If you ask anyone in the know in Dubai where the best place is to go for diamonds they should all give you this answer: the Gold and Diamond Park. Not only are you getting great quality diamonds, you're getting great prices. Situated near the Mall of the Emirates, this indoor 90 store specialty mall is the home of bling!
A friend of ours is engaged to be engaged and took a salivating Ashleigh and myself ring shopping last night. She gets to pick her own ring, lucky girl!
So, we showed up with a little knowledge and a big desire to try on as much bling as we could. We noticed a stark difference between jewellery shopping here in Dubai to jewellery shopping at home in Australia. Here, they're more than happy to let you try on WHATEVER you want. There is no snobby looking down their noses at you like in Australia, assuming you can't afford even the most cheap of diamond flakes, let alone the big blingers.
We were welcomed to the shop, asked what we were looking for and promptly seated at the counter. We were then offered water and while our friend told them what she was looking for in a diamond solitaire, they indulged us with a WHOLE tray of rings each to play with!!!
Ash and I couldn't believe our luck! When we jokingly said the stones just weren't big enough, they bought out the biggest diamond ring in the store and just let us hold it and ooh and aah and try it on. Then out came the big guns......drum roll completely necessary here......a 27 CARAT DIAMOND BRACELET. Each stone was 1 carat and it was set in the shiniest white gold I've ever seen. There was so much sparkle it almost seemed fake. The little guy babysitting us took a shine to Ash and let her try it on. If she wanted it, it was hers for the bargain price of AUD $130 000. That's like a 1/3 of a house! We were totally speechless....which is a big deal for two girls who never stop talking.
We returned today to haggle over the final price of the diamond and to arrange for it to be set. You can choose the colour of the gold and the style of the setting - they even copy big-name settings like Tiffany & Co and Bvlgari. AND they can make it in about 4 hours. None of this "come back for it next week" rubbish like at home.
One of the guys took a liking to me today and while he was a bit freaky with his super-long pinky fingernail, he was rather sweet. He let me try on the 27 carat bracelet today and said "ooh it's fabulous on you darling". In fits of giggles, Ash and I whittled down the selection before us to a few that we really like, dreaming of the fabulous Fortune 500 men we need to meet to buy us said bling.
All in all, it was a very fun day and after dinner at our favourite Lebanese restaurant tonight, we're going back to collect the finished product!
A friend of ours is engaged to be engaged and took a salivating Ashleigh and myself ring shopping last night. She gets to pick her own ring, lucky girl!
So, we showed up with a little knowledge and a big desire to try on as much bling as we could. We noticed a stark difference between jewellery shopping here in Dubai to jewellery shopping at home in Australia. Here, they're more than happy to let you try on WHATEVER you want. There is no snobby looking down their noses at you like in Australia, assuming you can't afford even the most cheap of diamond flakes, let alone the big blingers.
We were welcomed to the shop, asked what we were looking for and promptly seated at the counter. We were then offered water and while our friend told them what she was looking for in a diamond solitaire, they indulged us with a WHOLE tray of rings each to play with!!!
Ash and I couldn't believe our luck! When we jokingly said the stones just weren't big enough, they bought out the biggest diamond ring in the store and just let us hold it and ooh and aah and try it on. Then out came the big guns......drum roll completely necessary here......a 27 CARAT DIAMOND BRACELET. Each stone was 1 carat and it was set in the shiniest white gold I've ever seen. There was so much sparkle it almost seemed fake. The little guy babysitting us took a shine to Ash and let her try it on. If she wanted it, it was hers for the bargain price of AUD $130 000. That's like a 1/3 of a house! We were totally speechless....which is a big deal for two girls who never stop talking.
We returned today to haggle over the final price of the diamond and to arrange for it to be set. You can choose the colour of the gold and the style of the setting - they even copy big-name settings like Tiffany & Co and Bvlgari. AND they can make it in about 4 hours. None of this "come back for it next week" rubbish like at home.
One of the guys took a liking to me today and while he was a bit freaky with his super-long pinky fingernail, he was rather sweet. He let me try on the 27 carat bracelet today and said "ooh it's fabulous on you darling". In fits of giggles, Ash and I whittled down the selection before us to a few that we really like, dreaming of the fabulous Fortune 500 men we need to meet to buy us said bling.
All in all, it was a very fun day and after dinner at our favourite Lebanese restaurant tonight, we're going back to collect the finished product!
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