View previous topic :: View next topic |
Author |
Message |
Ilsanman

Joined: 15 Aug 2003 Location: Bucheon, Korea
|
Posted: Fri Dec 09, 2005 8:02 am Post subject: Jewelry |
|
|
I wonder where the best place to buy a ring here in. Maybe JOngno. So many jewelry stores, after all. I bought a necklace at Carrefour once, I got a reasonable price. Not great, not too much.
Any experiences to share? |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
hack

Joined: 24 Jan 2003
|
Posted: Fri Dec 09, 2005 4:39 pm Post subject: Re: Jewelry |
|
|
Ilsanman wrote: |
I wonder where the best place to buy a ring here in. Maybe JOngno. So many jewelry stores, after all. I bought a necklace at Carrefour once, I got a reasonable price. Not great, not too much.
Any experiences to share? |
I've bought 3 pieces of gold jewellery in Jongno-2 necklaces and a bracelet from 3 different vendors over the last couple of years. When I took each 1 back to Canada I had them appraised by a friend in the trade. He thought 2 of them were excellent deals and the 3rd one he offered me 50% more than I paid for it. He said that is probably because North America also looks at gold as an investment whereas many Asian countries think of it mainly as a luxury item. He was also amazed that the way all these places in jongno figured the price is by weighing it. He said that is how wholesalers in NA calculate costs but when it comes to retail, it is usually a markup of between 100 and 200%. After all the price of an oz of gold is a pegged commodity standard throughout the world that fluctuates daily (up a lot recently)
So, yeah, buying gold jewellery is a good deal here-I have no idea about precious stones though. Make sure you bargain, I always got a lower price than originally quoted and 1 guy even chased me down the street when I walked out to say that he would accept my offer. I'm moving back to Canada before Xmas and intend to buy a few pieces this weekend. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Kimchieluver

Joined: 02 Mar 2005
|
Posted: Fri Dec 09, 2005 10:29 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I bought the wedding rings in Korea. When we went to Canada on our honeymoon I had them polished. The BIRKS salesman asked how much I paid for them and could not beleive that it was such a bargain. He double checked again.. and said I was lucky. It turns out that the diamonds were graded even better in Canada than in Korea. I suggest to any couples to make their Jewelry purchases in Korea. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Ilsanman

Joined: 15 Aug 2003 Location: Bucheon, Korea
|
Posted: Sat Dec 10, 2005 5:39 am Post subject: yes |
|
|
May I ask how much? Can I get something decent for 100,000 to 200,000 won? Or will it be a cheap looking thin little thing? |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
BigBlackEquus
Joined: 05 Jul 2005 Location: Lotte controls Asia with bad chocolate!
|
Posted: Sat Dec 10, 2005 6:15 am Post subject: |
|
|
I'm sorry, but I have to disagree. Much of the jewelry here is crap. Seriously. Buying just gold, I have no idea. I have a VERY hard time believing that Koreans would give you a deal on anything that they couldn't make money on.
Go to Lotte in Myongdong and buy Tiffany. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
tzechuk

Joined: 20 Dec 2004
|
Posted: Sat Dec 10, 2005 7:46 am Post subject: |
|
|
Are you talking about buying pure, 24k gold or 18/9k gold? |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
HapKi

Joined: 10 Dec 2004 Location: TALL BUILDING-SEOUL
|
Posted: Sat Dec 10, 2005 7:22 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I've had both good and bad luck at Jongno 3 ga, always going through my Korean wife and her friends of a friend.
Custom made pieces I've found to be poorly made.
Gold, as in 24K or 18K, fashioned into rings, you can't go wrong. The daily rate. Things they have on display are good, too. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
BigBlackEquus
Joined: 05 Jul 2005 Location: Lotte controls Asia with bad chocolate!
|
Posted: Sat Dec 10, 2005 8:42 pm Post subject: |
|
|
tzechuk,
Does your back hurt from typing on the floor like that? Your computer is awfully low to the ground...... |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Ilsanman

Joined: 15 Aug 2003 Location: Bucheon, Korea
|
Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2005 6:55 am Post subject: yes |
|
|
I'm just asking about a basic ring, something nice, not too flashy, something that doesn't look cheap. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
hack

Joined: 24 Jan 2003
|
Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2005 3:55 pm Post subject: Re: yes |
|
|
Ilsanman wrote: |
I'm just asking about a basic ring, something nice, not too flashy, something that doesn't look cheap. |
I bought a bunch of things on the weekend from 1 of the vendors that I mentioned in a previous post above, 1 of which was a man's 18k gold ring (no stone) with a very unique design and big as I have large hands. I was told not to get over 18 k in a ring as the higher the #, the softer the gold and it can scratch.(OK in other jewelry that isn't worn in such a used part of the body-hmm that sounds weird but you know what I mean )
Anyway, the starting price of the ring was just over 500k won which was really more than I wanted to pay but the design just fit my eye so I had to have it. The list price of the other items brought the total close to 2 mil and I ended up getting everything for 1.55 mil-and they still let me use a cc. So I guess I basically paid about 400 k for the ring but I did see some rings for under 300k that looked decent but were probably 14k which is still OK. I did a little cognitive dissonance shopping yesterday at Lotte Mart and that made me feel pretty good about the value I got in Jongno. The real test will come though when I get it all appraised in Canada. And yeah, I know I'll be paying some duty at Canada customs so I'll have to factor that into the final price |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
dzeisons
Joined: 14 Oct 2004
|
Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2005 8:43 pm Post subject: |
|
|
the street near Insa-dong with about 10 jewellery stores all next to each other is a good place to look. In one of the places my wife got a discount on a 150,000 Won ring down to 80,000 because she paid in cash- no tax!! When we offered to buy that ring with credit card the guy insisted that the price was 150,000 and wouldn't budge. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Ilsanman

Joined: 15 Aug 2003 Location: Bucheon, Korea
|
Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2005 7:23 am Post subject: yes |
|
|
dzeisons wrote: |
the street near Insa-dong with about 10 jewellery stores all next to each other is a good place to look. In one of the places my wife got a discount on a 150,000 Won ring down to 80,000 because she paid in cash- no tax!! When we offered to buy that ring with credit card the guy insisted that the price was 150,000 and wouldn't budge. |
You have to be more specific than that. There are many streets littered with jewelry stores around Insadong.
I will try it on the weekend. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
|