I want to propose, need advice...

I would think that if the person you are proposing to is more worried about how much the ring cost rather than the sentiment behind it then you need to seriously consider what you are doing.
 
Conanius said:
There was no way I was buying the ring for my wife before she saw it.

I ended up proposing using a Haribo jelly ring, but put it in a real ring box.

Yes, it was a bit sad doing it that way, but better than a lifetime of days spent peering into jewelery shops every time you go to town with 'why didnt you get that one'
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A jelly ring....... that's hilarious and genius at the same time. Obviously she'd need a sense of humor :p
 
My dads wedding ring cost him £20, he lost his at work a few years ago and bought a cheap one so my mum wouldn't find out and give him a huge *******ing :D

I don't think the price of the jewelry is important, it's the suitability to the person. But more importantly, from the traditonal perspective of marriage (baring in mind I think it is a pointless and outdated ritual, love is love what need is there to prove it? so I am playing on what I know about traditional weddings), what it represents, eternal unconditional love.
Some women like to make a statement and show off, if a fancy ring will make her happy, do that.
Some aren't fussed about the ring, it's the gesture which matters, go for basic.
Some don't really care about marriage, introduce me.
 
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3 months? Hell no...... 1 month is the story.

Just get one you know she'd like regardless of the cost. It doesn't have to be ridiculous. Future Mrs_C likes antique rings - I could have spend a whole load more but found one that I knew she'd love (and she did) for less than a £G even though there were plenty far more than that... and it's far less than a month's wages.


I just had to ask her what her ring size was.... not necessarily for an engagement, but for a "gift".

Does your Mum know her well? Could your Mum say she wanted to buy her a ring "family tradition" and get her size?
 
bignev72 said:
I don't want to hijack the thread but i've been considering proposing recently.

How much do you spend on a ring? Is 3 months wages really the going rate?
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Mine was about half a week.....

3 months is ridiculous, a myth invented by a jewel supplier no doubt.
 
Conanius said:
but better than a lifetime of days spent peering into jewelery shops every time you go to town with 'why didnt you get that one'
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Whilst I proposed without having the ring and she chose later, had I have bought the ring and gave it to her at the time and then she gave me the grief you outlined it would be a very short engagement. I wouldn't marry an ungrateful person.
 
bignev72 said:
How much do you spend on a ring? Is 3 months wages really the going rate?
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Three ****ing months? Seriously? Who swallows this crap. Even one month is pushing it if you ask me. It should be what you can afford and something she likes the look of. If she is the one pushing for 3/1 months wage then she should be kicked out on her backside.
 
So what do you think most women care about?

Sheer carat, or cut/clarity/colour (the sparkle definers)?
 
Just use something different to propose with and let her choose from whatever budget you have. Ignore the rules about how much you're meant to spend. Mine was £50 :p yes it would've been nice to have had a diamond but my ex couldn't afford it and the ring didn't matter to me
 
krooton said:
So what do you think most women care about?

Sheer carat, or cut/clarity/colour (the sparkle definers)?
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again it depends on the person.

Cut is a personal preference imo. Some women like princess cut (square) other like Brilliant (round) they are the main two you see, but there are tonnes of others. Brilliant supposedly is the best in terms of making the diamond sparkle because of the way light hits it.

Carat, if she likes big bling then carat in a single stone. If she is a subtle person carat is less important and the overall design will be more important.

Colour & clarity, the more perfect the diamond the more it hurts your wallet.

The metal is also an important factor. Gold is a soft metal so can relatively easily get bent out of shape especially if your partner is clumsy/a hands on type of person. Platinum is a herd metal but very expensive. Increasingly Palladium is now being used since aquiring its precious metal status as it's a hard metal but without the pricetag of Platinum.
 
Just bought one recently as proposed last month while on Holiday, cost just over 1 and a halfs months wages for a classic platinum round solitaire....mind you I went looking for the right ring first with a ballpark figure in the back of my mind and this is just how it turned out. Must have visited 15 jewellers but kept coming back to the same ring.

I managed to haggle the jewlers down to their best price and got 10% off.....you should always try this......even with 10% off they still flease you mind and you get fed so much rubbish in some shops. Do plenty research...
 
MookJong said:
I managed to haggle the jewlers down to their best price and got 10% off.....you should always try this......even with 10% off they still flease you mind and you get fed so much rubbish in some shops. Do plenty research...
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Better still get an idea of what you like form the Jewelers (proper Jewelers, not H Samuel!), then go online and buy it for much less! This is what I did and saved at least 40% on the list price in any of the jewelers around here. Bought from BlueNile. If you want custom designs then obviously it'll be easier to go in person, but I didn't.
 
Conanius said:
There was no way I was buying the ring for my wife before she saw it.

I ended up proposing using a Haribo jelly ring, but put it in a real ring box.

Yes, it was a bit sad doing it that way, but better than a lifetime of days spent peering into jewelery shops every time you go to town with 'why didnt you get that one'
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That's quite a good idea. I offered a haribo ring, but I also offered a real ring that I designed and had made to spec. I was fortunate that we'd been on to "try some on for size" 6 months previous so I knew her size.

If you do want to buy a ring without her consent, it's better if the ring is a little too small, as it's easier to increase the size than shrink it. It's still possible to shrink it, but it's just easier the other way.

It depends how well you know your other half - if you know her well you'll be able to pick her a decent ring or design one for her that's perfect. Hopefully she'd not be superficial enough to worry about the fact it wasn't "the one" - I think women in general are happy with what they are given, but ultimately you need to gauge that for yourself. :)

Don't worry about price, go by what you feel works for her - and what you think she likes. Long term, you'll be able to buy her another ring in due time anyway. If you're really worried, get her a cheap one and shop together... I personally wouldn't have ever done that, but everyone is different.

Eitherway, whatever you do, good luck and let us know how it goes! :)
 
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I once proposed with a homemade flower ring from a Sunny D lid, although she knew I was joking :p


In the end, I proposed and we went ring shopping the next day.

Pro's & Con's.

If you go, it might not be her style but you can set a price limit.

If she picks it, she'll love it, but it'll probably cost you A LOT more :p

She fell in love with a ring style and they had, gold, white gold and platinum. Platinum was too expensive so she said she'd have the white gold, but I know you have to mess around re-coating it etc every 1-2 years otherwise it can look pants so we got the platinum one. Obviously then she had to have a platinum band :S

Saved money on mine though and it looks good so it evens out :)
 
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