whitby_2773
Ideal_Rock
- Joined
- Jan 5, 2009
- Messages
- 2,655
so i'm currently in sydney, staying at a hotel in the Rocks area. great view of the harbor/opera house, ergo a lot of visitors/tourists. ergo a lot of duty free shops. i'e been thinking for some months about a pair of 14mm south sea white AAA pearls for a pair of earrings, with diamond accents above. the pearls, from pearl paradise, come originally from australia. PP is quoting me around $1400 per pearl. these would be for my birthday in june.
so, i'm out trying to walk off my lunch (no chance!) and i see this duty free shop, mainly gorgeous big south sea pearls. i'm thinking...'they've *got* to be cheaper in the country of their origin right? i could pick 2 up and take them home to NY...' i spy a pair of earrings in the window which look about the right size, and go in and ask to see them. they're a plain pair of pearls with one diamond under each pearl (very common design), set in white gold. the diamonds are .32ct each - .64ct in total. i dont know the rest of the diamond stats.
it just so happens i'm wearing a pair of diamond studs in my outer holes of *exactly* that weight. i paid $1340 for the stones (E VS2, BN signature cut - *really* sparkly stones). so to have these earrings replicated in the US by PP and, say, BGD would cost me around $2800 for the pearls, $1400 (being generous) for the diamonds, and let's say around 1k for the white gold setting by BGD (who are currently doing my niece's earrings, just by the way and who sent me STUNNING photos this morning!). all up, these would cost me $5200, give or take a small amount. i know this, and am holding this amount in the back of my mind as a comparison.
i ask him how much the earrings are and he says....
"$17,500."
now granted, Australia is notoriously expensive for jewelry, but i had forgotten just *how* expensive! so it made me wonder...
what is the cheapest country you've ever encountered for jewelry?
ETA if you live in australia and want a diamond of any appreciable size, it's my experience that it's cheaper to fly to the US, buy your stone, set it in a cheap setting, and wear it home that buying it in australia.
so, i'm out trying to walk off my lunch (no chance!) and i see this duty free shop, mainly gorgeous big south sea pearls. i'm thinking...'they've *got* to be cheaper in the country of their origin right? i could pick 2 up and take them home to NY...' i spy a pair of earrings in the window which look about the right size, and go in and ask to see them. they're a plain pair of pearls with one diamond under each pearl (very common design), set in white gold. the diamonds are .32ct each - .64ct in total. i dont know the rest of the diamond stats.
it just so happens i'm wearing a pair of diamond studs in my outer holes of *exactly* that weight. i paid $1340 for the stones (E VS2, BN signature cut - *really* sparkly stones). so to have these earrings replicated in the US by PP and, say, BGD would cost me around $2800 for the pearls, $1400 (being generous) for the diamonds, and let's say around 1k for the white gold setting by BGD (who are currently doing my niece's earrings, just by the way and who sent me STUNNING photos this morning!). all up, these would cost me $5200, give or take a small amount. i know this, and am holding this amount in the back of my mind as a comparison.
i ask him how much the earrings are and he says....
"$17,500."
now granted, Australia is notoriously expensive for jewelry, but i had forgotten just *how* expensive! so it made me wonder...
what is the cheapest country you've ever encountered for jewelry?
ETA if you live in australia and want a diamond of any appreciable size, it's my experience that it's cheaper to fly to the US, buy your stone, set it in a cheap setting, and wear it home that buying it in australia.
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