Quality of Tiffany jewelry compared to other designer brands

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#61
escamillo said:
Thanks! That’s helpful. I’ll be sure to ask my SA. It’s otherwise overwhelming in there because everything looks so sparkly under the lights :shocked:
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The store lights can be so bright! You may already do this, but no matter which jewelry store I'm in, for anything I'm seriously considering, I ask to see it in more natural light. At Tiffany I've asked if it's okay to walk around a bit to see pieces in less direct light (away from the intense overhead lights) as well as in more natural outdoor light (so at the front of the store near a window). They're always very accommodating. I need to love a piece of jewelry in all sorts of light in order to buy it!
 
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#62
Mishella said:
Tiffany stones are usually lower quality than let’s say Cartier, Bulgari, Chopard. Tiffany uses I color and SI clarity in their small diamond pieces, while other brands mentioned above generally don’t go lower than G color, VS quality. Bigger stones have their GIA certificate, you can choose any quality you like. As for the craftsmanship I believe Tiffany is decent.
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I don’t think Tiffany is using I color diamonds for smaller pieces. Who told you that? Tiffany has its’ own diamond mines and they are widely known for having the best quality stones.
 
#63
Personally, i compared Tiffany's Dbty necklace and Cartiers C d Cartier necklace recently. Im not sure if it is the setting of the diamond, but for the same carat size, Cartier's diamond was way more sparkly than Tiffany's DBTY. Then, i had no idea abput tiffany's certification process and how trustworthy it is. I preferred GIA as it is the internationally recognised cert and standard for diamond. To me, GIa is an independent party whilst Tiffany is in house. I am more a VCa and Cartier fan (in that i trust these brands and their quality and customer service although i have no experience so far with Tiffany but i met a really sweet SA at Tiff), so it was only natural that i ended up getting from Cartier

I also believe that for diamonds below 0.4 carat, there probably wont be that much difference if the diamond is at least of a certain color, cut and clarity. It all boils down to the brand, design or setting, and craftmanship. I was clear that i was paying a markup for the CD Cartier setting, the insane sparklyness of Cartier's WG chain, and the quality of the ring clasp, 1 more extra jump ring, and the fact that I prefer the look of 18K WG to platinum
 
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#65
This is my two cents in regards to Tiffany’s fine jewelry/wedding-engagement items (mostly in platinum), not the fashion/“cheaper” products at Tiffany.. I believe Tiffany does diamonds/stones best in terms of setting. A lot of other jewelry houses tend to be a bit more boxy or bulky with a lot of metal showing which I don’t like. A lot of Tiffany settings showcasing diamonds are very delicate with minimal metal while still being strong enough to keep the stones in under regular wear.

A third party jeweler I’ve worked with is also an outsourced jeweler who does custom work and repair on a number of luxury houses like Tiffany, Harry Winston, Graff, etc. and in all his 50+ years as a luxury jeweler he says Tiffany has the best settings and I tend to agree. Not to say the other brands don’t have fantastic diamonds or settings but my personal taste is simple and clean and I like the way Tiffany does theirs.

However I also understand Tiffany has to make money and want to appeal to a bigger crowd thus they also have much more accessible product lines compared to other jewelers. One thing I really like about Tiffany is their after-care customer service though, every time something has gone wrong in the past they always come back to rectify beyond my expectations. Because of this I’m a loyal customer and have peace of mind knowing my pieces be taken care of, and hoping this will still be true even if they get passed down to future generations.
 
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#66
Tiffany gold is not solid. Therefore, it can break and get scratches. Associate has been trying to avoid answering the question but eventually did answer. See the screenshot. How do they justify the price? Now I am Cartier all the way.
 

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#67
Incalifornia7 said:
Tiffany gold is not solid. Therefore, it can break and get scratches. Associate has been trying to avoid answering the question but eventually did answer. See the screenshot. How do they justify the price? Now I am Cartier all the way.
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I’m guessing the discussion was about hardwear? Hardware isn’t solid for the bigger links. But that’s the only collection I know of like that. The weight gives it away, tbh. If it were solid, the price would be humongous. The necklace is already pretty heavy, but in solid gold, it’d be uhh even less accessible.
 
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#68
Incalifornia7 said:
Tiffany gold is not solid. Therefore, it can break and get scratches. Associate has been trying to avoid answering the question but eventually did answer. See the screenshot. How do they justify the price? Now I am Cartier all the way.
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It is safe to say you do not know much about gold. And you will be surprised to find out that Cartier does not sell jewelry made of solid gold either. No one was trying to avoid answering your question, the question just did not make sense.

Solid gold is 99.999% of gold, which is 24K. Solid gold is extremely soft to craft any jewelry that would be suitable for daily wear. It will break, bend, and scratch a lot faster and easier than 18K gold, which makes your second sentence likewise incorrect. Brands such as Tiffany, Cartier, VCA use 18K because it is more durable than 24K gold. 18K gold is 75% gold and 25% alloy.
 
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#69
daisygrl said:
It is safe to say you do not know much about gold. And you will be surprised to find out that Cartier does not sell jewelry made of solid gold either. No one was trying to avoid answering your question, the question just did not make sense.

Solid gold is 99.999% of gold, which is 24K. Solid gold is extremely soft to craft any jewelry that would be suitable for daily wear. It will break, bend, and scratch a lot faster and easier than 18K gold, which makes your second sentence likewise incorrect. Brands such as Tiffany, Cartier, VCA use 18K because it is more durable than 24K gold. 18K gold is 75% gold and 25% alloy.
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I believe you are mistaking solid gold with pure gold. Solid gold items are not hollow, that is what the question was all about.
 
#71
Mishella, you understood me - I should have used word “hollow”. I see how my poor choice of words ( solid) might have been confusing for daisygrl. Tiffany uses hollow gold which can break or bend. T bracelets are known to bend because they have been hollow. I did not expect hollow method for T’s hardware pieces and was disappointed. Therefore, I prefer Cartier now.
 
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#72
Incalifornia7 said:
Mishella, you understood me - I should have used word “hollow”. I see how my poor choice of words ( solid) might have been confusing for daisygrl. Tiffany uses hollow gold which can break or bend. T bracelets are known to bend because they have been hollow. I did not expect hollow method for T’s hardware pieces and was disappointed. Therefore, I prefer Cartier now.
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I guess that’s fine. But it’s also not a secret that hardwear is hollow? If you feel it in your hand or hear how it sounds when the links clink, it’s not like it’s hidden.

As for Cartier, the narrow JUC wire bracelet is hollow. Also, for the panther collection, you’ll notice that the undersides for many of the pieces are carved out in a contrived way, to give the illusion that they’re more substantial.

Technically, the Bulgari serpenti bracelet is hollow. It’s also a wire bracelet, but the wire is a flat sheet instead of being the typical cylindrical shape.

Not to say you can’t avoid hollow pieces. But for comfort and cost, hollow pieces are common in certain complex or large designs. Or in the case of wire bracelets, you have gold wrapped around a wire so that the design can actually flex and snap back in place.

It’s not as though Tiffany lacks the capacity to make hardwear pieces solid throughout. It’s an added complexity in the manufacturing process. But the extra large hardwear earrings would probably be 2 to 3 times more expensive and heavy if they were completely solid.
 
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#73
Incalifornia7 said:
Mishella, you understood me - I should have used word “hollow”. I see how my poor choice of words ( solid) might have been confusing for daisygrl. Tiffany uses hollow gold which can break or bend. T bracelets are known to bend because they have been hollow. I did not expect hollow method for T’s hardware pieces and was disappointed. Therefore, I prefer Cartier now.
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As sosauce already mentioned - every famous brand has hollow pieces, and many Cartier pieces are hollow as well. You can avoid certain designs, but don’t cross out the whole brand, or you’ll be left with nothing to choose from 😅
 
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#74
daisygrl said:
Solid gold can be pure gold (100%) and/or 24K and/or 18K. Solid gold can be hollow for heavy pieces.
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Yes, you are correct.
For anyone else interested in this topic - brands never use pure gold for their jewelry, it’s practically always 18k for European brands and sometimes 14k for US brands. Tiffany uses 18k.
 
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