Why is this pendant so expensive and why is people buying it

[duker]

http://www.tiffany.com/Shopping/Item.aspx?fromGrid=1&sku=GRP03625
Image: http://international.tiffany.com/shared/media/products/25704797_D_M_3.jpg

It is just a tiny egg shaped pendant. It is a pink opaque opal, without fire or colours plays, surrounded by a strip of gold and a small ribbon over it. It costs $3200.

Why is it so expensive? Why is people paying so much for this when they could get far better jewels for less?

What is so special about this jewel that it is so expensive?

 

[T L]

Re: Why is this pendant so expensive and why is people buyin

http://www.tiffany.com/Shopping/Item.aspx?fromGrid=1&sku=GRP03625
Image: http://international.tiffany.com/shared/media/products/25704797_D_M_3.jpg

It is just a tiny egg shaped pendant. It is a pink opaque opal, without fire or colours plays, surrounded by a strip of gold and a small ribbon over it. It costs $3200.

Why is it so expensive? Why is people paying so much for this when they could get far better jewels for less?

What is so special about this jewel that it is so expensive?

They're paying for the name, "Tiffany & Co." For example, I could buy a non designer dress with the same materials and workmanship for far less than one with the designer names Chanel or Prada. People, vendors, designers can charge whatever they want for an item. Usually when one builds a designer label and/or a reputation, the price is much higher. This includes cars, jewelry, clothes, and even legos. You can buy "fake" lego blocks for a lot less than real ones. I cringe at how much those tiny cheap plastic blocks cost!

 

[beaujolais]

Re: Why is this pendant so expensive and why is people buyin

Tiffany's annoys me.

 

[LD]

Re: Why is this pendant so expensive and why is people buyin

Because they've got more money than sense!

 

[T L]

Re: Why is this pendant so expensive and why is people buyin

Well someone has to pay for Tiffany's advertising, marketing, overhead (prime real estate store fronts), and all that. Might as well be the consumer. I was near a Tiffany store about a month ago and went in. They have this new metal called rubedo which looks like very coppery rose gold. The sales clerk told me it was a new alloy that Tiffany had patented, and it had gold in it, but she couldn't tell me how much gold there was. The pieces were as expensive as something in real 18K gold elsewhere. I looked online to find out that they are less than even 9K gold, but they're mostly made out of copper. I thought the metal color was very pretty, as I'm a huge fan of rose gold, and it would be nice if we could buy pieces like that from regular retailers who have more realistic pricing, especially with the huge rise in gold pricing itself. I was truly bummed to see Tiffany have the exclusivity of such a nice metal as their designs are boring to me, overused, and overpriced.

I did look for colored stones there just to see something besides white diamonds, but all I saw were some really ugly overpriced legacy settings as well (bad bad workmanship), and meh looking gems, but the rest of the store contained mostly white diamonds, some silver, and this new robedo metal. I left very uninspired. The salespeople were very nice though, but too bad Tiffany refuses to educate them more about their products.

This rubedo cuff costs $7500

Now remember, this is made mostly of copper.

http://blessmybag.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Rubedo-1.jpg

31% gold (7.5K gold), 55% copper and a little silver and zinc according to this PS blog entry and NY Time article

https://www.pricescope.com/blog/debating-tiffany-co%E2%80%99s-rubedo

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/05/fashion/tiffanys-rubedo-line-stirs-debate-over-meaning-of-metal.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

It doesn't even have enough gold in it to be allowed to be called gold, hence the new name, but the NY times article calls it glorified copper or bronze.

 

[ieatbugs]

Re: Why is this pendant so expensive and why is people buyin

Well someone has to pay for Tiffany's advertising, marketing, overhead (prime real estate store fronts), and all that. Might as well be the consumer. I was near a Tiffany store about a month ago and went in. They have this new metal called rubedo which looks like very coppery rose gold. The sales clerk told me it was a new alloy that Tiffany had patented, and it had gold in it, but she couldn't tell me how much gold there was. The pieces were as expensive as something in real 18K gold elsewhere. I looked online to find out that they are less than even 9K gold, but they're mostly made out of copper. I thought the metal color was very pretty, as I'm a huge fan of rose gold, and it would be nice if we could buy pieces like that from regular retailers who have more realistic pricing, especially with the huge rise in gold pricing itself. I was truly bummed to see Tiffany have the exclusivity of such a nice metal as their designs are boring to me, overused, and overpriced.

I did look for colored stones there just to see something besides white diamonds, but all I saw were some really ugly overpriced legacy settings as well (bad bad workmanship), and meh looking gems, but the rest of the store contained mostly white diamonds, some silver, and this new robedo metal. I left very uninspired. The salespeople were very nice though, but too bad Tiffany refuses to educate them more about their products.

This rubedo cuff costs $7500

Now remember, this is made mostly of copper.

http://blessmybag.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Rubedo-1.jpg

31% copper (7.5K gold) according to this PS blog entry

https://www.pricescope.com/blog/debating-tiffany-co%E2%80%99s-rubedo

TL, that is too darn bad, I just *love* the color of that rubedo and I have several cheap (40$ or less) pieces of jewelry set in similar colored metal because it can be so pretty but is pretty uncommon - I snatch one up every time I come across one.

 

[T L]

Re: Why is this pendant so expensive and why is people buyin

TL, that is too darn bad, I just *love* the color of that rubedo and I have several cheap (40$ or less) pieces of jewelry set in similar colored metal because it can be so pretty but is pretty uncommon - I snatch one up every time I come across one.

For me, this is really one of the most deceptive things Tiffany has done in recent times. At least when you buy a diamond from them, you know you're buying a diamond, or silver, or an 18K gold piece. You know what it contains or is made of, but this rubedo seems to be very deceptive to the consumer since you think you're buying some new gold alloy when in fact you're buying glorified copper at 18K gold prices or more, and the salespeople have to be put in the embarrassing situation of being part of that deception. I would be pretty upset if I was selling such an expensive item and I couldn't tell the consumer what it was made of when Tiffany advertises there is an uber precious metal in it (gold). At this point, Tiffany to me stops becoming respectable in my book, no matter what their prices are.

 

[ieatbugs]

Re: Why is this pendant so expensive and why is people buyin

TL, that is too darn bad, I just *love* the color of that rubedo and I have several cheap (40$ or less) pieces of jewelry set in similar colored metal because it can be so pretty but is pretty uncommon - I snatch one up every time I come across one.

For me, this is really one of the most deceptive things Tiffany has done in recent times. At least when you buy a diamond from them, you know you're buying a diamond, or silver, or an 18K gold piece. You know what it contains or is made of, but this rubedo seems to be very deceptive to the consumer since you think you're buying some new gold alloy when in fact you're buying glorified copper at 18K gold prices or more, and the salespeople have to be put in the embarrassing situation of being part of that deception. I would be pretty upset if I was selling such an expensive item and I couldn't tell the consumer what it was made of when Tiffany advertises there is an uber precious metal in it (gold). At this point, Tiffany to me stops becoming respectable in my book, no matter what their prices are.

Agree - I've never been a fan because I tend to like unusual and more striking pieces, and even before this I felt they could be extraordinarily overpriced for what you'd be getting...they should make it a law to state the contents of your metal, like food ingredients labeling...

talk about feeling deceived, I have been on a low sugar diet and it's disturbing when you really look into it how many things labeled as low fat or whatever have massive quantities of added for absolutely no reason. English muffins? sugar added. Olives? sugar added. Chicken breast? INJECTED FULL OF SUGAR.

Sorry, that was a random tangent ;D

 

[duker]

Re: Why is this pendant so expensive and why is people buyin

TL, that is too darn bad, I just *love* the color of that rubedo and I have several cheap (40$ or less) pieces of jewelry set in similar colored metal because it can be so pretty but is pretty uncommon - I snatch one up every time I come across one.

For me, this is really one of the most deceptive things Tiffany has done in recent times. At least when you buy a diamond from them, you know you're buying a diamond, or silver, or an 18K gold piece. You know what it contains or is made of, but this rubedo seems to be very deceptive to the consumer since you think you're buying some new gold alloy when in fact you're buying glorified copper at 18K gold prices or more, and the salespeople have to be put in the embarrassing situation of being part of that deception. I would be pretty upset if I was selling such an expensive item and I couldn't tell the consumer what it was made of when Tiffany advertises there is an uber precious metal in it (gold). At this point, Tiffany to me stops becoming respectable in my book, no matter what their prices are.

Agree - I've never been a fan because I tend to like unusual and more striking pieces, and even before this I felt they could be extraordinarily overpriced for what you'd be getting...they should make it a law to state the contents of your metal, like food ingredients labeling...

talk about feeling deceived, I have been on a low sugar diet and it's disturbing when you really look into it how many things labeled as low fat or whatever have massive quantities of added for absolutely no reason. English muffins? sugar added. Olives? sugar added. Chicken breast? INJECTED FULL OF SUGAR.

Sorry, that was a random tangent ;D

Is sugar cheap?

 

[JewelFreak]

Re: Why is this pendant so expensive and why is people buyin

TL hit it right. Tiff's advertising, expensive addresses & store decor are very expensive to maintain. Their boxes cost an enormous amount -- bags & boxes are strictly inspected for exactly the correct Tiffany blue & for conformity among them all, which also comes out of the bottom line. They need to make this & other overhead back, plus a profit to re-invest in their business & pay personnel & stockholders. It's a marketing principle that in order to promote a prestige name, you must have prestige pricing -- they sure qualify there, especially when their workmanship & often materials are not good quality. Their largest continual profit comes from the endless silver teeny-bopper stuff, and I imagine now this rubedo metal must add a bundle too.

--- Laurie

 

[Lee Little]

Re: Why is this pendant so expensive and why is people buyin

I do not believe anybody can 'own ' an alloy recipe very successfully. Tiny alterations would change the alloy and thus create a new one that looks the same but that they do not own. Certainly a smith here in Thailand could make a coppery gold alloy and sell it much cheaper IF they wanted to, problem there is that few would be interested in putting out a product that will likely not please customers over time. It would likely make the wearer's skin turn green.
The biggest reason they are protected on this alloy is not their legal right to it but rather the fact that few would ever want to work with such a low quality alloy. Best regards, Lee

 

[chrono]

Re: Why is this pendant so expensive and why is people buyin

I have heard of patented recipes for certain colour of gold like peach gold by Hoover and Strong, so why would this Robredo material be any different?

 

[gsellis]

Re: Why is this pendant so expensive and why is people buyin

Well, the gold does cost. I have enough pink opal to make about 10 of those and I think I spent $40 for it. Hmmm.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Re: Why is this pendant so expensive and why is people buyin

Well, the gold does cost. I have enough pink opal to make about 10 of those and I think I spent $40 for it. Hmmm.

Ohhh, then how about making us some! I love the little egg pendant with a gold bow, but I agree that the price is WAY out of line! It seems like half the price would cover the brand mark-up quite well! Or even a third!