The most for your money - engagement rings

Pollycat

Curly_toes wrote: »

I have got an old ring that was given too her great great grandma for there ruby anniversary and the ruby is missing so I was thinking of getting it re sized, polished and the stone replacing with a sapphire as its her birthstone but I had the problem of choosing what type of sapphire and was quoted £390 for a light blue sapphire, does anyone think this is a reasonable price?

Thanks for all replys appreciate any response

I think that sounds a nice idea too, assuming the gold is the colour she prefers and there is enough of it to make a decent ring.
I think a lot of old rings tended to be quite small as women seem to be generally bigger now.

Re the sapphire - you are not restricted to a blue one, you know.

Sapphires come in many different colours, most popular in jewellers are pink and yellow (obviously after blue ones) but you can get other colours. I have rings with green, orange, white and purple sapphires (bought from Sri Lanka).

Hope you find a great ring.

Arthien

OP, your idea sounds lovely. I think giving her something meaningful like a family ring is really romantic, especially if you can personalise it by adding her birthstone or something specific to her.

FWIW, my fiance bought my engagement ring from 77diamonds and he has nothing but praise for them. He picked my ring size/shape/colour etc and diamond separately, so he was able to spend exactly what he wanted, and get the exact ring that he wanted for me. Better still, they actually have a store in London, so if you wanted to see the diamond for yourself, or just look at options in person before going ahead, you can do that.

You're right about the high street being overpriced though. I've since compared 77diamonds to high street jewellers, and it seems to me that although you might pay a similar price, the quality/size of the diamond (or other gem) you get is far better at 77D. I actually went into one high street jewellers to look at wedding rings, and the sales manager couldn't stop staring at my ring because it looked so sparkly under their spotlights, compared to the rings he was selling! I've also personally had lots of lovely compliments on how pretty it is, which has been really nice

I suppose really you've just got to go with whatever is right for you and your fiancee-to-be. As you've already seen, it seems whoever you ask will give you a different response as to what they would spend, and what they would like to receive!

Lagoon

borgman wrote: »

Is it me?

I thought getting engaged was more about expressing your love and intent to the lady you love? Surely its a little bit more romantic to visit a jeweller together, enjoy the experience of choosing the ring or design?

I appreciate that budget plays a factor in peoples decisions naturally but its a bit more special than buying the latest smartphone or tablet surely??
R

On the other hand, again, I think I would be a little upset if my OH had suggested we pick out a ring together. Different approaches suit different people.

The ring I have feels more personal, and more of a memory of the day he proposed, because it was a total surprise and he had the ring already. He'd picked it out himself, and he knew the meaning behind it, which he told me as he put it on my finger. The fact that it was HIS choice makes it feel more like a representation of him.

He actually felt a little nervous about the whole thing. We had to go back to get a different size and he took me to one side and told me that I could be honest if I preferred another. He said he didn't mind me exchanging it. Not a chance - this ring was the one he loved and I really value that.

He knew I liked contemporary jewellery, and white gold/silver rather than yellow gold. We'd never talked about rings, though I had a style in mind. The one he picked wasn't the style I thought I wanted, but it's absolutely lovely.

To me, the romantic bit is that he went out on his own, made the effort and picked a meaningful piece.

burnoutbabe

We picked out our ring together, At disneyland paris, its a mickey mouse head in cubic ziconia. I am shocked how many people think its "real"

Of equal importance, what is she getting you to mark the occasion?

neverdespairgirl

OH and I designed my ring together, at a jewellery designers, and chose the stone from a number. Mine is sapphire, with tiny diamonds along side it, and platinum, rather than gold, which I prefer.

This is mine:

Pollycat

I think blue sapphires go really nicely with white gold, a lovely contrast.

Emeralds & rubies don't seem - at least to me - to go as well with white gold.

No idea if the OP is considering white gold (although probably not if the gold he's thinking of using is old), just commenting on neverdespairgirl's design.

floss2

lilymay1 wrote: »

With 50% of marriages ending in divorce, a lot of people have many more than 1 engagement ring......

I am on my second husband but only have one engagement ring, as I sold the other to take my kids on holiday when I was a single mum. It seemed more sensible than leaving it in a box in case either of my sons wanted it

CH27

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

OH and I designed my ring together, at a jewellery designers, and chose the stone from a number. Mine is sapphire, with tiny diamonds along side it, and platinum, rather than gold, which I prefer.

This is mine:

That's gorgeous.

picklekin

As an idea to help with money saving..

My ring was not that cheap, we designed it between us and it has a brown diamond in it (lovely and actually cheaper than white diamonds) but I have very small hands and when it came to the wedding I didn't really want my lovely ring stuffed next to a dull ring or, worse, to swap out my lovely ring, so we got my engagement ring engraved and used it as a wedding ring too!!!

Unconventional yes, but I still look at my ring at least twice a week and smile at its glinty little diamond.

InsideInsurance

borgman wrote: »

Surely its a little bit more romantic to visit a jeweller together, enjoy the experience of choosing the ring or design?

Having had a "discussion" over this topic with a group of fairly inebriated 20 something girls the other day the overwhelming majority thought it more romantic to be proposed to with the ring as chosen by your prospective fiance than to be proposed to and then go and buy the ring together.

The enjoying it together is more for the wedding bands and more relevant given both of you need them.

The only reservations were on a guys ability to chose the right thing