AllAboardTheBlingTrain
Ideal_Rock
- Joined
- Apr 22, 2020
- Messages
- 3,364
I think this is just another way of asking how important the "branded" cachet is for you; but its a topic that I find really interesting.
Some ground rules for discussion:
1) 'Branded' refers to a recognisable jewelry maison (e.g. Cartier, VCA) or 'branded super ideal' vendors like Whiteflash. High-end jewelry designers who do custom work do not count as a brand for the purposes of the discussion.
2) if you go for branded jewelry, this means that you cannot then get your Whiteflash ACA, for example, set in a custom setting. You will have to choose one of the designer settings that they themselves offer, with no custom tweaks allowed (I guess we can debate about what kinds of settings are allowed and what aren't).
3) You are only allowed to choose one of the two - branded or unbranded. So if you pick branded, that means you will have to buy everything through a brand, but you can choose to patronise different brands (e.g. you can buy your ring from Tiffany and your wedding band from Cartier. That is allowed). You can't buy anything that is custom. Everything has to be just how the brand offers it. Similarly, if you pick unbranded, you cannot buy anything that is branded. So, you can buy an AGS 000 stone, you can vet it as much as you like, you can hire a concierge to help you pick it out, but you can't get a branded Super Ideal. You can hire a specialty high-end custom jeweler to make you your settings though and you can do as much custom work as you like.
4) I want to try and limit the price factor, so for the purposes of the discussion, let's say that the "brand" aspect adds a maximum of 10-15% to the price of the equivalent item unbranded. So this means that while branded jewelry is going to be more expensive than unbranded it is not going to be many magnitudes higher like it is right now
however that does mean that the brand will continue to use the materials they currently use, so if they use DEF VVS stones/melee exclusively then they will continue to do that and you can't request lower colours or clarity to help with the price. I'm specifying that because I don't want people to choose unbranded wholly because of the price factor.
5) To remove the emotional aspect from the discussion, lets say any jewelry you currently possess which is sentimental (e.g. your e-ring) will change to fit the kind of jewelry (as much as is feasible/possible) you pick. What that means is that if you pick branded, then your current e-ring will have never existed the way it is (if it is not also a branded ring) and the assumption is that your partner would have proposed with a branded ring that comes close to the specs of your current e-ring. If your current e-ring is something that brands don't do (e.g. lower colour antique stone) then it will be replaced by something that they do do (and the value will be roughly the same as yours).
6) You cannot replicate an iconic branded design through an unbranded jeweler.
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So given all of this, I would pick unbranded, because I love working on custom jewelry, and I like being "different". I wear my few branded jewelry pieces with happiness, but I would totally give them up versus never being able to wear something custom again. I like knowing that my jewelry stands out in a crowd.
Some ground rules for discussion:
1) 'Branded' refers to a recognisable jewelry maison (e.g. Cartier, VCA) or 'branded super ideal' vendors like Whiteflash. High-end jewelry designers who do custom work do not count as a brand for the purposes of the discussion.
2) if you go for branded jewelry, this means that you cannot then get your Whiteflash ACA, for example, set in a custom setting. You will have to choose one of the designer settings that they themselves offer, with no custom tweaks allowed (I guess we can debate about what kinds of settings are allowed and what aren't).
3) You are only allowed to choose one of the two - branded or unbranded. So if you pick branded, that means you will have to buy everything through a brand, but you can choose to patronise different brands (e.g. you can buy your ring from Tiffany and your wedding band from Cartier. That is allowed). You can't buy anything that is custom. Everything has to be just how the brand offers it. Similarly, if you pick unbranded, you cannot buy anything that is branded. So, you can buy an AGS 000 stone, you can vet it as much as you like, you can hire a concierge to help you pick it out, but you can't get a branded Super Ideal. You can hire a specialty high-end custom jeweler to make you your settings though and you can do as much custom work as you like.
4) I want to try and limit the price factor, so for the purposes of the discussion, let's say that the "brand" aspect adds a maximum of 10-15% to the price of the equivalent item unbranded. So this means that while branded jewelry is going to be more expensive than unbranded it is not going to be many magnitudes higher like it is right now
however that does mean that the brand will continue to use the materials they currently use, so if they use DEF VVS stones/melee exclusively then they will continue to do that and you can't request lower colours or clarity to help with the price. I'm specifying that because I don't want people to choose unbranded wholly because of the price factor.5) To remove the emotional aspect from the discussion, lets say any jewelry you currently possess which is sentimental (e.g. your e-ring) will change to fit the kind of jewelry (as much as is feasible/possible) you pick. What that means is that if you pick branded, then your current e-ring will have never existed the way it is (if it is not also a branded ring) and the assumption is that your partner would have proposed with a branded ring that comes close to the specs of your current e-ring. If your current e-ring is something that brands don't do (e.g. lower colour antique stone) then it will be replaced by something that they do do (and the value will be roughly the same as yours).
6) You cannot replicate an iconic branded design through an unbranded jeweler.
---
So given all of this, I would pick unbranded, because I love working on custom jewelry, and I like being "different". I wear my few branded jewelry pieces with happiness, but I would totally give them up versus never being able to wear something custom again. I like knowing that my jewelry stands out in a crowd.
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