Our Trip to Tiffany

[Haven]

So, my BF purchased our ering three weeks ago from our beloved family jeweler, but we were wandering around Michigan Ave today and I couldn't resist popping into Tiffany to check out the Novo ring, as I haven't yet seen one in person. (Though I have seen some gorgeous Novos here on PS!)

My BF did not believe me when I told him that you pay heavily for the Tiffany name, so we figured we'd do some investigating.

After standing around for a teensy bit, a manager came up and asked us if she could show us anything, so of course I asked to see the Novo. We happened to be standing in front of the case that houses "the over $50,000 rings" as this manager immediately told us that these were probably out of our budget, and she promptly went and got a .87 ct Novo from another case.

I must say, that Novo is stunning! It really is quite beautiful, and I love the thin band.

Since I became paralyzed by the beauty of the diamond, as always, BF took the reigns and told her that we were just browsing to get a feel for what a 2 ct G VS1 or 2 would cost. We told her we wouldn't be purchasing soon (trying to be courteous) but even so she warmed to us and did a quick search for 2 ct Novos.

The verdict: $49,000 for a 2 ct H VS2

I have to hand it to BF, he kept his cool and asked what $25,000 would get us, and she came up with a 1.5 H VS2 for that price. Then, since the store was pretty calm she wanted to play around and pull out some more rings, so I tried on a gorgeous 3 stone emerald (YUM!) a few rounds, several Lucidas, and some beautiful colored Legacy rings.

The point, however, is that although I've heard a lot of talk about the premium you pay for the Tiffany name, I had NO IDEA it was such a LARGE premium! $49,000 for a 2 ct stone!? I was shocked. We passed by Cartier shortly after leaving Tiffany but I told BF I didn't have the energy to take off any more gorgeous stones, (the putting them on, however, is easy as pie.

)

Just had to share this experience with my PS friends. BF spent the rest of the day repeating "why do people buy diamonds from Tiffany? I don't get it." At least he feels extremely proud of the price he got for our ering now!

 

[monarch64]

Hee hee, yeah, that little blue box is nice, but the price you pay for it is not! Sounds like you had a great time looking, though, and now your BF has a better understanding of Tiffany markups. I''ve never seen the Novo in person but I''m sure it''s beautiful.

I hope to see you at the next gem show, Haven! I read that you went yesterday, hope you had a great time. The one in December I''m sure will have more vendors, this one was kinda sparse.

 

[WorkingHardforSmallRewards]

Man I wish my fiance would do that, she is too embarressed

especially when I bust out my Ideal scope and loupe and such, then she just about has a heart attack. But I still do it myself, just not wuite the same

.

But on the name brand topic. I dont know much about fabrics, but I have gotten to shop at alot of big name stores around here. For instance Luis Vuitton, why would anybody pay 700 dollars for a wallet? Is it really that much better of materials? Maybe, but somehow I doubt it. And I saw a Luis Vuitton jewelery box for 2,400 dollars. Why would anybody by hand bags that cost so much? or wallets or coin purses when there have to be equivalent quality materials and craftsmanship out there for far less, even if you went and had it custom made at a shop that specializes in the material you want? Yet I bet alot of the women here and I know a whole lot of people in Fukuoka male and female have something from Luis Vuitton. If not there Cartier, dolce Gabbana, gucci, something from Chanel?

But to tell you the truth, I really want some of it myself, and one day I will certainly buy from those shops for my fiance, but I have no idea why.

 

[monarch64]

WHfSR, don''t get me started on the LV/handbag thing, lol! I''ve spent about $1300 on two handbags and one wallet/clutch in the past 8 months, and they aren''t even LV...Marc Jacobs and Burberry...I''m working my way up to Louis! You''re right, it''s all about craftsmanship and quality, really, and in the end it is a status symbol, to be perfectly honest. Same with Tiffany''s...you can have a Tiffany style setting with a fabulous quality diamond that isn''t from Tiff''s, or you can have a fabulous Tiffany ring and diamond and be able to tell people that''s where it came from when they ask where your FI got it. Some people find that important, some do not. And obviously I am making sweeping generalizations here...take my post with a grain of salt and please don''t flame me, I''m just thinking aloud here!

There have been so many threads on the Tiff''s markup...and WHfSR is right in reiterating that T''s can be compared to other luxury brands, where you can get the same item of similar quality and design for a much lower price without that brand name label. Again, the label is of the utmost importance to some, whereas it just isn''t to others. I say be yourself either way and don''t worry about what everyone else things...either they think you''re a brand whore or they think you settled or whatever...who cares!

 

[WorkingHardforSmallRewards]

I havent read yoru post yet, but I love how you said WHfSR with a lowercase f...off to read it now

I cant wait to own some name brand stuff myself. I recently got a little crazy over it all, and a year ago I used to buy my shirts at walmart...

One thing though, while Tiffany diamonds dont necessarily look any different (as various hand bags do), and in my opinion can look worse than other options, it is a little different than handbags. Most of your friends will know about the various purse/LV, etc options, but I daresay most wont know anything about diamonds. So if it isnt a brand name diamond, they just say how beautiful it is, but wouldnt assume it to be outstanding quality. But as soon as you say its from Tiffany, everybody and there grandmother is going to know that in the world of diamond rings, yours is an A+. But anyway, just depends on ones feelings and priorities I suppose.

 

[spaceworm]

Hey Haven, I also just came back from my visit to Tiffany''s store in San Diego CA this Sunday afternoon.
Considering that my budget was not even near the 25k range, they were really nice in showing me rings in the 10K and under range. Here are some examples for those of you researching the Novo:

.86ct H VS1 $9,950
.72ct H VS1 $8,600
.61ct G VS1 $7,900

In comparison, a .75ct H VS2 RB in classic setting runs about $6,850 so you can get a better idea of the premium for the Novo style.

The Novo stone does indeed look smaller than a RB of similar size, but the setting and style give it another feel which I must say compensates somewhat for the smaller perceived size.

For petite or small fingers the Novo is my favorite

. It looks simple yet elegant in an understated way. A really thin band and low set basket just makes everything work beautifully. I asked if they could measure the width of the band and it came out at 1.8mm.

Now to decide, whether to go Novo or WF ACA on legato micro pave...

 

[WorkingHardforSmallRewards]

Date: 8/27/2007 1:43:44 AM
Author: spaceworm
Hey Haven, I also just came back from my visit to Tiffany's store in San Diego CA this Sunday afternoon.

Considering that my budget was not even near the 25k range, they were really nice in showing me rings in the 10K and under range. Here are some examples for those of you researching the Novo:

.72ct H VS1 $8,600

.61ct G VS1 $7,900


In comparison, a .75ct H VS2 RB in classic setting runs about $6,850 so you can get a better idea of the premium for the Novo style.

Where did you get that second price from? the one for the .75ct purchase outside of tiffany, what shop was that from?

To give further comparison for anyone searching,

I dont know about the NOVO setting, but I picked up a .61ct E VS2 AGS000 Hearts and Arrows loose diamond for $2,000 . that means there was $5,900 remaining to pick your setting, and something tells me you can get a "classic" setting for far less than 5900, or even 4,050.

(USD of course

)

 

[monarch64]

Date: 8/27/2007 1:37:45 AM
Author: WorkingHardforSmallRewards
I havent read yoru post yet, but I love how you said WHfSR with a lowercase f...off to read it now

I cant wait to own some name brand stuff myself. I recently got a little crazy over it all, and a year ago I used to buy my shirts at walmart...

One thing though, while Tiffany diamonds dont necessarily look any different (as various hand bags do), and in my opinion can look worse than other options, it is a little different than handbags. Most of your friends will know about the various purse/LV, etc options, but I daresay most wont know anything about diamonds. So if it isnt a brand name diamond, they just say how beautiful it is, but wouldnt assume it to be outstanding quality. But as soon as you say its from Tiffany, everybody and there grandmother is going to know that in the world of diamond rings, yours is an A+. But anyway, just depends on ones feelings and priorities I suppose.

LOL, aren''t you an English teacher? I seem to recall that from one of your previous posts in a certain thread entitled "problematic fiancee" or something similar! I was no English major, but I do know you don''t capitalize prepositions, ha!

Cool that you''re getting into designers/labels. Nothing wrong with adding a little style into the everyday mix...since your FI works in the men''s garment industry, I bet she can help you out with that. Not that there''s anything wrong with buying shirts at Wally World, but as you get a little older I''m sure you''re figuring out that sometimes clothes DO make the man, and they can be a fun thing to get into and make you feel really great about yourself. Don''t hesitate to ask us for fashion advice over on the Hangout or Shopping subforums...we love to help a friend in need/question!

Hope all is resolved with your FI and whether she''s wearing her ring to work or not. I liked your thread and appreciated that you came here and vented about the situation. I thought you were just a guy looking for advice and think you did the right thing by bouncing your thoughts/feelings off of us here before letting it all out on your FI first. Take care!

 

[spaceworm]

Date: 8/27/2007 1:51:24 AM
Author: WorkingHardforSmallRewards

Date: 8/27/2007 1:43:44 AM

Author: spaceworm

Hey Haven, I also just came back from my visit to Tiffany''s store in San Diego CA this Sunday afternoon.


Considering that my budget was not even near the 25k range, they were really nice in showing me rings in the 10K and under range. Here are some examples for those of you researching the Novo:


.72ct H VS1 $8,600


.61ct G VS1 $7,900



In comparison, a .75ct H VS2 RB in classic setting runs about $6,850 so you can get a better idea of the premium for the Novo style.

Where did you get that second price from? the one for the .75ct purchase outside of tiffany, what shop was that from?


To give further comparison for anyone searching,


I dont know about the NOVO setting, but I picked up a .61ct E VS2 AGS000 Hearts and Arrows loose diamond for $2,000 . that means there was $5,900 remaining to pick your setting, and something tells me you can get a ''classic'' setting for far less than 5900, or even 4,050.


(USD of course

)

The .75ct RB in classic setting is the price in Tiffany Co. store. The other 3 examples are Novos.

 

[WorkingHardforSmallRewards]

ohhh, I missread and got confused. My fault, thanks.

 

[bee*]

We bought our ring from Tiffanys in July (once I receive it I''ll do a big post!!). I never actually wrote a report on our trip-we were on holidays from Ireland and we had previously been in NY the previous year also and had fallen in love with the lucida. We searched high and low over in NY and back home for a ring that the two of us loved as much and couldn''t find one (last count, we went to over 45 stores!) We were also in Paris over Christmas and went to a couple of stores over there and also went to tiffanys just to see were we still in love with it. Bear in mind, with the euro and the price of diamonds in Ireland, we didn''t pay a huge premium. It was the only ring that I fell in love with, so I don''t think that everyone buys it for the name or to show off. I think if I''d fallen in love with a RB I would have bought it somewhere else but as the lucida is patented, any of the lucida-inspired rings that we saw didn''t seem to match up and my ff (he''s an architect so he''s big on design) didn''t think they "flowed as well" ( I took his word for it on that

). Anyway that''s just explaining the reason why we bought one from there. I know that it''s said a lot that people buy it for the name, or for the little blue bag, but not everyone does. I for one once be saying to everyone-guess where I got my ring-Tiffanys. Im sure there are some people that buy for that reason, but others buy for a design that they can''t find anywhere else. Also we don'' have a tiffanys in Ireland, so it''s not a huge deal over here. There are places that you can buy from over here if you want to show off.

Oh on the customer services side, I found them great. I had emailed them a couple of weeks before and they ordered in a couple of rings for me. Our lucida and about 5 novos. Our SA was very patient and we were there for a few hours and I must have tried on about half the shop by the time we left. It was very enjoyable and we had many glasses of champagne

and they held about 4 rings for us so we could think about it over the weekend. We could see any certs that we wanted to see and she went back to the computer a couple of times when we wanted to know more. We were also allowed (with a big security guard with us) to take the rings over to the window and compare the rings to see about colour, as every ring looks like a D with the lights there. We went back on the monday, and spent about another hour and a half there before making our decision-bf is a very cautious buyer!

Phew that took a while-sorry for all the talking!! Anyway, we are very happy with our purchase. Will I ever buy from Tiffanys again-if I saw something when I was on holidays that I can''t get at home, I would. The people that get their rings from tiffanys seem to be very happy as do the people that don''t buy them from there. Each to their own. As for bags, the most I''ve ever spent on one is $249

 

[shminbabe]

I don''t think there is anything wrong with buying a Tiffany ring for the name brand! One is assured that it''s a perfect ring, the stones are good, the customer service is impeccable and the "feeling" that one gets from owning a Tiffany ring. I guess they did a terrific job in elevating their brand, making it a category-of-its-own, so to speak.

They were very nice to me when I was in looking around recently, comparing my new EC to theirs

. I got the idea for my 7-stone wedding band from theirs and b/c I didn''t want to pay the extra $2,700 (plus tax!) I asked Whiteflash to make me a ring based upon the Tiffany design. The only thing mine will lack is the Tiffany brand name but I know I''m getting quality diamonds (ACA, hearts and arrows, F, vs quality), and the ring will sparkle just as much, etc. My friend said, "Just buy it from Tiffany,for some reason theirs fit the most comfortably..." but I could not bring myself to spend that much more money on something just for the name. I do very much like quality things, good fit, etc. and I''m very picky about my "things". If money was absolutely no object I''d have bought the ring on the spot and would be wearing it today, happily knowing I have a beautiful ring and it''s from Tiffany. But I''m equally happy to be getting a custom ring from Whiteflash too. I''m feeling excited about that. Sure, not one of my friends will equate Whiteflash with any instant recognition or quality; in fact, they hear ''online vendor'' and they probably think ''scam''.

I''m not the type to wear things with big LOGO brands stamped all over them; I recoil from that. I love David Yurman jewelry and I recently bought two pieces of it. My independent jeweler said, "oh it''s so overpriced, I can get that made for you at a much lower cost." But I wanted a real David Yurman piece; it was important to me, I like the design very much. Still, when they showed me a necklace that had David Yurman stamped visibly on the circle I handed it back to the sales associate. I like the brand, but will not walk around being a designer''s advertisement. If someone recognizes it as DY, fine. I know it''s the design and designer I like, that''s all that matters. So as far as buying a Tiffany ring for the Tiffany brand, if you want to and can afford it, go for it! Their things are lovely, just lovely. For me, I was never compelled to get a piece of Tiffany jewelry but I''ll celebrate with anyone else who wants it and gets it.

 

[Sundial]

I think we all know that there are less expensive rings than those at Tiffany''s and less expensive handbags than those at Louis Vuitton, but sometimes you just want the real thing and you want to have the experience of buying something nice at a high end store. Sure part of this desire is due to marketing, but if you can afford it and want it there is certainly nothing wrong with it. You can be assured of a certain level of quality at these stores. My husband had a fit when I bought him a Louis Vuitton wallet for Christmas one year, but unlike all of his previous wallets this one still looks brand new after years of hard use. He even bought one for our son when we were in France earlier this year!

 

[decodelighted]

Oh Bee!! I can''t stand the suspense! (Or, perhaps, remember correctly) Did you guys choose a Lucida!???!!! I can''t wait to see *whatever* you picked but SWOON ... new LUCIDA in the house ...

And to the Tiffany Snoops -- GOOD WORK GUYS!! Great info! I love knowing how much stuff costs even if I''m not in the "market".

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Last week I tried the Tiffany "Victoria" necklace 1ctw and it was devine

. Had I had an extra $6900 USD floating around, I definately would have bought it. They had other pendants/shapes/solitaires, but that one (just four little ole marquises'') suited me the best. Simply elegant and sparkled like mad!

cheers--Sharon

 

[bee*]

Date: 8/27/2007 10:58:58 AM
Author: decodelighted
Oh Bee!! I can''t stand the suspense! (Or, perhaps, remember correctly) Did you guys choose a Lucida!???!!! I can''t wait to see *whatever* you picked but SWOON ... new LUCIDA in the house ...


And to the Tiffany Snoops -- GOOD WORK GUYS!! Great info! I love knowing how much stuff costs even if I''m not in the ''market''.

Hey deco-yep we picked a lucida! It''s a 1.23 ct, vvs2, I colour and it''s gorgeous

Bf has it at his house at the moment and wants to do the whole proposal properly so I''d say it will be around my birthday at christmas as Im back to college in a week and he''s been asking when I finish my exams. As soon as he does it, I''ll post the photos!!

 

[mikebzt]

There are numerous companies in which you are paying for the name only. Tiffany''s is one of the Monster cable is another. That being said is they charge teh premium because there name is so identifiable. Does it warrant the inflated pricetag?? Of course not but people have not smartened up as of yet.
When it comes to quality and price I would take WF everytime over Tiffany. Now if I asked around on the street it would be the other way. The reason is that Tiffany has the recognition while WF is pretty much internet know and word of mouth. With all the advertising that Tiffany does they need to pay for it some way and it is in inflating the price of the item. Name might mean something but in this case it does not. I would take WF or any pricescope vendor before I even considered Tiffany

 

[WorkingHardforSmallRewards]

Date: 8/27/2007 8:23:45 AM
Author:

Sure, not one of my friends will equate Whiteflash with any instant recognition or quality; in fact, they hear 'online vendor' and they probably think 'scam'.

Yea, I was worried about this myself initially. In order to combat it I prepared a little speech and some sort responses on how I purchased from an "out of state" buisness where they had a large selection of high quality diamonds graded by world-reknown top laboratories--as locally it is hard to find those best AGS0 graded diamond--, and then I selected my setting out of state at a reputable crafstman who hand-makes rings, then had the diamond set in it per my specific insturctions. Really emphasizing that the purchase was not a "just buy it online for a good deal" purchase but was me researching and finding the best selection of diamonds, which happened not to be in SC, and then selecting mine them via one of the worlds top laboritories certificates, and then giving brief lessons on light return and other data such as how the hearts image displays perfection in cuttign and how head conductivity is used to determine a diamonds natural birth... That pretty much alleviates any "scam" thoughts from my experiences and my fiance now uses mostly the same explanation in her discussion with freinds, without realizing that it was originally designed to combat her and others from thinking of me as cheap and...well...scammed? but anyway... a little knoweldge helps I suppose. I still want one to own a LV coin purse while I am here in Japan anyway...lol, though it would cost way more than the change I would keep in it.

 

[Haven]

I knew my post with "Tiffany" in the title would warrant a lot of responses!

Ooh, and before I reply to everyone, I forgot to add that the one big negative I did find at Tiffany is their upgrade policy--you can upgrade once in your lifetime, and they evaluate the piece and give you a trade-in price (which is likely to be less than what you originally paid) and in order to upgrade you must spend AT LEAST twice what the original piece cost. Holy moly! Anyway . . .

Let me just say that I do love Tiffany jewelry, and lucky for me they have a lovely sterling silver line which I can afford!

Monnie--We''ll definitely have to plan a GTG for the next gem show, I was so bummed that I missed out on the one we were originally talking about scheduling. I can''t believe this show was sparse--it was HUGE! And to my eyes, that Novo was GORGEOUS!

WHfSR--You bring up a good point about luxury goods and whether or not they are worth the price. Of course, it''s true that what you''re really paying for is the label, and if the label is so coveted it''s likely that the quality is quite good. I don''t own any extraordinarily overpriced handbags, but I do love my Coach purses, which are definitely priced higher than your average leather handbag. They''re wonderful, though, and Coach will clean and repair them for you for the price of shipping, too! As for having no idea why you want these luxury goods--peer pressure, baby! It''s the same reason we wanted the hot pair of shoes that all the kids are wearing when we were in the sixth grade!

You mentioned that when you say you have a Tiffany ring people recognize the quality right away. One thing I found interesting on our last trip there was that I asked the saleswoman if they could make the Novo ering with pave going all around the band (I hate it when the wedding band and ering don''t match, and the matching wband is eternity) and she said Absolutely not! That is just not our style, and we want all our pieces to look the same. This was really interesting, because it''s clear that they want their jewelry to be recognizable when customers are wearing it, which really seems like contrary to what most people, outside of Tiffany customers want--a unique, "special" piece that nobody has. I just thought that was worth thinking about.

Spaceworm--We certainly did not have a $25,000 budget in reality! (I wish!

) That was just what my BF came up with on the spot in Tiffany so he could see what that would buy us! I really love the Novo too, and I think you''re right--it must look amazing on small, delicate hands. I, myself, am nothing close to small and delicate--I''m 5''10", and I have a size 6 finger. I wish I had petite hands because I think you''re right about the Novo. As for your search for a ring, Goodoldgold.com has gorgeous square H & A stones that look just like the Novo to me, perhaps you could have one set in a similar band, too. Good luck! I can''t wait to see what you get! (I do love that Legato ring, the head is just perfect!)

Bee*--BeeStar, I mean! I can''t wait to see your ring! It sounds beautiful! I love the Lucida, that cut is really gorgeous.

Shminbabe--I can totally relate to your aversion to becoming a walking advertisement for labels! I actually purchased a fabric Coach bag several years ago with the huge Cs all over it because I didn''t want a leather, and I wanted a Coach, and that was all they had in camel color. Well, I''ve gotten used to it but it''s really funny because so many of my high school students have asked me if it''s a Gucci knockoff! That''s what I get, right?

Sundial--You''re right about Louis Vuitton quality. My grandmother has a Louis that has got to be older than me, and my complexion is much more wrinkled than that damn purse!

Deco--I love pricing things, especially when it means I get to try on all sorts of diamonds! (And I still laugh every time I see "your" Tallulah in your avatar!)

CanukGal--That piece sounds gorgeous--must make another trip to Tiffany!

Mike--You''re absolutely right. People buy Coca Cola or Pepsi over RC for the very same reason. I think there''s also a sort of romanticism connected with that little blue box, and iconography, of sorts. Regardless, I don''t think I''ll be in the market for a substantial Tiffany piece unless I come into some very large amount of unexpected income!

 

[shminbabe]

Date: 8/27/2007 1:28:52 PM
Author: WorkingHardforSmallRewards

Date: 8/27/2007 8:23:45 AM
Author:

Sure, not one of my friends will equate Whiteflash with any instant recognition or quality; in fact, they hear ''online vendor'' and they probably think ''scam''.

Yea, I was worried about this myself initially. In order to combat it I prepared a little speech and some sort responses on how I purchased from an ''out of state'' buisness where they had a large selection of high quality diamonds graded by world-reknown top laboratories--as locally it is hard to find those best AGS0 graded diamond--, and then I selected my setting out of state at a reputable crafstman who hand-makes rings, then had the diamond set in it per my specific insturctions. Really emphasizing that the purchase was not a ''just buy it online for a good deal'' purchase but was me researching and finding the best selection of diamonds, which happened not to be in SC, and then selecting mine them via one of the worlds top laboritories certificates, and then giving brief lessons on light return and other data such as how the hearts image displays perfection in cuttign and how head conductivity is used to determine a diamonds natural birth... That pretty much alleviates any ''scam'' thoughts from my experiences and my fiance now uses mostly the same explanation in her discussion with freinds, without realizing that it was originally designed to combat her and others from thinking of me as cheap and...well...scammed? but anyway... a little knoweldge helps I suppose. I still want one to own a LV coin purse while I am here in Japan anyway...lol, though it would cost way more than the change I would keep in it.

I like your thinking and I will borrow it!

Funny, as "material" as I can be I really don''t care about the ring coming from and "out of state" business and in fact am very excited to be getting WF hearts and arrows stones, albeit small ones. I know they will sparkle like crazy!

 

[Skippy123]

What fun, but those prices are crazy!!! I went into DeBeers in Las Vegas last weekend and all the diamonds had prices marked which I had never seen before; it was kind of nice and at DeBeers I didn''t think the prices were as insane as other vendors such as HW, Cartier or Tiffany''s.

 

[Haven]

And you were a much better PSer than me, Skippy--I saw those luscious pictures!!!!