Engagement Ring

natmour

I don't think that it's important about how much you spend on the ring (aslong as it won't fall apart after a few weeks lol). As long as your partner likes it! What you could do is bring up the idea and see what rings she likes, then go over to America and pick one up.
You'll keep her guessing!

amandada

jessbrown100 wrote: »

My hubby bought my ring from an antiques auction which was wonderful as I love antique jewellery plus it was much cheaper than a jewellers. I have to say I would have freaked out if I had found out that he had spent a month's salary on it never mind three months :eek:

My engagement ring is antique too-and it's beautiful. If you like some of the older styles, then you definitely get a lot more ring for your money this way. Mine is victorian, emeralds and diamonds set in 18ct gold and I think it was about £700 13 years ago....the insurance valuation is now £2,5k

scotsgirl_3

I would actually suggest Blue Nile - we replaced my engagement ring last year as my old one didn't fit any more and couldn;t be adjusted enough. We went into some nice jewellery shops, tried on different shapes, styles, sizes, diamond quality etc so I knew what I wanted. We ten ordered what I wanted from Blue Nile and got the same thing for less than half the high street price - it's been valued at more than double what we paid as well.

I would also hate to have someone else choose my ring for me - I'm fussy! You could always propose with a cheap dress ring/hula hoop/whatever and then let her be involved in finding the right one.

belfastgirl23

Personally I love the idea of proposing with the diamond and letting her get the ring designed I think it does the symbolism of forever but lets her decide what exactly she'll be wearing....

The money thing is a bit weird really. Is she the sort of person this will matter to? Personally I'd hate to wear 2 grands worth of jewellery, I know I'm not careful enough and would be heart scared of losing it. Think about her and what she would like....

Turtle

Hi, I too love your idea of proposing with the stone (as long as you know what she might like). My OH was never keen on the idea of getting married but I had said if ever he changed his mind I'd like a white gold solitaire! When he asked me he didn't have a ring, but had tried to get one. He had gone to a jewellers and asked for a white gold solitaire but thought it was like asking a tin of Heinz beans (for example) and didn't know there was a load of different types. As a result of this he didn't get one. We picked it together (from a friend who worked at a jewellers, we got it quite a bit cheaper than it should have been although it was still £800) In fact, we both liked the same stone but not the band it came on so they reset it for me. It's now more than 5 years later (and we still haven't got to the wedding lol) but I absolutely love my ring and often still admire it. It would be awful to have a ring you didn't like so the upshot of this long tale is that I think you should definately pick it together!

Stephb1986_2

I was once engaged in a past life we went to the trafford centre and picked one it only cost £350 but we broke up not long after that and i gave it him back its a shame i liked that ring.

I did get one for my 21st off my mum 18ct white gold with a diamond in it cost £250

http://www.hsamuel.co.uk/webstore/detail/R/3528243/

thats my ring but mine is 18ct

Im just waiting for my OH to propose really but i dont think he's that romantic lol!

Steph xx

jiggy2

hi,

i would also recommend blue nile and the cooldiamonds websites mentioned before. when i got the engagement ring for my OH (i bought it for £1500 two years ago from a contact i had) and my contact's price was about the same as bluenile. the only problem i see from buying from a website is what happens if something goes wrong.

before buying we asked at one of the jewellers in london's hatton garden for the same specifications to see how much it would cost (hatton gardens is supposed to be the best place to shop for diamonds) and they quoted £3k. The price is normally negotiable however i very much doubt i would have asked for it at half price.

if nothing else the websites will give you a good idea based on colour, clarity etc how much you should pay for the size of ring you want. in our case i went for a design i likedand she didn't see it until the question was popped. she loves it.

hope that helps.

Jig

hutless

belfastgirl23 wrote: »

Personally I love the idea of proposing with the diamond and letting her get the ring designed I think it does the symbolism of forever but lets her decide what exactly she'll be wearing....

I know she wants a princess cut stone and she is really really creative. Her cousin actually designs and sells jewlerry in Italy and I know she finds it fascinating. That is why I was thinking that if I got the stone, I would be unlikely to get it wrong - and then she can sit down, look at a few designs of bands and then choose the one that suits her best. That way I have something to propose with, but she can still choose exactly how it looks.

I was just wondering if people had any thoughts about where you would do this or even if it could be done and how much it may cost.

beer_tins

Do you live in or around London? Go to Hatton Garden, London's diamond quarter. I got my OH's engagement ring there (getting married in October), it ended up costing me £2600, about a month's (pre-tax!) salary. It was valued at £4800 for insurance purposes and I did a LOT of research before I bought it, so I know I got a good deal. It's a lot of money, but it is meant to be for life. If you go there I would suggest:

1) Do your research beforehand
2) Don't buy before having a look in several shops
3) Never pay rate card

Get a good idea of the kind of things your OH wants and of your budget. Put the time in and you will soon work out what is good value. I chose the ring myself (fiancee was over the moon and I think she meant it), when you buy a diamond like that it's often best to keep the ring simple, as you want the focus to be on the rock! However, if you don't want to choose the ring, they will all sell you the diamond on it's own as well.

Don't spend any more than you are happy with yourself, the so called guidelines are meaningless. If she's the one for you she won't care how much you spent.

Good luck!

newlywed

RoxieW wrote: »

I personally think its more romantic to chose the ring yourself and propose with it, so that its a surprise. I probably wouldnt have thought up my ring but I absolutely love it - all the more because OH chose it and put thought into what I'd love. However, you need to be confident of her tastes to do that. If in doubt, you cant go wrong with a diamond solitaire - just make sure its in the gold that she likes ie yellow or white.

Same here. OH chose it and the fact that it took him days going round jewellery shops makes it even more special

But he did already know I didn't want yellow gold or a diamond or a sapphire with diamonds round. He chose an unusual ring with a stone in one of my favourite colours (going by the colour clothes I wear) and I love it. It's very different and lots of people have commented and I love it.

And I don't give two hoots what it cost - it's so much more about the thought that went into it!!