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Help! Ritani setting price increase?

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showsy22

Rough_Rock
Joined
Feb 7, 2008
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The price in the case of a pure platinum (no diamonds) ritani setting was $1850. When I went to the store to order it specifically to fit my diamond, I was told that the price would be $3650. When I asked why the huge difference, I was told the price of platinum went up and the increase was for setting my diamond and having the setting custom made to fit my diamond. I was under the impression that ritani made these settings to order anyway. I said ok because this is the setting my girlfriend wants but now, I am thinking this cannot be right. AM I GETTING SCREWED??? Please advise. THANKS!!!
 
When did you receive the two quotes? Ritani did raise prices, but unless that first price was from a number of years ago or something, yes you might be getting screwed. The price shouldn''t have gone up THAT much.

I''d call Bill Pearlman and see what his price is on the setting. He''s a PS vendor and generally has very competitive prices.

What setting is it? If you tell us we might be able to help more.
 
Hi. Thanks for the help. The two quotes were only a couple of months apart but I don''t know how long that setting had been in the case. The model number is 1RZ1176AP-857. Thanks again in advance.
 
Date: 2/19/2008 11:43:06 PM
Author: showsy22
Hi. Thanks for the help. The two quotes were only a couple of months apart but I don''t know how long that setting had been in the case. The model number is 1RZ1176AP-857. Thanks again in advance.
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Do you have pictures or a link? I''m not coming up with anything by using that number to search...
 
AND just to mention...if it''s been there a long time, then the price of THAT setting might be much less (because the store paid a lot less for that one), but they *COULD* be right that a setting for your stone has gone up that much.

Just thought I''d mention that...because it is possible they are telling the truth.
 
I tried to post the link but couldn''t. If you go to www.ritani.com, click on collections, classic, it is one of the last settings when scrolling to the right listed. All platinum, cut out v on sides of diamond. Hope that helps.
 
Date: 2/19/2008 11:49:27 PM
Author: showsy22
I tried to post the link but couldn't. If you go to www.ritani.com, click on collections, classic, it is one of the last settings when scrolling to the right listed. All platinum, cut out v on sides of diamond. Hope that helps.
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Thanks it does help...and just in case someone from Ritani is reading this. I HATE THE WEBSITE!!! It is so not user friendly.

Ok now that I've seen it, that quote does really seem out of line to me, but there is a lot of platinum on that ring...

I'd call around to some other dealers and get quotes.
 
Thanks so much. I really appreciate your help. I''m going to call around in the morning.
 
Hi Showsy!

Curious ... Did you inquire with the same vendor both times for this pricing?

I have found that prices on designer settings vary greatly between vendors. For my ring, one vendor said $2,500 and another said $4,250! Same setting. I think it just depends on the vendors particular business strategy and overhead etc, etc.

If you go to the Ritani website and look up Ritani vendors in your area and call around with the style #, you should be able to get a good number of quotes and, if you decide to go with this setting, choose the vendor with the best pricing, providing that their level of service and quality etc is comparable as well.

Good luck with your search!
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Date: 2/19/2008 11:38:09 PM
Author: neatfreak
When did you receive the two quotes? Ritani did raise prices, but unless that first price was from a number of years ago or something, yes you might be getting screwed. The price shouldn''t have gone up THAT much.


I''d call Bill Pearlman and see what his price is on the setting. He''s a PS vendor and generally has very competitive prices.
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ditto calling Pearlmans. I noticed a price increase on their site but it surely wasn''t that kind of jump. So something seems off.

and Neatfreak...i''m soooo with you on the dislike of Ritani''s website. I cannot stand to even look there, the flash thing drives me nuts
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Great news!!! I just wanted to let everyone know that I got the setting from BBB for $1750. I am so relieved. Thanks again for the advice!!!

PS I cannot believe that someone would mark up a setting that much and LIE about the reasons for the price increase to the customer!!!
 
That''s excellent news! Glad you''re going to be able to get the setting you wanted.

It happens all the time ... when buying jewelry, it really pays off to know your stuff and to look around. Good for you!
 
Date: 2/20/2008 6:59:07 AM
Author: mrssalvo

Date: 2/19/2008 11:38:09 PM
Author: neatfreak
When did you receive the two quotes? Ritani did raise prices, but unless that first price was from a number of years ago or something, yes you might be getting screwed. The price shouldn''t have gone up THAT much.


I''d call Bill Pearlman and see what his price is on the setting. He''s a PS vendor and generally has very competitive prices.
Click to expand...

ditto calling Pearlmans. I noticed a price increase on their site but it surely wasn''t that kind of jump. So something seems off.

and Neatfreak...i''m soooo with you on the dislike of Ritani''s website. I cannot stand to even look there, the flash thing drives me nuts
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Ditto ...and ditto!! I don''t really like the flash websites, they are more difficult to use! Bill has the best prices on Ritani from what I''ve seen! Consider getting white gold if the price is a little beyond your reach.
 
Glad you got what you wanted. That is a much better price too!
 
Since i work in a jewelry store, I have been dealing with this on a daily basis.The price of plat. has soared in the last weeks let alone months...but if you had the price written on a card then the store should be committed to that price...thats why our company dosnt write down prices on our cards.double cost for a plain plat band(even if its ratani)seems very high...I would find another source for your ring.
 
Went to the website and plugged in the style numbers...The mounting should not cost you more than the mid 2000s...3600 is way to high evan with plat at 2100 plus /ounce.You were smart to shop else where.
 
Date: 2/20/2008 6:00:24 PM
Author: showsy22
Great news!!! I just wanted to let everyone know that I got the setting from BBB for $1750. I am so relieved. Thanks again for the advice!!!

PS I cannot believe that someone would mark up a setting that much and LIE about the reasons for the price increase to the customer!!!
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The vendor is actually not lying, the price of platinum has skyrocketed over the past few months. Take a look at this graph which shows the change in the market price of platinum from February 2007 to February 2008. Pay particular attention to the steep increase which occured just in the last month.

The fact that you found the setting elsewhere for $1,750.00 may simply be because that vendor happened to have existing inventory on hand and thus is able to offer a lower price on it, the price would likely be much different if they were ordering a new ring from Ritani - or they haven''t updated their price list yet and they''re about to experience a rude shock when they go to order the ring from Ritani
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1YearPlatFeb20072008.jpg
 
The price of gold has been on a similar track...



By the way, we''re not a Ritani dealer so I have no idea what the price is supposed to be for the item in question. I''m merely explaining that there has been a significant increase in the price of platinum and gold in recent months. People should always take a moment to research the price of luxury items prior to purchase to ensure that they are paying a fair price for the item, that''s just smart shopping and it reduces cases of buyer''s remorse. I find it preferable to work with a customer who has done their homework in advance, they always seem to be happier over the long term
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1YearGoldFeb20072008.jpg
 
What we are seeing and someone I know ran into this locally is some people are using it as an excuse too raise prices far beyond what the price increase in the metal would justify.
Some jewelers and some designers must think they are a gas station owners the way they act!
 
Date: 2/21/2008 2:23:28 PM
Author: strmrdr
What we are seeing and someone I know ran into this locally is some people are using it as an excuse too raise prices far beyond what the price increase in the metal would justify.

Some jewelers and some designers must think they are a gas station owners the way they act!
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No doubt that "some jewelers must feel that they own gas stations" and others likely don''t think that way at all. My feeling on it is that if we have the item in-stock and it was purchased prior to the increase, then we should be able to sell it for the price that it was before the increase. Unfortunately it doesn''t always work this way, especially when it comes to designer jewelry which tends to have a price point which is (strongly) "suggested" by the designer - with admonitions that dealers who are caught "discounting the line" risk losing the line (or more accurately simply finding it "difficult" to restock the line). It''s a kind of Catch 22 for the jeweler, who if personal experience is any indication, would probably love to use the sudden increase in price to be able to sell off more of his existing stock at the lower price to create cash flow, but who also doesn''t want to risk the loss of future income from sales of the designer jewelry because of being caught discounting. I wonder whether the major gas companies have a say in the price which their "independent dealers" sell gas for? I have a sneaking suspicion that they do.

The same concept holds true for diamond prices, but the issue is a little easier to navigate... If the dealer owns the diamond at the time of the increase and it is not a branded item, they have the freedom to decide for themselves whether to sell the diamond at the price listed prior to the increase, or to increase the diamond to reflect new market conditions. But if the dealer has the diamond in on memo, or has purchased the diamond on terms, then the cutter may have the right to increase the price of the diamond to the dealer, who then in turn would need to increase the selling price of the diamond to remain profitable. If the diamond were branded, then regardless, the brand would expect the price of the diamond to be increased accordingly so that the price of the branded diamonds would remain consistent throughout the country.

I know where you''re going with this Strmrdr and I hope you understand that I''m not disagreeing with you, far from it, I think the practice sucks. But I wanted to take a moment to explain "the other side of the coin" for those who can''t see it. I know that you''ve been in the game long enough to know the issue from both sides
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I used to work in a jewelry store as a manager and I know how we used to call the vendors weekly to get their updated pricing so we don''t misquote our clients. Specially now all the precious metals are going higher almost daily, it must be difficult for the store to keep the right pricing.

Few weeks ago similar thing happened when I wanted to purchase a ring from an online store. Two days after the order I got an email saying that the price of the ring is now $450.00 higher than it was in the order. I asked for a price guarantee but there is always some fineprint somewhere so I just canceled the order.

Jewelers think their inventory just got more valuable so they are trying to make more profit which is a really easy way to loose customers.
 
Date: 2/21/2008 5:20:58 PM
Author: DiamondGirlHH
I used to work in a jewelry store as a manager and I know how we used to call the vendors weekly to get their updated pricing so we don''t misquote our clients. Specially now all the precious metals are going higher almost daily, it must be difficult for the store to keep the right pricing.
Click to expand...

It''s worse than that right now, we don''t have to call our suppliers, they send us an email every couple of days with updated price lists
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This morning I called one of the designers we work with to get "today''s price" and was actually told to call back this afternoon before faxing over the order "because it might change". They are so caught up in policing us to make sure that we''re all quoting "the right price" that they can''t realize that maybe "close" is "close enough". I mean seriously, if the price goes up $70 between the time they quote the ring to us in the morning and what it might be this afternoon, is it really going to make that much of a difference on a ring that weighs six grams?!?! I think we can handle it.
 
Hopefully we don''t have to check the pricing of jewelry like the stock market. I would have thought that the manufacturers price their jewelry within a range of the market. They can''t just price the rings every hour, or can they?

Today I noticed even the Platinum alternative Palladium is going for new records.
 
I don''t have to be an "informed" buyer when purchasing a luxury item to know that a ring that weighs maybe 6 grams should not go up 2000 dollars in price, when an ounce of platinum is around 2000. The jeweler was using the rise in platinum and the fact that they are one of two ritani dealers in the state to extract as much money as possible from me.

Why don''t you help customers by giving them information so they may be informed? I don''t tell my patients to get operations they don''t need just because they are uninformed and I can make money. There is something called ethics in business.
 
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