Eternity rings

[Deleted User]

I'm looking on a bit of advice.. It's my wife's 30th birthday in 2 months AND she's due to give birth to our second child in a few weeks time. So, i thought i'd get her an eternity ring for her birthday.

I've no idea if there are 'rules', like there are for engagement rings (e.g. N x salary). She's got a plain white 18ct gold wedding ring and a similar white gold engagement ring (with a 1ct emerald-cut diamond mounted quite high on it).

I don't quite know what would be appropriate to go between them as an eternity ring. The engagement ring was quite expensive and I don't want the eternity ring to look too much out of place. I also don't want to spend thousands.

I was thinking of something like this... http://www.diamondgeezer.com/shop/product/hallmarked-18ct-white-gold-round-channel-set-eternity-ring-88-05087/

It's called a 'half-eternity-ring'

Any good? My local jeweler does something similar with diamonds all round the entire ring for £599. I can get to Hatton Garden also, if that helps.

Alternatively, other ideas of presents would be appreciated!

emz118

I think an eternity ring would be lovely, really thoughtful and definitely at an appropriate time!

I think a lot of it is personal taste. I love that one you have linked to, because it is simple and the stones are not too "sticky-outie" if you see what I mean.

I prefer rings with a plain band underneath the finger (like that one) rather than stones all the way around because I find them more comfortable to wear.

Did you choose your wife's engagement ring without her? If so, and she loves it, I would say you probably know her taste well and so just go for it with something you like and think it will go.

As for the % of your salary rules, I had never even heard of that until we went into a jewellers, just buy what you can afford but that you love!

double_mummy

the other thing that could be a really nice alternative is to get a trio ring or a channel set one with different stones to represent each of your birthstones

like this http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQea8oyqlSplCHUx0Bq3p3cDyFu3Q8TgZhmy_-8wns5VJExz1G4fw

or this one http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR-gTD3o1VFpXHY_okoseUrYkMIwkeImGxGyBoIHyO67M5VFShR

but i do love the one you were looking at

here is a list of birthstones just in case
http://www.radianze.com/birthstones.gif

[Deleted User]

Me buying an engagement ring without her present would be like her buying the family car without me there

No, she was there - she even haggled £500 off the price!

In an ideal world, i'd like to get her to choose - I do know she likes 'simple and elegant' jewellery. Wonder if I could take it back if she didn't like it.. hmm, i may have to pop to Hatton garden tomorrow.

Now i have to figure out her ring size.. I hope it's back to normal after her pregnancy; she's had to stop wearing the engagement ring

Edit: Sorry Doublemummy - I know those rings really wouldn't be her taste at all. Thanks for trying!

LEJC

ok...professional hat on here...just to give you the basics for you to do a bit of research into what you want...

A half eternity ring is called that because the stones extend only half the way round the ring...
a full eternity ring is the stones extending in a full circle round the whole ring

Price thats up to you...

the eternity ring is usually straight in design so it can be worn with the wedding ring and engaement ring on the same finger...although a lot of people do choose to wear it in place of the engagement ring or even on the other hand...theres no set way again its personal preference

What you do need to be sure on is the choice between half and full ring as to how practical you want the ring to be...
If you buy a full ring then you MUST make sure the size is right as it is very difficult to size a ring where the stones extend the whole way round the band...it is possible but very expensive as it will involve cutting the band and remodelling. A standard jeweller would not recommend resizing of this type of ring.
The other factor to consider is if the band is worn all the time and it is a full ring the stones on the underside of the finger will knock against things and can be suseptable to damage...they can over time become dislodged from their settings so would need to be checked periodically to make sure they do not come loose...

I have both styles of eternity ring but tend to wear the full one much less and only on special occaisions purely because of things bashing the underside...a half eternity ring is certainly more durable if its your wifes intention to wear it constantly...I'm often cleaning my ring just to make sure that soap residue is removed!

whatever you choose I'm sure she will be delighted with it

Good luck with your search...

[Deleted User]

Cheers, i did think a half-ring made more sense due to the resizing thing (plus what's the use of diamonds that can't be seen?). I didn't think about the durability, but that's a good point.

Hmm, i knew her buying me an iPad for our anniversary was a tactical decision!

MsShopper

One thought... as your OH has an emerald-cut diamond in her engagement ring, you might find that a square-cut diamond in the eternity ring complements it better, whether that's princess or baguette – or I've seen eternity rings that alternate with both stones. Can't recall where now, sorry.