Newbie Emerald Cut in the UK - high street, internet or US?

[StanJ]

Hey Everyone,
I am looking to get an EC for my girlfriend, and I am not sure what the best place is to get it from - my main limitation is that I want to get the finished ring back by the end of July - I just really don’t know how long it will take! I then plan to propose in Florida on our holiday

I know a lot of the people on this forum are based in the US, but if anyone can recommend a good Jeweller in Berkshire, UK that would be excellent! I want to keep away from high street chains, like earnest jones as they seem pretty pricy...

I think that for the gf fire and brilliance = cut? are going to be more important than clarity, and she prefers the EC. I would like to get something just under 1ct for around £2K all in - is this even realistic?!?

I saw the following on the web from the US which looks promising - but I understand with an EC you are better to buy in person, hence the internet Dilemma!!

Carat-0.80 G SI1 Depth-65.9% Table-62% GIA Gdl-tn- Sym-vg Pol-vg around $2K
I am going to go for a single stone and a platinum or white gold claw type setting... any suggestions as a good starting point for further reading/shopping and price guide?
Thanks for your input!
Stan

 

[neatfreak]

If I were you, I would buy from the internet, but from a place like Good Old Gold where they will show you pictures, idealscope images, etc. for the stones you''re interested in. Their customer service is top notch and that will allow you to pick a great emerald stone without needing to see it in person.

Ideally, you could pick it up in the US, then you avoid the import taxes into the UK. But even if you have it shipped to you there, it will still be a far better stone and probably much cheaper than you can get in the UK from what we have heard here.

 

[chrono]

It does look somewhat promising but there are a few other things to consider. Clarity is more important in step cuts because there is no hiding the inclusions. You picked a SI1 stone. Where is the inclusion located, what type is it and is it a black or white inclusion? Did the vendor say it is eye-clean?

What is the crown height of the stone (from a Sarin report)?
Any real magnified pictures of the EC?
Any Idealscope pictures?

We'll need all these questions answered in order to tell you whether it is pretty stone or a dull dud.

 

[gk172]

Have you thought about buying a ring on holiday? As thats what we are doing for an anniverary gift, im going to abazias (offices in florida) and ive picked asetting and stone and they are going to mount it ready for collection on an arranged date, i have been out round the shops in glasgow and the price differance between some were shocking compared to what ive chosen now. Example bernstones/fraser hart when i asked about a 1 carat princess they produced 1.02 F VS2 for £6500 which taking into account the exchange rate is around $12350 ish (more if the exchange goes over 1.90) have a look on abazias or any other trusted site recomended here and see what you can get.

 

[Po10472]

Hiya. I''m from the UK and its rip-off central buying in high street stores here. I would recommend buying in from US as you''ll get a better deal and if you purchase form the US and pick up in Florida you won''t have to make customs charges either. I''m not sure, but it may be feasible to have your ring delivered to your hotel in Florida if you arranged it online.

Take the advice and expertise of the ps''ers on here as they''ll steer you on the right path.

One thing you have to do, is keep us up to date and photos and hand shots are a must. I''m an EC girl so interested to see what you choose.

 

[Maisie]

Date: 6/8/2007 1:27:21 PM
Author: Po10472
Hiya. I'm from the UK and its rip-off central buying in high street stores here. I would recommend buying in from US as you'll get a better deal and if you purchase form the US and pick up in Florida you won't have to make customs charges either. I'm not sure, but it may be feasible to have your ring delivered to your hotel in Florida if you arranged it online.

Take the advice and expertise of the ps'ers on here as they'll steer you on the right path.

One thing you have to do, is keep us up to date and photos and hand shots are a must. I'm an EC girl so interested to see what you choose.

I would recommend paying the customs and VAT charges wherever you pick the diamond up from. It wouldn't be worth getting into trouble for

I live in UK too and I bought my ring from Whiteflash. They are a top notch company to deal with. I work for Goldsmiths Jewellers and I have to be honest and say I wouldn't rate the quality of our diamonds. I would buy from WF every time.

 

[yellowsparkles]

Where are you going in FLA? I recommend studying up and researching here on PS and contacting a few vendors. You could either buy and have it sent to you in the UK. Or, you could buy while you are in the UK and pick up or have it delivered to you while you are in FLA.
You need to find a vendor who can send you photos of the ring. The PS vendors here are top notch and will help you anyway they can. They are also used to dealing with buyers from all over the world.

I am American, but I live in the UK. The prices here are crazy. You will definately find a better cut stone for a much better price in the US.

 

[StanJ]

Hey all,

Many thanks for all your posts... its really good to get some input from experts! It would seem that the most popular suggestion is to definately buy from the US and collection in person sounds like a good idea avoiding the shipping costs - has anyone had a ring delivered to a hotel??.

Would you guys reccomend getting an apraisal done if buying direct from one of the vendors - what would be the best way to get this done and collect in the US?

Thaks gk172 I will definately check out abazias to see what I can find there... Can anyone suggest any other vendors that are near to orlando as that is where we are staying for the first part of the holiday before moving down to miami/florida keys....

On the topic of import tax I understand that with VAT and Tax its approaching 30% is this correct as I cannot seem to find the info on the customs website?

I will post a longer response to other questions tomorrow when the gf is not arround, dont want to arise suspission!

Thanks all....
Tristan

 

[Maisie]

I paid 20% in total.

17.5% VAT and 2.5% Import tax.

If you intend to buy it abroad be very careful coming through customs on the way back. If you don''t declare it and they find it they will come down very heavy on you. You could receive a fine. Its best to do it the right way and pay the duty.

 

[CatherineMcGr]

Hello, Stan.

I agree with Maisie. I live in the UK and bought from Whiteflash last year. I paid the same as Maisie. Those percentages for VAT and import tax are applied to the total sum, which is made up of the amount paid for the ring plus the insurance costs plus the postage! If you picked your ring up in Florida at least you would not have to pay tax on insurance and postage.

I think that in our journey to acquire a beautiful diamond(s) those of us who buy over the internet and also over the Atlantic ocean have at some stage worried about committing ourselves to such a purchase, sight unseen, from vendors we do not know. When we eventually commit it is usually because what we have read on this site has reassured us that the vendor we have chosen is honest, honourable and reliable. How can we expect honour and honesty from the vendors yet be prepared to be less than honest ourselves by trying to avoid legitimate, though unpleasant, taxes?

 

[StanJ]

Maisie/giotto,

Thanks for your input, around 20% seems much more reasonable than the %30 that I read in another thread - I think that may have been somewhere else in Europe. I also agree with your points on honesty paying the taxes... although they always seem so high!

This raises another question regarding sales tax in the US: If I place an order and arrange for delivery into the UK, I would not pay sales tax (I think) as I live in the UK, but I would pay VAT and import duty.
Would this be the case if I collected in the US either in person in the store, or delivery to a hotel (would still pay VAT and import duty, but not on the shipping/insurance)?
Thanks
Stan

 

[Maisie]

I think Whiteflash states that if you buy from them in person there is a sales tax of 8.25%. If you have it posted to you in another state you wouldn''t pay this tax.

If you buy the ring in the states then bring it home yourself you should declare it at customs and they will only charge you duty and VAT based on the cost of the ring as there wouldn''t be any shipping.