{"id":58404,"date":"2022-03-17T23:00:51","date_gmt":"2022-03-17T23:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ringspo.com\/uk\/?page_id=58404"},"modified":"2022-08-08T09:08:47","modified_gmt":"2022-08-08T09:08:47","slug":"mappin-webb","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.ringspo.com\/uk\/mappin-webb\/","title":{"rendered":"Mappin & Webb"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Mappin & Webb review<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Should you buy your engagement ring or wedding ring from Mappin & Webb?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Mappin & Webb has a rich history, having been founded in 1775. For any business to survive that long it must be doing something right and it has grown to 20-25 stores nationwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more than 240 years, Mappin & Webb has combined expert craftsmanship and attentive service to create special bespoke commissions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this Mappin and Webb review<\/strong>, we will primarily examine them from the point of view of buying a diamond engagement ring. However, the findings are equally relevant for any other type of jewellery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019d like to jump straight to the \u2018value for money\u2019 section and see how choosing one of my recommended retailers could save \u00a33,459.25 compared to Mappin & Webb, click here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Mappin & Webb ring selection<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Mappin & Webb offers a total of 442 ring styles of diamond engagement rings to choose from:<\/p>\n\n\n

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The majority of the engagement ring styles that Mappin & Webb sell are either solitaire or halo settings \u2013 two classic styles that have stood the test of time. Solitaire settings are generally a less expensive setting than other styles and are great for keeping the focus on the centre stone, while a halo setting can make your ring stone look larger and more impressive.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The large number of ring styles available through Mappin & Webb means that they offer a wide range of diamond shape \u2013 more than many other British jewellers. The most common shape they offer is the round brilliant – it\u2019s not only the most popular shape, but it’s also the shape that sparkles the most.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Looking at the precious metals use by Mappin & Webb in their settings, we can see that the most frequently used is platinum.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Platinum is a great choice for engagement rings that are going to be worn every day because of its durability. The flipside of this is that it is more expensive than white gold, so the fact that the majority of Mappin & Webb rings use a platinum setting definitely positions them as a premium jeweller.<\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Mappin & Webb diamond quality<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Engagement rings are all about the diamond, and being able to choose a diamond that will sparkle brilliantly will make the difference between a truly stunning engagement ring and one that looks dull and unimpressive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this section, we\u2019ll examine the quality of diamonds Mappin & Webb offers, as well as how transparent they are about the quality of the diamonds themselves.<\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n

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The good news is that once you have chosen your ring style, Mappin & Webb make it easy for you to filter a diamond by diamond colour and clarity in their product category.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most common colour offered is G, which is a good grade \u2013 it looks nice and white, without asking you to overpay for a higher colour grade where there is no visible difference in the diamond. G or H are good colours, above this level and the diamond doesn\u2019t look much whiter, but is much more expensive and below this level and the diamond can look yellow (which most people don\u2019t like)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The majority of the clarity grades offered are SI1, which is lower than I would recommend you choose if you want your diamond to not have any visible flaws. <\/p>\n\n\n

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SI1 Clarity means \u2018slightly included\u2019 and sits here on the diamond clarity scale: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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SI1 diamonds means that inclusions may be visible to the naked eye, with some having very obvious and very visible inclusions right in the centre of the diamond, like the below:<\/p>\n\n\n

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Not all SI1 diamonds are like this, but the fact that some are means that ever SI1 diamond needs to be carefully examined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While carat weight may be the biggest determinant of diamond price, the factor that determines how much a diamond sparkles is diamond \u2018cut\u2019. Diamond cut is a measure of how well the diamond has been formed and it is essential that a diamond has good proportions to reflect light; otherwise it will be dull, lifeless and unimpressive. If a diamond is too tall or too shallow, it won\u2019t reflect much light:<\/p>\n\n\n

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Diamond is too shallow:<\/h4>\n\n\n
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Light passes through the diamond and is lost, meaning the diamond looks dull and sparkles less than it should.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Diamond is too deep:<\/h4>\n\n\n
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Light is bounced off the bottom facets at the wrong angle and is lost out of the side of the diamond, reducing sparkle.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Excellent \/ Ideal cut:<\/h4>\n\n\n
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Light is reflected off the bottom facets and back through the table to your eye, meaning the diamond sparkles beautifully. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Understanding the cut quality of a diamond is absolutely essential to be able to understand whether it will sparkle. If you don\u2019t know the cut quality then you may very well be wasting your money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking at the product filter and product details that Mappin & Webb show on their website, they do not show any information about \u201ccut\u201d grading. Instead, they show the diamond shape, rather than the cut. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I asked their customer service about it through live chat, they said; \u201cthe detail you are after is unique to each specific ring\u201d, \u201cthat level of detail may not apply to that ring\u201d and \u201cthe cut grading is in the certificate which is unique to each ring\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mappin & Webb enclosed the cut grading information on their ring certificate which you can you have after requesting it from their customer service. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lack of information on cut quality is a significant red flag for Mappin & Webb. Many other jewellers do include diamond cut quality on their websites \u2013 some have it as one of the filters on their search tool, which makes it easy to search for ‘ideal’ or ‘excellent’ cut diamonds, which are most likely to sparkle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mappin & Webb diamond grading labs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Mappin & Webb used GIA<\/a> as their grading lab for their rings, you can see this in their product details. GIA are my most-commonly recommended independent laboratory. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a huge positive as GIA has some of the strictest standards, so you will be sure that you are getting the quality that you are paying for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mappin & Webb service<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Buying an engagement ring is a special purchase, and you want to have confidence that the retailer will not only treat you well during buying your ring, but also that they will stand behind their product after the purchase too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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For more than 240 years in service, Mappin & Webb has combined expert craftsmanship with bespoke service, they have a lifetime Diamond Promise which guarantees they’ll inspect and clean your diamond once a year for the next decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They also offer the \u201cMappin & Webb Care programme\u201d which means that your jewellery has a free annual in-store clean, inspection and a free jewellery cleaner or diamond dazzle stick for diamonds to ensure your jewels sparkle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One thing which could be improved is that Mappin & Webb only offers 14 days return. This is not very long if you decide that the ring is not right for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking at reviews on Google, the reviews are split out by individual store. The York store in the UK has a very impressive score of 4.8 from 18 reviews, indicating that people are very pleased with the service they have received from Mappin & Webb.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Mappin & Webb value for money<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Buying a diamond ring is a big commitment \u2013 both financially and emotionally. So it\u2019s important that you ensure sure that you are getting good value for money and aren\u2019t spending more than you need to. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After all, if you\u2019re buying an engagement ring, it\u2019s likely that you will have a wedding to pay for soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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To see how Mappin & Webb\u2019s value for money compares, we\u2019ll compare it to one of my recommended retailers \u2013 Blue Nile<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blue Nile is an American jeweller who has a manufacturing and distribution centre in Ireland, so buying from them is very similar to buying from a UK-based online retailer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When comparing, we\u2019ll keep the ring style, diamond clarity, colour, carat as similar as possible. A good way to compare is looking at Solitaire diamond rings as they are simple and timeless, without an ornate setting to make the comparison more complicated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking at Mappin & Webb, the \u201cSilhouette 18ct White Gold 1.00ct Diamond Engagement Ring\u201d, the price of a 1 carat solitaire ring<\/a>, H colour, I1 Clarity and Round Brilliant shape is \u00a38,500 including all taxes:<\/p>\n\n\n

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This diamond has been graded \u2018I1\u2019 for clarity, which is a lower clarity grade than I would recommend. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I1 clarity diamonds have very obvious inclusions that reduce the beauty of the diamond. As we discussed, Mappin & Webb don\u2019t show the \u201ccut\u201d grading information on their product filter and ring specifications, when I ask them cut information for this ring through email, they said that the diamond in this ring has been graded as \u2018excellent\u2019 for cut quality.<\/p>\n\n\n

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If we compare Mappin and Webb\u2019s price of \u00a38,500 to an equivalent 18k white gold solitaire ring with a 1 carat diamond, H colour and SI clarity at my recommended retailer, Blue Nile\u2019s price is just \u00a35,040.74<\/p>\n\n\n

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The Blue Nile ring also has an \u2018Ideal\u2019 cut diamond, so we know it will sparkle beautifully, They are both graded by GIA \u2013 an independent grading lab which has no incentive to bump up the grading score.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One area that the Blue Nile diamond rates higher than the Mappin & Webb diamond is clarity. While the diamond from Mappin & Webb has I1 clarity, Blue Nile don\u2019t even sell diamonds at this grade because it is so low quality, so we can only compare a higher grade \u2013 SI1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, the price difference between the two is a huge of \u00a33,459.25, even allowing for the higher quality diamond.<\/p>\n\n\n

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This is obviously a significant difference in price! With the \u00a33,459.25 you would save by shopping at Blue Nile instead of Mappin & Webb you could:<\/p>\n\n\n\n