Harry Winston is just sooooooo overpriced

[windowshopper]

hi guys went diamond scouting today and went into Harry Winston............asked about an eternity band. Channel set DEF vs baguettes (2.88 carats) set in platinum. 12,000!

 

[Ann]

Now that is high!!

 

[Gypsy]

ouch!

They don''t haggle either. LOL.

 

[radiantgirl]

Wow! That is expensive! I love AngelainJapan''s Harry Winston pave ring with the cushion cut halo setting though. It''s probably one of my favorite halo settings!

 

[kenny]

It is not overpriced.
You are paying for TWO things.
The product, and the name.

You get what you pay for.
But whether it is WORTH it depends on the customer.
If nobody thought it was worth it Harry Winston would go out of business.

I don't think it is worth it so I'll never shop there, or at Tiffany, Cartier, or at VCA, etc.
Some people value those names and keep them in business.

Live and let live.
Shop and let shop.

 

[FireGoddess]

Yeah...........still think it''s overpriced.

The worth of the name is a completely subjective thing. It''s not like they roll out the red carpet and treat me like a star when I bring my pieces in to be fixed or polished or whatever. I think to some people, the name connotes a certain worth, but certainly not that much. It''s not like Harry''s got his own special mine that makes his rocks or metal any better.

 

[angelainjapan]

radiantgirl, thanks for the compliment on my ring!

It was definitely my favorite out of all the ones I looked at, including the Tiffany Legacy, which I have to say was a tad higher in price and lower in quality than my HW 1.27 F VVS2 Cushion which can be seen here, Loving my Harry Winston cushion pave ering

The HW in Las Vegas gave me a substantial discount off the sticker price to seal the deal without me even asking for it!

I also know that harlowqueen on this board was able to negotiate with HW and get 30% taken off the sticker price!

Here's what harlowqueen had to say in the thread, Tiffany's vs. Harry Winston
"I know it's not Friday but I couldn't help posting a short commentary on our shopping experience at both Harry Winston and Tiffany's. We were in the market for a high quality 2+ carat ering and went looking at both places, as well as online and wholesalers in the diamond district in NY. In the end, my fiance picked out a beautiful diamond from Harry Winston, which you can see here:
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/harry-winston-ering.15007/

I just thought that I would like to inform all of you who are considering a Tiffany's ring and never looked at HW because you thought you couldn't afford it, think again. Our experience was that, while the sticker price at HW was higher, they were willing to negotiate and ended up taking 30% off the sticker price. Not to mention the fact that there was no comparison in the quality of their stones (nothing below an F, VS1) and wonderful customer service.

Tiffany's on the other hand, made us stand there for 1/2 hour before we could even see a diamond in the case and then treated us as if we could never afford the stone--which was an H, VS2--and just as expensive as the HW.

All in all, my fiance loved his experience at HW and they made him feel far more comfortable about his purchase with them than did Tiffany's. We would go back to HW in a heartbeat!"

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Wow, Angela, this is very good to know! It makes a huge difference to me that HW gives a discount. But unfortunately they are not near me.

 

[windowshopper]

To ANGELINJAPAN: thats terrific for you and we love your ring but it doesnt change the fact that in the ny store that the quoted price for a 2.88 carat baguette and platinum band was #12,000 and they were rude to boot.

you said
"I just thought that I would like to inform all of you who are considering a Tiffany''s ring and never looked at HW because you thought you couldn''t afford it, think again. Our experience was that, while the sticker price at HW was higher, they were willing to negotiate and ended up taking 30% off the sticker price. Not to mention the fact that there was no comparison in the quality of their stones (nothing below an F, VS1) and wonderful customer service."

thats wonderful but that was not my experience...................

 

[angelainjapan]

Hi windowshopper, just to be clear, what you quoted above is not something that I said. It is what harlowqueen said about her experience with the HW in NY.

I had the most wonderful experience with Tony and Lilly at the Las Vegas HW. I would recommend them to anyone, and I did, to vs (Victoria) on this board. She has had awesome service from them as well. You can read about it here: Urgent help needed, look@GIA from HW, should I buy?

Good luck and next time go to Vegas!

 

[GossamerAngel]

I work in the jewelry business, so maybe I can lend some insight.

$4,000 would be about my approximate wholesale COST on a 2+ ct baguette eternity band with d-e-f, vs diamonds. Harry Winston is an old-school jeweler, and probably markes up using the old-school triple keystone markup, or 3x over cost - exactly $12,000.

I pretty much know for a fact that unless Tiffany''s changed their pricing, their diamond jewelry is marked up just keystone or so (maybe 2.2) over cost.

this is why harry winston is able to easily knock off 30% of the retail price, because that way they''d still be making keystone, which is usually the minimum markup most b&m jewelry stores can get and still be able to cover their costs. Tiffany''s not only has a no-discount policy, but they also don''t markup their jewelry with that extra cushion in order to take any kind of substantial discounts off the retail price of their diamonds.

that would at least be my best guess of the situation!

 

[windowshopper]

Date: 5/14/2006 3:27:05 PM
Author: GossamerAngel
I work in the jewelry business, so maybe I can lend some insight.

$4,000 would be about my approximate wholesale COST on a 2+ ct baguette eternity band with d-e-f, vs diamonds. Harry Winston is an old-school jeweler, and probably markes up using the old-school triple keystone markup, or 3x over cost - exactly $12,000.

I pretty much know for a fact that unless Tiffany''s changed their pricing, their diamond jewelry is marked up just keystone or so (maybe 2.2) over cost.

this is why harry winston is able to easily knock off 30% of the retail price, because that way they''d still be making keystone, which is usually the minimum markup most b&m jewelry stores can get and still be able to cover their costs. Tiffany''s not only has a no-discount policy, but they also don''t markup their jewelry with that extra cushion in order to take any kind of substantial discounts off the retail price of their diamonds.

that would at least be my best guess of the situation!

thanks--i think you must be right...............i also checked Tiffany''s for the same item and it was about 8,000 depending on size, etc--though i believe they use G color for those bands