Hatton Gardens - Diamond Rings

londonbairn said:
Are there any recommended places for buying loose/second hand diamonds?

I am looking at an approx budget of £10k, and I want to squeeze the most I can for my money!
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go to Dubai. on that budget you will still save even factoring in the cost of flights.

give these people a call:

http://www.carajewellers.com/

not second hand though. remember, the quoted price is not the price you pay! haggle!
 
Bigger IS NOT better and you should get the ring insured, Larger stones have a habit of falling out vs smaller stones.

I would shy away from weaker metals for an expensive diamond.
 
I would just go and buy a Tiffany Setting style one but I don't know much about them. Small, understated but awesome. You can get the same style and same finish for half price, some place in the back of GQ/Esquire sells them.

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I'd rather go to Selfridges or similar. I work next to Hatton Garden (note it is singular, by the way) and the prices in the windows make me wince every time.

The only advice I can offer is haggle. They are prepared for it, that's why the prices are so high to start with.

On a side note: Leather Lane (one road to the west of Hatton Garden) has lots of lovely food stalls and shops to get a decent lunch from. I recommend the "lamb and halloumi" stall near the southern end, or Chilango. If you're into your coffee, Prufrock (about half-way up Leather Lane) do a nice cup. Just swat the hipsters out of your way.
 
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panthro said:
Agreed; bought my wifes engagement and wedding ring from them and the service was excellent.
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Just bought ours from there too, I proposed on Thursday and she of course said yes :p

Unfortunately it's slightly too big so we've just sent it back for a re-size.
 
Interesting and timely thread. I proposed to my partner last weekend and we were planning to hit Hatton Gardens this weekend!

Will have to check out some of the links in this thread, although my fiancée thankfully doesn't want a big rock.
 
Customise and design your own ring - means so much more, and even if it's not big it makes it much more special.

An engagement ring isn't about the diamond or the size etc... it should be about a personal declaration of love/commitment etc... (not that you cannot have that without of course, you don't even need to get married - but for some and me, it's an important aspect of a relationship), but not just that, it should be something that means something to her, and to both of you.

I guess some people are just interested in putting a ring on the finger for the sake of it. I think that's fine, but I'm a bit more of a sensitive type I guess :p
 
£2k on a ring so you can set a date which will bankrupt you?
If she thinks bigger is better, I would be dreading her wedding plans.
On the plus side, it shows she doesn't know much about rocks so take solace in that :p
Go cubic zirconia and put it in an expensive box, save the rest for the big day, I think you'll need it.
 
Look around, there is some good deals about - try the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham.

As most have said, Quality > Size...don't be fooled by certain ploys done on the high street with massive ring sizes to get you in the door.

Also as pointed out, don't get something ridiculously big as it might look silly, especially if she has small hands / fingers. Remember you can also get a heavier platinum / gold ring which will offset size.

Get what you can afford and something that you're happy with. Lucky for me I knew what my other half sort of liked ;)
 
Bickaxe said:
£2k on a ring so you can set a date which will bankrupt you?
If she thinks bigger is better, I would be dreading her wedding plans.
On the plus side, it shows she doesn't know much about rocks so take solace in that :p
Go cubic zirconia and put it in an expensive box, save the rest for the big day, I think you'll need it.
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To be fair £2k isn't really a lot for a ring. :)
 
Minstadave said:
It's kind of sad that an engagement ring is going to be something to be valued simply because of the size of the stone.
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Well then why even bother having stones in engagement rings at all. Why not just a simple band made out of a stainless alloy or something.

I also don't understand why people keep banging on about quality>size. £2k is about what I can afford and I am realistic enough to know the limitations of such a budget. Clearly if you are willing to compromise on clarity/colour then you are able to get a bigger stone than if a pure colour and high clarity were your priorities. We aren't talking about massive rocks here either... £2k doesn't get anything close to huge!
 
Bickaxe said:
£2k on a ring so you can set a date which will bankrupt you?
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I'm sure if I had started a thread saying that I wanted to spend £2k on a new gaming PC the responses would have contained zero vitriol. As soon as it involves spending it on the girl I want to marry it becomes open season on telling me that my fiance is a gold-digger and I am throwing my life away. Cheers for the advice, jog on etc.


Bickaxe said:
If she thinks bigger is better, I would be dreading her wedding plans.
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This has been horrendously misquoted in this thread unfortunately. What she means is that her preference would be a larger stone with colour/clarity drawbacks as opposed to a smaller stone with more perfect colour/clarity.

Also the £2k budget is what I have decided as being a reasonable amount for me to spend. I went with the whole 1 month salary thing (assumed it was net as opposed to gross). I'm pretty sure she would say yes even if I bought her something from Argos but I want to buy her something nice, didn't realise it was a crime!
 
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Freefaller said:
To be fair £2k isn't really a lot for a ring. :)
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It depends on the viewpoint of the person. I personally don't place any value in jewelry and I would rather spend £2000 on something I place more value in. So for me £2000 would be a lot of money for a ring based on what a ring is and what it does. I'd rather £2000 be used on a mortgage deposit or something more important.
 
I'm in the same position too and want to start looking for engagement rings with a vintage look. I have no idea where to start!
 
spoffle said:
It depends on the viewpoint of the person. I personally don't place any value in jewelry and I would rather spend £2000 on something I place more value in. So for me £2000 would be a lot of money for a ring based on what a ring is and what it does. I'd rather £2000 be used on a mortgage deposit or something more important.
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My point was that, £2k in terms of jewellery isn't a lot - especially if you go to a rip off place like Hatton Garden. I won't quote how much I spent, but I went to an independent jeweller, and designed the ring, and had the ring custom made which IMO is worth so much more than any value attached to it. :)

I'm sure most would rather spend £2k on something more frivolous or fun like a TV, a holiday or put towards a car or the start of saving for a deposit (which would be a tiny amount for that to be fair) - but generally people save up for an engagement ring. Of course some people don't need to save to spend that sort of money on a ring - it really does vary as you say.
 
Wink said:
Just bought ours from there too, I proposed on Thursday and she of course said yes :p

Unfortunately it's slightly too big so we've just sent it back for a re-size.
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Congrats :) I like the fact their mail order service is really efficient, but you can just make an appointment to drop by and see them if you wanted to.
 
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