that I would not pay almost as much for the setting as the diamond. I would far rather pay $11,800 on the diamond and find a very nice halo setting for $2100.

http://www.ritani.com/engagement-rings/french-set-halo-diamond-band-engagement-ring-in-platinum/4975

 

[distracts]

Here is the jeweler's website:
http://www.moussaieff.co.uk/

About:
http://www.gemselect.com/other-info/moussaieff.php
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B05EFD91E31F932A25751C1A9669D8B63

So despite the fact that it's a somewhat obscure brand, it's still a high-end brand with the price and quality to match. Among other things, they own several of the most expensive diamonds in the world, including the largest Fancy Red, which has been exhibited at the Smithsonian. I would assume if OP is shopping there it is at least in part due to the heritage and prestige of the brand. But if I'm wrong, then, yeah, I dunno why you would pick them.