Engagement Ring Saving

consultant31

DebtphobicDeirdre wrote: »

I hate to tell you all this, but I wear a fake ring. I got it for £12.99 when I lost my original ( difficult to wear large-stoned ring when dealing with babies nappies) and I frequently get compliments about how lovely it is. I feel like the little boy in the Emperor's New Clothes! I do always confess though. I also have a genuine diamond ring on my right hand which was passed down to me recently, nobody ever comments on that, it is much smaller.

You're not alone Deirdre!

My original engagement ring is too small for me now, so DH bought me a 1 carat CZ in a beautiful setting.
It cost about £80 and almost everyone who sees it says how gorgeous it is.

Unlike you, I tell nobody how cheap it was - just look smug and agree with them :rotfl:

Jillinoz

Another good option is to try your nearest Costco warehouse, if you can get access to one. Their diamonds are VS1 rated (I've just Googled exactly what this means and it stands for very slight inclusions and signifies that it's only possible to see flaws with a 10X microscope but it takes a long time ). Costco's jewellery values are generally at least twice the actual buying price and they come with a bona fide valuation certification to this effect (handy for insurance purposes). They also come in a beautiful wooden presentation box. Admittedly, it's not the most romantic engagement ring buying experience in the world, but there's the added warm glow of knowing that you're sporting a £5K classic diamond and platinum ring that actually only cost £2.5K. That's pretty money saving in my book - and you can also pick up some cheap groceries at the same time. Result! Besides, you can always tell everyone else that your ring came from Boodles.

Elliesmum

Or if possible have it hand made - this can often work out cheaper. My eternity ring (over a carat of diamonds) was made by a lady in Hockley (Birmingham's jewellery quarter) it's insurance value is £3K - I bought it for £1.5K.

HTH's

EM xx

scotsgirl_3

Have a look at https://www.bluenile.co.uk. We have just replaced my original engagement ring as I lost a lot of weight and could not have my original resized enough. Their service was faultless and the ring is stunning - I looked at rings locally first so i knew what i wanted in terms of the stone and ring and then ordered from there.

I would also say, i know its difficult to judge but you may want to try and see what a .75 carat would look like on her. The reason i mention is that I alo have very small fingers ( im an h, so not much in it) and when I tried on different rings a 0.75 looked silly on me. I ended up going for a half carat, e colour, ideal cut and it looks like a rock on my hands!

squashy

Wow!!

I have to echo what others have said, i think i would go mad if I found out someone had spent that much on ring for me, as much as I would love a nice ring I would prefer a smaller one plus enough for an amazing holiday or a deposit on our first place together.

Hope she says yes whatever you decide x

kippers

I didn't even have an engagement ring as we couldn't afford it...my husband produced a wedding ring and asked me to marry him. He also told me he had booked the register office four months later....it was dead romantic and worth far more than any engagement ring!

£3000...that would buy loads of needed things in our house...is she really so shallow she needs a £3000 ring to prove to people you love her (Madonna, material girl springs to mind).

(No offence meant)

gk172

I would second the blue nile option or the cheap flights and buy from usa with the good exchange rate, my hubby wanted to upgrade and buy me a new ring for our anniversary and we purchased from an american site then picked it up on holiday which was so romantic - from picking the stone and setting and then collecting it from a quaint little village. The uk valuation is 3 times what we paid for it;)

hannahcallum

I'd advise just wandering around Hatton Garden, I got my engagement ring from a small trade shop called Nicholas James in a jewellery Emporium - Heart of Hatton Garden.
The girl really knew her stuff & i got a great price, i felt very intimidated in the big shops.

xxlaurissaxx

£3k is alot of money but if you are happy to spend that amount on her then maybe you should do as others say and buy a cheap one just to propose with, then take her to pick one she will really like that you can spent more on and that way you know she wont be dissappointed if its too big/small. xx

Nikabella

I would seriously recommend Blue Nile. If you search the forum for Blue Nile you will find the post where I explained about the website, only a couple of weeks ago. I thought the quality, service & product were amazing.

My ring is very small, I can't remember what size & we only got it 6 months ago! But it was no problem as you have them made to order. My diamond is almost perfect in the 4C's & we could never have matched their proce or quality on the high street. Some of the high street shops were selling lower quality diamonds (we checked the certificate) for the kind of price you are talking about so I would advise you have a look on the website, get yourself an excellent diamond & for a fraction of the price you are talking about!

HTH.

A.x