Engagement Ring

mcarthyryan

I'm going to ask my girlfriend to marry me soon, and have been looking for a ring. I don't really know what I'm looking for, and don't feel comfortable going to jewellers un-armed of knowledge!

I've had a look around on the internet, and think I've found something which suits my price range, what do you guys think? Would it be a bad thing buying on the internet?

The diamond is:
Princess Cut
Signature Ideal cut
E colour
VS1 clarity
0.31-carat Diamond - is this really really small??

Mounted in a 4 claw, 18ct white gold plain band.

That is £630 which is quite expensive in my eyes, but for the 'spec' is it a good price? I know people will recommend going to Jewellers, but I haven't a clue what I'm looking for in shops, where as in the internet at least you get all the info on the diamond etc.


From what I have read, the cut is the most important, so I have gone for the best cut on the above example.


Thanks a lot
Ryan

claire16c

I cant tell you if its a good price, but one thing I would say is check the refund policy because if your girlfriend doesnt like it/doesnt fit her, you need to be able to get it exchanged/resized etc. You could of course get it resized at a local jewellers, but if it was massively off, then you might be better getting a new size for example.

Im sure the ring is lovely and you know your girlfriend best but most guys I know who have suprised their girlfriend with a ring, made sure they had the receipt and checked the policy just incase of any problems. I have a 4 claw setting and I love the way it looks.

There are sites you can find which shows diamond carat sizes in real life, if you do a google search. 0.3 is fairly small but not minute. I guess it just depends what you are going for though, and what type of jewellery she likes. For example my friend is an art teacher and so a big stone would have got stuck in all the paint and stuff she does! You could always go window shopping and see what you think by comparing the one youve found online to the one in the shops and see if it matches up to the size you expect?

also as another point - has your girlfriend ever tried any on before? Because I thought I wanted princess cut until I tried them on and found that the same size but round/brilliant cut looked bigger and sparklier and completely changed my mind. But I got the 4 claw to get the square type look.

treliac

One third of a carat - not very big but not tiny either. It seems expensive, though, for the size. You will pay a lot more for 18ct gold than for 9ct gold and the 18ct is softer, therefore more easily damaged, too.

If you buy online, you would want to make sure you buy from a reputable company. I would shop around and get some comparisons, both online and on the high street. I don't know what those specifications stand for but you may want to get more information as the clarity and quality of diamonds varies. This might help http://www.thediamondbuyingguide.com/diamondgrading.html
Seems there's a lot to know about buying diamonds.

I hope she likes whatever you settle on, she may like to try a few on first. Good luck.

lostinrates

I always admire men who try, but am thrilled dh knew me well enough to know i would want to help choose my ring.

chunkychocky

I've just looked on a random jeweller's website and it says that a 0.3 carat diamond had a diameter of 3.55mm when done as a princess cut, or 4.2mm as a round brilliant cut. I wear my Grandma's old engagement ring and it has about as small a single diamond as I could ever imagine seeing in an engagement ring and it is a round cut of approx 4mm so I'd guess the same sort of size. It is fine and definitely looks like an engagement ring, but is definitely not an in your face knock 'em dead sort of ring.

You can see an example of what it looks like in a ring and on a hand here: http://www.michaeljonesjeweller.co.uk/diamond-sizer.cfm

mmmsnow

Hi, Ryan,

Have a look at independent jewellers in your area. Find the little ones who specialise in repairs, etc. They tend to be much better value than the larger stores and you have a better chance of getting something unique.

I would say that 0.3ct is quite small but it really depends on the setting and how big your girlfriend's fingers are! Princess cut is classic. Also, you want something that can be worn with a wedding ring so avoid rings that are strange shapes.

Carl31

I went to a diamond broker who also made bespoke rings

I got 1 carat split over 6 stones. I picked the clarity and colour of the stones and they are set in platinum

Cost me 900 quid, equivalent in a high street jeweller would have been about 3k or more

Just to add, my oh designed her ring

Stephb1986_2

Try samara James that's where my engagement ring came from and I love it

Steph xx

pinkshoes

My OH got me a token ring, and I got to pick my own! It was the romantic proposal that shocked me!

I'd do more research on what sort of ring your GF would like rather than getting confused by rings in general. A BIG FAT diamond always goes down well... (although not in my case, as I'm a practical person, so everything had to be channel set, and I also wanted palladium, as it's the same family as platinum, much cheaper, and wears far better than white gold...)

Do you know her ring size?

adelight

pinkshoes wrote: »

My OH got me a token ring, and I got to pick my own! It was the romantic proposal that shocked me!

This is a good idea if you're not sure about what to pick for her. A token gift followed by "would you like to come engagement ring shopping with me?" or a plain old proposal.

Are you close to any independent jewellers or somewhere like the B'ham Jewellery Quarter where you will get more freedom of design and a better price? If you know her well you could even get her a second hand or "vintage" ring for a really good price. If she loves vintage and antique jewellery you could try some auctions (with her in tow of course).

It's nice that you're putting some thought in rathe than just buying the first thing you find

Plans_all_plans

Hi I'm not sure what companies you've looked at online, but I'd highly recommend www.bluenile.co.uk The product quality is fab and the customer service second to none. As well as this, they have an ethical sourcing policy which was very important to me.

A 0.31 carat diamond is what I have and it doesn't look particularly small on my hand. I didn't want lots of inclusions (if that's the right word?) in mine, but we couldn't afford anything bigger without inclusions, so settled on the 0.31.

We got a wedding and engagement ring set from bluenile and it was cheaper too, so you could maybe think about that.

I would say that proposing with a cheapo token ring and choosing one together afterwards is the way to go myself, but best of luck whatever you decide.