Engagement Rings (merged)

kwaichi

I popped the question last Saturday and we went ring shopping yesterday (Monday) after hunting on the internet on Sunday. We went to Wesfields in London and popped into Tiffanys. A .46 carat g vs2 in classic Tiffany setting was £3240. We then went next door to De Beers and found the De Beers forever ring to be the ring for us. Both Tiffany and De Beers use Ideal to Excellent cuts for their diamonds so they all have loads of fire. Our De Beers ring was .47 H SI2 and was £1450. The guy automatically gave us a discount though and said it's on sale and that they don't show sales stickers as they are a premium brand. The price dropped to £1050 and we were sold. Even with the hand magnifier we could not see the inclusions so SI2 is fine. H is also colourless so we weren't fussed. The cut, polish and symmetry were rated as excellent and gave off more fire than most other diamonds on offer so we went for it.

We went for a smaller diamond as my fiancee has tiny thin fingers but we were worried about the ring as she has a much wider knuckle than finger base. The guy offered to have 'pillows' put in the ring which are little platinum raised rectangles that sit on the inside of the ring at the base to effectively stop the ring from rotating and also allowing the ring to be taken through the whole finger more easily. De Beers also offer a De Beers passport which is their free lifetime aftercare service which can be used up to 4 times a year on any item bought at De Beers. You basically take in your ring and they inspect it, polish it, buff out scratches or coat with Rhodium if required. They also said that the pillows can be taken off and on by request (1 week wait time) - handy for pregnancies!

Once we purchased the ring we went and checked at other stores and found rings at places like Goldsmiths to be way more expensive. I checked back at Blue Nile online for a similar ring on the build your own service.

For an ideal cut .47 G SI2 costs £436 (excellent cut is another £500)
The closest ring design is the Comfort-Fit Engagement Ring Setting in Platinum (3mm) which costs £560 and their cheapest ring is Platinum Four-Claw Solitaire Engagement Ring Setting at £390

so the range is £826-£996 plus 15% vat at blue nile which is £949-£1145.40
Blue Nile offers free aftercare and the phone service is great but it costs £30 plus £6 insurance per £1k value of your ring for alterations.

All things considered I'm glad we got the hand made, non mass produced De Beers ring, which has taken me by surprise as I am pro internet and am even more surprised that a premium brand shop can compete on price against retail and online stores. Wish me luck! :j

eco21

That certainly is an eye opener, you do make the assumption that they wouldnt be as good value, i wouldnt have thought about going to de beers with my budget but now certainly possible

LyndsE

Some of the big online jewellers sell only certified diamonds. I got my engagement ring from qualitydiamonds.co.uk it is georgeous, certified by GIA and I gave them a picture of the kind of setting I wanted and their workshop managed to create it! Fab

Starwinky

I live in London and have a loose diamond inherited and am looking to get a ring made with it. I have a few ideas but a lot of places won't make if you have your own diamond. Have been looking in Hatton Gardens - anyone have any recommendations for jewellers?

aw273

i don't like the look of a wedding and engagement ring together, i'm thinking of using my engagement ring as my wedding ring, any thoughts?

Kavanne

Starwinky wrote: »

I live in London and have a loose diamond inherited and am looking to get a ring made with it. I have a few ideas but a lot of places won't make if you have your own diamond. Have been looking in Hatton Gardens - anyone have any recommendations for jewellers?

What reason did they give for not wanting to do it with your diamond? I am interested as I have a few loose ones I'll want set eventually!

svjenni

aw273 wrote: »

i don't like the look of a wedding and engagement ring together, i'm thinking of using my engagement ring as my wedding ring, any thoughts?

personally i don'tlike the idea - especialy if it is obviously a classic looking engagement ring. lots and lotsof the women at work now wear their engagement ring on their right hand

Hamleteer

Starwinky wrote: »

I live in London and have a loose diamond inherited and am looking to get a ring made with it. I have a few ideas but a lot of places won't make if you have your own diamond. Have been looking in Hatton Gardens - anyone have any recommendations for jewellers?

I had no problem when I went to Durrants just off Hatton Garden. I had them recommended by a guy who trades in diamonds and gets all his mounted there, but I am sure there are plenty more places happy to work with brought in stones. I am very happy with the ring they made for me.

Good luck!

TediousPhoenix

Personally, I don't like the idea either. I'm not sure what I'll do about mine though as there isn't much room left for a wedding band!

Nicholas James in Hatton Garden had some rather nice, but expensive, sculptured engagement rings and wedding bands. Had they been cheaper with better diamonds I would have got one, probably.

Here's an example:

Kavanne

i went on the nicholas james website and WOW, wish I could have something like that!!