Help? Hide the e-ring, or buy overseas?

[worldtraveller]

Hi,

I''m new here, please be gentle

I''m planning a proposal for later this year, but it''s a little complex logistically. I''m planning on proposing about halfway through an overseas trip, and as such am not sure whether to buy the ring at home and try and hide it along the way, or arrange to purchase it overseas. I''m going to buy a Tiffany ring (I''ve read all the advice here before saying that!!) and so have several options, but what would you guys do?

1) Buy in the home country, and hide it somehow in a box, or book, or in a cosmetic product packet etc (bearing in mind it needs to get through airport security three times before we get to our final destination, and the ring comes in a box with ribbon)? or

2) Arrange for a friend who lives in the place we are going to collect the ring from one of the overseas Tiffany branches. He travels a lot so we have our pick of the stores in China and Hong Kong. I could then pick it up from him when we get to the end of our journey.

The latter sounds easiest, but I''d never see the ring before she opened the box, so should I be worried about that? I''ve been to some stores and seen the sizes of the diamonds I can afford, so I''d be wanting to order by phone and pay with a c/card, selecting the diamond on the basis of quality.

Can anyone see problems with these options?
Anyone bought from overseas Tiffany branches and know anything about ''local'' prices, or are diamonds around the world similarly priced?

Lastly, what do you guys think about these stones:

0.75/E/IF/$6928 from online Blue Nile store. http://www.bluenile.co.uk/diamonds_details.asp?__fun_frm=i&pid=LD01046522&filter_id=1

0.72/F/IF/$13,050 (eek, from Tiffany)

0.78/G/IF/$12,700 (eek again, from Tiffany)

This size is about as much as I can afford (can''t really afford the Tiffany ones so would have to compromise on colour/clarity) to get down to about $8000. The size is about right for small fingers; Size 6/ L 1/2.

Sorry for so many questions at once, would appreciate your help.

Thanks

WT

PS - How long might a ring take to make once you have selected the diamond in question?

 

[InlovewithJHK]

Hmm... I''m not sure about what you should do about where to buy the ring but I wanted to say that I personally perfer color FAR over clarity and I think that you should drop to a VS1 or VS2 before going up in color. i think F VS2 would be a wonderful combination and would make your ring buying from Tiffany''s more feasible. Why are you set on IF stones? i have a VS2 and I spend ALL DAY wearing loupes (for dental school) and I have never been able to see a flaw in my stone.

 

[worldtraveller]

Hi!

Thanks for your reply. I am not set on IF stones, but I know that the girl in question would rather I spent what I have on a better quality stone, than a large one. I think that for her hand size 0.70 would look nice.

With that in mind I looked up the online retailers, and found I could get 0.70/D/IF stone for around the $8000 mark. I was very pleased to hear that, but know I have to take the hit on clarity to go with Tiffany. Anyone know what kind of color/clarity I could achieve with $8000 at Tiffany, as they don''t have an online catalogue?

Thanks

WT

(PS sorry for boring you guys with T. questions..I know they seem to come up with monotonous regularity, and it ain''t Friday yet

)

 

[neatfreak]

I'm not positive on this these days, but in the past, overseas Tiffany prices have been far higher than US prices on diamond erings. I remember a few posters who lived in Hong Kong who were thinking of flying to the US to buy it.

But the BEST thing would be to compare apples to apples, so find a ring in your price range here and then ask your friend to call the Tiffany's in HK and ask for the same thing and the price. You'll be able to see how much more expensive it is (or not).

Oh, and as for airport security, #1, don't keep it in the big bulky box, that will make it more difficult. And #2, wedding jewelry will not set off the metal detectors usually.

You can without a doubt drop down to G VS2 with NO PROBLEMS. As for the clarity, if you go down to VS2, you still can't see any inclusions with the naked eye generally, so why pay for IF if you can't even see the difference w/o a loupe? And dropping a bit on color will really save you some $ too without compromising anything unless you are REALLY color sensitive. But most people can't tell the difference.

As for timelines, Tiffany doesn't make your ring to order in that size. It's in the store, or they have it shipped there. So assuming they have one in your size in stock, you could walk right out with it.

 

[kohdy]

My sister''s ex-FI proposed to her in the middle of their two-week trip overseas with an exact replica of the ring he purchased. He did not want to risk going through all the airport security and what not. Besides, he wasn''t sure if it was safe for him to be traveling with such an item in the areas they were going to visit. When they got back from their trip, he had arranged his brother to show up at the airport with the real deal. I thought that was a nice touch to the whole thing. I hope this will give you an idea.... you don''t have to do this, of course.

 

[boston_jeff]

Date: 4/25/2007 7:06:16 AM
Author: worldtraveller
Hi!


Thanks for your reply. I am not set on IF stones, but I know that the girl in question would rather I spent what I have on a better quality stone, than a large one. )

To reiterate, and IF stone is not a "better quality" stone if by "better quality" your GF means "something you can see with your eyes without magnification"...

In other words, without a loupe, a VS2 looks exactly the same as an IF re: clarity.

 

[havernell]

To continue with Boston''s Jeff''s analysis if quality, I would say a "quality" diamond is one that sparkles a lot/ is visually pleasing above all else. Clarity has nothing to do with sparkle. There are IF stones that are just "dead" and there are SI stones that sparkle like mad.

Because of this, I kind of think it would be better to buy the stone in the US so you can see it first (I would be nervous making such a big purchase site unseen). While it''s true that Tiffany is less likely than other stores to have poorly cut diamonds amongst their stock, each Tiffany diamond will still perform differently because the cut of each diamond will be slightly different. You may see one that just "speaks" to you because of how it performs visually. That will be the quality that your girlfriend will love!

I''ll also second what someone else said regarding rings and airport metal detectors- I''ve never had a problem with my ring going through airport security, so as long as you have somewhere to hide it where she won''t look (inside a dirty sock maybe , you should be fine travelling with it.

Best of luck with your whole plan!

 

[whatmeworry]

Are you from the U.S.? one thing to consider, is that if you buy it overseas you''re going to have to declare it when you enter the country and pay customs. I think the personal exemption is only around $800.00 or so.

 

[MustangGal]

Have you taken her to try on rings with different size diamonds? She might want something bigger than what you''re looking at...

 

[Fly Girl]

Forgive me, because I probably don''t get it, having been married for over 30 years now, but wouldn''t it be a whole lot easier for the two of you to go ring shopping now? Then she can get what she wants, she can be wearing the ring while on your trip and you don''t have a multitude of other issues.

Sorry Worldtraveler...it''s not you. It just seems that this whole proposal thing is getting out of hand.

 

[bee*]

hey,just in relation to the tiffany thing, Im not sure where you live now, but europe is a huge amount more expensive for tiffany rings than the US is. That''s why ff and I have been waiting to go back to NY to purchase ours. For a one carat lucida over in france, I was quoted €21000,which I think currently is about $27000-nearly double the price!

 

[yellowsparkles]

Date: 4/25/2007 5:51:38 PM
Author: bee*
hey,just in relation to the tiffany thing, Im not sure where you live now, but europe is a huge amount more expensive for tiffany rings than the US is. That''s why ff and I have been waiting to go back to NY to purchase ours. For a one carat lucida over in france, I was quoted €21000,which I think currently is about $27000-nearly double the price!

EXACTLY. The dollar really is in the dumps right now. I would think it is better to buy in the US. I am in the UK and it is 2 to 1... everything is twice as expensive here. Plus, If I were to buy a Tiffany here, I would have a 17% VAT to pay. May be able to claim some back on departure... but not all. there are fees.
I like the previous idea - propose with a "fake" ring and when you get home - pick out a ring (or surprise her at the airport). whatever works for you. Worrying about a ring during 1/2 your travels sounds like a pain and potentially heartache (if something happens to it).

just my .02

 

[neatfreak]

I actually REALLY like the idea of proposing with a fake. Depending on where you''re traveling and she might not be comfortable wearing a diamond on her finger.

Propose with a fake (make sure it''s not too big or else the real one will be dwarfed) and then either:

1. Go shopping for the real thing TOGETHER when you get back.
2. Have the real one waiting for her when you get home from your trip.

 

[worldtraveller]

Thanks all, some really good advice here.

I am going to have a look into the price of Tiffany in New York, as I can get there easily enough some time before our trip(am in Europe). However, I guess that I''d get the sales tax back at the airport, but would have to declare the ring on arrival and pay inbound tax to the EU. Is that right?

Thanks

WT

 

[JulieN]

I suppose you could go to the NY store and pick one out, and they''ll ship it to you in Europe. Seems like it''d be less hassle?

 

[dsy]

I''m just reiterating what the other replies say above, but wanted to add my own words of caution...

Don''t have your friend buy it for you in Hong Kong or China, unless there is a duty-free Tiffany''s that I''m not aware of. The markup that the government imposes on imported luxury goods is completely ridiculous... i lived in China last year and saw this firsthand. Any "good deals" that your friend may find will likely be due to the fact that fake brand name goods are so rampant in Asia. I would be extremely wary of buying anything there that costs less than the US price.

 

[RockDoc]

US Customs and Metal Detectors.

You should carry the ring on your person without being in the box. Put the box in your luggage, as ring boxes have metal for the hinge which would set off the metal detector.

Buy the item from the dealer of your choice here, and carry the receipts that you purchased it inside the US with you on the trip. If Customs questions you on your return to the US, you will need PROOF you purchased it in the US in order not to pay duty on it.

The more "official" way to do this is to go to customs and fill out the form for things carried outside the country that you will be returning with. Good to do this if your taking an expensive camera or computer etc with you as well when you travel.
That will make coming back through US Customs ( and maybe other places a lot better) a lot more "painless". I think you can file the form at the Customs Dept. at the airport from which you're departing.

Another additional aspect, is that there are consumer protection laws here that you will get when making a domestic US purchase of diamonds and jewelry that you would not get if you purchase it overseas.

Another advantage is that you can insure it before you make your trip so that IF something happens, you're covered with insurance while on your trip. That is a pretty important consideration as well. Just make certain that whomever you insure it with has international coverages on your policy.


Hope this helps.

Rockdoc

 

[worldtraveller]

Hi all,

Thanks for your continued advice and replies; you must save newbies like me a whole lot of time, hassle and (potentially) money!

To flesh out the story a bit, I''d like it to be a surprise, so am not going to go shopping with her for the ring. We''ve been to a few places window shopping, and went to Tiffany''s in NY (so I found out the size) last Christmas.

As we are in Europe right now, but I travel a lot, I can pretty much buy the ring anywhere, and if it''s advantageous to play off exchange rates against import/sales tax then I''d like to do that.

So far the options are:

1) Head to Old Bond Street, and buy in London with British VAT.

2) Get to NY and buy the ring there. Need to find out if a) I can get the sales tax back, and b) what the import duty from UK customs is?

3) Buy by phone from the NY store and get them to ship it to London (or to HK) for collection, as they do seem to move diamonds around the world regularly.

4) Get the specs of the ring I want from the London store, and have friend buy it at official Tiffany store in Hong Kong.

The sales advice from T''s has varied; one person said definitely buy in the UK (from her he he), the other said get it bought in Hong Kong.

What to do do? Any more advice much appreciated.

WT