Just curious.....How Exclusive is Tacori?

[jkc350z]

Hey all...I do not know if this is the correct section to be writing this in, but I am just wanting to know something just for my own curiousity. How exclusive is Tacori? What kind of connotation does it have?

I remember about 5 years ago when a friend introduced me to Tacori engagement rings. He showed me a few pictures in a magazine and I loved the antique look they had. Since then, I always thought Tacori rings would be my go-to setting to propose to my gf when we were ready. They matched her personality and style perfectly. Well that time is around the corner. haha

So again, I am just curious. Not trying to diss them or anything, as I love their pieces. I have just seen that lately they have come out with more "affordable" lines of jewelry, as well as having some of their products at overstock.com, amazon, etc.

Any ideas would be great! No matter what comes out of it though, I still think Tacori will be my go-to settings of choice.

Thanks for the help!

 

[antelope1]

Hm. First, I do want to say that I like Tacori settings and some of them are quite beautiful. So my comments below relate only to marketing and branding.

By "exclusive", do you mean "hard to get"? I've seen Tacori in B&M stores everywhere I travel so it seems like they're widely available. The price point is in line with other designer settings too, IMO, so if you can afford a designer setting in general, you can afford a Tacori. So both in terms of availability and cost, Tacori seems no more exclusive than other designer settings, and perhaps less exclusive because you can actually get them locally.

I think of Tacori as more of a mass-market designer setting (if that makes sense). I mean, I see ads for Tacori in the same magazines where I see ads for Jared's. So...if Tacori is trying to reach the same audience that Jared's is trying to reach in UsWeekly, InStyle, and Vogue...

If you asked me what settings were more exclusive (e.g., harder to get, and can only be gotten by people in the know) -- I would start with Mark Morrell (because he wasn't taking new customers for a while, only doing wedding sets for existing customers -- so you literally have to have an "in" to get in with him), followed closely by Leon Mege (because he's really pricey, but makes everything by hand, which is rare nowadays), followed by the tier-1 brands (Cartier, Bulgari, Tiffany's -- simply because you are paying a big premium for the name), followed by a whole bunch of designers lumped together, including Tacori. I'm sure I'm missing some designers because it's early in the morning, but you get my point.

If you wanted to go "exclusive" in a way that was recognized by her friends, why not get a Cartier? The price point for the setting alone makes it super exclusive. I don't know anyone personally with an ER from Cartier, but I would definitely recognize it and go "OMG <big eyes>".

 

[decodelighted]

Its a hard question really. I'll say this: they are heavily advertised in women's fashion magazines. So if your gal reads those, she will have spent the last 5-10 years seeing their ads. And VERY heavily advertised in Bridal mags -- so if she's sneaking a peek over there ...

Have heard mixed things on the quality these days. Mostly raves, some problems with execution on the super complicated, very ornate styles. There are probably more options on the "antique inspired" front these days than there were when Tacori was first popularized.

What IMAGE they have is very difficult to generalize. Whether home shopping association has helped or hurt them is up in the air.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Tacori is a beautiful brand, but they're quite mainstream. At least in the NE where I am. I don't think I'd classify them as "exclusive."

 

[decodelighted]

Tacori is a beautiful brand, but they're quite mainstream. At least in the NE where I am. I don't think I'd classify them as "exclusive."

Its such a touchy subject yanno? If her crowd thinks Coach is "exclusive" than they'd probably think Tacori is. But if its a high-end handbag crowd ... Cartier/Harry Winston is probably what its going to take to be seen as "exclusive". We could help you with designers that actually ARE "exclusive" and custom made for the exact stone in antique styles but if you're interested in BRAND recognition primarily, the previous advice stands.

 

[jkc350z]

Thanks for the opinions everyone...this is kind of the information I was looking for; basically how people "see" Tacori in an every day sense....what kind of connotations people have towards the name "Tacori".

For example, for me and in my personal opinion, when I see a Tiffany's item I am not at all "wowed" as I used to be. Mostly, I just see it as overpriced jewelry.

 

[jkc350z]

Tacori is a beautiful brand, but they're quite mainstream. At least in the NE where I am. I don't think I'd classify them as "exclusive."

Its such a touchy subject yanno? If her crowd thinks Coach is "exclusive" than they'd probably think Tacori is. But if its a high-end handbag crowd ... Cartier/Harry Winston is probably what its going to take to be seen as "exclusive". We could help you with designers that actually ARE "exclusive" and custom made for the exact stone in antique styles but if you're interested in BRAND recognition primarily, the previous advice stands.

thanks...I am not really concerned with branding, but I am concerned with how it looks. I was just curious. Also, I did leave out that I have been sitting on this for the past 6 months or so...taking my time with the diamond search. Its the platinum version. Just kind of questioning if I made the "right buy" yanno? I love the ring and I am pretty certain she will too. I just want her to be "wowed" and happy when its hers..haha...branding set aside.

just a pic...

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.mervisdiamond.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/5e06319eda06f020e43594a9c230972d/t/a/ta-ht-2326-1-2x.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.mervisdiamond.com/engagement-rings/tacori-platinum-diamond-engagement-ring-1-10-cts.html&usg=__gB6kGZnwxqmD7wMOBnB0553aJKs=&h=1500&w=1500&sz=140&hl=en&start=50&sig2=a6KcuYEw7zKcUVo_4pxcYg&zoom=1&tbnid=cu4BNEXWm1qsVM:&tbnh=143&tbnw=143&ei=YO4lTb3HJsP98AbtkuGUAQ&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dtacori%2Bsetting%2B1/2%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1222%26bih%3D786%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=156&oei=R-4lTeiIKMX6lwfY-bnNCw&esq=3&page=3&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:4,s:50&tx=86&ty=79

 

[antelope1]

Thanks for the opinions everyone...this is kind of the information I was looking for; basically how people "see" Tacori in an every day sense....what kind of connotations people have towards the name "Tacori".

For example, for me and in my personal opinion, when I see a Tiffany's item I am not at all "wowed" as I used to be. Mostly, I just see it as overpriced jewelry.

Yeah, but the overpriced makes it exclusive because not everyone has the cash (or attitude toward money) that would let them fork over 2x the actual value (minus the brand) for the branded good. I hope that makes sense.

Btw, I was trying to remember earlier and now I remember -- Van Craysnet belongs up there IMO before the grouping of other designers that use CAD-and-cast because VS still uses old-school methods for the intricate carving and scrollwork.

ETA: If you've already bought it, and you like it and you think she'll like it (irrespective of the branding), I think you've done good because that's what matters. If you bought it so she could flash it and say "This is a Tacori" ... hm.

 

[jkc350z]

Yah I definately understand where you are coming from with Tiffany's. Maybe its the experience I have had with some of their jewelry pieces. I have given multiple items to my gf over the years. They were just small "tokens of love" I would say. Nothing spectacular. So, I do not have any experience with their higher end things. But it just seems they are so overpriced for what I see as being mainstream.

Oh well...I generally think its the "look" and quality rather than branding that is most import, but having an exclusive brand does give you that effect!...but then again...so do diamonds in general.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

I don't see Tacori as "exclusive," mostly because it's often mentioned here on PS. Since I don't read bridal magazines, I don't know much about the amount of advertising there. Them being on overstock.com says a lot though...also there is something on QVC called Tacori IV. Not sure what that is or if there is affiliation with the actual Tacori company but googling around (and looking on Overstock) it appears there are sterling silver styles of the Tacori IV.

My thought is that if you love that style and it looks great one, then go for it. I'm one of those people that WOULD buy a $$$ from Tiffany if I had the cash!

 

[jkc350z]

Maybe I asked the question wrong.....I guess instead of "Is Tacori exclusive?"...how about what connotation does buying a Tacori setting come with?

It kind of sucks that they decided to make money and go to overstock and qvc because I really like their settings. I just hope this doesn't degrade it's reputation/connotation to that of just any other "good looking" setting that you can find in Zales...which I guess it is moving towards. Oh well...

 

[slg47]

Tacori settings are high quality from what I understand and have a distinctive look. If your GF wants a Tacori setting then by all means get her one!

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Tacori is a beautiful brand, but they're quite mainstream. At least in the NE where I am. I don't think I'd classify them as "exclusive."

Its such a touchy subject yanno? If her crowd thinks Coach is "exclusive" than they'd probably think Tacori is. But if its a high-end handbag crowd ... Cartier/Harry Winston is probably what its going to take to be seen as "exclusive". We could help you with designers that actually ARE "exclusive" and custom made for the exact stone in antique styles but if you're interested in BRAND recognition primarily, the previous advice stands.

My point was more that the exclusivity of the brand is going to change based on where you live and/or your socioeconomic position. Here in the Boston area Tacori is mainstream. But I can see it possibly being exclusive or more rare in a smaller city or different region.

 

[jkc350z]

very true....thank you all for your info and opinions. I still love Tacori, but I just had to ask

 

[amc80]

I think it's important to differentiate between exclusive and high end. Exclusive, to me, means hard to get and/or something that isn't widely available. Something like JB Star, where you would have to seek out specific jewelry stores in order to see their products. Tacori is at many B&Ms. However, from what I have seen, Tacori would be one of the more expensive options at most B&Ms, especially chains or locally owned type stores. Not considering their lower end lines (overstock, QVC), the price of the settings might keep it out of the mainstream, but the availability is there.

 

[ked123]

I agree with you that Tacori rings are beautiful, however, I would not see a brand that sells on Amazon, QVC or HSN as "exclusive."

If you are looking to impress I would just buy the most beautiful, high quality stone you can in an ornate setting. No one is going to ever ask her what brand the ring is.

 

[CharmyPoo]

Tacori is like Coach to me

 

[Frenchcut]

I agree with you that Tacori rings are beautiful, however, I would not see a brand that sells on Amazon, QVC or HSN as "exclusive."

If you are looking to impress I would just buy the most beautiful, high quality stone you can in an ornate setting. No one is going to ever ask her what brand the ring is.

+1 - What people look first in an e-ring is the stone. When it's beautiful nobody will care about the setting.

 

[Sizzle]

I think Tacori's are beautiful, but most of the time seem overpriced. I think the comparison to the coach bag is the pefect analogy. I was not a fan of the QVC Tacori and in my opinion it cheapened the "brand". I am not impressed when/if someone were to say it's a Tacori, I'm more impressed with the ring visually. I don't get the hype over "designer" jewelry.

 

[ked123]

I thought this article might be interesting to you:

http://theblingblog.typepad.com/the_bling_blog/2007/03/has_tacori_jump.html

 

[Frenchcut]

Very interesting indeed, especially the part on the travel set. I just noticed one of my co-workers has a "fake" e-ring that she wears sometimes when she is going to the gym...and I think it's a great idea.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I think Tacori jewelry is beautiful. When I think of their designs I think of antique, delicate, beautiful, feminine. I knew I wanted a Tacori setting since I was in high school and saw those ads Deco described. Most "normies" don't know the brand. Nor do they know most brands beyond super high end companies (Tiffany's, Cartier, etc). I think most people don't care *gasp*. I got my setting way before they did their QVC line and it doesn't taint it at all. I could care less. Vera Wang has a line at Kohl's. Tiffany sells silver jewelry. This economy CHANGED the way some companies do business. They are probably smart to diversify. If your lady loves Tacori, buy a Tacori. Don't worry about what other people think or say.