Best place to buy an engangement ring.

needtoknow_4

Hi there,

My gf (whoes in early stages of pregnancy) and I are thinking of getting married as we would probably sooner or later anyways, so nows as good time as any time.

She loves the idea of an engagement ring so I will do anything to make her happy. We had a look at the argos book and also the hs samuels website. Probably I will spend at least £500-600 so has any one any ideas of the best place who do good quality rings at good prices. I think I saw something about 1 carrot rings (im totally ignorant on these things)

some advice gratefully accepted.

thanks

sooz

Please ignore argos and h samuels, unless she is just looking for an idea of which style she likes.

go to some independent jewellers - your budget is enough to buy something beautiful and even unique, but perhaps not 1 carat of diamond.

Sapphire with diamonds are more traditional engagement rings, rather than the current trend for one huge diamond rock.

And please let her choose, as she's the one who will be wearing it forever

Congratulations



don't forget that later on the wedding ring is meant to go under it. Some styles are harder to fit another ring under, unless you buy them as a set.

pinkshoes

agree 100% with sooz! Ignore argos other than for ideas, then buy it from a local independent jeweler, as you'll find something MUCH nicer.

As much as surprises are nice, maybe get her to pick it, just incase... or at least get her to circle ones in argos cataloge that she likes the style of, and get the person in the shop to pick (or make) something similar!

hollydays

Hatton garden,lONDON.bIRMINGHAM JEWELLERY QUARTER (DONT GO ON A SUNDAY) oop sorry caps.

[Deleted User]

first of all, congratulations. I hope you have a long and happy marriage

I bought a good 1 carat diamond and it cost over 4 grand, so forget going that large. Find out about the '4 C's' - Cut, clarity, colour and carat. Remember this - the price in the shop doesn't have to be the price you pay. If you've got a 600 quid budget, you might be able to get them to lower the price on a 700 pound ring. They make a lot of profit on diamonds so don't worry about asking/haggling.

Don't let this stress you out too much either

sooz

read this...

http://shopping.guardian.co.uk/valentinesday/story/0,,649683,00.html

sooz

ringo_24601 wrote: »

I bought a good 1 carat diamond and it cost over 4 grand, so forget going that large.

It won't buy a single 1 carat diamond, but will easily buy a cluster ring with over one carat of diamonds in it. Or it could buy over a carat of weight in other precious stones.

benb76

bluenile.co.uk sell diamond rings at about 60% of the high street price, and are GIA certified (although I think this is only for diamonds 1 carat and over).

it's not all about carats (weight) though. colour, clarity and cut also determine the value of a diamond. traditionally the cost of an engagement ring is supposed to be at least 1 months salary!

needtoknow_4

Thanks very much for all your kind regards and reccomendations. Unforuately we are not near London or Birminghan but will rule out the idea of argos as has been said very unromantic and probably costly as well. I know that HS Samuels have a shop nearby with some on their website that dont look too bad (though to be honest I couldn't tell a good ring from bad) might have a look in there as well as a few more local retailers.

Thanks again,