Custom made vs. retail diamond rings

[1964pandora]

Happy New Year! I had an eternity band made by a familiar Pricescope jeweler. I am very happy with this person’s work and I had total faith that I would be. I was just wondering— apples to apples, what percentage of money do you think you save by having a ring custom made? I ask this because I have tried to find a ring with the same specs as the ring I had made, but I can’t find one. Of course I am curious how much the “retail” value of my ring might be. My ring is a platinum diamond and sapphire eternity ring .15, diamonds, F color, ideal cut diamonds, diamond cut sapphires, VS 1 clarity (I think) size 6, and I paid $5900. I am asking more so because I want to have another ring made. I know that when I did a Tiffany try-on (never considered buying from them) something similar was about 3 times the price as I recall. If I had it to do all over I’d go with .20 size, all diamonds, but as I have seen here, most of us have at least small regrets here and there. I think that it’s hard to gauge the value of these sapphires. They’re pretty and sparkly and I have no doubt this jeweler chose nice ones. Also in hindsight I’d be more involved in choosing the sapphire color. These are a little light for my taste.

 

[tyty333]

Your post is a little confusing (for me*).

You want to have another ring made? A full diamond eternity with .2 stones? Is that what you are asking? And are you asking how
much that would be?

You didnt say what carat total weight you want/expect or finger size (makes it harder to figure out) for this new ring. (If you're
looking for an estimate).

And you want to know the retail value of your sapphire/diamond ring to help you figure out the price of the new ring?

Again, no ctw of the diamonds or sapphires in your ring. No details on who made it (master/hand forged or CAD).f

I think if you stick to 1 question maybe you'll get more feedback.

 

[mustangchi]

If your main question is cost difference between retail and custom I'll say that I recently had Maytal Hannah hand forge an eternity ring in the style of a Tiffany that retails for 7650, I paid significantly less than half that and the version she made included engraving on the sides.

 

[Rfisher]

Of course I am curious how much the “retail” value of my ring might be

What you paid for your ring is the retail value.

I am asking more so because I want to have another ring made. I know that when I did a Tiffany try-on (never considered buying from them) something similar was about 3 times the price as I recall

At first I thought maybe you meant to question branded vs non branded cost (instead of saying ‘retail value’ - but you answered that, right here.

Yeah. I’m confused what your question is.

 

[LilAlex]

I was just wondering— apples to apples, what percentage of money do you think you save by having a ring custom made?

I think the complete opposite. As a general rule, you'll pay way more for a custom piece than for factory-made or developing-world-handmade "retail" jewelry. People do this because they want a certain look or want to incorporate a certain gem or they want someone's unique eye to guide their design process and/or they want extraordinary workmanship that you could otherwise only get from an out-of-reach "high jewelry" purveyor. I never look at this as a money-saver. It is a lot of fun (addicting, even) to participate in and I am amazed at what so many of you have designed and created!

OTOH, if all you want is a stone mounted in a ring, I think you could find someone to do this (inexpertly and unartistically) for little more than the melt-value of the metal.

 

[1964pandora]

I think the complete opposite. As a general rule, you'll pay way more for a custom piece than for factory-made or developing-world-handmade "retail" jewelry. People do this because they want a certain look or want to incorporate a certain gem or they want someone's unique eye to guide their design process and/or they want extraordinary workmanship that you could otherwise only get from an out-of-reach "high jewelry" purveyor. I never look at this as a money-saver. It is a lot of fun (addicting, even) to participate in and I am amazed at what so many of you have designed and created!

OTOH, if all you want is a stone mounted in a ring, I think you could find someone to do this (inexpertly and unartistically) for little more than the melt-value of the metal.

That makes complete sense. Thank you!!!

 

[Mayacamus]

Actually the way I read this is a bit different. Assuming we all know that jewelry isn’t a great investment, let’s say we are comparing 2 full eternity rings- one custom made, 3 cts, F color, VS1, excellent cut, each stone 0.15 ct, and the price around $8500 ( you could do better/you could do worse) and a Tiffany Forever band with the same specs… cost $20,500.

Which one would you get the better percentage of return back?

If you’re only gonna get 20% back on the custom band and you get 50% back on the Tiffany’s one (because it says Tiffany’s and you kept all the boxes, bags, and swag) is the Tiffany’s ring a better buy?

Another question…. Do eternity bands actually re- sell?

Very curious to read how other PS’ers evaluate this situation!

 

[glitterata]

Actually the way I read this is a bit different. Assuming we all know that jewelry isn’t a great investment, let’s say we are comparing 2 full eternity rings- one custom made, 3 cts, F color, VS1, excellent cut, each stone 0.15 ct, and the price around $8500 ( you could do better/you could do worse) and a Tiffany Forever band with the same specs… cost $20,500.

Which one would you get the better percentage of return back?

If you’re only gonna get 20% back on the custom band and you get 50% back on the Tiffany’s one (because it says Tiffany’s and you kept all the boxes, bags, and swag) is the Tiffany’s ring a better buy?

Another question…. Do eternity bands actually re- sell?

Very curious to read how other PS’ers evaluate this situation!

In your scenario, you get back $1700 and lose $6800 with the unbranded rings, and you get back $10,250 and lose $10,250 with the Tiffany ring. So the Tiffany scenario loses you $3450 more than the unbranded scenario, and you're better off with the unbranded rings.

 

[Mayacamus]

Ahh… but… have you taken into consideration the value of the Tiffany brand? In paper it looks like a no brainer but what I don’t know is this: will a non branded eternity ring sell? I know a Tiffany’s one will (check all the major designer resellers)
That needs to figure into the equation… somehow?

 

[DejaWiz]

Ahh… but… have you taken into consideration the value of the Tiffany brand? In paper it looks like a no brainer but what I don’t know is this: will a non branded eternity ring sell? I know a Tiffany’s one will (check all the major designer resellers)
That needs to figure into the equation… somehow?

That's an excellent point: the Tiffany moniker is quite well known all over the globe.

https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?q=Tiffany

 

[glitterata]

Ahh… but… have you taken into consideration the value of the Tiffany brand? In paper it looks like a no brainer but what I don’t know is this: will a non branded eternity ring sell? I know a Tiffany’s one will (check all the major designer resellers)
That needs to figure into the equation… somehow?

I was just using the numbers you supplied. But let's assume the unbranded ring doesn't sell at all. Then you've lost $8500 (still using your numbers). With the Tiffany, it loses half its value (your numbers), so you lose $10,250. So with the Tiffany, you're out $2250 more than with the unbranded, which means the unbranded is still a better financial choice.

 

[Lookinagain]

I agree with @glitterata on this one. And to throw something else out there, a $1700 ring is probably easier to sell than a $10k ring, branded or not. So your options on getting at least some return seem to be higher with the unbranded ring. Not everyone is willing to pay a premium for the branded ring, assuming they are identical or "close enough", unless they are into labels. So your buying audience may also be smaller.

 

[MissGotRocks]

Finding a ring like yours already made will probably be difficult. Most jewelers are probably not going to make a ring of that quality and size just hoping that it will sell. Tiffany may have something similar but for a lot more money.
Having said all of that, and based on your search for same, I am guessing that you can’t compare prices for your custom made ring vs. an already made ring as an already made, off the shelf, doesn’t exist.

 

[1964pandora]

Hi e eryon

Your post is a little confusing (for me*).

You want to have another ring made? A full diamond eternity with .2 stones? Is that what you are asking? And are you asking how
much that would be?

You didnt say what carat total weight you want/expect or finger size (makes it harder to figure out) for this new ring. (If you're
looking for an estimate).

And you want to know the retail value of your sapphire/diamond ring to help you figure out the price of the new ring?

Again, no ctw of the diamonds or sapphires in your ring. No details on who made it (master/hand forged or CAD).f

I think if you stick to 1 question maybe you'll get more feedback.

 

[1964pandora]

Thank you for all of these replies. Mark Turnowsky made this ring and I should take some better photos of it. The sapphires are cornflower blue which are supposedly much rarer but of course 90 percent of sapphires are heated and I’m sure these are too. That doesn’t bother me. Anyway when I had the ring made I was thinking that I was going to save money. So I was asking how much a ring like this would cost in a brick and mortar store. But I don’t have the total carat weight. I misplaced my appraisal for the moment. Anyway it is very nice to have someone like Mark make the ring because I can be sure that everything is as he says it is in terms of cut, color clarity. The ring shines from across a room.