I am looking at getting a custom ring made for my girlfriend, but I am starting to get sick of jewellers quoting me $2000+ just for the band plus labor. On top of that, they are saying another $1-2k for the stones I want. Why the hell is the band and labor so god damn expensive? Is it normally like this, or am I just getting ripped off?
Maybe gold price? for stones use moisonite (not sure about spelling) it is man made diamonds and it is so perfect it fools jewellers, no one will know it it is not the real deal and it is a fraction of the cost of diamonds. Look on ebay for stones! I make a bit of jewellery myself ............ not for sale just for fun!
Gold is priced according to purity - ie 9ct, 18ct ect. Less pure gold is stronger but dull. A nice band of 18k say as wide as a pencil should cost around $1000.
Diamonds are priced due to their weight, colour, imperfections ect. A good diamond will always look better than a cheap one. I recomend D colour with a max of 2 inclusions. Then it's up to how much you want to spend - 0.5ct weight of that quality will set you back about $2,000+. You can get a 1ct weight from Zamels for a grand or so though.
As for setting and labour - I would think if you buy both the metal and the stones from the same place it should not be expensive - depending on difficulty.
Gold jewellery is always over priced. There's a big difference between a valuation and what is actually worth. Just wait for a sale at one of the usual chains stores and save yourself a fortune.
Thinking about it, I pretty much agree with Pitbull. My mrs could be wearing all cheap jewellery from a chain store and she wouldn't know the difference. I got her earrings from Tiffany & Co for Christmas that would have been about $200 at a chain store. The other $900 as for the box...might be a market there actually....
Select to expand quotecisco said...
If you know jewelery pawn shops can be a good place to shop.
Until the person it was stolen from sees it on you.
do yourself a favour... cubic zirconia - good stuff, so you cant tell the difference. pay for a good box. spend the rest on something worthwhile. she will never know.
She is just your girlfriend and you think $2,000 is god damn expensive ?
Wait until she becomes your wife then you'll really know what god damn expensive is
And then you'll have a daughter, and god damn expensive rises to a whole new level ....
