Season’s greetings to you all
It’s finally here and I was able to open the first window on my advent calendar this morning to be greeted by a drumstick (sweetie version not chicken) which was a very pleasant start to the festive period.
Christmas is here in all its glory and love or loathe, I’m sure you are all hunting around for the best bargains out there to fill your stocking with (I include myself in that statement) I’m a self-professed internet shopper come Christmas time and rarely get the chance to visit any physical shops so I spend hours on end researching how I’m going to get the best price for hard earned pennies.
So this morning I thought how good value was The Ring Lab compared to other jewellers nationally and locally to me our prices were. Firstly ALL of our rings are handmade from scratch, they are not imported from overseas they are all fashioned and created in our workshops here in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter. They are one offs, not made in huge quantities and the alloys are of excellent quality and we totally abide by the gold fair trade initiative presently in operation.
So how good a value can a bespoke jewellery company actually be, many of our rings are designed by you, the ultimate designer. So it’s a little tricky to gauge these items as no two are the same. So in order for me to find out I made a few calls and scoured the internet for a few hours searching for prices on some very simple wedding rings.
A ladies 3mm traditional court wedding ring in Platinum (finger size L) and Gentlemen’s 6mm court in Platinum (finger size V) now usually although the widths are the same there are variances in the depth or profile of the ring. For Example I know from past experience having worked with the Signet group over the years that their Heavy weight ring is the same weight as my medium weight ring and Samuels extra heavy weight rings are also around the same as my medium weight.
So when it comes to these very simple court style wedding rings you are paying predominantly for the weight of the items as they are a relatively simple item of jewellery to create.
Let’s start with the Big Boys on the high street Goldsmith’s, they offer a similar weighted ladies ring for £750.00 and the gents £1750.00. So a total of £2500.00 gets you two lovely weighted wedding rings.
Next Up H Samuels £699.00 for the ladies and £1699.00 for the gents making a total of £2398.00
Over to Beaverbrook £795.00 for the ladies and £1500.00 for the gents a total of £2295.00
I’m sure a discount can be bargained with any of the above stores as we are all keen to gain your valuable custom, maybe even some free engraving thrown in for a goodwill gesture. One of the stores are even offering a 20% discount if both rings are bought this month from them.
So I went looking a little more locally then and by doing so the prices really start to plummet, your local jewellery stores are able to crunch these numbers right down and A tend to offer a better service and also a better product too for less of your very very hard earned cash. I follow many wedding forums online and many brides to be are constantly searching for ways to make their big day more special and also for less money. Of course I am very biased as I own and run a bespoke jewellery business in Warwickshire and can help many of you Brides and Grooms out there in your quest to find the perfect wedding ring.
Anyhow by shopping locally very upmarket jewellers in Leamington offered me the ladies for £660.00 and the gents for £1350.00 totalling £2010.00 that’s nearly £500 cheaper than the most expensive high street retailer, and yes that does include engraving on them too.
Pretty good I hear you cry! Well it gets a little better than that, after a call to another jewellers in Warwick I was quoted a flat £1500.00 for the two! Ladies and gentlemen you have just saved yourselves £1000.00 from the high street by using a local business. This quote I must point out though was using a weight of ring that was lighter in weight than ours and didn’t include engraving either but still a huge deal cheaper which really is excellent value for money isn’t it?
If you are still with me and reading this then I’m sure you will realise that I’ve been leading up to our price point for our wedding rings. Let me have a recap here, all our rings are handmade to your specification and can be personalised to any degree you should wish (where possible of course) Our Ladies 3mm court style wedding ring £350.00 and our Gents 6mm court £850.00 a grand total of £1200.00 all in including a variety of engraving methods to give further personalisation to your uniquely creating wedding rings.
That is £1300.00 cheaper than buying it from Goldsmiths! Now you are wandering is there a catch? No absolutely not, our overheads are minuscule in comparison and as such we are still able to make a profit (that’s what it’s all about right?) and pass on these savings to you good people out there.
Now I’m not going to say that we are the cheapest out there, as a quick scan through the internet reveals even cheaper prices than ours are to be had and if it’s all about the value then there are deals to be had out there. However we are real, we are local and we care about making our products we absolutely love what we do and feel very privileged to be able to work with you guys to create your masterpieces it’s a truly special job.
So do I think we are great value? Are crazy!!! Of course we are! 🙂 Have fun buying those presents this Christmas and maybe just maybe if you are looking to have that special piece created then just get in contact with us here at The Ring Lab.
Happy Christmas to you one and all X
Simon.