Engagement Ring

akchpmn
akchpmn Posts: 15
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edited 4 September 2015 at 12:44PM in Weddings & anniversaries
Hello All


I'm in need of some advice please, as I'm wanting to purchase an engagement ring for my girlfriend.


I've had a look in Ernest Jones and HM Samuel (didn't know they were owned by the same company) and seen a very nice one in H.M Samuel, however I'm no expert on these rings and after doing more research I'm sure the ring is good but I need advice from others.


I've got this one on hold at the moment and the colour is a grade D, with the clarity being I1 & cut being good/good. If you want to know anything else please let me know and I'll see if I can obtain the information from the certificate.


I'm not allowed to post links so please go to H.M Samuels website and enter this product code 9224432


I'd really appreciated peoples opinions on this. My Girlfriend is a traditionally girl who adores vintage things so I think this look is the best one but is the band and diamond good value for the price?


Please help :-)

Would you get/like this ring? 3 votes

Yes - I'd love that ring
0%
No - I'll explain why below
100%
DTDfanBoyStevie_PalimoPiggywiggy 3 votes
«1

Comments

  • akchpmn wrote: »
    I'd really appreciated peoples opinions on this. My Girlfriend is a traditionally girl who adores vintage things so I think this look is the best one but is the band and diamond good value for the price?
    It's a very classic, traditional looking ring but I wouldn't say it looks particularly vintage. Have you thought about looking in antique shops for a genuine 50's ring?
  • nearlyrich
    nearlyrich Posts: 13,698
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    If I was spending £1500 on a ring I would check out a more upmarket source than H Samuels. Have you got an independent Jeweller near you?
    Free impartial debt advice from: National Debtline or Stepchange[/CENTER]
  • Its a timeless design

    clarity is I1?

    that's not very good, it means you can can see flaws with the naked eye

    on

    http://www.bluenile.com/

    I just built a ring similar to that (just to see how much it came to).

    18k white gold 4 claw ring with a 0.5ct - D colour, Ideal cut, SI2 clarity
    it came to £1,132.

    its a lovely ring, but I would avoid the high street at that price level.

    (BTW, I bought my now wife's engagement ring online (from Bluenile), and couldn't fault the service.

    Good luck
  • akchpmn
    akchpmn Posts: 15
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    edited 4 September 2015 at 5:05PM
    nearlyrich wrote: »
    If I was spending £1500 on a ring I would check out a more upmarket source than H Samuels. Have you got an independent Jeweller near you?

    Nearlyrich, this was my initial impression too [regarding H Samuel] but then i saw H Samuels were owned by the same group as ernest jones and thought I'd give them a try. I think I have spotted a couple of independent jewellers in St. Neots. I'll have to try to sneak away tomorrow and have a walk into town.
    It's a very classic, traditional looking ring but I wouldn't say it looks particularly vintage. Have you thought about looking in antique shops for a genuine 50's ring?

    Fairylights, the thought never crossed my mind. I'll do some hunting around and see how many there are around my area. I'm in St. Neots and close to Cambridge so should be a few I'd expect.
    Its a timeless design

    clarity is I1?

    that's not very good, it means you can can see flaws with the naked eye

    I just built a ring similar to that (just to see how much it came to).

    18k white gold 4 claw ring with a 0.5ct - D colour, Ideal cut, SI2 clarity
    it came to £1,132.

    its a lovely ring, but I would avoid the high street at that price level.

    (BTW, I bought my now wife's engagement ring online (from Bluenile), and couldn't fault the service.

    Good luck

    Martinsurrey, I've had a look at BlueNile but i'm just put off by the mixed reviews! I prefer to see the ring in person too - do you have a picture of the ring you purchased?

    The description you provided sounds excellent however, the other half doesn't wear gold so i'd get her either, palladium or platinum for the colour and more so the durability of the metal
  • Gloomendoom
    Gloomendoom Posts: 16,550
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    Where do you live?

    A trip to the Birmingham jewellery quarter could save you hundreds.
  • akchpmn wrote: »

    Martinsurrey, I've had a look at BlueNile but i'm just put off by the mixed reviews! I prefer to see the ring in person too - do you have a picture of the ring you purchased?

    The description you provided sounds excellent however, the other half doesn't wear gold so i'd get her either, palladium or platinum for the colour and more so the durability of the metal

    its white gold, so looks silver.

    here is the wife's ring

    cuvBz83.jpg

    its this setting
    http://www.bluenile.com/uk/build-your-own-ring/diamond-engagement-ring-platinum_16480?elem=title&track=product

    With a 0.62, ideal cut, D colour, VS1 clarity stone, certified by the GIA.

    The service was impeccable, form order to delivery, we even sent it back to get it slightly resized and that was a breeze as well (and free).

    If you don't feel comfortable with ordering online, I wouldn't, but I couldn't find anything offline that was even remotely close in price for the quality I got.
  • It's a very classic, traditional looking ring but I wouldn't say it looks particularly vintage. Have you thought about looking in antique shops for a genuine 50's ring?

    I have to agree with Fairylights. If your girlfriend really likes vintage then I would recommend a vintage or antique jewellers, rather than a high street shop. You have a very decent budget and could get something really unique for her.

    Others have mentioned Birmingham which has some great vintage jewellers, and so does Warwick, Lincoln and Hatton Gardens in London.
    Just Keep Swimming!
  • For the courageous, there are always jewellery auctions - but they're unlikely to be local (Bonhams, Christies etc) although it may be worth having a chat with the local auction house, just for information. If you can find her ring size, then a token ring & a joint hunt may be more binding than many ceremonies?
    If you're both fine old traditionalists, excellent, but you're in the right place to be warmed of the many potential pitfalls!
  • Here's another satisfied Bluenile customer (engagement ring purchased in April).

    The quality of the diamond is more important than the size, places like HM Samuel will look reasonably priced because they will use a poor quality diamond and focus more on the size.
    "The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money"
  • DTDfanBoy
    DTDfanBoy Posts: 1,704 Forumite
    No - I'll explain why below
    Have you considered purchasing the stone, using that to propose then using a reputable jeweller to have the ring made up, that allows her to have exactly the ring she want's while also saving you £££££.

    I did exactly that when I proposed in Australia many moons ago, I used Diamond Exchange to source the stone, I wanted one from Canada ;) then after proposing we visited a jeweller the next day and had a ring made up. You've also got a backup as if she refuses you can simply return the stone :o

    At the time, over a decade ago, it was a really good way to do it, the jeweller we used to make the ring let me know how much he could have sourced a similar stone for, and I had it appraised twice for insurance purposes just after we had it made.

    Had I purchased a similar ring from a high-end on-street jeweller at ticket price the price difference would have been greater that what we spent on our honeymoon in Thailand, we were there for 10 weeks and didn't have any sort of budget planned for the trip :beer:
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