Ethical Engagement Rings

zulubabe

I'm trying to find an ethical engagement ring - my fiance John & I got engaged last year & I don't have a ring yet as I can't find one that is
a. affordable (about £170 max)
b. ethical

Any help would be appreciated. I have to have a size v ring unfortunately, and I'm not actually bothered if its a diamond or not!

tr3mor

I'd have thought a second hand / antique one would be most ethical.

rach

i know you can get diamonds that are guarenteed non-conflict diamonds. when my friend and i asked about this the lady in a small jewellers said that the most ethical would probably be a sapphire rather than diamond.

have you looked at having something handmade? for that price it may not include a stone, but you would know where it was made and could talk to the jeweller about it. there is a guy in durham called Gavin Shelley who makes great, reasonable jewellery. PM me if you want more info.

HTH

Justie

gold is often mined in terrible conditions as well as the whole issue of diamonds... it's hard to do ethical and cheap I'm afraid as it's usually only higher end retailers that will put money into authenticating the origin of the materials they use.

I'd tr3mor's suggestion of second hand/antique - recycling rather than buying new has got to be the most environmental and ethical way plus you get better value for money. Most local jewellers will have some second hand pieces and we've got a fair few of those hideous pawn shops on our high street that always have rings in their window - not very romantic I know but usually cheap.

The other alternative is to see if you have a piece of jewellery you already own that you love but don't wear that could be converted into a ring. A local jeweller would set a stone for you and you could have a say in the design.

savvy

We've got a green wedding ideas thread with a couple of ideas on there for wedding rings which may help, go to the thread and search for rings so you don't have to wade through all the posts

mountainofdebt

Did you know there was such a thing as fairtrade diamonds?

zulubabe

I think we will be looking at the local antique market for rings - I don't fancy going to a pawn broker.

jfdi

On my local BBC Radio y'day morning, as I was going to work, I heard a Chichester Jeweller talking about his shop.

He said he has personally visited all the mines etc where both his precious gems & metals come from as he was so concerned. He said he couldn't get insured for half the places!

He now sells only ethically produced jewellery.
And the name is.........? Duh! Can I remember? Sounded a bit like an Italian ice-cream firm - or his surname did - but my age has got the better of me & I've forgotten! Sorry!

Madiba_2

Break with convention - dont bother with a ring. It doesnt "do" anything... it isnt "useful"....

I am married, and we didnt bother with rings, we used the money for useful things. You're only getting one because its what you think you should be doing.

tr3mor

Did you ever get a ring? I'm sure we'd all love to see it!

yell25

have you visited silverchilli.co.uk fairtrade silver made by producers.