What can I get for $100,000 at Harry Winston? Cartier? and Tiffany?

[jmac]

Ping - An excellent question - I''ve spent the last 6 months on exactly the same question. My 15 year anniversary is coming up and I was looking for a ring with exactly the same budget. It all started at Harry Winstons on Rodeo - after my wife tried on Jennifer Lopez''s ring (Ben still has it there - he''s asking HW to sell it for him- $2.9M US - he paid $3.1M) - After that, I started to get serious.

At first I was very interested in purchasing from HW - they told me that if you purchase over $100K US with them, you become part of the "HW Family" where you can "borrow" HW pieces for special events when you''re in town. That was pretty cool (so were the complimentary Martinis). The more I looked into it, however, the more I was able to calculate how much of a premium you pay when you purchase from HW, Tiffany''s, Fred''s, etc...

My specifications were - 4-5 CT, G or better, VS or better Cushion. When I saw the Tiffany Legacy, I absolutely fell in love with it and started to consider just buying the ring from them - but again, the premium was huge. Through some of my connections, I asked 3 different wholesale diamond guys to see what they could find - one in NY, and two in Canada (where I live) - each with Diamond sources in Tel Aviv and Antwerp. All of them were able to demonstrate to me that they had impressive platinum-smiths skilled enough in micro-pave to be able to make the setting I wanted - one of them showed me Tiffany Legacy rings he had already made - he was even able to show me how his settings were slightly better than Tiffany''s (structurally) - although there was no way I could tell the difference myself. All of the Tiffany Legacy''s are hand made - designed around the diamond itself - and his approach is the same.

I''m deciding in a couple of days which diamond I''m going with - but it''s likely a 5.2CT G VS1 Cushion - for approx $85K US. This is approx 30-50% less than a similar diamond at HW or Tiffany. Tiffany had searched their database and had several IF''s available in that size, but the price looked about the same as their phone number! (and they said that it would take up to 6 months to get exactly what I was looking for and still at a huge premium) While I have bought several Tiffany pieces for my wife in the past - I simply couldn''t justify the premium...

Good luck Ping!

 

[laughinggravy]

Widget, fun indeed. Oh lordy a whopping asscher, I''d be long-term hypnotised by the concentric steps - bliss.

Ping, hi. Really you can look around, you don''t have to buy in a country that makes you worry about reliability. At that budget you could fly off somewhere to check out stuff at your pace. Independent appraisers, GIA/HRD/AGS reports. There are alternatives, that are perfectly safe, to handing over huge percentage markups to big name stores.

Abi

 

[laughinggravy]

Sorry, just to add, Ping, you need to have some idea of what you''re loooking for. With that, or any budget that represents serious money as a proportion of what the buyer has, you need to know at least what basic shapes are out there. Really look around more before you even consider going in to lay $100k on anyone''s table.
Abi

 

[Mara]

jmac, PLEASE post pictures of that fabulous ring when you are done with it!! it is going to be massive!

i am off to tell Greg for our 15 year that i am hoping for something similar.

eh i can dream.

 

[widget]

I''m glad someone bumped this thread back to life...

Ping, I do hope you keep checking in, and sharing your progress...I can''t speak for everyone, but I, for one, would love to hear all about your diamond hunting adventures: where you go, what you see, what you reject, and of course most important of all: what you finally decide on!

Have you decided what cut diamond you''d prefer?

Widget

 

[just_looking!]

Have you tried on any of the rings with larger stones? I''m not sure how small your fingers are but there comes a point when a huge stone will be uncomfortable to wear every day. Asscher stones are cut deeper so will appear a little smaller than an equivalent round or you could go for a more rectangular stone to get a more comfortable fit?

My new engagement ring was a lot less than $100,000 (1.01ct centre on a size 5 finger) but Leon Mege made my ring and it''s gorgeous. Even the manager in Tiffany''s (London) was impressed by the workmanship. Try the Leon Mege for amazing rings with huge stones!!

Otherwise ''Didiamond'' has an impressive collection of rings and may be able to help with figures for the price paid?

 

[Chiefrocka]

Ping

I'm having a hard time sifting through everything I can get for 10k, and I'm in the 1.5k range, for 100k I'd probably go insane. But if that was my budget here's what'd I'd get, a 2K-3k princess stone from a brand called Infinity in a solitaire setting (There are pics in another thread on PS, and from what I?ve read are very high end with regard to cut) probably an IF clarity and D color (yeah that sounds about right), a trip to Aruba...all inclusive of coarse, drop about 10k in the hotel casino, and with my pocket change put down inception fees on a Porsche 911 twin-turbo.

Wow this is fun spending other people's money...with whatever your choice good luck my friend!!!

 

[Chiefrocka]

sorry double post...itchy finger today...too much beer and sun

 

[flower12]

hi! Ping

you can call them to HW and tell your budget they would tell you the information.
( personaly I like LA shop)
if you are living far from LA.NV ot NY ( which in HW shop)
you can exchange E mail also .

in japan, HW carry E-ring start from only 10K.
and if you parchase over 100K, they would visit to you.


I am not sure about Tiffany and cartier.
hope you can find something you love!
good luck

 

[Nicrez]

Ping, If you are still around and looking:

I saw a 2.05ct E VS1 in the legacy setting in New York for $98,000. I hope that gives you a good idea of what your money can buy.

Also, if I had the budget you have, I would personally CALL each of the jewelry houses and find out what they can offer. If you want, I have a list of all the houses in NY, and they can just transfer you over to their international sales office or Hong Kong offices if they have any. Consider:

Fred Leighton
Harry Winston
Cartier
Chopard
Van Cleef & Arpels
House of Graff
Bulgari
Asprey

THese are all excellent places to purchase a ring if you want to buy something of value that wll retain it''s value long after your engagement. I personally feel that after a certain point, an engagement ring can become a priceless heirloom, as well as an investment. Consider that branding has it''s benefits and disadvantages. Price for smaller stone is the disadvatage, but the benefit is that in the future, should you ever sell it, or retain it as an heirloom, a branded ring would command a much higher price, or be worth a lot more than a non-branded one.

If you still don''t find what you like, certainly consider Christie''s or Sotheby''s. Christie''s has a Hong Kong office where many of their pieces are truly amazing. Remember however, that purchasing through an auction house there is not just the hammer price (price the auction ENDS at), but also the VAT tax if necessary, and within the US there is State and local taxes, as well as the buyer''s premium.

The Buyer''s premium is usually 20% for items below $200K, but can be as high as 24% at Christie''s in Milan, and I think 23% or so in Amsterdam. On top of that anything ABOVE $200K gets a 12% buyer''s premium OVER the 20, so you''re looking at a possible 32% of the hammer price for an item that is over $200K. So be careful!

In the end it is up to you to spend that money. Good luck and have fun shopping!

 

[elephant]

Ping --

In answer to your question about negotiating price with big name stores, Donald Trump said that Tiffany is the only store he has NOT been able to negotiate in -- so, if Donald Trump can''t...? Doesn''t look good for the rest of us! Good luck!

 

[Nicrez]

I made a typo on my last post. It was a 3.05ct D, VVS2 for $98K

As of a month ago these were the New York prices for a legacy ring:

2.00ct D VS1 about $46,300
2.01ct E VS1 about $41,200
Matching band about $2,275.00 (in pave with bead set)

I assume with $100K you could get 3.5ct+ in a G color VS2, no problem.