A tricky subject, diamond shopping. One that you can google all sorts of advice about and in the end still feel utterly clueless.
I recently purchased my engagement ring in Antwerp. Before going, I did lots of research. Lots and lots. But it was still hard to find the information that I was really looking for. So this post is to share my experience. First, a few things about me in relation to my diamond shopping experience.
1. I knew very little about diamonds, my fiancee knew even less.
2. We were on a rather modest budget.
3. We wanted a certified diamond. This was a big purchase for us and we wanted it to be authentic.
4. We knew absolutely nothing about diamond certifications.
5. I had a very specific idea in mind about the type of ring I wanted. The ring I purchase is pretty much nothing like my original idea.
Hopefully that gives everyone an idea of where we were coming from going into this shopping expedition. I think we're a rather typical couple buying a ring. We didn't have a big budget, we wanted something nice, and we wanted the experience of being in Antwerp. That said, I didn't want to be ripped off, get an un-certified diamond, so we had to find our balance of quality, authenticity and cost.
Before you go...
Step One:
Do your homework. Doh, that's why most anyone reading this posts is reading it, right? You're doing your homework. The thing with diamond shopping though is you think you know what to look for, but you really don't, unless of course you're a diamond expert. I did a lot of research on the 4 C's (hopefully if you're reading this you know what they are, I'm not going to explain them in detail in this post, unless it was about my experience). And once I got to Antwerp, the research I did wasn't that helpful. I price checked diamonds with an I color, thinking, oh yeah, everything I read says that a color above J is just fine. I bought an F colored diamond. The jewelers in Antwerp can help you with this, they know it better than you can learn online and seeing the diamonds in person is different than reading about them online.
My suggestion is research the jewelers you want to visit. There are a lot of shady diamond shops in Antwerp, and you don't want to just walk into the first store you see. Find as many reviews on them as you can. At the end I'll give reviews on the ones I visited while I was there. And do some price checking. I recommend www.bluenile.com. Make a chart or something easy to read that gives you a range of carat sizes, color, clarity, etc. and the price you see for that diamond on there.
Step Two:
Set a budget. Or set two budgets. We set one that was our absolute max budget, and then another that we told the jewelers. This gives you a little wiggle room if you see something you love. It also gives you more room to negotiate if you tell them your budget is lower. Also decide if you will pay cash or pay with a credit card. You'll get a better price paying cash, so make that clear to the people you're talking to. Normally this means not paying the 21% VAT. For my American friends, if they tell you that if you pay credit, you can claim the VAT at the airport and get it back...well, technically it's true. I don't know anyone who has ever gotten it back though, so you're still better off going with cash, in my opinion.
Don't ever discuss your budget wit your partner while in the shops. The sales person will ask what your budget is, tell them a firm number, and that this number includes the diamond and the band. The cost of the band is almost nothing there, because they are more concerned about selling the diamond. Most bands should be around 500 euro if it has diamonds in it, and less if it's just gold (18kt).
Step Three:
Plan your day. If you just have one day, it starts to get exhausting. I made 3 appointments before we went and set 2 hours for each because I had no idea how long they would last. I recommend an hour for each appointment. It also makes it nice that you have other appointments and can tell them, thank you, we'll think about it and walk out without being pressured.
Now, it isn't necessary to make appointments with all of the shops. But if you like having a schedule it helps keep you moving. And you can set in some free time to pop into the shops you don't make appointments with. Though, I recommend going the appointments route, especially if you're traveling to get here. It just guarantees that they have time for you.
When you're there...
Point One:
Take your time. You're the client, don't let anyone pressure you into buying something you don't want to. Diamonds are not rare. We saw so many diamonds that were almost identical in their color, cute, size, etc. In the end we made the decision based on price, feeling comfortable with the person we were buying from, and a diamond combination with a band that we also loved. But seriously, don't let them pressure you, the diamonds will be there, the bands will be there. It is your prerogative to take your time and think about the decision.
Point Two:
Look at loose diamonds. We were informed while we were there that usually the rings you see already set have lower quality diamonds in them. And you can't see the entire diamond, so you never know. This might not always be the case, but in my mind it's better to be safe than sorry. Also, if you're being shown a band you like that doesn't have a diamond in it, have them set a loose stone in it so you can see it together. The look of the ring is completely different with a stone and you might realize that you don't like that style after all.
Point Three:
Ask lots of questions. What is the color, the cut, the polish, the symmetry. Does it have fluorescence? (I didn't even realize this was an issue before we arrived. Apparently you want no fluorescence to very slight). Ask if you can see the diamond outside in natural daylight. If it's a loose diamond that might be harder, but it never hurts to ask. Ask to see the certificates.
Note on certificates: You want at least a GIA certified diamond. This is the American standard, and the toughest, but also one of the best known. The Antwerp diamond certification is also good. But the benefit of GIA is it has a lasered number on the diamond that you can look up on their website, that shows all the stats of your diamond, and any jeweler anywhere should be able to read it, to ensure you have the right diamond. Make them read the number and you check it on the certificate to make sure it matches.
Point Four:
Take photos of the bands and diamonds that you like. And take notes. My fiancee took notes at each shop, on the prices and stats of the diamonds so we could compare later. And we took photos of the bands on my hand with diamonds in them.
Point Five:
After the last stop of the day, go to a bar, have a drink, and talk about it. You'll probably already know what your decision is, but it makes it easier to sit down and discuss it with your partner. Do you have the same feeling about it? Are you agreed on the price? Maybe you want to do a little more negotiating, so talk about that.
Point Six:
If they don't insist upon this themselves, ask to watch the diamond being set and polished. It might seem silly, but you hear stories of diamonds being switched. This way you know that the diamond you bought is put into the ring. If you can, take it home that day. And another note, the banks close early and the ATMs only let you withdrawal about 600 euro per day. So either have the cash ready, or go to the bank before 4pm.
Reviews
Hearts and Arrows Jewellery
http://www.heartsandarrowsjewellery.com/
This is where we ended up buying our ring. It was one of the two places we did not make an appointment. I hadn't found much information about them, just seen a few nice reviews, so we had some time and stopped in. The man the owns that shop is very nice. Sometimes you get that cheesy salesman vibe, but he never pressured us. What I really liked is that he showed us a lot of options. He showed us different diamonds without complaint, and he seemed to be listening to what we liked. If we said we liked a certain style, then he showed us others like that. He was conscious of our budget the entire time and gave us some good advice. (I wanted side diamonds, so a lower color makes the ring look more yellow than if it is set on a plain gold band, so we went better color, lower clarity, but still not visible to the naked eye. Also a .80 looks much bigger than a .70, but you can barely tell it apart from a .90). He also designs the bands himself, and had a lot of variety which was important to us. Some of the shops had nice diamonds, but little to no bands, so that helped us make the decision. He'll negotiate a bit. We're terrible negotiators though, so we didn't try that hard, we got a few hundred euro off and could have maybe gotten more, but we were happy with the product and the price, so it was okay by us. He also took us to watch it be set and polished, and had me carry the diamond before hand so I knew it was the one I bought. The places for the setting and polishing are definitely back offices, and not the nicest, but everyone was friendly enough.
Our Ring:
Geretti
http://www.geretti.be/en/
This was the first place we stopped. Our train got in an hour before our first appointment and again I'd seen some good things, so we popped in. The man was very nice that helped us. He had some nice diamonds. I think the prices he gave us were a bit higher than we saw somewhere else, and a little above our budget. But we didn't end up going back, so I'm not sure if those prices would have come down or not. And they were still reasonable, within the ranges we got from other shops. He didn't put any pressure on us or try to stop us from leaving, and was very interested in what we were looking for and helpful in offering us choices.
Condes Diamonds
http://www.condesdiamonds.be/
I did make an appointment here, though I think you could walk in without an appointment. Honestly, it wasn't my favorite. I'm not sure if our budget was just lower than they wanted. But the woman that helped us, Melissa, I felt like she was a bit uninterested. Her father sells wholesale and brought bands over, though we didn't really find any we really liked. There was a lot of selection and some pretty ones, but just not what we were looking for. And I think since I felt a bit that she wasn't listening to what we liked it made it a bit harder. The prices for the diamonds seemed fair, but the bands were priced much higher than we'd seen at other places. Like I said, if you're buying the diamond, around 500 euro for the band, unless it's something exceptionally extravagant. Also, she didn't have that many diamonds to show us, so it was hard to know when we couldn't see and touch the diamonds. They also kept telling me certain styles were like Tiffany's, which is fine, just I'm not really someone that cares and it felt a bit pushy.
Diamond House
http://www.diamond-house.com/
Rob that runs Diamond House is very knowledgeable and definitely a professional. I think actually the rest of the day we referred to his as "the expert". You need an appointment here, because it's not a store, it's just an office. He did have one very beautiful ring to show us, that was our second choice. I think you're better off here though if you have a bigger budget. They design a lot of rings themselves, and they do have beautiful things. I think a lot of it was just a big above our budget. But it never hurts to look, they were very friendly and helpful. Rob also is the one that changed my mind on style. I had wanted a twisted band and he suggested going with something more classic, because you'll wear it for years and your tastes might change. But a classic ring you'll always love. He was very right. I went with a classic style and I'm so glad I did.
J. Katz Jewellers
http://www.jkatzjewellers.be/
I really liked Joe Katz. He kind of reminded me of a Godfather type figure. He was just this friendly older man who has been in this industry forever. You also need an appointment here. It's in a big building with security, so you have to give an ID to get in. Really, we wanted to buy a diamond from him, just because we really liked him. His prices were good. The only problem was that he had little to no choices for bands, and I'm picky. That was the only reason we didn't buy from him. It seemed better to us to get the band and diamond at the same place, which he agreed on a bit, since he said sometimes if you buy the band somewhere else you don't know if the stone elsewhere will fit it properly. But, I would highly recommend him.
--
I read a lot of reviews about Orsini and Phillipe Harlod also. A lot of the reviews were very mixed and some people seem to have had highly negative experiences, so I avoided going to both of these places. This was a big purchase for us and we just wanted to be on the safe side. Just my thoughts on it.
A note about coming over to Antwerp for diamond shopping. I read a lot of questions about people asking if it's worth it, and yes, it is a neat experience. But, if your budget is less than 5000 euro, I'm not sure it's worth it. If you're over here anyway, then totally give it a go. Or if you have a big budget for the ring and travel, then it's definitely worth it. I live here, so for me it was just a 10 euro, 45 minute train ride, not a $1200 flight. Just food for thought.
My last comment is that, my fiancee and I did pick my ring out together, and I cannot stress enough how happy I am about this. I had mixed feelings before. The typical American thoughts kept sticking with me, that he should pick it out, blah, blah. I remember a friend telling me once that the guy picking the right ring was the last test he was the right guy. Honestly, I think that's a load of crap. I changed my mind the first store we walked into. My fiancee was a trooper in that he took notes, followed me around, listened, asked questions, but he was so lost about most of it. Everything was blurring together. In the end, I picked the ring, with his help, and I'm so happy with the way it turned out. It's the perfect ring, and it was a great experience to have together.
I hope this has been helpful to at least someone. Enjoy the diamond hunting!
I recently purchased my engagement ring in Antwerp. Before going, I did lots of research. Lots and lots. But it was still hard to find the information that I was really looking for. So this post is to share my experience. First, a few things about me in relation to my diamond shopping experience.
1. I knew very little about diamonds, my fiancee knew even less.
2. We were on a rather modest budget.
3. We wanted a certified diamond. This was a big purchase for us and we wanted it to be authentic.
4. We knew absolutely nothing about diamond certifications.
5. I had a very specific idea in mind about the type of ring I wanted. The ring I purchase is pretty much nothing like my original idea.
Hopefully that gives everyone an idea of where we were coming from going into this shopping expedition. I think we're a rather typical couple buying a ring. We didn't have a big budget, we wanted something nice, and we wanted the experience of being in Antwerp. That said, I didn't want to be ripped off, get an un-certified diamond, so we had to find our balance of quality, authenticity and cost.
Before you go...
Step One:
Do your homework. Doh, that's why most anyone reading this posts is reading it, right? You're doing your homework. The thing with diamond shopping though is you think you know what to look for, but you really don't, unless of course you're a diamond expert. I did a lot of research on the 4 C's (hopefully if you're reading this you know what they are, I'm not going to explain them in detail in this post, unless it was about my experience). And once I got to Antwerp, the research I did wasn't that helpful. I price checked diamonds with an I color, thinking, oh yeah, everything I read says that a color above J is just fine. I bought an F colored diamond. The jewelers in Antwerp can help you with this, they know it better than you can learn online and seeing the diamonds in person is different than reading about them online.
My suggestion is research the jewelers you want to visit. There are a lot of shady diamond shops in Antwerp, and you don't want to just walk into the first store you see. Find as many reviews on them as you can. At the end I'll give reviews on the ones I visited while I was there. And do some price checking. I recommend www.bluenile.com. Make a chart or something easy to read that gives you a range of carat sizes, color, clarity, etc. and the price you see for that diamond on there.
Step Two:
Set a budget. Or set two budgets. We set one that was our absolute max budget, and then another that we told the jewelers. This gives you a little wiggle room if you see something you love. It also gives you more room to negotiate if you tell them your budget is lower. Also decide if you will pay cash or pay with a credit card. You'll get a better price paying cash, so make that clear to the people you're talking to. Normally this means not paying the 21% VAT. For my American friends, if they tell you that if you pay credit, you can claim the VAT at the airport and get it back...well, technically it's true. I don't know anyone who has ever gotten it back though, so you're still better off going with cash, in my opinion.
Don't ever discuss your budget wit your partner while in the shops. The sales person will ask what your budget is, tell them a firm number, and that this number includes the diamond and the band. The cost of the band is almost nothing there, because they are more concerned about selling the diamond. Most bands should be around 500 euro if it has diamonds in it, and less if it's just gold (18kt).
Step Three:
Plan your day. If you just have one day, it starts to get exhausting. I made 3 appointments before we went and set 2 hours for each because I had no idea how long they would last. I recommend an hour for each appointment. It also makes it nice that you have other appointments and can tell them, thank you, we'll think about it and walk out without being pressured.
Now, it isn't necessary to make appointments with all of the shops. But if you like having a schedule it helps keep you moving. And you can set in some free time to pop into the shops you don't make appointments with. Though, I recommend going the appointments route, especially if you're traveling to get here. It just guarantees that they have time for you.
When you're there...
Point One:
Take your time. You're the client, don't let anyone pressure you into buying something you don't want to. Diamonds are not rare. We saw so many diamonds that were almost identical in their color, cute, size, etc. In the end we made the decision based on price, feeling comfortable with the person we were buying from, and a diamond combination with a band that we also loved. But seriously, don't let them pressure you, the diamonds will be there, the bands will be there. It is your prerogative to take your time and think about the decision.
Point Two:
Look at loose diamonds. We were informed while we were there that usually the rings you see already set have lower quality diamonds in them. And you can't see the entire diamond, so you never know. This might not always be the case, but in my mind it's better to be safe than sorry. Also, if you're being shown a band you like that doesn't have a diamond in it, have them set a loose stone in it so you can see it together. The look of the ring is completely different with a stone and you might realize that you don't like that style after all.
Point Three:
Ask lots of questions. What is the color, the cut, the polish, the symmetry. Does it have fluorescence? (I didn't even realize this was an issue before we arrived. Apparently you want no fluorescence to very slight). Ask if you can see the diamond outside in natural daylight. If it's a loose diamond that might be harder, but it never hurts to ask. Ask to see the certificates.
Note on certificates: You want at least a GIA certified diamond. This is the American standard, and the toughest, but also one of the best known. The Antwerp diamond certification is also good. But the benefit of GIA is it has a lasered number on the diamond that you can look up on their website, that shows all the stats of your diamond, and any jeweler anywhere should be able to read it, to ensure you have the right diamond. Make them read the number and you check it on the certificate to make sure it matches.
Point Four:
Take photos of the bands and diamonds that you like. And take notes. My fiancee took notes at each shop, on the prices and stats of the diamonds so we could compare later. And we took photos of the bands on my hand with diamonds in them.
(Obviously I was not thinking about sharing this when I took it. Rogue pinky).
Point Five:
After the last stop of the day, go to a bar, have a drink, and talk about it. You'll probably already know what your decision is, but it makes it easier to sit down and discuss it with your partner. Do you have the same feeling about it? Are you agreed on the price? Maybe you want to do a little more negotiating, so talk about that.
Point Six:
If they don't insist upon this themselves, ask to watch the diamond being set and polished. It might seem silly, but you hear stories of diamonds being switched. This way you know that the diamond you bought is put into the ring. If you can, take it home that day. And another note, the banks close early and the ATMs only let you withdrawal about 600 euro per day. So either have the cash ready, or go to the bank before 4pm.
Reviews
Hearts and Arrows Jewellery
http://www.heartsandarrowsjewellery.com/
This is where we ended up buying our ring. It was one of the two places we did not make an appointment. I hadn't found much information about them, just seen a few nice reviews, so we had some time and stopped in. The man the owns that shop is very nice. Sometimes you get that cheesy salesman vibe, but he never pressured us. What I really liked is that he showed us a lot of options. He showed us different diamonds without complaint, and he seemed to be listening to what we liked. If we said we liked a certain style, then he showed us others like that. He was conscious of our budget the entire time and gave us some good advice. (I wanted side diamonds, so a lower color makes the ring look more yellow than if it is set on a plain gold band, so we went better color, lower clarity, but still not visible to the naked eye. Also a .80 looks much bigger than a .70, but you can barely tell it apart from a .90). He also designs the bands himself, and had a lot of variety which was important to us. Some of the shops had nice diamonds, but little to no bands, so that helped us make the decision. He'll negotiate a bit. We're terrible negotiators though, so we didn't try that hard, we got a few hundred euro off and could have maybe gotten more, but we were happy with the product and the price, so it was okay by us. He also took us to watch it be set and polished, and had me carry the diamond before hand so I knew it was the one I bought. The places for the setting and polishing are definitely back offices, and not the nicest, but everyone was friendly enough.
Our Ring:
Geretti
http://www.geretti.be/en/
This was the first place we stopped. Our train got in an hour before our first appointment and again I'd seen some good things, so we popped in. The man was very nice that helped us. He had some nice diamonds. I think the prices he gave us were a bit higher than we saw somewhere else, and a little above our budget. But we didn't end up going back, so I'm not sure if those prices would have come down or not. And they were still reasonable, within the ranges we got from other shops. He didn't put any pressure on us or try to stop us from leaving, and was very interested in what we were looking for and helpful in offering us choices.
Condes Diamonds
http://www.condesdiamonds.be/
I did make an appointment here, though I think you could walk in without an appointment. Honestly, it wasn't my favorite. I'm not sure if our budget was just lower than they wanted. But the woman that helped us, Melissa, I felt like she was a bit uninterested. Her father sells wholesale and brought bands over, though we didn't really find any we really liked. There was a lot of selection and some pretty ones, but just not what we were looking for. And I think since I felt a bit that she wasn't listening to what we liked it made it a bit harder. The prices for the diamonds seemed fair, but the bands were priced much higher than we'd seen at other places. Like I said, if you're buying the diamond, around 500 euro for the band, unless it's something exceptionally extravagant. Also, she didn't have that many diamonds to show us, so it was hard to know when we couldn't see and touch the diamonds. They also kept telling me certain styles were like Tiffany's, which is fine, just I'm not really someone that cares and it felt a bit pushy.
Diamond House
http://www.diamond-house.com/
Rob that runs Diamond House is very knowledgeable and definitely a professional. I think actually the rest of the day we referred to his as "the expert". You need an appointment here, because it's not a store, it's just an office. He did have one very beautiful ring to show us, that was our second choice. I think you're better off here though if you have a bigger budget. They design a lot of rings themselves, and they do have beautiful things. I think a lot of it was just a big above our budget. But it never hurts to look, they were very friendly and helpful. Rob also is the one that changed my mind on style. I had wanted a twisted band and he suggested going with something more classic, because you'll wear it for years and your tastes might change. But a classic ring you'll always love. He was very right. I went with a classic style and I'm so glad I did.
J. Katz Jewellers
http://www.jkatzjewellers.be/
I really liked Joe Katz. He kind of reminded me of a Godfather type figure. He was just this friendly older man who has been in this industry forever. You also need an appointment here. It's in a big building with security, so you have to give an ID to get in. Really, we wanted to buy a diamond from him, just because we really liked him. His prices were good. The only problem was that he had little to no choices for bands, and I'm picky. That was the only reason we didn't buy from him. It seemed better to us to get the band and diamond at the same place, which he agreed on a bit, since he said sometimes if you buy the band somewhere else you don't know if the stone elsewhere will fit it properly. But, I would highly recommend him.
--
I read a lot of reviews about Orsini and Phillipe Harlod also. A lot of the reviews were very mixed and some people seem to have had highly negative experiences, so I avoided going to both of these places. This was a big purchase for us and we just wanted to be on the safe side. Just my thoughts on it.
A note about coming over to Antwerp for diamond shopping. I read a lot of questions about people asking if it's worth it, and yes, it is a neat experience. But, if your budget is less than 5000 euro, I'm not sure it's worth it. If you're over here anyway, then totally give it a go. Or if you have a big budget for the ring and travel, then it's definitely worth it. I live here, so for me it was just a 10 euro, 45 minute train ride, not a $1200 flight. Just food for thought.
My last comment is that, my fiancee and I did pick my ring out together, and I cannot stress enough how happy I am about this. I had mixed feelings before. The typical American thoughts kept sticking with me, that he should pick it out, blah, blah. I remember a friend telling me once that the guy picking the right ring was the last test he was the right guy. Honestly, I think that's a load of crap. I changed my mind the first store we walked into. My fiancee was a trooper in that he took notes, followed me around, listened, asked questions, but he was so lost about most of it. Everything was blurring together. In the end, I picked the ring, with his help, and I'm so happy with the way it turned out. It's the perfect ring, and it was a great experience to have together.
I hope this has been helpful to at least someone. Enjoy the diamond hunting!
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3 comments:
Hi there,
I was searching for some info on Antwerp jewellers and came across your blog. This is indeed very informative and helpful. I am planning to buy one for myself. May I know how many carats was the diamond you bought as from the picture, i couldn't really figure out, but it looks like a good size. Also, if you don't mind, may I know how much did they charge for the diamond? An approximate figure is ok.
Thanks
While planning to buy a diamond for my fiancée, I was totally confused. I literally had no idea of the subject and taking his advice was also not an option, as it was a surprise for him. All I did was web research. Came through a lot of websites imparting diamond instructions, Went through umpteen blogs, pictures, charts, but satisfaction was not achievable. Fortunately, this blog came to my site. Just took it like many other blogs scrolling on Google. But, till I came to an end, it had brought that satisfaction. Can say, it is worth paying a deep look and knowledgeable as well. Thanks for caring for the customers like us. If I Would have not read this, might be wandering till date.
Glad the post was helpful! I know what a struggle it was for me and went through the same issue of researching and not finding a lot of information. So I'm happy to hear it's been of use to someone else. :)
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