Sandyboy
Your report is terrible. How did the UK valuation compare with what you paid for the ring?

I've bought lots of fairly expensive jewellery from Candolim (mainly from the same shop) and never had a problem.

What IS worrying is that this is the THIRD report I've seen on here in the last few weeks about 3 different jewellery shops that have all come highly recommended in the past.

I do hope that we're not seeing another way of ripping tourists off.

Polly

Never had a problem with Chandra - but now.... give them a miss ?

my friend has just come back and she bought quite a bit from him, she is getting it valued this week.....i will let you know how the valuation compares

Hi all,
last year my friend (& fellow H/T browser) went to a shop on the Calangute main road and ordered a Tanzanite ring for £1500,they went to pick it up on an agreed date but as in most cases it wasn't ready so they ended up getting it the day before they left Goa.When they got home they sent it to be valued,3 wks later the valuation arrived stating very clearly that the stone was an Emerald and DEFINATELY NOT Tanzanite the value was put at £3000.Now some people may think ''oh well at least its double what they paid'' but the point is this jeweller KNOWINGLY sold them an Emerald, and if you spend £1500 in Goa the value in the UK is normally btwn £4000 & £5000, (sometimes more) My O/H has had rings made in Goa and we have had them valued and they have all been o.k. KJF

Prettypollycat the valuation was 3 times the price we paid for the ring. If you compare this to the jewellery we have bought from New Era in Candolim over the past few years, the valuation has always been 5 or even 6 times the price paid. Had they not switched the three diamonds the valuer says it would have valued out at about 4 times the Goan price. I think that this shows that the ring was overpriced in the first place.

Chanra have opened at least 2 new shops that I know of and judging by their attitude, they now no longer care about repeat trade. Perhaps they feel that they are just too big now.

Interestingly our friend who has used Chandras for many years and has introduced many friends to them, has just sent me a text to say that she has had a huge fight with them and will not use them again. I am not sure why.

I have dealt with Ladakh handicraft in Baga. (next door to the new Calypso Hotel), for the last 12 years or so. Its not posh, but prices and workmanship have allways been superb. Top valuations when I get home and the stones have allways been spot on. Yasin, the owner has allways been an honest dealer.
It certainly is worth doing a little research into the types of stone that are endemic to the region, that way you have more chance of obtaining better quality. Imported stones are more limited and therefore often imitated or heat treated.
We are off over there next Tuesday and will certainly be buying more from him.

Here is a quandary, we bought a diamond ring in GOA for about £1K, had it valued in the UK at one of the high street jeweler's valuation days. It turned out the usual quadruple valuation (paper value).

Went to Hatton Garden just to see what the ring was really worth, guess what, not one dealer would pay more than £650.00. Apparently the valuation farce (not my words) in the UK is a nice little earner for the valuer and the extra insurance premiums we end up paying!

In an nutshell, it doesn't seem right that a diamond can cost £1000 in GOA and it's true value in the UK be £4000, surely all the flights from India to the UK would be full of Indian jewelers taking their wares to sell in the UK??

Regards

The last post seems to make a lot of sense. We bought a 4k tanzanite ring a couple of months ago and as usual on valuation it was more than double the price. My wife only bought it because she specifically wanted a good sized, good quality Tanzinite stone, and not to sell it on. I wonder if any of the posters to the site have ever actually made a significant profit on selling jewelry bought in Goa, somehow I doubt it, Goa is a great place to buy your jewelry as long as you keep your wits about you and know who you are dealing with, but not, I suspect, a great place if you want to make a big actual profit on your transaction Alan

I bought a diamolnd solitaire from Ashokas in Candolim and have just had it valued at 5 times what I paid. I was told it was a lovely diamond of high quality and have no reason to doubt this. The jeweller who valued it seemed stunned at what I paid for it. However, I take the point about what it would fetch if sold. Insurance valuations are always higher than the actual value (at least they always are on the Antiques Roadshow) and I did not buy it to sell it on. However, at 350 pounds I would not have got much in the UK and am absolutely delighted with my purchase.

Candybabe

We always work on the principle that what you pay for a piece in Goa is more or less what you would get in a secondhand shop in the UK. The cost to buy the same piece is usually about twice what the shop would pay you for it, giving them 100% profit. The cost of the same piece new in the Uk would generally be around four times the Goan price. I agree that the insurance valuation scheme is a racket, designed to make money for the valuers and jewellers. However if you have a piece designed for you in Goa, the cost of actually making the same in the Uk is many times the cost in Goa. This happened to a relative and although the stolen brooch which was an antique was valued at £2500, the quote for having a copy made was over £4000. They got the £2500 from the insurance and had it copied in Goa for less than £1000.

As a comparison if rings from other jewellers are being value at 5 times the Goan price, soemthing is wrong in Chandras if it is only being valued at 3 times the price there.

Hari Krishna

Went to Hatton Garden just to see what the ring was really worth, guess what, not one dealer would pay more than £650.00.

You paid £1000 for the ring.
Do you mean that the jeweller in Hatton Garden would offer to buy the ring from you for £650 (i.e as a second-hand piece) or that if they had manufactured the same ring (same amount of gold, same size/quality of diamond) they would put it on sale in their shop for £650.

These are two very different scenarios.

I do think that a lot of people have become carried away with reports of valuations at 4/5/6 times what they paid.
Anyone who buys jewellery in Goa with a view to selling it on for a profit back in the UK are batting on a sticky wicket, unless they are in the jewellery trade or really know their gemstones.

Sandyboy is right, choose your gemstone, have no less than 18ct gold (I always ask for 'a lot of gold' to be put in) and have something made up that is unique to you.

Polly

We went to Hatton Garden to see what the ring was worth as an asset.

We are due to fly out 18th Feb 07 BA (God willing that BA are not on strike), but wont be perusing the jewelers this visit.

Pat.

prettypollycat,
after listening to an article on radio4 the otherday, I would go further and say that anyone who buys jewellery in goa and sells it in england is probably committing a crime!
Evidentley it is illegal to sell silver, gold and platinum in th UK, that is not hallmarked, presumably with a UK hallmark.
Having said that my wife is worrying now about her anticipated excursion to the jewellers and wether you will get ripped off

I am smiling, smugly, because she might just decide not to bother

del949

I bought my solitaire ring purely because I have always wanted one. It did not matter to me what the value was provided I had not been ripped off. I have no intention to sell or claim off the insurance (if I can help it). Having it valued at 5 times what I paid is, to some extent, therefore immaterial. However I am the envy of all my friends who can't help notice the new sparkler on my finger. I hope to get an eternity ring modelled next year from Ashokas and at least shouldn't have to worry that I have been sold a pup.

I can well believe it would not be that easy to sell in the UK as it is not hallmarked but as I say I do not intend to part with it.

Candybabe

Candy I have my eye on a ring in his shop ...its one of the ones that are exculisive to his shop he told me he,s designed it himself...it was a solitaire but it has a band of small stones under the big stone if you know what I mean ..he said the diamond is .75 of a carat and the little stones are .25 of a carat ..in total one carat ...is this anything like what you bought colleen

I posted about an experience with Chandras (http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=90100) when we returned.

I haven't had my ring valued yet and I'm with Candybabe, I need it valued for insurance purposes and I'm really not fussed if it comes back saying that it is worth what we paid for it or 10 times as much. As long as it's not worth less! My O/H bought me the ring as an engagement ring and it is worth more to me than any monetary value, but I would hate to feel that we had been ripped off. I would also be very disappointed if I had been told that it was top quality, worth four times the price etc and then found out it wasn't.

It is an 18kt yellow gold eternity-style ring with over 0.5 carat of diamonds and I am sure for the price we paid they are not top notch quality or clarity, but the sparkle they have and the attention they attract is fantastict to me.

I really hope that Chandra's and other jewellers are not ripping tourists off, especially as they have been recommended.

Candybabe & Blondpuff
I think that's exactly the right attitude to have when buying jewellery - buy what you really like and be happy if you've not been ripped off.

One tip I use is to check the price of a similar item in one of the UK catalogues (Ernest jones/Beaverbrooks etc) and compare that with what you are being quoted.
For example, I had a wedding ring made in 18ct gold with 3 diamonds and paid £200 - a similar style ring in Ernest Jones is priced at £775.
I also had an 18ct gold bangle with .97ct of diamonds made for £350, Ernest Jones had a similar style in 9ct with .40ct diamonds for £400.

You can do the maths yourself on the valuation.

All my jewellery has a lot of gold in it to add to the value, it's usually the first thing that the jeweller says when I take it to be valued.

Of course, it's not always possible to do a comparison if the gemstone is unusual or very large or the design is intricate.

Hari Krishna
If your £1000 ring was valued at £650 (as an asset) in Hatton Garden, I can understand your disappointment with Chandra's.

Del

Evidently it is illegal to sell silver, gold and platinum in th UK, that is not hallmarked, presumably with a UK hallmark.

I didn't know that - but it doesn't matter to me as I've no intention of parting with any of my jewellery. I'll put the cat on 'home-brand' cat food first!

Polly

To Pretty PollyCat:

Hello,

Fraid' I did not buy a ring from Chandra in fact, I don't know where or who he is. Most importantly though, I am not in any way disappointed with the rings and other diamond jewellery that my husband has bought me over the many years that we have been going to India.

My point was to raise the topic of what the true UK value of the items are. Thus avoiding to pay extortionate insurance premiums because UK valuation's are so OTT.

I recently bought a 1 carat diamond pendant from the jeweller inside Bon Appetite, Mr Raffik. Had it examined in Hatton Garden and was told that the diamond was of FL clarity & D colour (that apparently is the best). Its a lovely item and what ever it cost or what ever it's UK value I am well pleased with what this chap sells. We are off to Sinquerim shortly, hopefully I will try to resist any buying temptations!!!!!!

Regards

Pat

IrishColleen

Mine was pure a solitaire, one diamond of .62 of a carat with a simple 4 claw setting and 18 carat band, thinning towards the diamond on each side. It was to my specification and he got it just as I wanted it. I could have got a bigger diamond but I am fairly petite and did not want anything too big - I want to be able to wear it without worrying about someone grabbing it off me in a mugging.

Next year I will ask about an eternity ring - and shall enjoy looking on the internet for the exact design I want.

My husband is getting worried!

Candybabe