How much is the Tiffany markup? What about price hikes for D/IF diamonds?

[NewEnglandLady]

I was very much an idiot when it came to diamonds before finding this site. I originally came here to learn more about my own engagement ring and now I''m hooked I''d now consider myself "educated", but the whole business still alludes me!

I''m not much of a Tiffany girl because I''m self-admittedly cheap and hate paying a premium on anything, but I do stop in there from time to time because I walk by it every day and love some of their rings.

While I was looking around today (doing a little PS homework) I overheard--okay, I was listening to--a coversation between the salesperson and a couple who were looking at two emerald-cut rings. One was a 1-carat D/IF stone and the other was a 1.5 D/IF stone. The one carat stone was $32,000 and the second stone was over $60,000! Seriously, my jaw almost hit the floor. $60,000 for a 1.5 carat stone?? So now I''m wondering how much of it is because it is D/IF and how much of it is the Tiffany name.

So this promted me to do a little experiment of my own. See, my boyfriend gave me a 1.5 carat asscher cut F/VS2 stone with Ex polish and Ex symmetry and it is a Lazare Kaplan stone and I didn''t know that they provide many of Tiffany''s stones until just months ago. I decided to slip my ring into my pocket and talk with the salesperson about purchasing the same stone from them.

A saleswoman finally came over and asked me if I was looking for anything in particular and i told her I was interested in some asscher cuts. They didn''t have any in the store, but I told her exactly what I was looking for--a 1.5 carat asscher F/VS2 cut from Lazare with ex/ex. She said she could only give me the estimation that it would be over $20,000 for the stone alone

Now, I realize that my fiance got an amazing deal on my ring, but that is more than 60% more than my entire ring! I kindly thanked her and left.

So I''m just trying to get my head around how much more they charge simply for the Tiffany name? Obviously it can''t be 60% more--nobody would ever buy from them. Right? Is it more like 30%? Even that is seems ludicrous.

 

[lyra]

Well, regardless of the markup, people pay for this particular brand name because they can, they want to, and they feel that the quality is assured. Those are all valid reasons.

I happen to love some of their signature style rings myself, but would gladly settle for Tiffany-inspired because I have different priorities and that''s fine too.

 

[iheartscience]

No, the mark up really is that ridiculous. My opinion-their stuff is pretty, but it''s not *that* pretty. The Tiffany name doesn''t mean much to me, really. And it certainly doesn''t mean enough for me to pay a 30%-whatever % mark up. I think I''ve seen too many teenagers wearing their logo-emblazoned jewelry-that kind of takes the shine off of it for me.

People go bonkers fighting about this topic, by the way. I''m sure you could do a search for Tiffany and see all the drama that pops up!

 

[WorkingHardforSmallRewards]

I dont know, I think its a pretty reasonable mark up given what the Tiffany name is.

Its just like saying, why pay so much for a natural forming diamond when there are other alternatives for 1000 times less that look just about the exact same? Are the visual differences worth 1000 times more? Not a chance. So if its not visual, it must name and title that we are all paying 10,100, and 1000 times more for already.

So for someone for whom the value of the Ering is 50-80% the name reputation and perception of Tiffany, it is a pretty reasonable markup to charge.

 

[Skippy123]

Well I have a friend who is going to get engaged pretty soon and she was at Tiffany''s and asked to try on a 3 carat diamond Lucida (I don''t know what the color or clarity was) but they quoted her $105,000. I did a quick search on WF and found a few in the $36,000-$40K range. I also told her that info too. So the mark up and the name attached w/it is high.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Yeah, sorry, I didn''t mean to be down on Tiffany. The rings are gorgeous and you know if you buy a Tiffany ring you''re a.) going to get a high-quality ring which is good for men who probably don''t know a ton about diamonds and b.) getting something that you know the receiver of the gift will most likely love.

And if money isn''t an issue, then why not, right? I totally understand that. At least in theory I understand that. In fact before I found pricescope I ordered a Cartier trinity ring (and canceled it the next day) because I fell in love with it as a wedding band and that''s the same story, you pay for the name.

I guess I was just surprised at the sticker shock for the diamonds, though, you know? Just because you could buy the same diamond somewhere else. But then you wouldn''t be getting the Tiffany ring, so what''s the point...

Sorry for my rambling, haha, I guess I was just thrown off by the markup!

 

[risingsun]

Just curious, NewEnglandLady, why did you decide against the Trinity ring? I have one and I love it! I wear it on my right hand.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

So the reasons were pretty much in this order:

1. Buyer''s remorse. I''d ordered the Trinity One and paid for it myself because I didn''t think it was fair for my FI to have to pay that much for a wedding band. That didn''t sit well with him because he wanted to pay, but him paying for even half of it didn''t sit well with me. Since I did plan to use it as a wedding band, I didn''t want any tension over it.

2. I work near Cartier and tried it on a dozen times. I started to feel like it was really bulky on my already-large fingers. The day after I ordered it I tried it on again and just felt like it dug into my pinky and middle fingers. the pave is really smooth to the touch, but it sort of hurt my other fingers.

3. I had worn my ering on my right hand up to that point thinking that I really wanted a stand-alone band on my left. The thing is, my left hand is 1.5 sizes larger than my right, so I''d never been able to wear my e-ring on the "correct" hand. In the end, I decided I did want to wear my e-ring on the left and had it resized and decided to find a band that worked well with my e-ring.

I still love the trinity ring and think I''ll get one for my right hand. I think because my right hand is much smaller it seems to be more comfortable--also, I won''t order the trinity one, I''ll probably just order a regular tri-color gold ring without diamonds. That way it will be comfortable and I won''t have buyer''s remorse

 

[risingsun]

I hope you enjoy your tri-color, when you get it. Thanks for satisfying my curiosity

 

[Ty Cobb]

The prices people qoute on here about cartier or tiffs puzzle me sometimes. I know from my experience last year that a tiff RB in the 1.5 carat range falls between 15 and 20k. add a channel set and it gets between 17 and 22k. I don''t know about emerald cuts, but the price you are saying makes em assume that they were looking at a schlumberge or legacy ring style.

as for your ascher, it is funny that she said 32k for the diamond alone, as Tiffs doesn''t price stones individually, it is all priced already mounted as they don''t carry loose stones.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 9/16/2007 4:47:31 PM
Author: Ty Cobb
The prices people qoute on here about cartier or tiffs puzzle me sometimes. I know from my experience last year that a tiff RB in the 1.5 carat range falls between 15 and 20k. add a channel set and it gets between 17 and 22k. I don't know about emerald cuts, but the price you are saying makes em assume that they were looking at a schlumberge or legacy ring style.

as for your ascher, it is funny that she said 32k for the diamond alone, as Tiffs doesn't price stones individually, it is all priced already mounted as they don't carry loose stones.

signedpieces.com has a few Tiffany rings with retail listed.

this 1.29 RB is listed retail as $18,500 (right above sale price it is listed as $13,000), so there appears to be a misprint. Either way, that is quite a bit over the per carat cost of 15-20K for a 1.5

http://www.signedpieces.com/item.cfm?item_id=707

Here is a 1.5 Lucinda cut that retails for $30K

http://www.signedpieces.com/item.cfm?item_id=5939

both of those are G color too, so they are priced quite high!

Personally, I love many of Tiffany pieces. Their eng. rings are too expensive, so I doubt I'd ever buy a solitaire from them, BUT, they've got some fabulous Diamonds by the Yards necklaces and other fun jewelry, and if money was no option, I could spend tens-of-thousands there! They're overprice, but for a jeweler who is often located in a mall, they've got exception diamonds. I wouldn't turn down a blue box.

 

[Ty Cobb]

well tiffs was rumored to be making a price increase over the summer, so that may be it. While their pieces are expensive, the actual difference in price from one color grade to the next, or clarity grade, is not nearly as much as I thought it would be.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Ty,

I''d think that an emerald cut would probably cost less per carat than a RB--I wasn''t sure if the $32K and $60+K prices for the 1 carat and 1.5 carat, respectively, were for the Tiffany name or the fact that they were D/IF. I''m positive that those were the prices he gave for the emerald cuts and not the Lucida, though.

As for the $20K price quote for the same stone I have, she could have very well meant a solitare and not the stone alone. I think her point was that if I wanted something with any stones in the band (I was looking at the pave bands) then it was going to be more. I only mention that because in addition to the center stone I also have about a half a carat of smaller diamonds in my band and my identical Lazare stone/platinum setting with diamonds in the band was STILL 60% less than the Tiffany quote.

 

[bee*]

Date: 9/17/2007 11:10:49 AM
Author: Ty Cobb
well tiffs was rumored to be making a price increase over the summer, so that may be it. While their pieces are expensive, the actual difference in price from one color grade to the next, or clarity grade, is not nearly as much as I thought it would be.

Yeah I found the same when we were shopping in July. Our 1.23 carat lucida was just over $13000 in July and that seems a lot lower than some of the prices that people have been quoted here. I know that some of the specs are different as we got an VVS2 I (Im not colour sensitive

), but we could have got a G for an extra $1980 which still would have made it a lot lower than what some people are being quoted.

 

[oldminer]

Recently saw a T&Co engagement ring with a price of $10,800. A little less than 1 carat round in a 6 prong platinum ring.
I feel sure one could buy a very similar ring, albeit without any brand name attached, for a lot closer to $5,000 via Pricescope vendors. Is there a difference? Its a matter of perception. I think there is a difference, but the matter of how much money it is worth is a relative decision for each of us.

A person who wants a Rolls Royce may not want a Bentley. A Ferrari driver would not want a Ferrari clone made with a Pontiac Fiero drivetrain. A Rolex owner wants a real one, not an imitation knock-off. The BRAND sets the items apart even when the look is very fine and/or very similar.

Those who prefer the look to the BRAND often opt for the lesser cost item. The majority of us must opt for cost over brand once the price becomes unaffordable. A person who can afford exactly what they want, in the brand they prefer, may choose accordingly. The amount of a transaction is relative to the bankroll you have. Bill Gates can buy without regard to cost, but most can''t. He may choose to buy value over brand occasionally, but I imagine he has a fairly affluent, brand conscious lifestyle by now.

Good marketing creates brands for all levels of society. This isn''t a criticism, but an observation of the way things are. If you are on the recieiving end of a T&Co gift, you will be pleased with how the giver valued you and how you feel about getting a gift. This is a tangible feeling created by years of good marketing and expertise in running a great firm. It is not a worthless accident.