Engagement Ring Advice

KeepItSecret

So…. I’m not so sure this is the best place for this type of post and I’m sure there are probably sites dedicated to such questions but I’ve been browsing these forums for a long time and everybody seems to be helpful so I figure; what have I got to lose?

I’ve decided I’m going to ask my girlfriend to marry me on Christmas day…. Wow; typing it makes it feel even more real…. Scary. Anyway; we’ve talked about rings and stuff in the past and she was always very pro White Gold though lately has taken a liking to the idea of platinum. Now I’ve done some research and Platinum is going to cost a lot more and I’m stuck between two ideas.

I’d like to get her a white gold diamond ring with a budget around £600 and maybe look into platinum for a wedding band in the future. However I can also pick find a few Platinum rings for around that budget but obviously the quality of the diamond would suffer. The site I’ve been looking at is thediamondstore.co.uk and I can see a lot of nice rings on there I think she would like (not sure how to describe her style but I don’t think she would want anything overstated, more something simple and elegant if that makes sense) within the £400 - £600 region but not sure which way to go.

Any advice from the ladies? Platinum and cheaper diamond or white gold and a nice diamond?

Also, I’d like to surprise her with it using a good old treasure hunt with a few nice poems/rhymes strategically placed around the house leading her to a large present which will be a good old box within a box within a box within a box until you get to the ring box itself. Any ideas where I could go about getting boxes that I can slot within each other at a cost that’s not extortionate for what it actually is (a few cardboard boxes).

I appreciate any help you can provide.

?

Don’t want to put anything to do with my name just incase…. J

Stephb1986_2

My ring is white gold with a lovely diamond in it we got it from samara james if that helps while your looking online I can throughly recommend them

It will come in a special gift box about a4 size and then the ring box inside that with all the other paper work it's really nice.

As for the cardboard boxes you can get them from the supermarket

hth

Steph x

wanchai_2

My honest advice? If you don't know exactly what she wants, get a ring from Accessorize or Claire's for the proposal and then let her pick her own! My OH let me pick my ring and it is perfect

Your proposal ideas are fab btw.

Good luck, I'm sure she will be thrilled xx

SaLoGo

Personally I'd prefer a good quality diamond with the white gold, but that's just my opinion!

I heard somewhere that it's recommended to have the same metal for both the engagement and wedding ring... something about the stronger metal rubbing on the weaker metal?

Roz_V

KeepItSecret wrote: »

So…. I’m not so sure this is the best place for this type of post and I’m sure there are probably sites dedicated to such questions but I’ve been browsing these forums for a long time and everybody seems to be helpful so I figure; what have I got to lose?

I’ve decided I’m going to ask my girlfriend to marry me on Christmas day…. Wow; typing it makes it feel even more real…. Scary. Anyway; we’ve talked about rings and stuff in the past and she was always very pro White Gold though lately has taken a liking to the idea of platinum. Now I’ve done some research and Platinum is going to cost a lot more and I’m stuck between two ideas.

I’d like to get her a white gold diamond ring with a budget around £600 and maybe look into platinum for a wedding band in the future. However I can also pick find a few Platinum rings for around that budget but obviously the quality of the diamond would suffer. The site I’ve been looking at is thediamondstore.co.uk and I can see a lot of nice rings on there I think she would like (not sure how to describe her style but I don’t think she would want anything overstated, more something simple and elegant if that makes sense) within the £400 - £600 region but not sure which way to go.

Any advice from the ladies? Platinum and cheaper diamond or white gold and a nice diamond?

Also, I’d like to surprise her with it using a good old treasure hunt with a few nice poems/rhymes strategically placed around the house leading her to a large present which will be a good old box within a box within a box within a box until you get to the ring box itself. Any ideas where I could go about getting boxes that I can slot within each other at a cost that’s not extortionate for what it actually is (a few cardboard boxes).

I appreciate any help you can provide.

?

Don’t want to put anything to do with my name just incase…. J

Ooooh how exciting!!!

Regarding a white gold engagement ring and a platinum wedding ring, I would advise against this. Platinum is a harder metal so would wear away at the engagement ring.

White gold is not a pure metal, and the Rhodium plating which makes it white does wear away (takes about 1-2 years depending on wear/exposure to soap, shampoo etc). They can be replated at most jewellers but it will mean being without the ring for a couple of days.

My engagement ring was from 77diamonds.com and cost £1200 for a platinum setting and .69 carat diamond of very good quality. It's been independantly valued at a heck of a lot more than what we paid for it :eek:

My advice: buy the best that you can afford.

lisajane8482

SaLoGo wrote: »

I heard somewhere that it's recommended to have the same metal for both the engagement and wedding ring... something about the stronger metal rubbing on the weaker metal?

I was told this when I was looking at wedding rings as I wanted a silver wedding ring from pandora. I got told that with gold being a soft metal the harder metal wears it away.

You could always buy the gold and upgrade to the platinum when you can afford to for an anniversary present, a few of my friends have done this.

KeepItSecret

wanchai wrote: »

My honest advice? If you don't know exactly what she wants, get a ring from Accessorize or Claire's for the proposal and then let her pick her own! My OH let me pick my ring and it is perfect

I kind of think to myself this would be best but then the idea of shocking her on christmas day with a really nice ring makes me think not. I would imagine that the ring would also have a bit more value to it for her as it would remind her of the proposal but maybe I'm being nitpicky.

I'm thinking worst case she doesn't like it (I have no doubt she'll say yes by the way ) I can return it and then we can go down that route.

As for buying online as opposed to a jewelry store, I'm rubbish at haggling and have always found buying something this expensive in store to end up costing me more for poorer quality.

As for advice regarding the ring metal, looks like it'll be platinum then as I'm pretty sure she's set on that for a wedding ring and I wouldn't want to damage the engagement ring. If I pushed my budget up to £1000 max do you think I could get a decent platinum ring as well as a good quality diamond?

Another reason against me buying it with her is she would absolutely kick my backside if she knew I was even considering spending that much money on a ring but I figure I only intend to do it once so I'd best do it properly.

Thanks for all the advice so far too, please keep it coming

wanchai_2

SaLoGo wrote: »

Personally I'd prefer a good quality diamond with the white gold, but that's just my opinion!

I heard somewhere that it's recommended to have the same metal for both the engagement and wedding ring... something about the stronger metal rubbing on the weaker metal?

I'd prefer this too, I think most girls would! That's why I advised the OP to let his GF choose the ring. She will probably end up going for white gold and a better diamond. Note that 'better' does not equal 'bigger'!! The cut, clarity, colour and carat are all important.

Colour and cut were most important to me (as well as a decent size ) so mine is a D colour (the most colourless) with the highest possible cut grade. It is literally breathtakingly sparkly. The clarity is less important to me as I couldn't ever see any inclusions in any of the diamonds I looked at!

That's also true about the metals - both rings *should* be the same metal.

wanchai_2

KeepItSecret wrote: »

I kind of think to myself this would be best but then the idea of shocking her on christmas day with a really nice ring makes me think not. I would imagine that the ring would also have a bit more value to it for her as it would remind her of the proposal but maybe I'm being nitpicky.

I'm thinking worst case she doesn't like it (I have no doubt she'll say yes by the way ) I can return it and then we can go down that route.

As for buying online as opposed to a jewelry store, I'm rubbish at haggling and have always found buying something this expensive in store to end up costing me more for poorer quality.

As for advice regarding the ring metal, looks like it'll be platinum then as I'm pretty sure she's set on that for a wedding ring and I wouldn't want to damage the engagement ring. If I pushed my budget up to £1000 max do you think I could get a decent platinum ring as well as a good quality diamond?

Another reason against me buying it with her is she would absolutely kick my backside if she knew I was even considering spending that much money on a ring but I figure I only intend to do it once so I'd best do it properly.

Thanks for all the advice so far too, please keep it coming

She'll get over it, I'm sure. I don't know a woman alive who would turn down a diamond ring. :rotfl:

It really depends on what you want tbh. Have a look around some shops to see what £1,000 will buy you in both metals. My ring is platinum and I know that it cost more than the equivalent in white gold, but my OH was happy with the (pretty scary) price so we went for it.

I know that you want to have the ring for the proposal but ring shopping together is very romantic too!

Re online vs. store, I would always advise checking out your local independent jewellers as they are waaay better value than the high street chains. You can even get one made, which by all acounts costs less then buying 'off the shelf'. I would want to see it 'in the flesh' so to speak, as it could differ from the picture on the website, and if you don't like it, it'll cost you a LOT to return it via special delivery/with postal insurance etc.

Good luck anyway, and please let us know what you decide... and how the proposal goes!!!! :A

Giddytimes

Try bluenile.co.uk too, you design your own ring there by choosing your diamond and setting, playing with the sliding cut/clarity/colour/carat menu's will show you what quality diamond is in your budget.

Personally I would go for Platinum as it's harder so will scratch less, it will still look great in years to come, where as white gold will tarnish, scratch and will likely need touching up in a few years.

Impet_Limpet

Have you considered Palladium (my wedding ring came from smoochrings.co.uk though I haven't checked out the engagement rings they do though.) My wedding ring is made of that, cheaper than platinum but stronger and doesn't need replating like white gold does.
My engagement ring is white gold with a .25 diamond which is lovely and I wear it on the other hand occasionally but already needs replating (I can't wear two rings together because it just feels so odd!