Hi all,
If one were to be interested in popping the question to the missus when on a trip to New York in May, would it be best to buy ring here, get it in NY, or do something else? Ive heard tales of people going to Amsterdam to have a ring made much cheaper than here?
Any advice or experiences much appreciated (including the inevitable comedy entries) 
several friends did the new york thing and pre-biooked appts at tiffanys - don't think it was cheap though! why not find a local jewellers workshop and have something made to your spec - need not be as dear as you think
local in case it breaks - Elizabeth duke are good
You can get a bigger diamond for the same money in the states.
Does she actually need a bigger diamond as proof of your love?
(slightly bitter divorced from American content)
lol at Pieface!
Tiffany is a bit more than I wanted to spend was thinking about 4 grand tops
4k! cheapskate
4 grand buys a lot of ring!
lol my woman is not seduced by the finer things in life so should be perfectly adequate!
If it is just to get some extra kinky action I would suggest Argos.
bluenile.com
Replaced the wife's ring at Tiffanys when went to NYC. Was way cheaper than here and there was no need for appointment just turn up.
Wait for the trip and don't buy it before you propose. I maintain you won't get the right ring and she will be the one wearing it for the rest of her life - regardless of other blokes saying their missus told them they chose right - she is being kind.
The £ to $ is set to improve. The rings can be a good deal cheaper over there and, given the exchange rate, you'll get a lot more for your money over there. Propose, then ring hunt together.
4 grand buys a lot of ring! ........oooerrr
I designed my missus' engagement ring then had it made at PA Jewellery in Sheffield. All over the phone/internet apart from the major decisions like final design of ring and choosing the stones, for which I chose to go in. They were exceedingly helpful, very reasonably priced considering the amount of work they did and the craftmanship involved, and gave a rather healthy valuation for the insurance. They also made my wife's wedding ring to complement the engagement ring.
I won't hesistate to use them again the next time I get married.
I had it done by a local jeweller, who works out of a tiny workshop hidden in The Lanes along with a selection of other artisans. Everything was done after I proposed, fiancée gave the jeweller and me a fairly precise idea of what she wanted, he then sourced a selection of different stones, I picked the ones and then he made the ring. Much cheaper than through a high street jeweller and top quality craftsmanship, handmade locally - and it's completely unique (though I suppose all diamond rings are, to some extent).
Might sound odd but try the second hand section at John Lewis.
You get excellent quality stones for your money (as there were more about 100 years ago than today imagine - totally made that up!) and you get really really interesting and unique designs.
Really good for emeralds and sapphires and rubies - we got a ruby with d-flawless diamonds for much less than new
If she's into old designs mind. Might not sound romantic but you could spend the saving on the wedding or honeymoon
I bought Mrs Flash's ring from Tiffany's in NYC, just turned up the whole buying event was brilliant and Mrs Flash was made to feel very special, while my growing shock at the escalating prices was dealt with in a very professional manner.
We picked the ring up after it was re-sized in a private room looking over 5th Avenue.
If you are going just for the size of rock the Diamond District has plenty of choice but not quiet the same sense of occasion.
What ever you do, don't forget that they will add sales tax at the end, I did
I'm sure if you made an appointment at a jeweler in NY, they would give you a ring box with an appointment card inside to hand over at the vital moment.
Maybe I'm not a great example to hold but if a guy spent 4 THOUSAND pounds on a ring, I would be terrified of losing it etc etc and I'd much rather spend half of that money on doing something together instead. Maybe just me...
Rachel
I proposed in Central Park and then we went to Tiffany. 4k is more than enough to get past the first cabinet! Top tip stand on the right hand side of Fiancé. Everytime she tries to take a sidestep right to the next cabinet push her back - thank me later!
Don't entertain any idea of proposing at top of ESB. It's bedlam at the top and the least romantic place on earth!
Deffo don't buy the ring before you propose - I guarantee it won't be the right one. Propose, go to Tiffany's, but don't despair if you don't find the right one - we bought my engagement ring in the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham - you get a lot of good quality diamond for your money up there. The price of precious metals has gone up quite a lot, so your setting will be possibly be more expensive than you are expecting, but typically you can save about 30% buy buying in a jewellery quarter.
Make sure you research the 4 Cs before you go - colour, cut, clarity & carat. The cut can have a bearing of which clarity, colour and size you can get away with etc - they all affect the price and some cuts look bigger than their carat weight would have you believe.
Go to Birmingham (UK) jewellery quarter. 4k will buy you an 8k ring. Try crystal link jewellers they are always 50% off diamonds and the quality is very good ( the 4 c's)
My recommendation is for Bicknells (in the B'ham jewellery quarter).
My wife's engagement ring cost £18 and the wedding ring £20. And those are the ones she wanted. My weddIng ring was only £70 as I had to have a titanium one for durabIlity for the manual job I did.
£4k on a ring is simply insane. Our whole wedding was half that. If my soon to be bride expected that sort of expenditure on a ring then she would have to expect me not to marry her!!
£4k on a ring is simply insane
If you asked the general populace I suspect the consensus would be that it's more sane than spending £4k on a pushbike.
Buy a second hand one on Ebay, there are bargains to be had. You could always get it remade into a new ring. MrsHB recently bought a half carat VS Millenium cut Goldsmiths ring for £350. You simply won't get better value than that. And don't worry about it not being "new", how old do you think the diamonds are in the first place!
My recommendation would be 'wait until she is there'.
I know I'd not have chosen the ring she did - and she will be wearing it for the rest of her time.
GH Moore in the Jewellry Quarter. Nothing special from the outside but friendly inside and they take a lot of time to help out. As with most decent craftsmen they can make whatever you want.
+1 for letting her choose the design though!
I reckon he's bought the ring and is planning on taking her up the aisle now, a spammer bumped this thread the post was from 4 months ago.
If you are anywhere near Birmingham, nip into the Jewellery quarter. From what i gathered, rings are basically half the price of `posh' retail shops.
I think the experience (and boast) that you took her to Tiffany's in New York to buy the ring will stay with her for life. Top choice.
Blimey, someone drags up an old post.
It's not just the jewellry qtr in Birmingham where you'd get 50%. Find a local bespoke ringmaker in any city and you'll get huge discounts on retail.
Ebay is a good idea...if only for the diamond and metal to melt down and remake into the design you want.
Have a look at Blue Nile Diamond (online) if you want the best value for you £££ (£4k will never buy you an £8k ring...diamonds and precious metals have a specific value - the rest is spend on the designer and is worth it depending on your opinion).
But personally with a £4k budget I would go boutique with somewhere like Tiffany's/Boodles/De Beers and go for 1/2 a carat. Its likely she will love it more than the extra spent on a larger rock. And you will end up with something you can hand down for generations. I went Boodles and don't regret a thing.
I got the Eurostar to Brussels, then a train to Antwerp where I met a guy in a hotel room, handed over a brown envelope full of US Dollars in exchange for a plastic wallet with a rock inside it!
Had moule fites for lunch, got the train home, dropped the stone into my favourite jewellers and had a ring made from a sketch!
A family friend used to be a diamond dealer so it was he that I met - my jeweller reckoned I saved at least 60% on the UK price of the stone and I got massive brownie points for the romance of it all! Only issue now is trying to insure the bloody thing!
Suspect you'd need to know where to go and what to look for, but Antwerp is where all of the rocks come into europe from the mines, so will always be the cheapest place to buy (in dollars at least - the euro rate would be cr4p at present).
£4k for a ring?! You could get a bloody good bike for that! Two, even!
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