need some advice on buying rings

[chris wood]

Hi

I cant find an apropriate forum so im posting this here, hopefully no one will mind.

Im getting married soon and we have found the rings we want in a well know (expensive) jeweller's. I didnt mind paying the price for what we want but I have seen very similar rings in the likes of argos lol and on-line and was wondering what the actual difference is if any other than price.

The rings are only standard court bands, lady's 18crt gold 3mm band at £315 and a mens palladium 6mm court ring at £365.

Know what im trying to understand is am I actually getting anything extra for my money by going to a posh shop to get the rings, is it just the weight of the ring that effects the price as their cant be much difference in craftsman ship in a wedding band???

Im going to check out the weights of these rings to compaire but I cant imagine them being allot different? oh and the ring i first wanted was platinum at £1350, same ring in argos is about £475.

Any advice on this as I really dont understand

Thank you

[silvermaid]

The description 'court band' usually describes a ring that is oval shaped rather than the usual D shape. They are supposed to be more comfortable to wear - though I have been wearing a D shape for 23 years and it 's fine. The D shapes are generally cheaper than oval ones.
One thing you may not realize is that some rings are actually hollow so there is a lot less gold and it may dent if it gets crushed rather than just bend out of shape. If a larger ring is much cheaper it is likely to be hollow. That is not to say that all cheaper rings are hollow but they will be lighter if they are. A small clue is if a jeweller will not resize a ring - up one size say, but order a new one in the correct size instead - hollow rings cannot be altered easily.
It may be worth looking in the smaller independent jewellers as they sometimes have bargains.

Melanie

[chris wood]

Thanks for the reply,

so aslong as I check the weights their shouldnt be anything else to be wary of, the main thing i was unsure of was weather all 18crt gold was the same and likewise with the palladium or wether they were alloud to mix it with something else to get the weight up. So 18crt gold is 18crt gold right, and theirs not cheap 18crt gold.

[ladyluckjewellery]

Congratulations on the forthcoming wedding!!

I'm not an expert on gold, but my understanding is there is only 1 'grade' of gold, so 9ct is 9ct, 18ct is 18ct etc. I imagine a reasonable part of the price difference will be the purchasing power of Argos compared to a small supplier (they can buy huge quantities rather than a few at a time), plus you will be receiving a personal service at a smaller retailer, rather than queing with a ticket at Argos.

HTH

Claire

[Magenta5]

I don't have anything helpful to add but this point made me laugh. My boyfriend proposed on Christmas day the year before last. Knowing how picky I am he wisely didn't choose the ring himself, but said we could go shopping for one together. Naturally I had already done my research and knew the exact style I wanted, which could be found in Argos for less than half the price of the same style in Ernest Jones. So, Boxing day found us in Argos but the nearest branch that had my size was Blackpool. I should have waited but I wanted my shiny new ring!
Oh. My. God.
Blackpool Argos on Boxing Day was like Night of the Living Dead.
The 'queue' and I use that term loosely, was about 20 people long, most of whom didn't know you check the catalogue first and just asked the assistant "do you sell gold chains?". I stood there for about 45 minutes clutching my reservation ticket for that ring! Finally it was done and we could leave and go for a drink and me to put the shiny ring on. Not the most romantic experience....
So, I'm not saying don't go somewhere like Argos but I am saying go at 9am before anyone else gets there. The ring is lovely and the quality seems fine and the band is lovely and thick.
And you all know the truth now - i told everyone else I got the one from Ernest Jones!