Engagement ring - getting the most for your money.

135

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  • PenguinJim
    PenguinJim Posts: 844
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    If you're looking for the best value on a diamond ring, but you're not suffering from money shortages at the moment, I'd suggest popping across to Hong Kong. The UK is simply not a good place to get a ring like that without being ripped off above and beyond the practice itself.

    Try Chui Wah Jewellery on Canton Road.
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  • alice31
    alice31 Posts: 119 Forumite
    OP, have a play on the Blue Nile website (http://www.bluenile.co.uk)
    I don't know how their prices compare to independent jewellers but they're cheaper than the high street and you can choose the specific diamond based on the filters you want it to have ie specific colour/cut. You'd be able to see what you could get for £1k on there and compare it to what your jeweller offers. You can buy the diamond from blue Nile loose and ask your jeweller to set it, or you can buy the whole thing from there.

    I recommended the site to my best friend's now-husband and he bought a d-colour, vvs2 0.43 brilliant cut diamond set in a white gold band for £1k so your budget would get you a very good ring as their platinum settings start from £375. They add VAT at the end though so bear that in mind. Postage was free and it took about 5 days for his to arrive.

    Hope this helps. Let us know how you get on, I am a bit of a jewellery fiend!
  • Lily-Rose_3
    Lily-Rose_3 Posts: 2,732 Forumite
    Seanymph wrote: »
    My ring came from an antique shop.

    OH proposed and we spent quite a while shopping for something that we both liked and was within the price range we considered.

    It's a fire opal with diamonds either side, and cost £165.

    I spent more on a wedding band, because I wanted one that was diamond studded.

    Ask her what she wants - but bear in mind although she'll be wearing it for a long time, you will have other priorities.

    Is there a ring in the family that you can use? I already know that I have one that my daughters boyfriend and her are eyeing up - your wife to be may well be more touched to receive a family ring.

    And does she love platinum? Because I had an ex who loved it (and bought me a ring in it) and I hated it.

    I HAD worn silver - which was apparently his inspiration - but only because for day wear rings I couldn't afford gold. I preferred yellow gold.

    Ask her what she wants would be my best advice.

    This ^^^ I hate platinum and think it's ugly. I much prefer gold. My engagement ring was about £100 (21/22 years ago.) That would be about two hundred now. Two grand is a LOT for a ring! :eek:

    I agree that too many people buy too much into the marketing bullsh*t they read and see about having to spend so much on a ring. (3 months salary is it?) I would be utterly mortified if someone spent that much on a piece of jewellery for me. Especially as a few on here have said, if there is a baby on the way.
    Proud to have lost over 3 stone (45 pounds,) in the past year! :j Now a size 14!


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  • sharnad
    sharnad Posts: 9,904 Forumite
    jbutleruk wrote: »
    Well thank you to some for the relevant advice and to other, try to stay on point.

    Quite frankly I met the girl of my dreams, I just got a nice bonus at work and I can afford to spend a little more on a nice ring for her so in going too. The baby is taken care of already.

    I'm after practical advice (like look at Palladium over platinum, what a gem of advice, thank you).

    Please advise on this and not get of topic.

    The platinum band is around £700 to £850 the jewelers said. So for around 1k what diamond could I expect? (Bearing in mind my girlfriend is petite and won't want Anything bigger than 0.5 of a carat).

    Advice please.
    . Go to independant jeweller. Palladium looks cheap compared to plantinum
    Try for at least a carat If your not getting her to choose with you try and get an idea of styles she likes before you buy I'm petite so went for half carat middle with two quarter carats either side. I prefer emerald cut she might prefer prin was does she like trilogy rings of is she a solitaire girl
    Needing to lose weight start date 26 December 2011 current loss 60 pound Down. Lots more to go to get into my size 6 jeans
  • butterfly72
    butterfly72 Posts: 1,222
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    I've had two young trendy friends get engaged recently and both have opted for used vintage rings. Both arr absolutely gorgeous and unique and stimulate a lot of conversation. Also I know they didnt cost the earth. Why not ask her what she wants?
    £2019 in 2019 #44 - 864.06/2019
  • PenguinJim
    PenguinJim Posts: 844
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    I think the best vintage rings are the ones that have been handed down within the family. Actually, that's a good question! OP, have you checked with your parents/grandparents if there's a family ring that would be appropriate?
    Q: What kind of discussions aren't allowed?
    A: It goes without saying that this site's about MoneySaving.

    Q: Why are some Board Guides sometimes unpleasant?
    A: We very much hope this isn't the case. But if it is, please make sure you report this, as you would any other forum user's posts, to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com.
  • anotheruser
    anotheruser Posts: 3,485
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    edited 27 May 2014 at 11:25AM
    1) Find out the sort of ring she wants

    2) Look at Palladium. It's pretty much like Platinum but not as expensive as it's a newer mostly uncommon metal (price for ring was ~£2000, went down to £400 with Palladium). Platinum WILL fade over a few months/years, whereas palladium stays shiny for longer, however both can be polished up to look like new. White Gold needs replacing every few years to keep it at it's best.

    3) Independent means bartering. Don't accept the first price they come down to.

    4) Maybe take a trip to Birmingham and the Jewellery Quarter. Not as big as I thought, it's just a street of shops but means you can find a whole range of rings.

    5) Don't be afraid to get rings from a high street store like H Samuels. They may not be very pretty but you can get great discounts using Top Cashback (and if you're really strapped for cash, they don't send out the rings recorded delivery either!)

    6) Don't spend all your money on a ring. Save for the baby.

    7) When are you getting married? Many people get engaged these days without getting married - I don't see the point because:

    > If you're not getting married because you're not bothered, why get engaged?
    > If you're doubting your partner will last, getting the ring back/selling it will be extra hassle
    > If you're the opposite of the above, why aren't you getting married?

    So even though you have a lot to think about with the new baby, don't forget to finish what you start and actually tie the knot!

    Here's a thread I created not long ago about rings. You may find some useful information there: Rings - What are Yours Made From and Why?

    This is all the advice I have, possibly repeated from some other posters.
  • InsideInsurance
    InsideInsurance Posts: 22,460
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    You can have a look at BlueNile - via Quidco etc - and they will give you a good idea of what you can get for your money.

    I wouldnt say that platinum stays brighter than white gold longer. It may or may not have the same rubidium coating that white gold normally comes with and if it does then it lasts the same though the metal underneath is more of a dark grey where as most high carat white gold here tends to still be fairly yellow and so it may not be as noticeable when it starts to wear off.

    Remember whatever metal you get the engagement ring in that you really need to get the wedding band in the same metal to avoid the two unevenly damaging each other as they grind against themselves - platinum is considerably harder than high carat gold so would wear it away quicker
  • tillyenna
    tillyenna Posts: 276 Forumite
    Unless you know that your girlfriend wants platinum (or platinum coloured) - I would wait until you've asked before getting the ring, and then she can choose it. If you KNOW she has a preference for a particular metal, and a particular diamond


    Also, I'm with HBS in that I wouldn't WANT to wear a £2000 ring - you never know, she might be like me and have had her perfect engagement ring in her mind since she was a child (FYI, mine cost £80, in a sale, from a high street jeweller... it's just as I always pictured my engagement ring to be, and I love it beyond words... the only thing I love more, is my husband to be.)


    Seriously, check with her first... propose with a haribo jelly ring or something, don't go spending £2000 on something that she might not actually like, and then feel compelled to say she loves and wear unhappily for the rest of her life.


    (I'd have been seriously miserable if The Boss had thought to get me a single diamond in a platinum ring... single stones look silly on my tiny hands, and as all my other jewellery is either white gold or silver, platinum would have looked off)
    Officially saved enough to cover the cost of our wedding! :A
  • bouncydog1
    bouncydog1 Posts: 2,696
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    edited 31 May 2014 at 5:00AM
    Definitely go and choose the ring together once she says yes! DH proposed one evening when we were out and we went and chose wedding bands the following day as we got married a week later! Had wedding band set with diamonds several years later. make your choice together that's what a partnership is about. Had he bought me a ring himself I probably wouldn't have liked it as we have very different ideas on jewellery!!
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