Appalled At Tiffanys!

[anne.A]

So i purchased a small Tiffany oval key pendant and chain in 18K YG a week ago for about $715 CAD. Today my friend went shopping at a few local jewellers and just for fun I gave him my pendant and necklace to see how much it was worth and it said around $100 and after my shock wore off i figured you know what it's only guy's opinion no big deal. So i go to a few other places and they all say around $100-150. I can't believe it I mean I knew tiffanys was overpriced but i was expecting at least $300 for it. Maybe this isn't shocking to anyone else since I am very, very, very, new to fine jewelry but what are your opinions?

My dilemma now is that I love the necklace to death but am appalled at the inflation. My aunt know's a jeweler who makes gorgeous keys too and he said he could custom make me a key pendant in 22K YG for around $300. I know the sensible/rational thin to do would be to go with the local jeweler but I can't seem to part with the blue! So what would you lovely ladies do and what are your opinions?

 

[akimoto]

I guess what you're paying for is the design by the original artist, the craftsmanship, the service, the prestigious brand name for fine jewellery.. the list goes on..... It's just like paying $6k for a plain gold love bangle by Cartier or $2k for an LV bag that is not even leather, it's only canvas.

My point is, you're not just paying for the weight of the gold.

 

[Bitten]

Um, yes, brand name jewellery costs more than simply its gold/gem weight - they're out to make a profit, yes? And they charge what the market will bear - which is $715.00 CAD. And jewellery has almost no value on the second hand market APART from it's gold/gem weight. It doesn't matter if it's T&Co, Cartier or jewellery from your local jeweller. I had a small pair of emerald and diamond earrings and they cost $2000.00 new from a local non-brand jeweller. I sold them for $300.00. That's jewellery. Go figure.

Remember too, you're not asking what is this piece worth for sale, retail. You're asking a couple of local jewellers what would you pay for this piece? Those jewellers might pay you $100 for it, and then put it in their shop window second hand for $300.00. When you ask someone the price of something, you're asking them what is this WORTH TO YOU. What would THAT PERSON pay for it. Which is different to what another would pay for it. You're paying $715.00CAD at T&Co retail because that's what a large number of other consumers are willing to pay for the piece. You've then turned around and are asking a few local jewellers what would THEY pay for it - you're trying to compare two completely different consumer markets.

I'd suggest you return the key and get the local jeweller to make something similar for less.

 

[specme]

I honestly feel you get what you pay for .
My question to to you is did you get the Tiffany key necklace because you wanted a Tiffany brand key necklace or did you want any key necklace ?
If you wanted any key necklace and don't care who made it,then return it and get one from another jeweler.But if you LOVE the Tiffany one and you specifically bought the Tiffany one because that's the one that makes your heart litter pat,then keep it.
I buy Louis Vuitton bags because I love the style and quality of them .Other people are happy with $20 purses from their favorite store.I am not one of them. Some people would be happy with a key necklace from the jewelry store at the mall and if you are not one of those people then stick with your Tiffany one.
One thing to keep in mind is the resale value of Tiffany jewelry. It holds there vale and if you were to resell it you could probably get what you paid for if not more.
Good luck with your decision.

 

[arnott]

So i purchased a small Tiffany oval key pendant and chain in 18K YG a week ago for about $715 CAD. Today my friend went shopping at a few local jewellers and just for fun I gave him my pendant and necklace to see how much it was worth and it said around $100 and after my shock wore off i figured you know what it's only guy's opinion no big deal. So i go to a few other places and they all say around $100-150. I can't believe it I mean I knew tiffanys was overpriced but i was expecting at least $300 for it. Maybe this isn't shocking to anyone else since I am very, very, very, new to fine jewelry but what are your opinions?

My dilemma now is that I love the necklace to death but am appalled at the inflation. My aunt know's a jeweler who makes gorgeous keys too and he said he could custom make me a key pendant in 22K YG for around $300. I know the sensible/rational thin to do would be to go with the local jeweler but I can't seem to part with the blue! So what would you lovely ladies do and what are your opinions?

I have the same key and I wear it all the time! It's one of my favourites so I would definitely keep it!

 

[Ratnapur]

Jewelry, at least fine jewelry, has a HUGE mark-up. Also, when you go to re-sell it or pawn it, you normally don't get anything approaching your original purchase price.

It's hard to advise you about keeping or not keeping it. If having the status of a brand name is important to you, then it's worth keeping, IMHO.

 

[BagsRmyweakness]

I love T&Co even with them being overpriced, and to me, the quality is better versus other items I own. I have the Tiffany Fleur de lis key in silver and it is my favorite piece of jewelry hands down - I wear it every day. I won't go into mark up as other members have addressed that fantastically, but I will say something I heard the other day that I loved:

- divide the cost of the item by the number of times you wear it to find out what its worth/actual cost.

my Tiffany key was about $400, divided by number of times worn so far daily for 6 months roughly 180 = cost of it so far is $2.66 per year - what a bargain! so compared to a jacket I bought on sale last year which cost $40 and I have worn once - which means that its still sitting at $40 while the Tiffany's is at $2.66.

If you love your necklace, that's all that matters, wear it and love it and be proud you have it. HTH and sorry if the calcs don't make sense, its nearly midnight here and I'm exhausted!

 

[nc.girl]

I guess what you're paying for is the design by the original artist, the craftsmanship, the service, the prestigious brand name for fine jewellery.. the list goes on..... It's just like paying $6k for a plain gold love bangle by Cartier or $2k for an LV bag that is not even leather, it's only canvas.

My point is, you're not just paying for the weight of the gold.

I agree that you're definitely paying for more than just the weight of the gold. You're paying for that prestigious name too. Fine jewelry always has a large markup, and the higher-end brands know they can mark it up even more than other jewelry stores because you're willing to pay for the brand name. If you love the necklace and the Tiffany brand, keep it. It sounds like you're really hooked on the Tiffany key, anne.A. But if you think you can live without that Tiffany name, talk to your aunt's jeweler and see what he can do...the price he's given you definitely sounds very fair.

 

[Candice0985]

Um, yes, brand name jewellery costs more than simply its gold/gem weight - they're out to make a profit, yes? And they charge what the market will bear - which is $715.00 CAD. And jewellery has almost no value on the second hand market APART from it's gold/gem weight. It doesn't matter if it's T&Co, Cartier or jewellery from your local jeweller. I had a small pair of emerald and diamond earrings and they cost $2000.00 new from a local non-brand jeweller. I sold them for $300.00. That's jewellery. Go figure.

Remember too, you're not asking what is this piece worth for sale, retail. You're asking a couple of local jewellers what would you pay for this piece? Those jewellers might pay you $100 for it, and then put it in their shop window second hand for $300.00. When you ask someone the price of something, you're asking them what is this WORTH TO YOU. What would THAT PERSON pay for it. Which is different to what another would pay for it. You're paying $715.00CAD at T&Co retail because that's what a large number of other consumers are willing to pay for the piece. You've then turned around and are asking a few local jewellers what would THEY pay for it - you're trying to compare two completely different consumer markets.

I'd suggest you return the key and get the local jeweller to make something similar for less.

I completely agree. IMO dealing with independent jewellers they tend to have a grudge against designer jewellery because it can take away from their business.

If I wear VCA, tiffany etc and an independent notices they always comment on how if I came to them I could have had something similar made for much less.

in some cases I agree yes it's the better route to go but as Bitten said you're paying for the original design, marketing, packaging etc... also with Tiffs if you choose to you can return it and pick something else or get a refund.

as soon as you walk out of an independent jewellers doors you'll be lucky if they give you a credit note for their store for their jewellery....

enjoy your new necklace and don't worry about their comments on what it is "worth"

 

[Hurrem1001]

I used to work for a fine jewelry corporation. Their mark-up on jewelry worked something like this:

Take piece of jewelry that was plain gold, say a 14k wheat bracelet of medium size that is solid, not hollow. Now say the jeweler has that piece marked for $2,000 + tax. If you divide the initial sum by five, you have the rough price the jeweller paid for it. In this instance, obviously the jeweler paid roughly $400 for it.

If you have a piece of jewelry that has diamonds/precious stones in it, say again that the price is $2,000 retail. Divide the price by four and you have the rough cost price, so in this instance the piece would be roughly $500.

Obviously, you also have to take into account the price for labour, the cost for the gold and the stones before the piece has been made, and that would make the price even cheaper than what the jeweler paid.

 

[Jesssh]

I completely agree. IMO dealing with independent jewellers they tend to have a grudge against designer jewellery because it can take away from their business.

If I wear VCA, tiffany etc and an independent notices they always comment on how if I came to them I could have had something similar made for much less.

in some cases I agree yes it's the better route to go but as Bitten said you're paying for the original design, marketing, packaging etc... also with Tiffs if you choose to you can return it and pick something else or get a refund.

as soon as you walk out of an independent jewellers doors you'll be lucky if they give you a credit note for their store for their jewellery....

enjoy your new necklace and don't worry about their comments on what it is "worth"

I agree. You bought art, and art is in the eye of the beholder. Don't let someone else ruin it for you.

Just because something is worth a certain amount of money doesn't mean it's less valuable to you. I often associate the experience of the purchase with wearing the item. For this reason, there are items I bought from certain stores that I don't feel comfortable wearing because of where I bought them, or how I was treated when I bought them. For example, would you wear a nearly identical key or love it as much if you bought it at Walmart? There is something about Tiffany design that puts the knockoffs to shame. Enjoy your items and don't worry about what other vendors say.

 

[Hurrem1001]

What I will say is don't be appalled. The high cost goes for non-designer pieces too, just not necessarily to the same extent. I have a beautiful ceylon sapphire and diamond bracelet in W/Y G, that I bought for $1,500. It was made by LeVian and I have the certificate of authenticity for it, blah, blah. That same piece was retailing for $7,000. It's a huge difference. the fact that I got it for cost was what sold it to me, I couldn't have been able to afford the retail price, but had I had the money for the retail amount? Heck yeah, I would've bought it!

 

[Candice0985]

I used to work for a fine jewelry corporation. Their mark-up on jewelry worked something like this:

Take piece of jewelry that was plain gold, say a 14k wheat bracelet of medium size that is solid, not hollow. Now say the jeweler has that piece marked for $2,000 + tax. If you divide the initial sum by five, you have the rough price the jeweller paid for it. In this instance, obviously the jeweler paid roughly $400 for it.

If you have a piece of jewelry that has diamonds/precious stones in it, say again that the price is $2,000 retail. Divide the price by four and you have the rough cost price, so in this instance the piece would be roughly $500.

Obviously, you also have to take into account the price for labour, the cost for the gold and the stones before the piece has been made, and that would make the price even cheaper than what the jeweler paid.

exactly! jewellers markup their jewellery a minimum of 400% it's industry standard

 

[surfergirljen]

So i purchased a small Tiffany oval key pendant and chain in 18K YG a week ago for about $715 CAD. Today my friend went shopping at a few local jewellers and just for fun I gave him my pendant and necklace to see how much it was worth and it said around $100 and after my shock wore off i figured you know what it's only guy's opinion no big deal. So i go to a few other places and they all say around $100-150. I can't believe it I mean I knew tiffanys was overpriced but i was expecting at least $300 for it. Maybe this isn't shocking to anyone else since I am very, very, very, new to fine jewelry but what are your opinions?

My dilemma now is that I love the necklace to death but am appalled at the inflation. My aunt know's a jeweler who makes gorgeous keys too and he said he could custom make me a key pendant in 22K YG for around $300. I know the sensible/rational thin to do would be to go with the local jeweler but I can't seem to part with the blue! So what would you lovely ladies do and what are your opinions?

LOL... welcome to the world of haute branded jewelry! I'm kind of shocked that you're shocked to be honest... even though you're new to fine jewelry, what did you think? It's TIFFANY'S! It's a luxury brand and you're paying for everything the girls above said - design, style, brand, quality, originality, history, etc... just like bags or clothes, it is what it is... a Prada bag is more than a Coach one too! Either you decide it's worth it to you or it's not... the age old question on this board!

Personally, I love Tiffany's so I'd keep it... totally worth it to me style and quality wise, plus they'll clean/polish it for you anytime. If you really love it and will wear it a lot it's totally worth it to me! Do you feel like you'd be "settling" with the "generic" one? If so, I'd keep it - you were willing to spend the money before you did these comparisons so I don't think you should return it!

 

[the1kayladawn]

When an artist paints a painting, the costs of the materials are nowhere near the value of the finished product.

The same goes for fine jewelery. When you purchase such an exceptional piece, the value is in the craftsmanship... Not to mention, the sentimental value.