Why Two Jewellers Quote Different Prices for the Same Ring

You describe the same ring to three jewellers. You get back three prices, and the highest is nearly double the lowest. Nobody has done anything dishonest, and yet the numbers look impossible to reconcile.

This happens constantly, and the explanation is nearly always the same: you were not quoted the same ring. Here is what is moving underneath, and how to make the comparison mean something.

1. The certificate is not the same certificate

Two stones can share a carat weight, a colour letter and a clarity grade and still be genuinely different stones, because grading is a judgement made by a laboratory and laboratories are not equally strict.

A stone graded G VS1 by one body may grade H VS2 by a stricter one. Neither is lying. They apply different tolerances. This is why the certifying body belongs in the comparison, not just the grades it issued. Our note on GIA and IGI certificates covers what each is known for.

If one quote names a laboratory and another says only “certified”, you are not comparing like with like yet.

2. Cut grade is doing work the spec sheet hides

Carat, colour and clarity get quoted. Cut often does not, and cut is the characteristic that decides whether a diamond looks alive.

Two one-carat stones of identical colour and clarity can differ substantially in price because one is cut to Excellent proportions and the other is not. The cheaper stone is cheaper for a visible reason: it leaks light through its base instead of returning it to your eye. On paper they match. In the hand they do not. Our guide to diamond cut explains what to look for.

3. Natural or laboratory grown

The single largest price difference in the entire comparison, and the one most often left unstated in a verbal quote.

A laboratory grown diamond is a real diamond, chemically and optically identical to a mined one, and it typically costs considerably less per carat. If one quote is for a natural stone and another for a lab grown stone of the same specification, the gap between them is not a bargain. It is a different product.

Ask directly. Any jeweller will tell you, and the certificate states it plainly.

4. The setting is not the same setting

“A solitaire in platinum” describes a hundred different rings at a hundred different prices.

• Metal weight. A substantial band uses more platinum than a fine one. Platinum is sold by weight and it is dense, so this is a real cost, not a detail.
• Hand work. A plain band and a pavé band are different amounts of labour by an order of magnitude. Every small stone in a halo or along a shoulder is placed individually under a loupe.
• Cast or hand made. A casting pulled from an existing mould costs less than a piece built for one commission.

None of this is visible in a photograph, which is why two rings that look identical on a phone screen can be honestly quoted hundreds of pounds apart.

5. What is inside the price, and what is added later

This is where quotes diverge without anybody noticing.

Ask each jeweller whether the number includes hallmarking, certification, sizing, the presentation box, insured delivery, and any design fee. Ask whether it is fixed or an estimate. A quote with four things bolted on afterwards can end up above one that looked more expensive at the start.

For what it is worth, ours includes London Assay Office hallmarking and insured UK delivery, and the £350 design fee comes off the price of the ring rather than sitting on top of it. Our price guide sets out the rest.

6. Who is actually making it

A workshop that designs and finishes carries the cost of a bench and the people at it. A shopfront that takes your brief and passes it to a workshop carries that cost plus a margin. A national retailer carries a head office, a marketing budget and a branch network, all of which sit inside the price of your ring.

All three are legitimate. They are simply not the same transaction, and the price differences between them are structural rather than a matter of anyone being greedy.

How to compare three quotes properly

Hold the specification still and let the maker be the only variable.

1. Write down one specification: carat, colour, clarity, cut grade, certifying laboratory, natural or lab grown, metal, and setting style.
2. Give every jeweller the identical brief in writing. Not a photograph, a specification.
3. Ask each what is included and what is added afterwards.
4. Ask whether the price is fixed once the design is agreed.
5. Ask who does the making, and where.

Do that and the three numbers usually converge sharply. Where they still differ, the difference now means something, because it is telling you about the maker rather than about the brief.

A quote that is much lower than the others

Not necessarily a problem, but always a question. Ask what specifically makes it lower. There is usually a clear and legitimate answer: a lab grown stone, a lower cut grade, a lighter setting, a less strict laboratory, a cast rather than hand made band.

If nobody can tell you what makes it cheaper, that is the part worth worrying about. Not the price.

Frequently asked questions

Why is one quote double another for the same ring?

Almost always because the two stones differ in cut grade, certifying laboratory, or natural against laboratory grown, or because one setting carries much more metal or hand work. Hold the specification still and the gap usually shrinks to a fraction of what it looked like.

Should I always choose the cheapest quote?

Only once you know why it is cheapest. There is often a good reason and it may suit you perfectly. What matters is that the reason is stated rather than discovered later.

Does a certificate guarantee the price is fair?

It guarantees the grades are independently assessed, which is the foundation of any fair comparison. It does not price the setting, the labour or the service around it.

Is a hand made setting worth more than a cast one?

It costs more because it takes longer and needs more skill. Whether that is worth it depends on the design. For a plain band the difference is small. For anything with fine detail it is considerable.

What single question separates the quotes fastest?

Who makes the ring, and where. The answer usually explains most of the price difference on its own.

If you would like a specification written down so you can take it elsewhere and compare properly, we will do that for you at a consultation, with no obligation to commission anything. See how a commission works in our guide to designing your own ring, or book a consultation.