Cushion cut diamond and setting in London

[londongirl77]

Hi everyone

I am new to this forum. I am looking to buy a 1.2 carat cushion cut diamond and have it set in platinum with surrounding diamonds and diamonds on the shank. I have received quotes from £5000 to £9000 for similar quality certified stones including the setting. I contacted bestdiamonds.co.uk Indira was very helpful, however, her prices were not far off from Tiffany's for the Novo design. She stressed the importance of the good quality cuts of her diamonds, however, her diamond prices alone were way above what bluenile or 77diamonds were quoting for GIA certified stones with very good cuts. I though carat and clarity would have a bigger impact on price rather than cut.

Anyway, I would be most grateful for any tips. I don't mind buying the diamond from a reputable website. I am looking for a reputable company who will make the ring and mount the diamond. I popped into Michael Rose in the Burlington Arcade but the man working there was very rude. He quoted £4000 for the ring and surrounding diamonds.

Many thanks.

 

[Circe]

I spent a couple of months in London this summer, and while I loved the Burlington Arcade and the nifty habit of posting prices and sizes in the windows to give potential consumers some idea of what they were getting, I definitely got sticker shock from the prices. Spoiled by the internet, I guess ....

For what you're being quoted, I believe you could get a lovely stone and setting from Leon Mege, who sources cushions for customers: alternately, Mark Turnowski at Engagement Rings Direct has a fabulous reputation around these parts.

 

[antelope1]

Cut is extremely important for cushions (as with all diamonds), but cut quality is not graded by AGS or GIA for cushions. That leaves a lot of variability in the pricing of cushion diamonds of similar carat, color, and clarity. In the US, the price might swing by 25-50% (my personal guesstimate) based on the cut quality, but this is not nearly as much as you would pay for something similar at T&Co.

If your vendor of choice in the UK is charging you prices similar to Tiffany's, they are charging you way too much. In the US, you can expect to pay 2-3x the market price of the diamond for the Tiffany name. Assuming a similar T&Co markup in the UK (200-300%), I'd say that you're getting hosed if your non-Tiffany vendor is charging you something similar to Tiffany prices, because the better cut should only be worth 50% more max, IMO.

Imma be honest with you -- depending on your specs, and even taking into account import duties -- you will get a much better deal buying online from the US and importing to the UK. You can either save money by buying a 1.2 ct, or you can get a much larger diamond (say 0.5 cts larger) and stay in your budget.

 

[antelope1]

For what you're being quoted, I believe you could get a lovely stone and setting from Leon Mege, who sources cushions for customers: alternately, Mark Turnowski at Engagement Rings Direct has a fabulous reputation around these parts.

I second the suggestion of Leon in your case. 4,000 pounds is like $6k USD and for $6k USD, you can definitely get Leon to make you whatever you want. He's the top name among US designers right now for halos (aside from Harry Winston, IMO).

Also, Mark @ ERD is an option for cushions, but Leon also sells his own cushions through his Diamond Concierge (Perry Chen).

I suggest that you set a budget that includes VAT or whatever import duties you would have to pay, and get the biggest / best diamond that you can in that budget. And I am pretty sure that you that you can get bigger and better buying online and importing than you can by buying in the UK.

 

[londongirl77]

You guys are amazing! Thanks so much for the advice. Just looking through Leon Mege - his designs are really beautiful and way better than anything I have seen in London.

 

[antelope1]

Normally, for people in the US, we have a bit of sticker shock when working with Leon. But since you're used to pricing things in pounds -- Leon will seem quite reasonable.