Luxury brands- Cartier, Tiffany, Harry Winston

[solgen]

I'm aware that there is a price premium for these brands but after looking at various rings from Blue Nile, James Allen, Adiamor and various stores in the LA jewel district it seems these luxury brands offer better craftsmanship. I'm kinda partially to Tiffany as their prices were amongst the lowest of the luxe brands and their designs were captivating.

I liked the Embrace for a round brilliant and am also considering the ribbon design.I like how their halo wraps tightly around the center stone with no visible gap like with other deigns. Stones and halos and perfectly centered on the ring as well. A lot of similar copies I've seen had visible gaps between the halo and the center stone and weren't aligned properly. Seems like they use generic settings and make the stone fit whereas tiffany makes custom settings to fit the stone. As for the cut of the stones, Tiffany doesn't always use the hearts and arrows design but nonetheless their stones had exceptional brilliance. Granted part of this is store lighting as well.

The soleste was also captivating with square modified cushion cut. The first halo sits at an angle and underneath the center stone making the center stone look bigger. Their cushion mod brilliant stones were also well cut with none of the crushed ice look though I find that more prevalent in the vintage cushion cuts.

Now the kicker, there's quite a few on the used market at about 60% of original price. For instance there's a .79ct center G VVS2 Soleste triple ex for $7000. This is about ideal for me as an larger center with the Soleste design and it starts looking like a cocktail ring due to absurdity of size IMO.

I've also looked into similar rings from ERD and Canera and the price difference is usually a few hundred, sometimes more sometimes less. If I were to deviate a bit and slightly modify the Tiffany designs then these might be better options but I like Tiffany's designs as is. Maybe there's a combo from these designers with a center from GoG that could be significantly cheaper but I haven't found one.

So, is there anything wrong with going with a used Tiffany ring given the substantial savings?

 

[chrono]

Tiffany's diamonds are not always well cut and you have to be cautious of the many counterfeit items in the secondhand market. Not sure if you are the guy or the lady but most women would not want a secondhand ring as their e-ring.

 

[yssie]

If you love the Tiffany design as-is... then, far from having another vendor replicate it, I strongly urge you to do exactly as you've decided and buy the original

Ditto Chrono - beware counterfeits. The Soleste is a popular design and there is an appallingly large number of fakes. Tiffany won't officially authenticate unless you're the original purchaser (and have the paperwork to prove it) or you inherited the piece (and have the paperwork to prove it); as a secondary-market customer the only way to be completely sure that a piece is authentic without paperwork is to pay to have it serviced - not the free cleaning they'll offer when you walk in-store. The receipt is your proof of authenticity.

Keep in mind - this merry band of counterfeiters will also delightedly fake packaging, sales receipts, certificates of authenticity, and servicing receipts, so buying "with paperwork" is still no guarantee.

 

[solgen]

Counterfeits are a big concern. If it has the Tiifany diamond certificate and the diamond has the corresponding serial number then it would be fairly safe to assume it's genuine? How difficult is it for counterfeiters to etch the serial number into the stone?

 

[MrsWhitney]

IMHO people like WINK, JA, Leon Mege---they all make excellent jewelery, often above what you may find at TIffany or Cartier; a rumor once was that LM did make high end rings for large houses (could be wrong- this was a decade ago). However, if your mind is set on a brand, get it. You do not want to second-guess, forever.

My first rings were "used", and they did NOT bother me, at all. EXCEPT that insurance appraisals or valuations are done in the original owners name...so to update, we bought a new one. My last, was from Tiffany, and new. I loved it. LOVED. And I love Tiffany...sadly I am changing to Graff due to an insurance issue with my loss, but the customer service has already been AWESOME (i.e. the MANAGER went to UPS today to track down my insurance check on their off-time, because I am ill and could not).

So with the brand, sometimes comes service. Many "high-end" malls have a Tiffany now, so you always have that. Same with Cartier...

Sadly, or I guess on the bright side, I have to always come back home to NYC for ring servicing now....and future purchases.

 

[arkieb1]

If you want a Tiffany buy a Tiffany be aware their stones are not always outstanding cuts, good cuts yes top cuts not always. Preloved you need to verify it is a genuine product or forget about it you can end up with anything. If you buy preloved, buy from a trusted vendor or someone where you can meet at a Tiffany store and confirm everything is in order.

Otherwise a Super Ideal in a Brian Gavin Tiffany replica will be pretty darn close I've helped people buy them and they DO look similar to the Tiffany product or go for something original and high quality instead. I have taken a Victor halo into Tiffany and other high end stores with another member and we both agreed that his pave work is better than Tiffany products IMHO, the staff in some of these shops even thought it was better and ooohed and aaaahed over it..... His solitaires are nicer too but you are buying a VC ring when you get one not a Tiffany rip off that is all, the same for Steven and Leon.

Some of our members also sell high end rings with paperwork via the preloved section here, Loupetroope, DiamondBistro and Jewels by Grace so its worth looking there as well.