Wedding band estimate overpriced?

[dancergirl]

Hi everyone, long time lurker coming out of hiding

I was wondering what your opinions were on this price quote I got from our jeweler. I am in the process of getting my wedding band custom made to match my custom e-ring. It will be a 3/4 eternity in 18K Gold.
Specs:
0.4 ct total of F/G VS diamonds. I was priced at $2,000. My instincts tell me this may be way more than I should be paying for the band?

 

[Gypsy]

It's hard to say if it's overpriced or not. It depends on a lot of factors.

Is it pave? Is it CAD, is it hand forged? Is it shared prong? What is the design? If its CAD look on Brian Gavin Diamonds for the closest match and see what they are charging. That's usually what I do and that gives me the maximum I would pay. If it's handforged and you can figure out Leon's pricing key (good luck with that) you can look on there to see what similar bands are going for (keeping in mind that his is platinum so deduct about 500-300 bucks for the metal difference).

 

[aviastar]

I agree with Gypsy that we need a bit more info- you are looking at almost a 1/2 carat of diamond weight; is it four 0.10-ers or 40 0.01 -ers? It makes a difference labor wise.

But, in general, in my mind that would equal out to about $1,000 for diamonds and about $1,000 for metal and labor, which seems fair to me for a custom piece.

 

[denverappraiser]

Most of the cost of this sort of thing is in the labor, not the materials, and not all craftsmen charge the same rates for their time and talents. The best are rarely the cheapest and the difference between factory workers in China and High Street workers in London is gigantic. Tiny details make all the difference. At a storefront type of operation custom making things one at a time using US labor, that's entirely reasonable for that description. As a production item from an overseas factory it would be extremely high. A 'designer' with a recognized brand presence is unlikely to touch the job at that price.

 

[dancergirl]

Thank you for the reply everyone. I am not that skilled with diamond terminology but (to the best of my knowledge) it will be pave. CAD with common prongs. It looks very much like the standard pave style on bands, one row on a relatively thin band. I'm not sure on the pointers but I believe it will be 40 .01-ers as there will definitely be more than 4 diamonds on the band.

@denverappraiser: does your last sentence mean the price is low? The jeweler is independent located in CA but I know he has a "team" he goes to for production - where, unfortunately I do not know.

 

[Mayk]

Perspective.... just as an idea..

I bought two bands at a jewelry store with my first setting.. they are .42 tctw. 18 kt WG I paid $1,200 for each...

When I had my ring reset.. I bought two from the designer that made my setting... they are larger around .60 tctw... in platinum and I paid ~$2,100 for each... I don't remember exactly how much but it was $2,000 or above...

 

[webdiva]

Thank you for the reply everyone. I am not that skilled with diamond terminology but (to the best of my knowledge) it will be pave. CAD with common prongs. It looks very much like the standard pave style on bands, one row on a relatively thin band. I'm not sure on the pointers but I believe it will be 40 .01-ers as there will definitely be more than 4 diamonds on the band.

@denverappraiser: does your last sentence mean the price is low? The jeweler is independent located in CA but I know he has a "team" he goes to for production - where, unfortunately I do not know.

dancergirl, I'm in LA and have visited some of the best jewelers in LA - is the jeweler in LA?

 

[ame]

It isn't actually too terrible. I've paid upwards of $3500 in this ring drama for a wedding band that didn't end up very well made at all despite it's brand prowess.

 

[dancergirl]

I went to a local jewelery store and quickly showed my e-ring, saying I wanted a matching wedding band. This jeweler told me it would be around $1500, although he did not know the specific specs of the diamonds. I guess this is why I am hesitant at the price quoted by our j
jeweler.

@MayK - my wedding band will look very much like yours!

@webdiva - the jeweler is not located in LA but he travels throughout southern california. I am not paying for 'brand name,' which maybe I could understand a premium. I have found a similar ring online with a slightly higher tcw for $1345, but our jeweler says he cannot match internet prices because they are always very low...

I actually don't need the band until almost a year from now, but I have been hearing speculations that diamond prices will increase significantly within the next two years?

 

[Gypsy]

It depends on the quality. I have two pave bands that are (somewhere) in the mail to me by Michael B that retail for 5000. Just plain pave bands. Depending the quality of the pave those little bands can easily cost (non-designer) 2700 to have made. Cheap pave is a band investment as a wedding band. And cheaper prices do not mean value. Neither do higher prices. What you want is good quality. If you don't know what good quality pave is then you don't know if you are getting a fair price. You could be getting a deal and not even know it. So I suggest you learn more about pave since you have a year and then worry about the pricing later. Besides with pave the work is the most expensive part of the investment. Labor in setting those tiny stones is expensive. It's not the diamond prices in those bands. That's why good quality pave costs more. More skilled labor gets paid more.

 

[MakingTheGrade]

While "big" can cost you a lot, so can the very small and delicate due to the skill and labor involved. I have a 3 sided pave band that is a total of just about 1 ct, but is only 1.8mm. The diamonds are all packed precisely in line and looks exceptionally clean. It's a Leon Mege band, and for something so thin and delicate, a lot of people might be surprised at the retail price of 4k. But if you compare it to pave from most mall stores or even most brick and mortar stores, you'd immediately see the quality difference, not to mention the fact that no place I went to could even produce a 3 sided pave band that was 1.8mm or anywhere near as thin.

The price of 2k seems like it could be reasonable depending on the labor and skill involved, but then again, if you find something very comparable online for a better price, it might be worth trying if there's a good return policy. But in general, custom will always cost more than something you can find pre cast online.

 

[distracts]

Gypsy, I hear all the time about learning about good quality pave, but honestly I still can't tell good from bad, and I've been on PS a year and a half now. Do you (or anyone else) know of any resources that will be helpful?

What I do know to look for is that the diamonds are matched and evenly set, and the beads are even and matching.