Engagement ring buying advice: Online / UK / Abroad

typeractive · 7 May 2018 at 1:02PM

Hi all,

I've done a bit of research into buying an engagement ring. I've looked with my partner at rings, so have a good idea of what she would like. She wants me to pick the actual ring as a surprise (she thinks I have good taste

:rotfl:). I know the ring she REALLY liked was in Tiffanys, but that's out of my budget (which she knows and doesn't expect) so I'm trying to find the closest rival and narrowing my choices down to:

1.0 carat diamond, princess cut, claw held, E colour, VVS2, platinum with 'halo?' (the lots of little diamonds on the side). I'm sure I will have forgotten some other details in there.

Variety and cost vary between high street vendors, and online. I'm looking for reputable places to buy from, so if people have recommendations of places online etc that would be really appreciated. Also, I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations of buying this spec abroad (yes I know potentially a bit more risk - hence asking for advice and doing homework). I know the next question would be - "depends where you're going".

I may be off to vegas soon, or a holiday (with other half) in Asia (Thailand / Vietnam / Cambodia) later in the year.

So far the best place in terms of comparison (on what I can compare) details wise is purely diamonds which I found from on here. I have friends who took a risk and bought a ring on holiday in Turkey. They got it checked on their return and it was all legit, and they saved a small fortune. Whilst I would consider abroad, it could only be somewhere with very good reputation.

Any thoughts and experiences welcomed :T

hazyjo · 7 May 2018 at 1:24PM

Could try Hatton Garden or the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham. Often open to an offer too and night be able to advise.

Poolie · 7 May 2018 at 1:34PM

We got my OH's engagement ring in Hatton Garden at a company called Eternity. Lawrence (owner) and Paul (Sales) were very helpful and accomodating especially given the budget, what the OH was looking for and more particularly our circumstances whilst also being able to haggle on price a little (saved nearly £1000).

We were able to arrange with Lawrence a method of being able to pay him month after we had put down a 10% deposit as we were in the middle of buying our house. We all agreed to a monthly payment and he would continue to hold her ring in his safe till it had been paid for and it would not be available for resale. We originally expected this to be 6 months, but due to some changes in circumstance we were able to do it in 3 and he was very happy and so were we when we went to collect her ring.

The biggest thing we got told is the price jump between 0.99 and 1.00 is a large amount of cash for 0.99. OH ended up with something she loves and we enjoy.

Pollycat · 7 May 2018 at 2:19PM

typeractive wrote: »

Hi all,

I've done a bit of research into buying an engagement ring. I've looked with my partner at rings, so have a good idea of what she would like. She wants me to pick the actual ring as a surprise (she thinks I have good taste :rotfl:). I know the ring she REALLY liked was in Tiffanys, but that's out of my budget (which she knows and doesn't expect) so I'm trying to find the closest rival and narrowing my choices down to:

1.0 carat diamond, princess cut, claw held, E colour, VVS2, platinum with 'halo?' (the lots of little diamonds on the side). I'm sure I will have forgotten some other details in there.

Variety and cost vary between high street vendors, and online. I'm looking for reputable places to buy from, so if people have recommendations of places online etc that would be really appreciated. Also, I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations of buying this spec abroad (yes I know potentially a bit more risk - hence asking for advice and doing homework). I know the next question would be - "depends where you're going".

I may be off to vegas soon, or a holiday (with other half) in Asia (Thailand / Vietnam / Cambodia) later in the year.

So far the best place in terms of comparison (on what I can compare) details wise is purely diamonds which I found from on here. I have friends who took a risk and bought a ring on holiday in Turkey. They got it checked on their return and it was all legit, and they saved a small fortune. Whilst I would consider abroad, it could only be somewhere with very good reputation.

Any thoughts and experiences welcomed :T

If you buy from any of the places you mention, you should declare it on your return as a ring of the specification you mention will be over your duty free limit.

PrettyKittyKat · 7 May 2018 at 2:20PM

My then fiance and I also went looking at rings when we need proposal was on the cards as I had no idea what type of ring I wanted as OH didn't want to buy one I then hated. We found that the independent family run jewellers in our city was much better quality and value when compared to the 'high street' jewellers we went to, plus each ring wasn't mass produced. There was the flexibility to choose a band style, diamond and setting. My OH bought my ring from there, and the service he received was impeccable. I can't comment on buying engagement rings abroad but I would certainly recommend heading to an independent jewellers in the UK. Had we been closer we would have considered Birmingham and Hatton Gardens as others have suggested!

John-K_3 · 7 May 2018 at 2:20PM

As this is a money saving site....

My wife and I exchanged silver engagement rings, bought at a really nice jewellery shop in SoHo, New York, for $100 each.

I highly recommend it.

selement · 7 May 2018 at 2:54PM

If you live anywhere near Birmingham try the jewellery quarter. Got my rings from there and you can haggle price and they are happy to advise. They also provided a valuation certificate for insurance purposes. I think they are cheaper than high street.

sheepy21 · 7 May 2018 at 3:35PM

Try Gemporia, my mum has bought diamonds off there, they're a fraction of the cost on the high street, but the diamonds available are very high quality with settings available in 18ct gold etc

LilElvis · 7 May 2018 at 4:02PM

What is your budget? E is a good colour but VVS2 will have more occlusions. Buying a shade under 1 carat will have zero discernable difference to the look of the ring but a huge impact on the price - so I would look at the central diamond being around .9+ to save money.

typeractive · 7 May 2018 at 7:29PM

Poolie wrote: »

The biggest thing we got told is the price jump between 0.99 and 1.00 is a large amount of cash for 0.99. OH ended up with something she loves and we enjoy.

Interesting - thank you. An thank you for sharing your story on how you bought yours. It's nice to hear that sort of customer service.

LilElvis wrote: »

What is your budget? E is a good colour but VVS2 will have more occlusions. Buying a shade under 1 carat will have zero discernable difference to the look of the ring but a huge impact on the price - so I would look at the central diamond being around .9+ to save money.

Looks like that advice is recommended a couple of times.

My budget is around 3.5k give or a bit.

It seems as most of the advice on here so far is to visit the jewellers in Birmingham or London. I'm based in the North East so that's a bit tricky, and then I would probably become overwhelmed ensuring I found the 'best' place as I'd imagine there would be quite a few of them.

JIR · 7 May 2018 at 8:01PM

I bought my diamond ring in Mumbai, India in a place called Gemstar. You can design your own ring then have it posted to the UK - even with the Import duties and tax it was still less than £3,000.

Engagement ring buying advice: Online / UK / Abroad

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