No blue box for you!

January 28, 2007 8:25 PM

How do I get a Tiffany's ring without the Tiffany's price?

My GF and I are going to take the next step and we we're out looking at rings and she particularly liked this ring. However a quick trip to a mall store showed we can get a much better diamond at a much better price if we skip the Tiffany name.

That being said my girlfriend realllllyyyyy likes the ring in that setting. Not one that looks like that setting (the tapered baguettes) but that exact one. Anyone have any suggestions for getting that setting but without the blue box? (And the blue box price?)

posted by bitdamaged to clothing, beauty, & fashion (27 comments total)

Blue Nile.
posted by ikkyu2 at 8:43 PM on January 28, 2007

We've looked at Blue Nile, but she isn't crazy about their setting. She thinks the Tiffany setting has an elegance that other settings don't have. Its not the Tiffany name that she is caught up on, but the setting.
posted by bitdamaged at 8:52 PM on January 28, 2007

Have you talked to any jewelers who do custom work? My ex gave me an aquamarine for my birthday and we had it set in a platinum setting - I remember thinking at the time how reasonable it was. It was cheaper than anything I'd seen in stores and much more to my liking. I found a setting I liked online and emailed it to the guy, who replicated it exactly.
posted by routergirl at 8:56 PM on January 28, 2007

It's not just that Tiffany & Co. buys a bunch of rings and stamps their names on them. They work with a variety of designers who are not sold elsewhere. That's half of the idea behind the exclusivity of a Tiffany & Co. ring and that's why she thinks/feels that the setting has more elegance.
posted by FlamingBore at 8:56 PM on January 28, 2007

Buy a "Tiffany Box" on Ebay and stick a cheaper ring in it!

My brother is a jeweler, that setting would be very easy to replicate.
posted by JujuB at 9:02 PM on January 28, 2007

I would be very surprised if the name wasn't influencing her just a little bit, and if she wasn't half hoping you would just buy the Tiffany ring.
posted by crabintheocean at 9:04 PM on January 28, 2007

Seconding getting it custom-made. I've had a few bits of jewelery custom-made and as long as you choose your jeweler wisely I think you'll have a good result (although be careful; the first job I had for the jeweler I use now was to fix a ring that another jeweler made massacred). The ability to tweak the design beforehand and to tweak the ring itself afterwards is great. If and when my partner and I marry, I'll definitely be getting our rings custom-made.
posted by snap, crackle and pop at 9:07 PM on January 28, 2007

Not to shill for Tiffany, but there is a difference between it and, say, Blue Nile. Kind of like the difference between Prada and Nine West.

With a Tiffany ring, the design is beautiful but the craftsmanship is also flawless. The diamonds may be of a "lesser" quality, but they come from the Jericho mines in Canada rather than from some unknown battleground area. The difference is definitely discernible.

I'm all about the custom-made stuff, too, but don't try to make your girlfriend think she's getting Tiffany if she's not. Obviously.
posted by brina at 9:19 PM on January 28, 2007

Do you know what she likes about it? Is it the angle of the baguettes, the band around the main stone, or just the way the whole thing hangs together?
posted by ikkyu2 at 9:31 PM on January 28, 2007

I would second talking to a jeweler about replicating the setting, and see if you can do better on the price. A good jeweler should be able to replicate that setting, and she'll never know the difference.

Don't forget to ask for Canadian diamonds!
posted by Dasein at 9:32 PM on January 28, 2007

I'm guessing from previous questions that you are in the Bay Area. We got my ring at the Jewelry Exchange - of late night commercial fame. It used to be in Burlingame but I think they've moved to Redwood City. I fell in love with a Tiffany ring and after lots of shopping we ended up there and got a diamond in a custom made setting of a better quality for literally half the price of the Tiffany ring. I get so many compliments on its sparkle. It’s not a fancy store and there was no blue box- but I'm super proud of my discount ring.
posted by Wolfie at 10:07 PM on January 28, 2007

My platinum band (and my husband's) came from Tiffany's. We were hesitant at first, but no other store carried bands in platinum. Sure, the discount places offered to order them for us. But all we could look at in the store were the gold ones. It didn't make sense. Platinum has a different weight than gold. We wanted to see what we were buying and feel the weight.

In the long run, we felt we did the right thing by purchasing at Tiffany's. They stand behind their product. You know what you are getting. Remember, sometimes you DO get what you pay for.
posted by 6:1 at 10:13 PM on January 28, 2007

If you had only one chance to buy an automobile in your life, would you spring for a Mercedes, or buy a top-of-the-line Hyundai and pocket the change?

If she likes the ring from Tiffany, buy her the ring from Tiffany. If the price is too much to swallow, then just get a smaller stone. (Men are the only ones who care about size.)

I never -- ever -- buy retail, if I can help it. But when I got engaged, I marched into Tiff's on 57th and bought the tiniest, most perfect ring they had.

Best decision I've ever made.
posted by turducken at 10:13 PM on January 28, 2007

I got my wife's diamond and setting from these guys. They have a Tiffany-style setting that looks dead on identical to the real thing, to the point that a bunch of people have told her how they are jealous that her ring came from Tiffany's. She picked out the setting herself, so its not like I tried to pass it off in a fake box or anything (I really, really recommend you don't try that).

Also, I think you'll find that the diamonds and settings are much better priced for the quality than the stuff you find in Tiffany's and most other brick-and-mortar stores, especially the ones in the mall. At least that was the case when I purchased 2.5 years ago, when platinum was a LOT cheaper than it is now, so YMMV.

Further, if you are looking for a stone to go in the setting, I cannot recommend enough their ideal cut hearts and arrows stones. Since I gave my wife her ring, I have seen plenty of diamonds bigger than the one I bought, but I literally have never seen one that is more beautiful. It is ridiculously sparkly.

(Disclaimer: I have no connection with that shop beyond being a satisfied customer).
posted by jtfowl0 at 10:25 PM on January 28, 2007

Sorry, turducken, but the ladies do indeed talk about the size of the stone. ALL THE TIME. The OP doesn't want to skimp on that if he thinks there is any chance in hell that they'll be part of a crowd that might care about that kind of thing. Tiny stones elicit lots of cries of "Oh! It's cuuuuute," which really means "Oh! It's small!"

Also, she might say she doesn't like the Tiffany (no apostrophe S, by the way) ring, just the setting, but she might just be saying that so you won't feel as if she's asking for the world. Find out BEFORE you get her something cheaper.
posted by LGCNo6 at 11:52 PM on January 28, 2007

Go custom, if you can. There are diamond setters and jewellers who work for the larger department stores like Neiman Marcus which is where I got a few pieces made. I also sourced my own stones to be sure that I got no dyed, irradiated pieces or manufactured stones. Start asking around for a talented and honest jeweler. Have no shame about seeing their portfolio of work and calling their recommendations.

But if your GF wants a Tiffany ring then you are going to have to bite the bullet and put it down to the beginning series of compromises and trade-offs of marriage.

Never, ever palm off a piece of jewelry as something else than what it is; don't fake a Tiffany ring - no man can recover from that, trust me on this. I knew someone who palmed of CZ on his engagement ring - it didn't last long, but then again he was a lech and probably deserved the trauma.
posted by jadepearl at 2:12 AM on January 29, 2007

When my brother got married, he ended up with a couple gift certificates to Tiffany & Co. that they had not registered for and didn't want. He tried selling them on Ebay, but found that the going rate was about 50 or 60% of face value. I don't know if there are enough Tiffany & Co. gift certificates floating around for you to subsidize the cost of a ring, or if it's worth the effort, or if you'd feel weird buying an engagement ring with a handful of 2nd-hand gift certificates, but if you're committed to Tiffany...
posted by sonofslim at 5:18 AM on January 29, 2007

Just out of curiosity for those recommending getting a ring custom made. Are there legal issues around getting a replica of a Tiffany or Cartier setting made? Would a jewelry designer refuse to make an exact copy for some reason?
posted by echo0720 at 6:36 AM on January 29, 2007

My brother-in-law found the exact Tiffany & Co ring my sister wanted on Ebay of all places.

He bought it from a flight attendant who had called off her engagement. He met her at the airport and took a jeweler friend along with to verify. Ended up saving about $11k.
posted by bryak at 7:07 AM on January 29, 2007

Many independent jewelers will have replicas/knockoffs/imitations of popular Tiffany pieces, but they will not be precisely the same as the Tiffany piece; something's bound to be different. My husband bought my engagement ring at an independent jeweler, and the setting was called a "Tiffany setting", but it is distinctly different from the Tiffany setting it emulates. As it happens, I like this one better.

Have you tried asking Tiffany if they would set a diamond that you brought to them? That way you could have the diamond you want in the setting she loves.

Also on the subject of Tiffany's, my husband and I looked at a lot of (plain, platinum) wedding bands at a lot of different jewelers, and the prices at Tiffany's were on par with the prices at other places like Ross Simons. We ended up getting Tiffany bands because they had a distinct shape/roundness we absolutely could NOT find anywhere else. We were initially kind of embarrassed about being cliche, but the truth is that Tiffany's has beautiful, unique designs, and even if it had cost us more, it would be worth it because we wear those rings all the time.
posted by Sprout the Vulgarian at 7:08 AM on January 29, 2007

You can try and find one used. Or you can go to a jeweler and have them make you a clone of the setting. Either solution would be cheaper.

To the comment above, Tiffany won't set a diamond you bring them.
posted by chunking express at 7:28 AM on January 29, 2007

She's going to wear the ring every hour of the day for the rest of her life. Get her the ring she wants.
posted by The corpse in the library at 11:27 AM on January 29, 2007

Inside is Toshiba! Toshiba guts! Same thing!
Seriously, it really depends on the design. We got the equivalent of this on 47th Street. I guess you could tell it apart, if you tried, but whatever.
posted by Saucy Intruder at 12:09 PM on January 29, 2007

I am not a jeweler, but I used to do work for Tiffany & Co., and I wouldn't buy a diamond ring from them. You will simply be paying a huge tax for their name. I can tell you that I knew several Tiffany employees who did not buy their engagement rings from there, either.

Do your homework: determine the characteristics of the stone you want (carat, clarity, color, and cut). The price will be a natural outcome of those characteristics. If the price is too high, you'll have to compromise on one of the four C's.

After you know the stone you want, find someone who will sell it to you for the lowest price. That's really it. There is nothing "magical" about a Tiffany stone that makes it inherently better than others. It's a commodity, and any attempts to convince you otherwise is pure marketing bullshit. As for the settings, their designs can be, and are, replicated all over the place.

Don't buy from a retailer, you will pay 30-40% markup. You didn't give your location, but if you live in a large city, there's a good chance that there is a diamond district there, somewhere where people buy and sell stones wholesale. They usually sell to people at much lower prices than you're going to find anywhere else.

Don't worry about the setting yet. Here in NYC, there is a huge diamond district (I'm looking at it outside my window, in fact). When I've purchased stones there in the past, the setting wasn't even mentioned until after you've decided on a diamond. In fact, in most stores, the setting is already included in the price as a "gimme". A simple platinum band only costs around $200, whereas the stone might be sold for thousands of dollars. In short, unless it's something extravagent and difficult, the dealers don't really care about the band, the money is all in the diamonds.

If you can't find a wholesaler in your area, buy the stone from Blue Nile, or another online dealer. In fact, if you buy from out of state, you might not even have to pay sales tax.

Afterwards, have the setting custom made. Any decent jewelry-maker knows who Tiffany & Co. is, they know the styles. Show them what you want and they can make it. You will save so much money doing it this way that you will be able to get a bigger, better stone.
posted by Gamblor at 3:01 PM on January 29, 2007 [4 favorites]

Gamblor, I think you are off your mark on the cost of a platinum band. I never came across one for $200, and I look just a few months ago.
posted by 6:1 at 4:51 PM on January 30, 2007

2 mm Platinum band - $170 US
2.5 mm Platinum band - $250 US

The value of platinum has doubled in the last few years, so I get your point. The price of the setting will depend on timing, size, and style, obviously. My point is the same: The cost of the ring is very small compared to the cost of the diamond. If you're spending $10k on a diamond, chances are, in most states, you'll pay more in sales tax on the stone than you'll pay for the entire setting. Hence, my advice to focus on finding the best priced diamond first, then purchase the ring second.

Buying a $20k diamond ring at Tiffany's because you like the setting is like buying a Porche because you like the stereo in it. If what you really like is the setting (or the stereo), there are much cheaper ways to go about aquiring it.
posted by Gamblor at 11:47 AM on January 31, 2007

Gamblor, I appreciate the links. We were looking for platinum *in person*--that's when we found out most stores do not carry them so we could feel the weight and look at them. They usually carried gold and silver bands, and said "we can order these in platinum". To me (and my husband) this was crazy, we wanted to know the feel of what we were buy prior to ordering it.

(FWIW we both ended up with 6mm platinum bands. I don't like engagement rings, so we just went with a nice, wide band).
posted by 6:1 at 7:39 PM on January 31, 2007