Hi, just thought I'd share my crazy experience last weekend at a B&M store in Ottawa. 
We were just browsing in the mall and saw that a jewellery store had a really nice radiant yellow diamond ring in a 2 tone gold halo setting with yellow filigree work on the sides.  So the jeweller insisted I try it on, which I did for fun because I'm in love with radiant yellow diamonds, and never had the opportunity to see one in person. 

It was a very nice design and I loved the look of the stone, BUT then I saw the price at $45,000 (after years of ogling, I know my DBL prices LOL)!!!  The ring was just over 3cts total, nice but in an appallingly lightweight 14kt gold setting.  The center stone was a gorgeous lemon yellow that was so sparkly and alive, HOWEVER, there was NO cert and NOT EVEN a note indicating any of the center stone specs!  Not even the carat weight of it!  When I asked the guy said, oh I don't have that, but the ring total is over 3cts.  Needless to say I was floored!  Anyway, just thought I'd share this because shocked me that any jeweller would expect someone to spend $45k on a diamond without ANY specs or certs!  I've seen MANY MUCH NICER rings here for under $20k!!!

Of course, it could be that they don't actually expect to sell it, but use it as a tool to sell the smaller light yellow solitaires they had..."Oh you can't afford that...well let me show you these"...hehe.

Hi All!!!
Welcome mparkins!
What a rip off!
No specifics other than $45,000! He knew that much right? hheheheheh

Bigred- I'll bet that what you saw was NOT a vivid yellow.
The reason I say this is that the price of $28k for a nice looking 1.50 Vivid Yellow pear shape is not that high.....a nice one could easily be over $30k.

What this means to me is that they might have been showing a treated stone...or maybe it was an I2......

Uh-huh.  And that was in the jewelers that I would trust with pretty much my life!  They treat me like family and I have no qualms about dropping in to have things sized or repaired but a major purchase?  No way.  And that's not because they are trying to rip anyone off, it's purely the fact that UK prices have always been much higher and now the exchange rate is utterly abismal.  It's just not worth it.

Of course, the wonderful thing is that the abismal exchage rate is a fabulous exchange rate if you are paid in sterling and buying from David!  Oh how I wish we were paid in pounds right now!

I was browsing last week, trying on stuff to see what suited / what I can't live without. I note with interest that prices are falling here (in Glasgow, anyway). There was a GIA certed 3 stone asscher at around 2.5cttw with almost £5k off the price since last time I tried it on. Still expensive, but getting better.  Next time you're in the UK, we MUST go the the Argyle Arcade in Glasgow. Fun for getting design ideas and trying stuff on.

Yes i`ve noticed UK prices are beginning to drop. Our more upmarket jewellers here in town began sales much earlier than usual and some of their high end items have been dropped by large ammounts.
I recently bought a ruby ring I`d had my eye on for a long long time. I wouldn`t pay the original price but in the end i got it for half price. Makes you wonder just how much profit they added on in the first place.
It`s a 2.62 EC ruby with a beautiful pigeon blood colour, bezel set with diamond trills in 18ct gold.
I recently saw a 4.10ct stunning cushion cut ceylon sapphire with 1.55ct of RB diamonds and that too was down to half the original price.
The credit crunch certainly seems to be hitting the luxury market over here but they`ve ripped us off for long enough so perhaps it`s no bad thing.
Lynne

DN
Dublin is in Southern Ireland which has it`s own currency different from the UK mainland. I`ve no idea about the jewellery prices there but I believe almost everything else is more expensive. All you can do is browse and check out the cost of things.
Lynne

Well, from the USA perspective,  the dollar is so low that euro prices are going to be ultra-expensive.

Awestruck, I'd love to see a pic of your ruby - sounds exquisite!! Great size!

Sparkly, I always assumed the markup here was 100% and that a jewelry store's 50% sale was closer to the realistic price. Would never pay the asking price!