Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Lumberjack]

del

[saram_]

5,000$ is very expensive for an engagement ring...
An engagement is special yes - but splashing out 5k seems a bit much..
Weddings , future etc not to mention the wedding ring itself should be factored in..

Also too many are lost to justify a huge pay out for rings.

Anyway, now I've said that- I ll try to answer the question.
When I was choosing my rings- some people suggested Hong Kong etc to go and get top quality rings for a really reduced price compared to korea..
I don't see the logic to be honest.
You can get great rings here for less than half of your budget..

I got my engagement ring ( at Jongno) for just over 1 mill won and it was always received great praise anywhere my (now) wife went.
Korean people don't do engagement rings so much!
No need to go OTT..

There are enough choices in Korea to get yourself a lovely ring especially considering the budget.
I'd ask myself why bother to go to Hong Kong IMHO

[Dodge7]

Is your wife to be Korean? If so I wouldn't splurge on a ring. I spent around 3-4 k on my wife's ring and she never wears it except for trips to immigration or special events. About 5 times a year.
I went through a trusted jeweler I know from NYC and I had it shipped to my grandmother's house. It was good because my family had to meet my fiance anyway and I could pick up the ring and then bring it into Korea to avoid to outrageous duty tax.

[No_hite_pls]

When I got married 7 years ago, I spent 1,500 USD on a wedding ring for my wife. My net worth at the time was about 115,000 USD. I spent less than 1.5% of my net worth at the time on the ring. I wouldn't advise anyone spending more than 5% of their net worth on a ring. But if your baller and have 500,000 USD sitting around then spend 5,000 on a ring.

I bought her ring in the states on Gordons Jewelers.

[chrisinkorea2011]

as far as the other comments i both agree and disagree with what they said. In korea, wedding/engagement rings arent usually worn after a certain time unless the person is trying to flaunt a huge stone. All the koreans i know and have worked with NEVER wear a wedding ring so its hard to tell who is married until they tell you "this is my wife/husband". I also have been told by countless people that an engagement ring should be equal to about 3 months salary.

Every kind of jewelry is overpriced in korea along with countless other things. As far as your budget goes, maybe go down the middle and then when you visit your home country (assuming you arent korean) buy a better ring for like maybe a 1 year anniversary/5 year etc. I have not been to hong kong but if they have a better ring for the same price, it wouldnt hurt if thats what you really want to spend.

[War Eagle]

Traditionally, at least in the US, an engagement ring should cost the equivalent of two months salary. I believe this was started to equally share the cost of a marriage between both sides of a family: groom pays for rings and honeymoon, while bride pays for wedding.

However, in Korea the costs are split differently (housing vs. furnishing house). Therefore, it's really up to the man to decide. If the proposal is not a surprise, the monetary arrangements are something that can be planned out in advance.

Other wives may not wear their rings everyday, but mine does. She won't even take it off when exercising. I had to argue with her to remove it before going swimming in the ocean!

Don't buy jewelry in Korea.

[tran.huongthu]

Go with your gut on this, although I would say 5k is not a lot but rather a very modest amount to spend. My net worth is around 100k and I think I spent about 4,200 for a wedding/engagement ring set. I recommend going with one of the big names back home. I got mine from Zales but Gordon's etc. are good too. Just know that once you buy it you cannot exchange it unless you want to buy something that is double the price.

Not a fan of buying in Korea or HK to be honest also as a test run I had one shipped here through the mail and declared it as an "ornament" in the package among other things and it made it through no problem. (it was an old family heirloom)

[Lumberjack]

Thank you all for your answers, but I think I still need an advice where to buy the ring, not about the budget. The budget has already been planned, and maybe I will just slightly decrease it.

First, I am not able to ship it from the West, as my home is not there.

Second - could you please give me a real advice how not to be fooled/ripped off at jewellery store in Korea or HK? Anyone knows decent ones on "Golden mile" ?

[globusmonkey]

Speaking as someone who has sold diamonds in the past, you should first realize that the entire industry is a scam. Diamonds actually have little to no inherent worth, other than in industrial settings, and most consumers are wildly overcharged for meaningless criteria. For example, the difference between a one carat and .9 carat is imperceptible to the naked eye, yet causes a spike in price. Those in the industry refer to a diamond's "fantasy" when they are buying and selling amongst themselves. This word is not jargon - it literally means how much illusion of worth it has.

Here's my advice: do your homework and shop around. Don't discount online sources that can save you quite a bit of $ or give you a bigger/better diamond for the same price as brick & morter. You don't need to see a diamond in person if you know what to look for (besides, is looking at a diamond really gonna tell you anything if you're not an expert? Most salesmen sell you the diamond, it's not the diamond selling itself.). Learn about how diamonds are classified, i.e. the 4 C's, but know that the most important one is Cut. Cut is the only quality that affects brilliance (sparkliness). Shoot for excellent grade in that and you can have lower grades for the others while still getting the "bling" that your lady wants to show off. Good luck, and be smart.

[Mix1]

Like a lot of other things in Korea, you're probably going to pay twice as much for half the quality.

A friend of mine bought his wife a ring from a U.S. company, she went to a decent looking Korean jewelry shop to get some modification or something, and they immediately could tell she didn't buy it in Korea, due to the superior quality of the workmanship, etc.
Meanwhile, their prices for similar sized diamond rings were about quadruple what my friend paid.

You can probably get decent stuff here somewhere (apkujeong, etc.), but you're going to pay a premium for it.

[Otherside]

OP, with your budget, there's no point even considering buying the ring in Korea.

I was in HK in August last year and the prices and quality of the the rings is excellent. Ttompatz always says that if you buy a ring in HK over Korea, the money saved on the ring will cover your weekend away. At your budget, I have no doubt that'd you'd be able to cover your weekend and return home with some change and a far nicer ring than you have gotten in Korea.

[Lumberjack]

[atwood]

[atwood]

If you buy at Tiffany's in Korea, you'll pay pretty close to the same price you would at any Tiffany's.

[Otherside]