Engagement Ring Shopping: Tiffany & Co. December 29, 2007
For some reason, I crave the little blue box a.k.a. any gift from Tiffany & Co.
Did the company do exhastive research on colors that can make women crave and salivate over the contents of the box? How does that little teal-blue color (pantone 1837 for the dorks in the group) make eyes light up like it does?
I always imagined my ring would be from Tiffany & Co., so that was naturally one of the first places we went to look at rings.
And boy, was I disappointed!
The rings were beautiful, gorgeous! But, there were some certain downfalls to buying a ring in that little blue box.
1. Proportions: if you want a certain-sized center stone, you cannot negotiate on the size of the sidestones. Sure, they have a science to it, but it is nice to have the ability to put SOME thought into the ring.
2. Cost: Hello! Sure, it’s from Tiffany, but why they 25%-30% markup for the ring? I hear they retain value better, but… I don’t plan on selling or pawning my ring, so why do I care if it holds its value a bit more. And no, there is NO NEGOTATING at Tiffany & Co.
3. Selection: I was a bit disappointed in the choices. Sure, there are some beauties, but, I’d like to choose from more than 3 styles of 3-stone rings.
4. Pressure: Sure, they make it seem very laid-back, low-pressure, but there’s something about those dark, exotic wood panels and that pristine short-nap carpeting that screams “you’re not good enough.” I just wonder how the employees get over that feeling of inadequacy.
5. It all comes down to the name. I love Tiffany — I wear their jewelry and lust over items in their stores on on their site. But, I would prefer a more original ring. I know many-a-girl fears running into someone with the exact same ring, or worse, someone with the same ring and a bigger stone. I would rather my S.O. choose a ring that fits us — and he spend that extra chunk of change on a bigger stone for me, rather than the Tiffany & Co. name.
If you want a Tiffany & Co. ring or want to know how much your ring cost… you’re going to have to call Tiffany & Co. For some reason, they just don’t share that info online 
And… BTW — there is NO negotiation on ring prices.
Hey .. I dont know how much is the cost of a ring there .. The cost of gold is universal but making charges and wastage differs. Can you let me know how much is wastage n making charges @ tiffinys
I disagree I will be purchasing my girlfriend a Tiffany’s Ring. My reason is simple no matter where she is, she will always be able to look at her ring and know what I have had to do to save for it and that shows my level of commitment. Now not many guys think like this but my opinion is this is my first sacrifice in a lifetime relationship that will encounter many more sacrifices.
Dan, I agree, but you can make sacrifices with a ring from anywhere. Blue Nile has a diamond for sale currently that is worth $700,000.
Tiffany rings are beautiful for sure, but we (GTB) wanted to be able to design the ring himself and choose his own stones (size, clarity). Another great thing about Tiffany is that they retain their value better because of the name (hopefully you won’t ever have to worry about selling that ring though!).
Congrats on your upcoming engagement — I am certain she’ll love the ring!
It’s not really a matter of her knowing that I’m sacrificing. I think whatever ring I get she’ll know that it’s a sign of my commitment to us. I think our point is that Tiffany’s clearly ups their price from market value because they are Tiffany and for us, we value… value.
Tiffany’s is of the highest quality. No question, but does that warrant 20-30% more money on an investment of this magnitude? If money is an object, I would recommend going with smaller, individually owned jewelers who will individualize your ring.
It’s all a matter of your personal comfort level. I wish you the best with whatever you choose.