Price of some settings- are we getting value for money?

[SapphireLover]

So, I was looking at Ritani's website and saw the price of this Ritani ring! Am I going mad. $10,000 for a setting only with 0.1ct of diamonds!!!!
Pricing: Approx. $9250.00 - $11495.00 (not including center stone)
http://www.ritani.com/diamond_engagement_rings/item/1308
I know that the cost of gold and platinum have gone up, but that is amazing. I have been shocked by some of the prices of settings at the moment.
I love the Vatche Royal Swan, but it is $1700 for a simple setting.

 

[ksinger]

Well, somewhere on here, I don't recall exactly where, there is a link to a video of Rapaport giving a "state of the diamond world" report. It's been awhile, but one phrase I recall quite well, is his advice to sellers in a depressed economic environment, to "sell to rich people".

I have an Elizabeth Showers Maltese cross diamond pendant that I got on sale for $1400 at back in March a local jeweler. At that time, the official Elizabeth Showers site had it listed at $2850. About 3 weeks later I looked again, and it was $3750, and about 1.5 months after THAT, it was priced at what it is currently - $4500. I'm sorry, no amount of price increase in either gold or melee could account for that level of increase.

So I guess the designers are taking that advice to heart. Either they decide to chase fewer dollars per sale but more actual sales by getting in bed with a maul store, or they decide to raise prices so as to appeal to the snob contingent who thinks more expensive = better....

 

[SapphireLover]

Platinum is about 1500 an oz, so I have no idea how they can charge that.

I know that in times of recession, people go for the safe bets- gold, diamonds etc rather than stocks and shares. And I also know that prices are being inflated due to the demand of new markets such as China and India.

I just think its crazy. The other thing is who spends $10,000 and puts a 1ct stone in it? I would much rather upgrade the stone to the best and get a plainer, more simple setting!

 

[yennyfire]

I agree with you sapphirelover! I can't imagine paying $10K for a setting with .1 of melee for a 1ct. stone. I'd much rather put that extra $10K into the stone and put it in a simple solitaire and upgrade the setting down the road!

 

[ksinger]

Platinum is about 1500 an oz, so I have no idea how they can charge that.

I know that in times of recession, people go for the safe bets- gold, diamonds etc rather than stocks and shares. And I also know that prices are being inflated due to the demand of new markets such as China and India.

I just think its crazy. The other thing is who spends $10,000 and puts a 1ct stone in it? I would much rather upgrade the stone to the best and get a plainer, more simple setting!

I'm telling ya, it's that "sell to rich people" thing. Snob factor. You're paying for a name and what Ritani no doubt thinks of as their iconic design. I'm the last one to diss a good design, but at some point you have to say, really??? Even at today's prices, with 5-6 grand I could go to a local designer (Valerie Naifeh) and get an incredibly good design, flawlessly executed, in high-carat gold and dripping with diamonds. For that price, my personal snob meter says to get something designed FOR ME, not some off the rack Ritani that I might see on hundreds of other hands.

I do understand that the prices of new jewelry don't (shouldn't) go up and down daily with the price of materials - and in a production setting like Ritani no doubt has, I would think that would be especially so, and that prices today have to cover profit and materials costs tomorrow , but you're right, the increases have been pretty insane.

 

[SapphireLover]

Ksinger- you are right. Have you been following this thread? I missed the prices of how much each of the settings cost, but can guarantee that none of them charged what that Ritani ring is! https://www.pricescope.com/communit...my-victor-canera-sk-leon-ring-setting.166496/

 

[ksinger]

Ksinger- you are right. Have you been following this thread? I missed the prices of how much each of the settings cost, but can guarantee that none of them charged what that Ritani ring is! https://www.pricescope.com/communit...my-victor-canera-sk-leon-ring-setting.166496/

Yeah, I saw it, briefly: too much drama for me. And I'm sure you're right on the prices. Probably lower for much more handwork.

It is interesting to see the work side by side, but at the end of the day it's 3 near-identical halo rings. Worth good money for excellent craftsmanship certainly - a craftsman at that level deserves to be paid for that very specialized skill, but none of them are exactly pushing any design envelope.

 

[Circe]

If you think about it in terms of raw materials, a Birkin bag is probably only worth a couple of hundred dollars. Given that they can go for tens (if not hundreds) of thousands ... I figure jewelry aficionados are getting off light!

I think it's fair for designers to charge a premium for their discerning eye and their unique vision: that said, five figures for a fairly straightforward halo'd bezel would make me, personally, choke a little. But I guess people must be paying it, so ... capitalism in action! KSinger's completely correct about the motivations behind it, on the parts of producers and consumers alike.