Tiaras - how bloody much?!

That's what i thought when i was looking for mine. In the end i got it made for just over about £25.

Can't add a pic so here is the link. http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/08spring/finalpictiara.jpg

What was the one you fancied like?

Hmm, well not all tiaras are that much. It does totally depend on what you're looking for - if you want a really good quality handmade tiara, made in the UK, to your specifications, with a design that uses expensive materials and takes a long time to make, then you should be paying a reasonably high price for it (good craftsmanship takes time, which undoubtedly will cost money).

However, there are plenty of tiaras out there that look good but don't cost a bomb. We have a range of cost-effective ready-to-wear designs http://www.aliyarose.co.uk/tiaras.htm, and we'd be happy to offer advice on what would suit your dress if that's helpful.

The prices are always inflated in bridal shops for tiaras as I assume they will be buying them off someone like me or Lynsey or lou lou or whatever and then adding their mark-up.

Edited to say - I agree with DSH that a lot of hard work goes into making tiaras, they take a long time to create and swarovski isn't cheap by any means. However £180.00! ?

That was bargainous.
The one I liked was just a straight band of slightly different sized crystal beads, maybe half an inch thick. Nothing complicated, nothing fancy. I tried it on then looked at the price, handed it back and said 'I don't think I like that any more' ?

DSH - thanks for the link, I'll have a look in a mo.

Kerry, it may have been swarwotsit, I'm not sure. They said it was handmade and something else. I was too stunned to pay attention!

I would have thought it would be Swarovski for that price!

I can't seem to be able to post a pic anymore as the symbol is faded out but I do have something similar to what you describe on my site for a fraction of that!

What is your website?

Hey Babes .. Try ebay , i saw a few pretty ones the otherday xxxx

Thanks, I'll have a look in a mo.

Bloody nora, that's one hell of a mark up!

I couldn't agree more and here is an example just to show how much some shops mark things up (and no this isn't a lie and not all shops will have this mark up). I sell a tiara to them for £60 and they sell it for £180 and they are selling heaps of them. Another costs £70 to buy from me and they sell it at £195!! I do struggle to accept this but for the mean time I need my business to make money and hopefully I will get to the point one day I can stop supplying them. They have about 20 of my designs now and all have the same mark up ☹️.

Swarovski crystals aren't cheap and the prices are increasing all the time due to the poor currency exchange rate.

CD if I can help at all feel free to drop me an email and I'll provide a quote - www.lynseysdesigns.co.uk and ******@**************.**.**.

I have this design on my website for £40 and it uses over 160 Swarovski & glass pearls.

Lx

Oooh lots of lovely websites to browse! Thanks Lynsey, I shall have a look.

£180!!! OMG!! Is this normal?? I haven't even started looking for things like that yet. I have one that my Mum gave me, and its really pretty but not sure its "me", I was hoping to find one for about £30...is that unrealistic?

lauz

No not unrealistic. I can create a bespoke tiara for £30 although it wouldn't have as much detail in it like a tiara at £60 would do so it all depends on what you are looking for. I've got designs on my website for that price and you can buy manufactured tiaras for £30.

Hope that helps

Lx

That is alot for a headband style even if it is Swarovski!

I also use Swarovski crystals and pearls and my headbands are no where near that much.

Feel free to take a look

www.the-jewel-factory.co.uk

Mel

I just bought my tiara today, an impulse buy. But it was half price in the sale so I got it for £30. Worth shopping around! There was another woman buying one in the shop at the same time as me and hers was £230!! ?

It does save you money by going to the tiara maker direct. I always feel bad that My MOST EXPENSIVE tiaras are £85. if you need any help give me a shout as I have a band of pearls and swarovksi at £23.

I'm not a fan of tiara's, I don't suit them but when I was looking the prices were ridiculous and they looked like a child had made them, I have looked at the HIB websites and they look amazing and the prices are fantastic.

I don't do bespoke tiaras and buy them ready made, most of them being diamante, so quite different to the types most of the ladies on here make. I find that there are even websites charging much higher prices for the same tiaras and jewellery, never mind dress shops, I came across one this morning selling them for 3 times the price and claiming the list price to be 6 times (there is no list price!) so i often have to wonder whether maybe I should charge more and sell less for an easier life.

I do have a crystal headband for £12.99 and at the moment I have 3 illusion necklaces to match at a really low price as the wholesaler is selling off their stock and I managed to grab a few. https://www.3djewellery.co.uk/index_files/pearl_bead_illusion_necklace.htm

I agree with what others have said about the ridiculous mark-up of tiaras in shops. I used to supply some bridal shops and they would add on 4 times the price I sold it to them for - it was astonishing!

Anyway, I have lots of headband style tiaras - all made with Swarovski.

Take a look if oyu fancy . . .

WTS - unfortunately that is what happens when you buy direct from the shops, they obviously have over-heads etc & therefore have to mark up. And a huge amount of people buy the tiara & veil etc at the same time as having a fitting because they see everything work altogether at the same time, for the first time right in front of them. And so shops can add more because brides often get caught in the moment. The best thing to do is to try something on with the dress, see if it suits & then see if you can get something else very similar (you may even be able to go directly to the designer if there is a name lable on it!).

I too used to have my items in a shop, which added a mark-up 4 times over the price. I went into the shop one day and the sales girl saw me looking at the tiara's & immediately starting telling me all this information about my tiara's, as well as other in the cabinet that weren't mine, and pretty much everything she told me was wrong: materials used; designer; origin of item etc. I removed my items there & then from the shop - well once she had stopped talking rubbish! Needless to say that shop has now gone bust.

Don't get me wrong I'm not saying all shops are evil! But it helps to shop around!

HTH

K.