Anyone bought their engagement ring online?

Zedo_2

My best friend has recently got engaged and has been looking at engagement rings on the internet as they seem to offer better value for money by cutting out the middle man. Has anyone got any experiences of buying online that you would like to share or any sites that you highly recommend. Thanks a lot.

Barneysmom

I've bought all my jewellery from Clogau gold online, I wouldn't touch anything else now.
The H Samuels etc looks like tat to me now

http://www.clogau.co.uk/

joolesw1972

Barneysmom wrote: »

I've bought all my jewellery from Clogau gold online, I wouldn't touch anything else now.
The H Samuels etc looks like tat to me now

http://www.clogau.co.uk/

There are some lovely rings on there - I really like the rose gold

arj-photo

Hi there - I bought my wife's engagement ring and our wedding bands from marlowscertifieddiamonds - great rings, great site, great prices and a really personal service which is unusual from a website. They're based in Birmingham.

scotsgirl_3

I have used blue nile, and a friend has also used them subsequently and both times they were fantastic, and supplied a ring that cost vastly less than high street. When I was chosing mine ( a replacement), a ring of similar size/colour/clarity in local jewellers was about £1800+, and we paid about £750 for mine. They weren't quite as cheap when my friend used them but they still provided good value for money and a lovely stone.

Totally depends what you are looking for, but having compared what is sold on the high street as quality diamonds, generally the prices are unjustifiable and the quality poor.

As he is already engaged, it may be best for them to go round a few jewellers to find out what cut/size/style they like, make sure they find out what the clarity etc of the diamond is too, and then try to match (probably with a better stone) online.

ncv2

I know people who have used bluenile.com and have been very happy. They bought higher quality stones and a much lower cost.

Miss_Ratty

Hi there,

My engagement ring came from Samara James, and they were fab. I had a small problem with the first one, but they sorted it out very quickly, and their customer service is second to none. My aunt's friend runs a jewellers and warned me to stay away from the shops as they will always be more expensive due to overheads such as rent, staff etc. (and she would know!). I would say to do a bit of research on the net though, and see where others have bought from too, better to go on recommendation than anything else when it comes to online shopping. I know we were really worried once we pressed the payment button, but it has worked out very well!

mdhughes03

I went for a cheaper ring from the beautiful company and hated it. It's a matter of personal taste obviously but the band was so think I couldn't close my fingers together and seriously can't imagine a lady who could wear it comfortably. There was also a massive flaw in the diamond which was not the quality we paid for.

Astaroth

Have also used BlueNile. For mid-high range stuff they are very good and as said, considerably cheaper than like for like on the high street - the manager in De Beers commented on how good the ring looked

For the high end stuff they do lack genuine photos of the stones and the various light photos that some of the other smaller sites offer and so there is a bit of luck involved as whilst a stone can look great by numbers the stone can be slightly lacking in the flesh.

When the other halfs ring turned up it came with a valuation which put it at about 50% above what I paid for it but had it independantly as well for insurance purposes that put it about 10% higher again

jn04

May i ask what are the details 4 C's of your ring your purchased? as im looking to do the same and buy from Blue Nile but a bit wary.

scotsgirl_3

I don;t have the certificate to hand, but I know mine was an E, brilliant cut 0.5 carat(ish), i think it was an ideal cut and I think clarity was VS1. Not huge, but I have tiny hands so it looks big, the stone is really beautiful, and gets complemented very often because it has real "fire" and sparkle. I've also had mine independently valued, and it came out at being worth over twice what I paid at the time. I had mine set in a simple white gold 6 prong setting. I also has it confirmed that the diamond was what I ordered by an independent jeweller.

My colleague at work ordered one for for his now fiance a couple of months ago with a slightly lower spec (F or G i think) and a little smaller, after seeing mine and being very impressed when he compared to what was available locally. His has also been valued, at about £500ish more than he paid.

I know the prices have gone up a little, but I think we paid somewhere around £750 for mine, and the valuation for insurance was something crazy like 1800.

Amusingly, just had a look at ernest jones, and they have this - lower spec diamond(J!!!), same size, white gold, a bargain at just £1899!
http://www.ernestjones.co.uk/webstore/detail/R/5166209/