Help me with diamond rings- anyone used 77 Diamonds?

[MissBoPeep]

I'm looking for a simple 2-3mm wedding/eternity ring, channel set. Prices vary hugely. I am tempted to buy at my local up-market family jewellers which has a good reputation and service, and been around for about 300 years ( truthfully!) but have seen similar rings on the web for much less.

There's nothing I like on Cool Diamonds or Blue Nile (?) but have seen something on a company called 77 Diamonds which have an office nr Oxford St, London- by appt only. I'm just a bit at buying from places like that - though they have had reasonable amount of press coverage inc. a visit by the BBC for a programme.

Has anyone had any good experiences with online jewellery and if so- who?

One final point- would you go for platinum or white gold? I feel like white gold is " softer" in colour and am edging towards that.

I never buy diamonds online. I know that some on here have, but as a rule, I am a stickler for being able to judge the stone before I buy it.

I'd be inclined to go with the family jewellers with the fantastic reputation. If their reputation is THAT good then their prices will be fair and you will get what you pay for. Plus the upkeep most likely. (Most places, will offer a service after it's a year old just to check all the settings, give it a polish/freshen up.)

As for platinum vs white gold.....

Well, white gold will 99% of the time be rhodium plated. So that shine and colour that you see right now will not last. It'll need to be replated in a years time with daily wear or it can look dull.

Platinum has a natural lustre and shine of it's own and doesn't usually require plating.

MrsC, you can probably confirm how accurate this is - I was told it's generally not a good to wear a mix of White Gold and Platinum on the same finger - my engagement ring is white gold and as my wedding ring is a full channel set ring I seriously contemplated platinum at the time but was warned that the harder platinum might actually damage the softer gold.

OP, I'm currently waiting on an order from www.purelydiamonds.co.uk and have also read good reviews about www.diamond-heaven.co.uk. I'll update once my ring arrives! Shame you didn't like anything on Bluenile as I can definitely recommend them.

In theory, the platinum is a harder metal so will wear on the white gold.

Unless you were wearing both rings and operating a pneumatic drill, the 'damage' to the white gold would be fairly negligible. You might want to get it plated a bit more often to keep it looking fresh.

it's not recommended, but it won't end the world

(resisting the urge for a crude vibrating objects joke ;))

Another decent place is www.macintyres.co.uk - my wedding ring is from there and they have been around for ages (they have a local shop) and I can vouch for the quality, after 6 years my wedding ring still looks pretty good - it's similar to this although the band is solid behind it.

I went for a cheaper eternity ring (from elsewhere) 2 years ago and the plating on it has worn pretty badly although thankfully it's on the sides so not too visible.

That's very helpful.

MrsCumberbatch

I am having a half eternity but to wear it all day- like a wedding ring- and looking at around £1.5- £2K ( top)

I was quoted £1500 for a 0.34 white gold half eternity ( channel set, brilliant cut) and £2400 for a 0.7ct one.

Obviously these are tiny stones. I understand that at 77 they show you examples, but the ring is not the one you will get. That also applies to the family jeweller- and I know they are top end price wise of high st- but they are a very well know family firm.

They said they could also offer me a made to measure ring- I have tiny fingers- so the half circle would be made to size, and they could also put in larger or smaller stones to a syle I liked.

The likes of 77diamond, purely diamond and diamond heaven are all reasonable but always see before you buy as quality can be variable.

If you go somewhere like www.samarajames.com they have much higher quality standards than the general high street and are cheaper than the high street (and better quality).

I am "in the business" so have had to name change, however am a regular poster and am happy to help out if you want to PM me.

Ahahahha Statistically your mind is in the gutter!

Made to measure is so important BoPeep, especially in a channel set ring. If it's too big, it'll swing around and the settings and stones could get damaged. And it can be pricery to fix.
Would they be charging you extra for made to measure or do they just do it as standard?

It's hard to tell what a diamond is worth via carats. You need to know the grade as well.
I daresay, that for a channel set ring you won't need amazing standout stones, so long as they are well cut and not too big or small for your finger then I wouldn't worry too much about how many carats there are.

(Also lucky you )

Thanks Sparkle- will do!

I think they order your / MY size as standard- they Said it would be ordered in my size. ( childs, LOL!)

They seem very honest because i went in wanting a full eternity and she told me very firmly- no- it would be damaged by wearing daily, (evenw hen I said iI'd take it off for gardening etc) and that they have customers coming back to either have stones replaced, or the ring made into a half eternity. so that seems honest- rather than flogging me the most expensive. yes?

Yes, it's definitely good practice. You never ever sell somebody a ring that isn't suitable for their lifestyle. You get more repeat business from providing something that is perfect for them!
I'd be inclined to go with them, I'd rather have the peace of mind and great service!

I wear my full eternity ring every day and have done for nearly 9 years and it has not been damaged. I try to take it off for washing up, but sometimes I forget. Mine is platinum though. I did have a white gold ring at one point and the rhodium plating wore off really quickly. I would go for platinum rather than white gold.

Also, have you thought about palladium - it is hard, like platinum (same family), but not as expensive.

Another thing I thought of. I bought mine from Crouch's and when I subsequently lost a lot of weight, they replaced my ring, free of charge (because it wasn't the sort of thing you could have sized down, without losing diamonds). They didn't have to do that, so i thought it was excellent customer service.

I have to admit I wear mine all the time and it's totally fine too. On the flip side, my eternity ring (which is a half channel set style) drives me flipping nuts - it fits, but that doesn't stop it spinning around constantly so the stones end up the wrong way!

Oh dear- that's bad news about the stones flipping- are they whoppers?
That would drive me nuts too.

I wonder why the jewellers had tales of woe about lost stones and so on with full eternity?

Not whoppers - its bigger than my wedding ring though. I just measured and my wedding ring is 2mm, eternity ring is 3ish. I also have quite small fingers though - I think around an H.

(As a jeweller) it is more common for people to lose stones etc on a full eternity rather than a half.

This only applies if the ring actually fits though @ Statistically. Do you have skinny fingers and bigger knuckles perchance?

A full eternity ring I would consider to be more of a dress ring and shouldn't be worn doing washing, carrying heavy bags, gym/ everyday things that require use of your hands.

If you think about it logically, of course it's more likely to get damaged.

They have to make you aware of the pitfalls of the jewellery you are buying, otherwise you could try and return it as 'not fit for use' as it's not made for the intentions that you described to them upon buying the object.

When you lose a stone on a diamond how do you get it replaced?

(looks around for some wood to touch just in case I jink myself here)

I think the stones on mine would find it very hard to fall out TBH - there is no space for something to knock one of them as they are very tightly packed against each other. I think [http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=ylc&sa=X&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=CtM8txC6YZVGSM:&imgrefurl=www.jamesness.co.uk/store/product/2_rings/21_eternity-rings/188_18ct-white-gold-channel-set-diamond-eternity-ring/&docid=lG-u_a9_-ZZteM&imgurl=www.jamesness.co.uk/products/346-large.jpg&w=398&h=398&ei=1rpUULqeG4eG0AXJh4GoDg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=612&vpy=37&dur=1700&hovh=224&hovw=224&tx=121&ty=138&sig=107595361979090695160&page=2&tbnh=127&tbnw=125&start=22&ndsp=28&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:22,i:153&biw=1366&bih=609 this]] might actually be the same as mine. Because it's so narrow I don't think I could even get a pin in between the stones at any point so they would struggle to budge.

ah flip <a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=ylc&sa=X&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=CtM8txC6YZVGSM:&imgrefurl=www.jamesness.co.uk/store/product/2_rings/21_eternity-rings/188_18ct-white-gold-channel-set-diamond-eternity-ring/&docid=lG-u_a9_-ZZteM&imgurl=www.jamesness.co.uk/products/346-large.jpg&w=398&h=398&ei=1rpUULqeG4eG0AXJh4GoDg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=612&vpy=37&dur=1700&hovh=224&hovw=224&tx=121&ty=138&sig=107595361979090695160&page=2&tbnh=127&tbnw=125&start=22&ndsp=28&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:22,i:153&biw=1366&bih=609" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">link

mirpuppet, I'd take it to the jewellers, they'll measure the stone and take note of the cut etc and then get a stone cut to match.

Depending on the setting, they'd then replace the stone and taaadah.

It can get more complicated with channel sets if a stone cracks in the middle and you have to remove them all to get to it because they're tightly packed as Statistically mentioned.

(reminds herself why she has her rings insured!)

Mrs C, not big knuckles, just small fingers! Think it probably makes the natural size variations I get with temperature very obvious though.

I usually carry a wee rubber thing in my pocket for 'cold days' . Its just rubber tubing sliced in half then I thread it onto the ring behind my finger.

Also handy for cocktail rings, and it's see through so not obvious at all.

I used 365 diamonds for my engagement ring (we chose it together - not that romantic, I know) and was extremely impressed. Used them for my wedding ring also. Both plain white gold bands, engagement ring has a diamond, Tiffany style setting, round brilliant cut. I have a much better quality diamond and carat of gold than I could have afforded on the high street. But it does take guts to order online and do your own sizing, etc. Mine was perfect though.

My diamond engagement ring was from diamond geezer online. We also bought our wedding rings from there. The service was very good and the ring is lovely and cost a lot less than it was worth.