Engagement Rings (merged)

stumpjumper

in that situation i would buy from one of those i listed in my post above, then have it sent to an independant appraiser near to where you are staying so you can pick it up and view it, if you dont like then you can return it and get your money back.

So - get your intended down to the jewellery store and have her finger properly sized. UK ring sizes can be converted to US sizes fairly easily - I asked the question of Whiteflash a while back and they said they have had great success using this page to convert between sizes: http://www.celtarts.com/ring_size.htm
Then if you talk to the vendor and tell them what you intend to do, they can tell you if they can accomodate your request.
the Ring being sent to an appariser with the appropriate insurance then they will ship to them, and you have their returns policy time of 15 days or so to view teh ring and decide if you want to keep it.

you can look up a list appraisers and their qualifications here: http://www.pricescope.com/appr_list.aspx

So i'd allow about a week or 2 once you pick your diamond and ring to have it set. those i listed have free postage to addresses within the US.

If you are sending the diamond to a differnt state from that which you by it (IE Whtieflash is in Huston, Texas, Good Old Gold is in New York and Nice Ice is Seattle, Washington and the stone is sent to an appraiser in Louisiana you dont pay US sales tax, so the price you see is the price you pay.

You select the stone and ring, and pay the vender, when its set they send it to the appraiser

make the appointment to view the diamond at the appraiser during your holiday. if everything is ok, then you have the ring.

On your return to the UK you need to declare the ring to customs and pay the import and VAT. but you'll have saved a lot of money on UK high street prices

tim_n

thanks stumpjumper - thats a lot of info to look through! = )

stumpjumper

no problem, if it helps I wrote a load of stuff a couple of years ago explaining the 4Cs... thats on page 13 of this thread: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=192077&page=13

Tho i notice one of the posts the picture links have disappeared. ah well. the important stuff is there

carlozmoya

An engagement ring is a piece of jewelry that remains close to the heart. Engagement rings represent faith, love and commitment in a relationship .It depends on with how much effection you gave but not how much expensive?so purchase up to how much you afford

bozzy_2

Whatever you or anybody do - don't buy your rings from Ernest Jones! We bought a platiunum diamond engagement ring from them for £1750. 9 months later the shank split. We took it back and they refused to repair it under guarantee saying it was damaged due to excess pressure and that the ring was dirty!!

We had the ring repaired at another jeweller - an independent one - who said the damage was actually as result of the ring being poorly re-sized! The cost of repair came to £30!! The jeweller said there was no way there was excess pressure and that the dirt is normally what you would expect on a ring!!

We found Ernest Jones insulting, poor customer services and care.

Avoid them if you can!

siren13577

My fiance bought me a ring and proposed on Christmas day (it was lovely), it was from Argos and was £80:
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/2307402/Trail/searchtext%3ERINGS.htm

and is exactly right, it's so me and is really beautiful. The only thing was that (despite me mentioning my ring size and talking to my sister who was in on it) he got the wrong ring size and unfortunately the stones on one side were 'damaged' so it had to go back and it took three weeks to order my size in.
You don't have to spend a fortune, it's more important that you get something that your partner likes, look through the jewellery she has or ask one of her friends to take her shopping, it will be easy to 'milk' her for ideas for what she likes and get her friend to tell you. Good luck and congratulations

MsChazzer

tim_n wrote: »

I proposed (yesterday morning, about 00:00:01) with a £55 ring from H Samuels.

Was told by the 17yr old sales assistant that no-one EVER bought a cheap token engagement ring and would-I-be-ever-so-good as to buy an expensive-ring-made-of-tat-from-over-here. I declined. I intend to steer the dearly beloved to bluenile.co.uk or the london jewelry quarter for the actual ring.

Fortunately my approximation of her ring finger was dead right - fitted perfectly.

Congratulations - and good for you not listening to the sales assistant. My ring cost even less (I know because I asked for it for xmas and my fiance bought it for me and proposed a couple of weeks ago) and I love it. He's going to get me a diamond ring too but it will be well short of a months salary. It will be very special to me because it's from the islands where I was born.

I really wouldn't him to spend more on a ring.

SiuLoong

I proposed a few months ago, I got my ring from the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham (highly recommended!!), I chose the ring and diamond individually and it was made in 1 1/2 hrs. I think it gives the ring more meaning that I spent time picking which diamond I wanted in the setting and its individual qualities. The place I bought it from was very cheap, I've seen similar rings with worse quality stones for twice the price on the high street. The one I bought is hallmarked and with a certified diamond.

The staff in the shop were very helpful & knowledgeable and there was no pressure, I went initially to look at options then went back a few weeks later to buy, originally they gave me a card with the staff members name on it so I could talk to the same person when I came back. They asked my budget and helped me chose something perfect. I had little input from my (now) fiance and she loved the ring, its very personal as I spent so long choosing it.

The shop will resize, change ring design and offered lifetime care all free.

I spent less than half my gross monthly salary but it still felt like a lot.. the only thing I've ever spent more on was my car.. best money I ever spent though!!

(18ct White Gold - hallmarked, solitare 0.35 ct HRD certified diamond)

Jem8472

can I just point out again to anyone looking. Try to get more than four claw settings.

I bought me gf a ring second hand but in perfect condition and proposed back in Nov 07. She loved the ring. Got a really good diamond in it. But the other day she noticed that a claw had broken.
Its an 8 claw setting so no worry. But the fashion from the high street jewellers seems to be four claw. So what happens if you lose one claw? You probably lose the diamond and have to go and get another ring.

gabyjane

Well i chose my engagement ring and although it didn't cost the earth (£450ish) it is from a jewellers who only hold a very limited stock, i know that my ring won't be distributed for at least 3 years by which time i won't care! I had been to a few do's before we got engaged and remember some of the girls showing off their rings, they were all really similar and like the one i origionally wanted, to me this doesn't make it as special of you find out all your friends have them but that's just me!! Another friend showed me one she wanted a few weeks ago that her future df would buy her and it was £7k!! still nothing special imo.