Spec me an engagement ring

CaptainComedy

CaptainComedy

CaptainComedy

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I wanna propose to the gf, I have 2k to buy a ring (or a PC ;)).
I've asked friends / colleagues and get mixed reviews ranging from going to Birmingham / specialists / shop in town to going abroad / custom made.

Don't really know how to go about it and getting time away to do it all isn't easy, does anyone have any suggestions?

I'd love to design a ring, but looking for software to make one doesn't seem easy :s and I doubt I'd get a custom for 2k??
 
I'd go with the highest certification visible to the naked eye.

The mistake I made was going with something too high quality, but at a smaller size. Really wish I'd gone down a grade and got something a bit bigger.

To be honest, £800 gets you something respectable.
 
Check out BlueNile. Plenty of different ring types and settings to choose from and then a pretty much endless choice for the type, size, clarity, colour and cut of the diamond to go on it.

Probably one of the best bets if you can't get to any shops.
 
glen8 said:
I'd go with the highest certification visible to the naked eye.

The mistake I made was going with something too high quality, but at a smaller size. Really wish I'd gone down a grade and got something a bit bigger.
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I went with something smaller but that I knew was a v.high quality stone. My fiancé is only petit and has tiny hands so a huge rock would have looked stupid anyway.
 
R.O.S.S.I said:
I went with something smaller but that I knew was a v.high quality stone. My fiancé is only petit and has tiny hands so a huge rock would have looked stupid anyway.
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That was my thinking, and my other half is the same. Can't remember the exact spec/size now as it was a few years ago.
 
I purchased my wife ring from 77Diamonds. Excellent service and value for money.

I spent a fair amount on her ring but after having it independently valued at nearly double what I paid, I'm quite happy.

Please don't buy from a retail shop. We went to a few well known shops and I was surprised how bad their diamonds were.
 
77 Diamonds is where I picked ours up. Great service and prices where you get to pick your own diamond and design etc. would highly recommend.
 
I went with blue nile. Their prices seemed very good for engagement rings. Their wedding rings however (especially the ones that match your engagement ring), seem considerably pricier.

The diamond I chose had great ratings in the usual "4 C's" but had a higher level of flourescence than normal. This means that under UV light, it is meant to show a blue tint. This is apparently considered a negative and reduced the price considerably compared to one that doesn't have this level of fluorescence. I can honestly say that we have never noticed it and in my opinion, a glowing blue diamond sounds kinda cool!

The biggest tip that I can give anyone looking for an engagement ring is to think about the wedding ring now!!! Lots of people make their choice with absolutely no consideration as to what wedding ring will go with it/fit around it. We had the same issue, the engagement ring is an emerald cut and so we had to have the wedding ring custom made to fit around the square shape of the engagement ring.

If you're genuinely considering custom then the person that I bought the wedding ring off (and custom made it) is brilliant. He uses CAD software to show you what he's come up with. He is priced very cheap too, his explanation to me was that he wanted to become like Blue Nile but for wedding rings instead of engagement rings....lol.
 
There are soo many options out there. I'd suggest to get a feel for what she likes first and her finger size (use a current ring as a gauge) then armed with this you know what you are looking for.

I'm lucky in that my fiance is realistic and didn't want something extravagant - she likes the blue and vintage type rings with a thin silver band - found the perfect item with a beautiful emerald cut topaz stone on Etsy.
 
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Another for 77diamonds here. Got my wife engagement ring from there. Was nice how you could pick the diamond you wanted. Delivery was nice and safe when i did it. Informing you exactly when it would be delivered. So could distract the other half when it was arriving.
 
Spend the day in the jewellery quarter in Brum. Get an idea of what you like and how far your budget will stretch. Negotiate! Make sure you take in some of the many fine pubs in the area.
 
I went with Purely Diamonds.

It was easy for me because I knew exactly what kind of ring she wanted and luckily it wasn't a massive rock.

I went for the highest quality I could even though they were small stones and my budget was a lot less than yours.
 
I went with her favourite designer 'Vera Wang', don't know much about quality but went into goldsmiths and they ranged from about 2k to about 20k. Goldsmiths were excellent and helped me in the decision making process. They also had a matching wedding ring so it made that bit easy. The only issue I have is that I am slightly uneasy with the value she walks around with on her finger.

There are also massive discounts to be had right now. Good luck mate, I was so nervous when I asked my now wife as of last week to marry me that I was basically a drunken mess.
 
It's worth looking at auctions houses which regularly have jewellery sales. You can get something with a bit of history at a very fair price.
 
21diamonds.co.uk are pretty reasonable and supposed to be good. Personally I used a local designer called Simon Pure - they do sell online but it was nice to be able to pop in and get matching wedding bands that sit alongside each other well.
 
Vince said:
I went with her favourite designer 'Vera Wang', don't know much about quality but went into goldsmiths and they ranged from about 2k to about 20k. Goldsmiths were excellent and helped me in the decision making process. They also had a matching wedding ring so it made that bit easy. The only issue I have is that I am slightly uneasy with the value she walks around with on her finger.

There are also massive discounts to be had right now. Good luck mate, I was so nervous when I asked my now wife as of last week to marry me that I was basically a drunken mess.
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You get a fraction of what you can get online from the highstreet. I bought an engagement ring a few weeks back and it was over 50% more expensive for what I bought from bluenile even with 20% off!

I'd definitely recommend bluenile, you get so much more for your money and you can create a ring yourself from their available stock.
 
Adam said:
You get a fraction of what you can get online from the highstreet. I bought an engagement ring a few weeks back and it was over 50% more expensive for what I bought from bluenile even with 20% off!

I'd definitely recommend bluenile, you get so much more for your money and you can create a ring yourself from their available stock.
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Didn't have much choice mate. At the time Vera was only sold exclusively at goldsmiths. She ended up with a 1crt princess cut diamond set in a cluster of other diamonds with sapphires on the shoulders of a platinum ring. Her wedding ring is a band of sapphires and diamonds that complement the engagement ring. I am not going to lie it wasn't cheap but she was absolutely over the moon with it.

Goldsmiths gave me a ring to propose with and then we went back in and swapped it for the right one. There are other perks for example they clean her rings for free whenever we are close by. I probably could have got more for my money but I doubt she could have been more happy with what she got.

Women love their designers, pay attention and you won't go far wrong.
 
The hearts on fire diamond range are extremely well cut, I don't think you'd be able to tell unless under a scope though.
 
Blue Nile and The Diamond Factory are good.

VVS1/VVS2 (clarity), E/F (colour) and a good cut. The quality of the cut shouldn't be underestimated, as it can make the most of a smaller stone.

I went with VVS1/D, but afterwards thought I could have gone a step down on each and got a larger stone.

Also, make sure the diamond is certificated.
 
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