Engagement ring for around £200 - advice please

mr_knight

Only clicked on this thread by accident and haven't read any of the other posts. This site was excellent for my wedding ring (I've had it 10 years now). They also do engagement rings.

http://www.weddingrings-direct.com/

They offer a wedding ring sampler so you can wear a copy of your wedding ring for a few days. The ring design I really wanted was so uncomfortable so this was super to try before I buy Just thought I'd add that extra info as it might be useful later.

withabix

You may find that some items on Geraldonline are more expensive for a few days.

I think they do this to comply with laws about 'Sales'. A bit cheeky, but all retailers do it!

Their prices are still a lot less that high street jewellers for the same items!!

Don't buy anything until the Sale prices re-appear!!

twirlypinky

Watch the film Blood Diamond and it'll put you off wanting one! Then get yourself a really lovely stone that's a bit different. You don't have to have a diamond. My engagement ring has a tanzanite at the centre and i LOVE it.

Also, someone else on here got their rings made out of melted down gold from the family. I've got no idea how much this costs, so you'd need to look into it, but do you have any other older jewellery that you could have melted down into the ring? The price of gold is crazy at the moment, so at least you'd save that bit. x

Baberuth153

Can I make again the comments from a couple of people that you look in too second hand or antique rings?

My ring is a 1930's ring with 2 diamonds next (don't know the carat but they look lovely!) with a centre saphire in a platinium setting with 18carat gold ring - it is beautiful, special and cost £160 at an antique centre in Essex.

We had to have it resized but that only cost £30 or so.

Sure this meant I didn't have a ring from day one of my engagement but choosing it together and hunting for the right ring makes it even more special.

Oh and one point - just because the rules say you "have" to have solitaire or this or that. It is best to go for the ring that you love and that your partner will love whether that is a diamond or even a semi precious stone rather than what the rest world thinks you should have.

Scotsbride

Have seen in Tesco Mag about converting Tesco vouchers into Goldsmith Vouchers. I'm not sure whether or not they would let you pay part in vouchers and the rest in cash but it would be worth finding out.

trying_2_b_good

Scotsbride wrote: »

Have seen in Tesco Mag about converting Tesco vouchers into Goldsmith Vouchers. I'm not sure whether or not they would let you pay part in vouchers and the rest in cash but it would be worth finding out.

Yes, they do. I've got my wedding band from Goldsmiths and I'm using £20 of Tesco vouchers to get £60 off.

I looked EVERYWHERE for the perfect wedding band to fit sround my unusual engagement ring, I got quotes for getting a bespoke one, I hunted in second hand shops - in the end it was in Goldsmiths. At the end of the day, you need a ring that you will love, treasure, and still love & treasure in 50 years! As such, I'd not be to bothered about the quality of the diamonds (with a small budget & never going to re-sell - would be different if spending £2k!). It's the quality of the gold & the setting that matter - and I would think high street shops would give you a well-made ring (they have reputations to keep!).

I do recommend second-hand shops - but here you have to be lucky to find the right size as well as design. I'm sure that you'll find something that you like. Try probing to see if a solitaire is what she'd want. A lot of ladies on here don't have solitaires and love that their ring is more unique!

Good luck!

jacksma

I bought my 18ct white gold engagement ring off ebay and it has 0.5ct diamonds in a trilogy setting - this is similar to mine, but mine is white gold: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/18ct-Yellow-Gold-33ct-DIAMOND-Trilogy-ONE-LOVE-Ring-O-/360333745544?pt=UK_JewelleryWatches_WomensJewellery_Rings_SR&hash=item53e5909d88 if you look on ebay there are lots of jewellers selling engagement rings for a fraction of the cost...

Type into ebay diamond ring and set your max budget as what you can afford, and then filter out what you don't want...

I bought my engagement ring, wedding rings, jewellery, etc... from ebay and have always sellers with excellent feedback and who have a returns policy if you are not happy with the item you buy. You can save yourself a lot of money doing it this way...

I've had a quick look at diamond rings, any type of gold any carat under £300 and loads came up that were 18ct and had more diamond in them than the one you mentioned above...

Hope that helps? Happy shopping

Idiophreak

Just my 2c - get yourself down to *any* jewellers, OP, and look at some rings. Looking at the links throughout this thread, I think a lot of the photos of the rings are very flattering - I think you'd be disappointed by the size of the stone when it arrived if you ordered the ring based on those images.

Get to a jewellers, find a ring you like, then you can shop around for that style and that should give you an idea of the kind of money you need to spend. Your future wife will be wearing that ring for the rest of her life - and future generations may even get their hands on it - so it's important to get it right. If that means saving for a few more months, so be it.

PaulShopper

Thanks for all the comments, I have read them all and take the comments on board. I don't know exactly what sort of ring she would like, but I will choose one I think looks nice and hope for the best.

Blood Diamond - I have seen that film and I am aware of the issue. Most jewellers state their suppliers give written assurances diamonds are not conflict diamonds, but I realise these probably aren't worth the paper they are written on. I would rather get a different sort of stone for this reason, but I am worried by girlfriend would be disappointed if it wasn't a diamond. I won't be buying a big or expensive one on my budget anyway.

Goldsmiths - I don't shop in Tesco.

Second hand shops - my worry is my girlfriend would be disappointed if I bought a second hand ring. I like the idea but don't want to risk it with something so important.

Ebay - I'd be worried about the authenticity and as above really.

MrsE_2

PaulShopper wrote: »

Thanks for all the comments, I have read them all and take the comments on board. I don't know exactly what sort of ring she would like, but I will choose one I think looks nice and hope for the best.

Blood Diamond - I have seen that film and I am aware of the issue. Most jewellers state their suppliers give written assurances diamonds are not conflict diamonds, but I realise these probably aren't worth the paper they are written on. I would rather get a different sort of stone for this reason, but I am worried by girlfriend would be disappointed if it wasn't a diamond. I won't be buying a big or expensive one on my budget anyway.

Goldsmiths - I don't shop in Tesco.

Second hand shops - my worry is my girlfriend would be disappointed if I bought a second hand ring. I like the idea but don't want to risk it with something so important.

Ebay - I'd be worried about the authenticity and as above really.

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/2280392/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7CJewellery+and+watches%7C14416987/c_2/2%7C14416987%7CRings%7C14416988/c_3/3%7Ccat_14416988%7CSolitaire+rings%7C24507658.htm

£9.99 over budget, quarter carat:D