Mumsnet Talk

My DW said she would like 'a bracelet' for her birthday.

So I went to the jewellers and had a look, they showed me various things for hundreds of a pounds with perhaps a single diamond in. I said 'how about that one', pointing to the diamond tennis bracelet. 'That is £5,025' The one next to it was £10k. 'We do have one at £2,500'. So they got it out, but the diamonds were so ridiculously small they didn't really sparkle at all.

So I left and went to Swarovski and bought a nicer looking bracelet for £70. Not diamonds of course, but it seems a bit ridiculous that the only nice looking jewellery wih actual jewels in cost thousands of pounds as a minimum - you could buy half-a-dozen designer handbags, which would make far more of an impression for the money.

YANBU- the bigger the better! Although Hot Diamonds tiny tiny diamonds set in silver are very sweet and a snip!

YABU - tennis bracelets have a lot of diamonds in them, so are far more expensive than other forms of jewelry.

did it have to be diamond bracelet? A couple of hundred could buy you a very nice platinum one. (or gold depending on what she normally wears)

Or a very nice amber bracelet...

YABU - I have a single carat diamond in my engagement ring. And I love it. And I think it is beautiful. Tis all about the meaning not the size.

<looks at "horrible" engagement ring that only cost about £1k>

I can see your point about a bracelet though, as it would probably need diamonds all the way round, hence lots of diamonds, so mucho cash (or teeny diamonds).

Diamond rings are much more bang for your buck because they require one diamond to look good, tennis bracelets require lots of the things.

A single diamond set beautifully into a ring or necklace can be stunning, for a lot less than £5k

That doesn't mean I wouldn't like the tennis bracelet though

<looks hopefully at dh and hopes he reads this while I get the dinner>

Yes, I agree it is the meaning not the size.....

I desired a diamond gift for giving birth - but the look on my DH face when holding his son was priceless!!!! never got a ruddy diamond though.....

YABU, my enagagement ring 'only' cost around £4k, but it is a .75carat absolutely flawless diamond with the most amazing sparkle. It is genuinely beautiful and suits me far more than anything larger due to my bone structure etc. (And I hate anything too flashy.) But it is the quality of the diamond that counts, not the size...and that does affect the price.

Never understood the precious stones thing at all - sorry diamonds are certainly not my best friend much to my dh's delight. I assume you like the £70 bracelet?

I have a wedding ring, an engagement ring and an eternity ring. The latter 2 both have diamonds. All three rings cost about £700. I love them. The diamonds are tiny but I dont care, they still twinkle in the right light

Hope your wife likes the bracelet. £10,000 on a sparkly bracelet sounds absolutely ridiculous!

Auction house is best place to get jewels imo.

Thinking about this a little more, and TBH, I would rather a flower my Dh picked on the way home from work from a garden than a flashy ring any day. SHows he was thinking of me and it is the little things that count. But then again I have never really 'got' the whole jewellery thing. (Or flashy cares, designer clothes, 5 star hotels or makeup. A simple tastes girl, me!)

WTF is a tennis bracelet?

Sport specific jewellery??

<goes off to look for aerobics necklace>

lol Anita - I just googled tennis bracelet to find out

My wedding ring has a diamond, was custom made and cost only about 350 quid (silver band). I love it.

tennis bracelet is just a bracelet with diamonds all the way round.

I must admit I might have been looking in the wrong places - H Samuel etc. had lots of mass-produced looking stuff and then the independent places had some lovely ruby, sapphire, etc. rings but they were £2k++.

Pawnbroker might be the place to go I suppose.

SomeGuy - I hope you kept the receipt!

I agree there's nothing sadder than teeny tiny diamonds, better to have no diamonds! That said, I disagree about the 'designer handbag' comment. I think it's so boring to see women parading their 'It' handbags like teenagers with their sneakers (is that still a thing?). I have no desire for a Birkin bag & usually when I see a woman carrying one it's such an intentional display of wealth I can't help but feel put off. There's no style there.

well a birkin bag costs about £10k, you don't need to spend anything like that to get a 'designer' handbag.

Oh I'm such a snob but I love the huge rings in Elizabeth Duke that have about 100 tiny specks of diamonds and are sold as 1 caret for about £200. Why oh why would people want these???? You can by gorgeous unique jewellry for any budget if you look in the right places. You don't need loads of cash, just some style!

no no, this is pure class [http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Search?storeId=10001&catalogId=1500002451&langId=- 1&searchTerms=2323259]

www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Search?storeId=10001&catalogId=1500002451&langId=-1&search Terms=2323259

Ooooh I love that!

When my DS has kids I want them to buy me a big gold signet ring that says "GRAN"

[runs for cover]

look for antique jewellery, you get some fantastic prices on old cut diamonds, the older setting are rather nice too.

I have a stunning antique diamond ring that I bought myself , it cost much less than £5K.

I think jewellery from H Samuel is horrible, tthat may have been your problem rather than a spending limit.

I think those 'GRAN' rings are designed so that when you punch people in a bar brawl, it leaves your mark on their forehead.