Sep 7, 2009

ring hunting

i'm sharing some info based on our ring hunting experience months ago :)


more options for 916 gold and selalu ade diskaun 5 ringgit! for perfect cut diamond, HOF of similar spec is cheaper than Lazare. HOF mostly disc 10%, u can get up to 15% in Bangsar branch, talk to Syahrunizam. their SA? hmm, double standard :( Habib Semua House mahal and they put HOF in torn box! this one SA told me for below 0.5c, better go for HOF since price not much diff from certified diamond. my friend had bad experience with their workmanship, but this may not apply to all i believe :) no custom made for platinum band. 75% diamond value for upgrade.


dont get overwhelmed with their xx% + xx% sale! the price in the end just similar to other jewellers :( wide selection, but i dont quite satisfied with their band - ringan sangat for their price heee! their signature collection is Le Lumiere, available at The Garden.


best customer service so far, be it any branch. have price control policy, thus max discount is 15% while members can get extra 5%. membership rm10 je, janganlah kedekut hehe. high end collection is Estrella, reasonable price for well cut diamond. good thing, this collection come in platinum settings :)


they dont have 916 gold. but trust me, their 750 gold is far better. expensive workmanship cost. limited collection, separate price for diamond & band. white gold band starts from rm1k+, and platinum will cost u double :( they claimed their white gold is pure, not the typical in market came in chrome and just celup with white gold - reason to why theirs are expensive..hmm, not sure!


the only brand carrying Lazare in Msia now. HQ in bangsar, but Pavilion's offer better customer service. expensive workmanship cost. they have yearly sale for certified diamond (up to 50%), last time was in July 09. psst, heard they're having sale again this Nov/Dec, not sure if it includes Lazare.



my next fave to Lazare, but too expensive! famous among Singaporeans, as Habib J to Malaysian ;P worth only if u buy their 66-facets brilliant rose signature, collection satu lagi tu standard certified diamond biasa je..showroom @ Bangsar Village.
tiffany novo is gorgeous, so as the price! rather than expensive platinum, u can find titanium with nicely crafted T&CO for your man here, less than rm2k :) both platinum & titanium are hypoallergenic, tapi problem nak resize if u gemuk after kahwin....

FAQs & My 2-Cents

1) should i go for cert diamond?
- recommended but not necessary. if u need one, consider only GIA / AGS. cert available only for 0.3c above

2) well cut diamond with reasonable price?
- malaysian brand, D&P's Estrella or Tomei's Le Lumiere are reasonably priced. u can ask other local jewellers too, request for 3EX (triple excellent). Lazare & HOF are internationally recognized, hence more expensive.

3) 4C priority? - my opinion..
(cash hehe!)> cut > color > carat > clarity
if u pick well cut diamond, u can compromise on color. this wiseman said perfect-cut H is better looking than normal diamond with F color (agreed by all jewellery shop that i went..)

4) min 4C to be considered? - my opinion hehe..
cut - VG (very good)
clarity - SI. VVS above only if u're going for investment.
color - near colorless, nothing further than J.
carat - depends. similar carat might look differently to slim and fat fingers. if u're torn between 0.49c and 0.5c, pick 0.49c since there'll be huge price diff once they jump to 0.5c and above, whilst physically the size almost similar to our naked eyes :)

5) should i custom made?
if u u're buying loose diamond or u they dont have nice band setting as u wish. risk includes outcome may not as expected, they dont have simulation maa...

6) my last 2 cents ...

- dont get overwhelmed with their investment strategy e.g. "for cert diamond, we accept 100% of your diamond value for any upgrade within 2 yrs etc" i know it's tempting, but somehow upgrading ring which has shared ur laughters & tears as husband & wife is not that right to me, sentimental tau! get your hubby to buy a new one instead of upgrading your wed ring. if he cant afford now, tunggu jelah his next bonus hehe...

- dress up for ring hunting! not to extend carrying your latest designer hbag, but at least be presentable. first impression lasts, remember? :)

- appear knowledgeable. some 'blings' conversation include :

"which size u're looking for..?" . this is referring to carat, not your finger size ;)

"sorry miss, we only have one with 32-pointer". SA usually used pointer instead of carat, 32 pt = 0.32c hehe..

"may i know what's roughly your budget?" dont immediately stop as "my budget is rm6k". sambunglah dgn your min req e.g. "my budget rm6k, perfect cut, min 0.3c and color not beyond J. ade?" SA yang bijak will check in system with other branches to maximize your option ;)

- wear your ring! (merisik/engagement). this gives impression u're not first timer :)

- and finally, bring your banker hehehe....!

panjang pulak entry ni :P

p/s : baru notice comment2 previous entry belum dibalas...mlm nnt je lah, dah 7am ni should mandi and go to work huhu!

25 comments:

xora said...

love this post!!! thanks for sharing :)

diana luna said...

s hidden wing..this entry truly helps me as i'm very clueless about what to look out for my wedding ring. Any more tips? Hhehhehehe

dialicious said...

wah..rajinnyeeee..u've been surveying a lot yeah.hehe..DeGem time sale seriously murah ok!

BuTtErFlyInFraMe said...

wah..mmg pjg entri ni..hehe.
i heard about hab's jewel rings too yg tak brapa ok their workmanship..but somehow its true, it may not apply to others yg ada good exp pasal ni..

apa yg nyata..i xdapat ring untuk nikah, sbb masa btunang da dpt diamond ring..huhuu.. :(

SA of Diamod & platinum , the garden sgtlah selesa to talk to.. :) i'm looking your previous entry pasal men's ring..sbb skrg i'm hunting for that! heheh..any suggetsion dear?

psst...ur words mmg betul sgt2, kalau nak g jewellery shop ni, kite kene bagi dorang impress sket dgn kita..baru servis ok..:P

Anonymous said...

hi hd :)

u never fail the bridezillas..hehe

if you don't mind, would like to share some of my experiences too here:

Habib:
- SA in Ampang Point agak double standard.
- if anyone go to Habib The Curve, Adha is very hepful
- and yes, Habib's quality is questionable. My HOF's stone is a little loose now prolly because of the resizing as I bought the ready made one.sedeh :(
- for men's platinum band in Habib, i did show the design that I want and we're waiting for the quotation from Adha.

Tomei's design is nice and D&P has good service and good bargain. Mid Valley's D&P is very friendly.

:)

fizz said...

i like the last one. bring ur banker. hahahaha

sabby said...

loving this post...were still ring hunting...

Sofia said...

love ur last 2-cent.

hehe, totally agree :D

Maneesa said...

love it!
thanks dear very very useful :)

sueanne sunshine said...

Brilliant .. i'll give this an A+ report. hehe =). Thanks for sharing..

Tell me what you think of Carat Club, specifically love diamonds?

princess.dHani said...

i had a reeeeaaallllyyy bad experience with Tomei, my Beh is banning them! hehe

xeea said...

brilliant post!
love it!

hidden.wing said...

xora,sabby, phia, maneesa, xeea : thanks & welcome. sikit2 je info yang ade boleh la share hehe..

diana, if i may add - just dont rush :)take your sweet time to survey hehe!

agreed diah! i almost terduduk mase tgk price for cert diamond during sale haha..mcm tak percaya kan :D

alena, D&P is sister co to DeGem and so far i pegi all branches friendly and siap offer to try expensive rings even i told them many time i cant afford that range hehe..got my engagement ring from D&P, just i tak satisfy with their box..kurang lawa :P their matte finishing lawa if u're eyeing platinum ring for your man..

beddyboo, thanks for sharing too! guess what, i never had good experience at any habib :( bought my merisik ring at habib the curve but resizing took them 2wks (D&P need 2 days je..) & i end up wearing ring yg ketat cos x sempat nk catch my engagement date on nx weekend tu :( sorry about ur HOF, hopefully they'll fix yours asap. regarding their cust service, to me they're being complacent cos they know malay always proud buying HJ & will forever support this homegrown and muslim business....i keep telling myself maybe just us yang tak bernasib baik with HJ...

haha fizz..i selalu survey sorg2 when i got time, kesian fiance got to wait me asking lots of q to SA. bile dah decide baru i bring him :P

sue, i penah masuk sekali je The Love Diamond. boutique very classy and limited collection. if not mistaken, they control their collection by taking only diamond not beyond I color. love their signature design with heart bezel tu, price wise mahal sikit but definitely not killing as T&Co :D goodluck in finding one sue!

princess.dHani they dont hv price ctrl policy so they suka hati put ridiculous price & shadow with their unacceptable discount...no comment on quality wise cos so far i nvr heard any complaint hehe..

shapattnson said...

a very good post ...love to sharing ..and very usefull bila nak cari cincin ..bila baca2 sume kat atas ..this is make me so wooried .. but from your post u adalah tepat, kalau nak g jewellery shop ni, kite kene bagi dorang impress sket dgn kita..baru servis pun bagos ..kena blagak skit ekk hehehe ..u afe right!! hahaha ..thanks for the info dear vey helpfull ..

laluna said...

hi hidden wings.. love to read ur blog. bnyk sgt info sampai i malas nk bace others blog sbb lots of info i get from ur entry.

just to share my experince with HJ. it happen last week which i nak survey my wedding ring and gold bracelet. almost 3 branch i pegi, sume buat i sakit hati which they din't entertain me at all or ask me if i need any help from them... sume buat muke budget cantik and bagus keje SA kat HJ.

sgt tensi... so me and my hubby decided to BAND HJ and never ever come back to them.

i need your favor if u can share with me the bridal boutique in kedah at northen side as i read and comment on your MAY entry ""for northern brides!""
i suke tgk pelamin yg u post for that entry.

i tgh survey boutique kat sana coz my hubby side at bukit mertajam penang and sgt susah nak jmp bridal boutique kat sana =(

kalo dapat contact no that bridal lagi ok..

hope u can share the info with me =)

Starry Eyed said...

wow useful tips! heheh.

hidden.wing said...

sha, nothing to worry. as long u know what u can get with ur budget & when is best time to grab them (sale!) :) dulu i dont even know what's solitaire hihi...

laluna dear, lets not to extend banning HJ. HJ quite senang to nego price and they hv sale all yr round. we still need to support our local, i just hope they could improve their cust service :)dear leave me your email, will share boutique detail :D

thanks Starry Eyed!

Unknown said...

rajin betul u crk info... hehehe... unlike me.. my place ni tade tpt2 tu semua.. g KL pun bukan selalu.. kalo saje2 dtg KL nak survey, mmg tak smpt la..

Thanx God you are here.. hehehe...

Unknown said...

rajin betul u crk info... hehehe... unlike me.. my place ni tade tpt2 tu semua.. g KL pun bukan selalu.. kalo saje2 dtg KL nak survey, mmg tak smpt la..

Thanx God you are here.. hehehe...

lia said...

hi hidden wing.bagus la blog awak.dh lama jd silent reader.bagus btol utk org2 nk kawen cm saya ni.hehe.neway saya pun dr northen.saya dkt alor star.susah btol la nk cr butik2 pengantin yg berkenan dkt hati ni.abis satu alor star saya pusing nk cr pelamin2 yg cantik2.tp satu pun tak terlekat.hurm if awak ada info2 pasal butik dkt utara ni email saya okay? kamaliakamil@gmail.com.tq in advanced

laluna said...

hehehhe... thanks for ur advise dear... not to say banned Hj tp betul2 frustrated with their customer services...

thanks jugak sbb sudi nak share the info with me.. =)

email: luvmiea@gmail.com

p/s: just nak tanya..i read ur entry ""MATTA fair 4-6 Sept 09""
wife wezs tu name die wahida ker and dulu study at MMU? rase mcm kenal =D

Miss X THOUGHT OF THE DAY said...

i like this entry! i ade problem cerita bout the 4c kat boyfriend. apath lagi pasal colour... i suruh dia bezakan colour E n J.. he said "same je i tgk..." itulah encik boyfriend saye... huhuhu but now dah nak tunang dia dah faham~ ;)

Unknown said...

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Unknown said...

In selecting proposal rings for women, diamonds is the most wide preferred option and a solitaire diamond is the proposal ring every woman would desire for.

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