Hi all,
Just had my first trip to Japan, and what better way to spend some time than to experience some jewellery shopping. We ended up buying our wedding rings! Here are some observations:
1. Most diamonds on display are around 0.25-0.30ct. They're also VVS and H or higher.
2. The largest one we saw was a 1.07ct F VVS2. It was very expensive, much more so than buying from our usual online vendors. Think more than Tiffany.
3. There are also some distinctly Japanese things, like a "sakura" diamond, which is cut to reveal the outline/shape of a sakura flower. These diamonds are also slightly pink to mimic that of a cherry blossom. Quite cute, but far too small to appreciate the details.
4. We fell in love with Mokume-Gane, which is a technique that somehow blends different metals together giving it a wood grain pattern. The rings are then forged.
5. There is also something called a "sharing ceremony", where a Mokume-Gane ring is split into two by the couple, and then it goes back to be refinished. The end result isn't perfectly round, rather has a dent at the split point.
6. These rings take two months to make. The couple then goes back for the splitting. It then takes another month to do the final finishing.
7. Resizing is free for life. Maintenance can be performed every 2-3 years for heavy wear.
8. The rings are completely customisable, and the design process takes about 3 hours in-person. The experience was really phenomenal. The store person brought out an iPad, and we had a FaceTime session with a translator. There were lots of samples, demonstrations, lovely tea, and a full decision matrix to fill out. The process was completely transparent, without pressure, and very informative.
We ended up customising and buying our wedding rings, and will go back in a couple of months to pick them up. They're certainly more expensive than the usual stuff, but we felt the uniqueness and sentiment of Japan more than made up for the cost.
There are some stunning options available in Japan. I'm surprised some of these products aren't discussed more on these forums, and are not as popular in the west.
N.
Just had my first trip to Japan, and what better way to spend some time than to experience some jewellery shopping. We ended up buying our wedding rings! Here are some observations:
1. Most diamonds on display are around 0.25-0.30ct. They're also VVS and H or higher.
2. The largest one we saw was a 1.07ct F VVS2. It was very expensive, much more so than buying from our usual online vendors. Think more than Tiffany.
3. There are also some distinctly Japanese things, like a "sakura" diamond, which is cut to reveal the outline/shape of a sakura flower. These diamonds are also slightly pink to mimic that of a cherry blossom. Quite cute, but far too small to appreciate the details.
4. We fell in love with Mokume-Gane, which is a technique that somehow blends different metals together giving it a wood grain pattern. The rings are then forged.
5. There is also something called a "sharing ceremony", where a Mokume-Gane ring is split into two by the couple, and then it goes back to be refinished. The end result isn't perfectly round, rather has a dent at the split point.
6. These rings take two months to make. The couple then goes back for the splitting. It then takes another month to do the final finishing.
7. Resizing is free for life. Maintenance can be performed every 2-3 years for heavy wear.
8. The rings are completely customisable, and the design process takes about 3 hours in-person. The experience was really phenomenal. The store person brought out an iPad, and we had a FaceTime session with a translator. There were lots of samples, demonstrations, lovely tea, and a full decision matrix to fill out. The process was completely transparent, without pressure, and very informative.
We ended up customising and buying our wedding rings, and will go back in a couple of months to pick them up. They're certainly more expensive than the usual stuff, but we felt the uniqueness and sentiment of Japan more than made up for the cost.
There are some stunning options available in Japan. I'm surprised some of these products aren't discussed more on these forums, and are not as popular in the west.
N.
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