Is this Harry Winston diamond pendant overpriced?

[sunny05]

Hi, I'm rather new to this forum so please direct me if this is the wrong place to post. I'm currently interested in the Harry Winston Lotus Cluster pendant, which is $15k. The center stone is approximately .3 carats and the pendant overall has a total carat weight of 1.14 carats. It's set in platinum. I'm looking at the smaller one. I understand that all luxury brands, and jewelry in general, has a heavy markup, but is this too much in your opinion? I am new to diamonds, and I am not sure what appropriate pricing is. I love the look of this pendant and the reassurance that I'll be getting the "best" with HW. I would love to hear some thoughts/advice from the experts.

Lotus Cluster Small Diamond Pendant | Harry Winston

The charming allure of the Lotus Flower comes to life in a delicate diamond pendant. Discover floral-inspired fine jewelry designs on the Harry Winston website.

www.harrywinston.com

 

[xxxxxx]

Yes it is overpriced. It comes down to what it’s worth to you to have a Harry Winston product and if you are set on that specific design. A jeweller could copy it, but if you are very specific it couldn’t be copied 100%. So maybe the price is worth it to you. Looking at just the diamonds, metal and overall construction - yes it is “overpriced”. But some people do really value a brand name and to them the markup is worth it and not overpriced.

To me it sounds like you really appreciate “the best”. Would you be happy with a very similiar pendant made by a top notch jeweller (whose quality of work is just as high as HW - or even higher)? Or would only the HW really make you happy? That and your budget is what it boils down to.

 

[Polabowla]

I don't think so very overpriced; their workmanship and diamonds are incredible.
It looks like a stunning pendant

 

[Bron357]

Yes, there is a very hefty premium associated with the name. The diamonds are likely very good quality but very good quality diamonds can be sourced by others.
I would think that for a cluster totalling 1.14 carats with a .30 carat centre you are realistically talking about less than $2,000 worth of diamonds. Allow say another $2,000 for making (generous allowance) and it’s about $4,000 worth being sold for $15,000.
Is Harry Winstons name worth over $10,000 to you?
To some people that is important, to others no.
a competent jeweller ie David Klass could make you something similar in style and size for less than $5,000.
or you could get it made with much bigger diamonds for one costing $15,000.

 

[xxxxxx]

If you don’t care about it being Harry Winston I would look at Victor Canera both his diamonds and jewellery work are stunning and are just as good (or if you have extra wishes) even “better” price wise than a HW piece.

 

[sunny05]

Yes it is overpriced. It comes down to what it’s worth to you to have a Harry Winston product and if you are set on that specific design. A jeweller could copy it, but if you are very specific it couldn’t be copied 100%. So maybe the price is worth it to you. Looking at just the diamonds, metal and overall construction - yes it is “overpriced”. But some people do really value a brand name and to them the markup is worth it and not overpriced.

To me it sounds like you really appreciate “the best”. Would you be happy with a very similiar pendant made by a top notch jeweller (whose quality of work is just as high as HW - or even higher)? Or would only the HW really make you happy? That and your budget is what it boils down to.

I don't care that much about the brand, as long as the quality is on par, but I love this design and I'd be really uncomfortable having another jeweler copy it.

Yes, there is a very hefty premium associated with the name. The diamonds are likely very good quality but very good quality diamonds can be sourced by others.
I would think that for a cluster totalling 1.14 carats with a .30 carat centre you are realistically talking about less than $2,000 worth of diamonds. Allow say another $2,000 for making (generous allowance) and it’s about $4,000 worth being sold for $15,000.
Is Harry Winstons name worth over $10,000 to you?
To some people that is important, to others no.
a competent jeweller ie David Klass could make you something similar in style and size for less than $5,000.
or you could get it made with much bigger diamonds for one costing $15,000.

Wow, thank you for the pricing details, that's really illustrative. I had no idea the markup was *that* high.

If you don’t care about it being Harry Winston I would look at Victor Canera both his diamonds and jewellery work are stunning and are just as good (or if you have extra wishes) even “better” price wise than a HW piece.

Thank you ladies for your input. I'm thinking about trying to custom a diamond pendant now, but this would be my first diamond pendant and custom project, so I'm rather nervous. I guess what I like about the Harry Winston pendant is that I already know it's "right" and I don't have to worry, but "right" isn't worth a $10,000 markup. Gosh!

 

[NicoleNeedsHelp]

Enabler here! It is very pretty. Heck, we only live once, splurge!

 

[Polyhex]

You can get the pendant remade, even with larger stones, with top quality workmanship at a fraction of the price. Harry Winston in any case has copied that design from Victorian and Edwardian starburst designs, so I would strongly advise against feeling any guilt in copying it, and if you go custom you can make small tweaks to the design. It is a lovely pendant.

 

[lovedogs]

It's a beautiful design, but I agree with @Bron357 that the mark up is incredibly high. It would be easy to have something like this made for under 5k, so paying 15K seems like too much of a mark up to me. That said, everyone is different so it might not be *too much* of a mark up for you. I would personally do what others have suggested and have someone make something similar (e.g. David Klass). However, if you are 100% sold on EXACTLY those proportions and exactly that design (down to the details), then it's possible that getting something similar wouldn't satisfy you.

I also agree with @Polyhex that you shouldn't feel badly at all if you decide to go the route of having a jeweler make something similar, as HW didn't invent this type of flowery/snowflake design.

 

[sunny05]

You can get the pendant remade, even with larger stones, with top quality workmanship at a fraction of the price. Harry Winston in any case has copied that design from Victorian and Edwardian starburst designs, so I would strongly advise against feeling any guilt in copying it, and if you go custom you can make small tweaks to the design. It is a lovely pendant.

It's a beautiful design, but I agree with @Bron357 that the mark up is incredibly high. It would be easy to have something like this made for under 5k, so paying 15K seems like too much of a mark up to me. That said, everyone is different so it might not be *too much* of a mark up for you. I would personally do what others have suggested and have someone make something similar (e.g. David Klass). However, if you are 100% sold on EXACTLY those proportions and exactly that design (down to the details), then it's possible that getting something similar wouldn't satisfy you.

I also agree with @Polyhex that you shouldn't feel badly at all if you decide to go the route of having a jeweler make something similar, as HW didn't invent this type of flowery/snowflake design.

Thanks for the advice! I was thinking about what I'd tweak if I went the custom route, and I'm a little obsessed with the idea of being able to have interchangeable center stones, so I could wear with a diamond, blue sapphire, or padparadscha as that'd be amazingly versatile. But that seems like an incredibly difficult thing to pull off especially with a smaller pendant. Do you know if this would be feasible?

 

[Polyhex]

Thanks for the advice! I was thinking about what I'd tweak if I went the custom route, and I'm a little obsessed with the idea of being able to have interchangeable center stones, so I could wear with a diamond, blue sapphire, or padparadscha as that'd be amazingly versatile. But that seems like an incredibly difficult thing to pull off especially with a smaller pendant. Do you know if this would be feasible?

Wow, that would be amazing! I'm 100% sure it could be done, either with the center stone as a stud or with a small plaque containing an embedded halo of diamonds. It might look slightly different but I'm sure a good designer could figure out some great options!

 

[LilAlex]

I don't care that much about the brand, as long as the quality is on par, but I love this design and I'd be really uncomfortable having another jeweler copy it.

If you don't care about the brand, then you are "overpaying" by definition since much of the cost is the brand in this instance.

That said, if you must have this exact design custom-made by someone else as a one-off, and source the top (albeit small) stones, you may not save much if anything.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Please don't try to do interchangeable stones. That sounds like a recipe for disaster!

But as far as the brand issue goes, it depends on how much you love it. I have a few pieces from Van Cleef that are terribly overpriced, but they are iconic pieces that sell at close to retail on the second hand market, and I love them. While the HW necklace is very beautiful, it wouldn't be as recognizable, and I would maybe have qualms about spending that much on it considering I could have a similar pendant made with a much larger center stone (such as 1.25 cts) at that price point. I certainly wouldn't make an exact copy of any branded piece, but there are many lotus variations and I am sure you could make a unique one.

This is nowhere near the style of your desired piece, but just to show you a fine quality, solid platinum, custom diamond pendant with a .90 ct center stone and other small diamonds, and it was around $7000.



Bottom line, though, if you aren't concerned about the cost and really love the pendant, it's certainly fine to get the HW!!! Sometimes there just isn't a substitute for the real thing!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Showing you some other nice quality ready made pendants to compare re: pricing. Kind of shows you the brand markup on the HW.

Kwiat Vintage Octagon Pendant with Diamonds in 18K White Gold | Kwiat

Kwiat Vintage Octagon Pendant with Diamonds in 18K White Gold, Style # N-28619-0-DIA-18KW. Free Shipping, Free Returns. Concierge assistance available. Since 1907, Kwiat has crafted beautiful jewelry and exquisite diamonds for your special moments.

kwiat.com

This one has total diamond weight of 1.7 ctw:

Kwiat Star Frame Pendant with Diamonds in 18K White Gold | Kwiat

Kwiat Star Frame Pendant with Diamonds in 18k White Gold, Style #N-9777-0-DIA-18KW. Free Shipping, Free Returns. Concierge assistance available. Since 1907, Kwiat has crafted beautiful jewelry and exquisite diamonds for your special moments.

kwiat.com

Total weight 1.5 ctw:

Kwiat Star Large Pendant with Diamonds in Platinum | Kwiat

Kwiat Star Large Pendant with Diamonds in Platinum, Style #N-9001-0-DIA-PLAT. Free Shipping, Free Returns. Concierge assistance available. Since 1907, Kwiat has crafted beautiful jewelry and exquisite diamonds for your special moments.

kwiat.com

Here is the start of the pendant section. There are many more pretty diamond pendants to look at scattered throughout the pages.

Diamond Pendants | Kwiat

Shop Diamond Pendants from Kwiat. Experience diamond jewelry worthy of a family name. Kwiat is Simply Brilliant.

kwiat.com

 

[sunny05]

Please don't try to do interchangeable stones. That sounds like a recipe for disaster!

But as far as the brand issue goes, it depends on how much you love it. I have a few pieces from Van Cleef that are terribly overpriced, but they are iconic pieces that sell at close to retail on the second hand market, and I love them. While the HW necklace is very beautiful, it wouldn't be as recognizable, and I would maybe have qualms about spending that much on it considering I could have a similar pendant made with a much larger center stone (such as 1.25 cts) at that price point. I certainly wouldn't make an exact copy of any branded piece, but there are many lotus variations and I am sure you could make a unique one.

This is nowhere near the style of your desired piece, but just to show you a fine quality, solid platinum, custom diamond pendant with a .90 ct center stone and other small diamonds, and it was around $7000.



Bottom line, though, if you aren't concerned about the cost and really love the pendant, it's certainly fine to get the HW!!! Sometimes there just isn't a substitute for the real thing!

Thank you for your insight! I suppose the interchangeable center stone idea was ill-concieved, the idea of a stone falling out of the pendant is rather scary! I love your pendant, may I ask which vendor made it?

I feel you on the VCA end. For some reason, the VCA lotus collection, or really any of their collections, don't feel overpriced to me anymore, even though I know there is a huge markup. But the HW lotus feels exorbitant, despite having much larger diamonds than VCA's.

I'd love to have a diamond pendant custom made, but honestly custom projects intimidate me a little. I don't even know where I would begin trying to figure out what I want. Plus you can't just return it or resell it as easily.

 

[sunny05]

Showing you some other nice quality ready made pendants to compare re: pricing. Kind of shows you the brand markup on the HW.

Kwiat Vintage Octagon Pendant with Diamonds in 18K White Gold | Kwiat

Kwiat Vintage Octagon Pendant with Diamonds in 18K White Gold, Style # N-28619-0-DIA-18KW. Free Shipping, Free Returns. Concierge assistance available. Since 1907, Kwiat has crafted beautiful jewelry and exquisite diamonds for your special moments.

kwiat.com

This one has total diamond weight of 1.7 ctw:

Kwiat Star Frame Pendant with Diamonds in 18K White Gold | Kwiat

Kwiat Star Frame Pendant with Diamonds in 18k White Gold, Style #N-9777-0-DIA-18KW. Free Shipping, Free Returns. Concierge assistance available. Since 1907, Kwiat has crafted beautiful jewelry and exquisite diamonds for your special moments.

kwiat.com

Total weight 1.5 ctw:

Kwiat Star Large Pendant with Diamonds in Platinum | Kwiat

Kwiat Star Large Pendant with Diamonds in Platinum, Style #N-9001-0-DIA-PLAT. Free Shipping, Free Returns. Concierge assistance available. Since 1907, Kwiat has crafted beautiful jewelry and exquisite diamonds for your special moments.

kwiat.com

Here is the start of the pendant section. There are many more pretty diamond pendants to look at scattered throughout the pages.

Diamond Pendants | Kwiat

Shop Diamond Pendants from Kwiat. Experience diamond jewelry worthy of a family name. Kwiat is Simply Brilliant.

kwiat.com

Thanks for linking the Kwiat pieces! I'm not familiar with this brand, but I'm really liking these pieces.

Kwiat Vintage Rose Cut Diamond & Sapphire Orbital Pendant in 18K White Gold | Kwiat

Kwiat Vintage Rose Cut Diamond & Sapphire Orbital Pendant in 18K White Gold, Style #N-28610S-0-DIASAP-18KW. Free Shipping, Free Returns. Concierge assistance available. Since 1907, Kwiat has crafted beautiful jewelry and exquisite diamonds for your special moments.

kwiat.com

Kwiat Star Large Drop Earrings with Diamonds in Platinum And 18K White Gold | Kwiat

Kwiat Star Large Drop Earrings with Diamonds in Platinum, Style #E-16356-0-DIA-PT8W. Free Shipping, Free Returns. Concierge assistance available. Since 1907, Kwiat has crafted beautiful jewelry and exquisite diamonds for your special moments.

kwiat.com

Kwiat Star Large Pendant with Diamonds in Platinum | Kwiat

Kwiat Star Large Pendant with Diamonds in Platinum, Style #N-9001-0-DIA-PLAT. Free Shipping, Free Returns. Concierge assistance available. Since 1907, Kwiat has crafted beautiful jewelry and exquisite diamonds for your special moments.

kwiat.com

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Thank you for your insight! I suppose the interchangeable center stone idea was ill-concieved, the idea of a stone falling out of the pendant is rather scary! I love your pendant, may I ask which vendor made it?

I feel you on the VCA end. For some reason, the VCA lotus collection, or really any of their collections, don't feel overpriced to me anymore, even though I know there is a huge markup. But the HW lotus feels exorbitant, despite having much larger diamonds than VCA's.

I'd love to have a diamond pendant custom made, but honestly custom projects intimidate me a little. I don't even know where I would begin trying to figure out what I want. Plus you can't just return it or resell it as easily.

Caysie van Bebber of CVB Inspired Design made that pendant for me. I love it so much! But I 100% understand the desire to choose a style already made. I have the VCA vintage Alhambra pave white gold pendant, and I love that, too. But it's half the price of the HW Lotus! So I guess it does make me feel a little better about VCA pricing! (But the HW is higher diamond weight than my pave Alhambra, too.)

Thanks for linking the Kwiat pieces! I'm not familiar with this brand, but I'm really liking these pieces.

Kwiat Vintage Rose Cut Diamond & Sapphire Orbital Pendant in 18K White Gold | Kwiat

Kwiat Vintage Rose Cut Diamond & Sapphire Orbital Pendant in 18K White Gold, Style #N-28610S-0-DIASAP-18KW. Free Shipping, Free Returns. Concierge assistance available. Since 1907, Kwiat has crafted beautiful jewelry and exquisite diamonds for your special moments.

kwiat.com

Kwiat Star Large Drop Earrings with Diamonds in Platinum And 18K White Gold | Kwiat

Kwiat Star Large Drop Earrings with Diamonds in Platinum, Style #E-16356-0-DIA-PT8W. Free Shipping, Free Returns. Concierge assistance available. Since 1907, Kwiat has crafted beautiful jewelry and exquisite diamonds for your special moments.

kwiat.com

Kwiat Star Large Pendant with Diamonds in Platinum | Kwiat

Kwiat Star Large Pendant with Diamonds in Platinum, Style #N-9001-0-DIA-PLAT. Free Shipping, Free Returns. Concierge assistance available. Since 1907, Kwiat has crafted beautiful jewelry and exquisite diamonds for your special moments.

kwiat.com

I particularly love their vintage line and some of their more classic designs. I think they are a very old respected NYC jeweler with very nice quality jewelry and many of their own designs. Their prices are fair without the high end mark-up of a HW, Graff, or VCA. I would definitely add one of their pendants to my collection if I would just wear what I already have!!!

 

[sunny05]

Caysie van Bebber of CVB Inspired Design made that pendant for me. I love it so much! But I 100% understand the desire to choose a style already made. I have the VCA vintage Alhambra pave white gold pendant, and I love that, too. But it's half the price of the HW Lotus! So I guess it does make me feel a little better about VCA pricing! (But the HW is higher diamond weight than my pave Alhambra, too.)



I particularly love their vintage line and some of their more classic designs. I think they are a very old respected NYC jeweler with very nice quality jewelry and many of their own designs. Their prices are fair without the high end mark-up of a HW, Graff, or VCA. I would definitely add one of their pendants to my collection if I would just wear what I already have!!!

Do you think their quality/diamonds compare to VCA or Harry Winston? I'm thinking about the Kwiat Large Star Diamond pendant as an alternative to the HW Lotus, which would be $5k less.

 

[icy_jade]

https://www.therealreal.com/products/jewelry/necklaces/pendant-necklace/kwiat-vintage-diamond-pendant-necklace-74vui?position=14

Kwiat pendant anyone?

 

[sunny05]

https://www.therealreal.com/products/jewelry/necklaces/pendant-necklace/kwiat-vintage-diamond-pendant-necklace-74vui?position=14

Kwiat pendant anyone?

I saw that while I was researching Kwiat. The fact that it's $5k off retail makes me a little uneasy about investing in a Kwiat piece in the future. I found a site named Tappers that had Kwiat pieces on clearance for what looked like 30-50% off too, which was a bit of a turn off. I still think the pieces are beautiful, but it doesn't really have that VCA or HW allure in that sense.

 

[xxxxxx]

These have a far more antique feel than the Harry Winston but I know Victor Canera could pull off the Harry Winston look easily.

Halo Pedant with Pear and French Cut Diamonds | Victor Canera

A vintage pendant with a two row halo, the first being in u-cut pave set diamonds. The second halo with pave\bezeled rounds, pear & french cut diamonds.

www.victorcanera.com

Octagonal Halo Pendant | Victor Canera

This beautiful pendant necklace features a 1.5ct Hearts & Arrows round set in an art-deco octagonal halo. The back feature an intricate ajour design.

www.victorcanera.com

 

[RunningwithScissors]

I wouldn't dismiss Kwiat. Kwiat is an extremely high quality and old school brand. Their workmanship is impeccable and their diamonds are very well cut.

Take TheRealReal's guesstimate of retail values with a large grain of salt. Often they inflate these guesstimates to make consumers feel like they are getting a bargain.

And the popularity of a brand often drives the price. The general population may not have heard of Kwiat, but that doesn't mean Kwitat's quality isn't high. Popularity =/= quality. For example, a "Hearts on Fire" diamond is more expensive than one from one of our super ideal vendors, however the quality is not as high. One of our vendors actually sells "seconds," diamonds that don't meet their strict standards, to Hearts on Fire.

 

[AprilBaby]

I would ordinarily not buy a designer piece but if I had the money I would get the Harry Winston. It will hold its value and I would wear it a lot. It would probably be the only designer I owned.

 

[sunny05]

These have a far more antique feel than the Harry Winston but I know Victor Canera could pull off the Harry Winston look easily.

Halo Pedant with Pear and French Cut Diamonds | Victor Canera

A vintage pendant with a two row halo, the first being in u-cut pave set diamonds. The second halo with pave\bezeled rounds, pear & french cut diamonds.

www.victorcanera.com

Octagonal Halo Pendant | Victor Canera

This beautiful pendant necklace features a 1.5ct Hearts & Arrows round set in an art-deco octagonal halo. The back feature an intricate ajour design.

www.victorcanera.com

Thank you for the suggestions! I really like the first one, I’ll definitely look into Victor Canera.

 

[sunny05]

I wouldn't dismiss Kwiat. Kwiat is an extremely high quality and old school brand. Their workmanship is impeccable and their diamonds are very well cut.

Take TheRealReal's guesstimate of retail values with a large grain of salt. Often they inflate these guesstimates to make consumers feel like they are getting a bargain.

And the popularity of a brand often drives the price. The general population may not have heard of Kwiat, but that doesn't mean Kwitat's quality isn't high. Popularity =/= quality. For example, a "Hearts on Fire" diamond is more expensive than one from one of our super ideal vendors, however the quality is not as high. One of our vendors actually sells "seconds," diamonds that don't meet their strict standards, to Hearts on Fire.

Really interesting point about the Hearts on Fire diamonds. You’re right that popularity drives prices, but I guess I’m just worried because with brands like VCA, I have friends who own pieces or I can look online for testimony and modeling photos. With less well-known brands (even with impeccable quality) it feels like I’m going in blind.

 

[deorwine]

Please don't try to do interchangeable stones. That sounds like a recipe for disaster!

But as far as the brand issue goes, it depends on how much you love it. I have a few pieces from Van Cleef that are terribly overpriced, but they are iconic pieces that sell at close to retail on the second hand market, and I love them. While the HW necklace is very beautiful, it wouldn't be as recognizable, and I would maybe have qualms about spending that much on it considering I could have a similar pendant made with a much larger center stone (such as 1.25 cts) at that price point. I certainly wouldn't make an exact copy of any branded piece, but there are many lotus variations and I am sure you could make a unique one.

This is nowhere near the style of your desired piece, but just to show you a fine quality, solid platinum, custom diamond pendant with a .90 ct center stone and other small diamonds, and it was around $7000.



Bottom line, though, if you aren't concerned about the cost and really love the pendant, it's certainly fine to get the HW!!! Sometimes there just isn't a substitute for the real thing!

Wait, why not interchangeable stones? I mean, I can't think of a secure way to do it, but I'm also not a top jeweler. I'd think it would be worth asking e.g. David Klass whether it's something he's done before.

I guess one thing I could see is that making an interchangeable stone pendant might make it more chunky and less aesthetic than OP wants maybe.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Wait, why not interchangeable stones? I mean, I can't think of a secure way to do it, but I'm also not a top jeweler. I'd think it would be worth asking e.g. David Klass whether it's something he's done before.

I guess one thing I could see is that making an interchangeable stone pendant might make it more chunky and less aesthetic than OP wants maybe.

Far greater risk of losing the stone. A removable stone likely would affect the aesthetics. Just get more than one pendant. I mean, diamonds go with everything anyway!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

If you value branding, then go for the HW pendant. We can find you many examples of high quality pieces that are less well known, but they might not hold value as well in resale. But I generally do not recommend buying jewelry with the intent to sell anyway. So I buy what I love regardless of brand. I have some VCA and I have pieces by Caysie and Victor, as well. I'd buy Kwiat if I didn't feel like I already have more than enough jewelry! They have many pieces I'd love to have and I am very conscious of high quality!

 

[Laila619]

For the price of the one Harry Winston, you could get 2 or 3 custom pendants done with different center stones, one sapphire, one diamond, etc. I would definitely NOT do interchangeable stones. Good luck!