To buy a cheap wedding ring?

[Kiteflying27]

I lost my wedding ring a couple of years ago and I really want to replace it. I bought it from a little, reasonably posh jewellers who say it will be about £400 to replace it today (can't remember how much it was when I bought the original).

I had a look at a highstreet, chain jewellers and it looks like the same ring would be about half the price. Does anyone know if the ring would be just the same? It's a 2mm 18ct white gold, medium cushion, court. If the ring is the same size/carat/style is it the same thing? Do you just pay more because of the shop?

Clearly I'd rather pay less and I'm happy to buy online if it's the same ring.

Hope someone can shed some light on this, feel like it might be a bit rude to ask this question in the shop!

[phillipp]

You can pay more because of the shop.

Or the quality of the diamond may be better on the more expensive one.

[FleurThomas]

It's the diamond that's likely to be different. Different cut, quality, clarity etc. You might get a better deal from a local jeweller - I bought an 18k 0.01 carat ring for my neice's birthday (size I) for £120.

[FleurThomas]

0.1 not 0.01. Diamond was vvs1.

[Kiteflying27]

Thanks for replying. The ring is actually just a totally plain gold band, no stones or anything. That's why I was so confused about the massive price difference.

[AngelicaSchuylerChurch]

If you would consider antique or secondhand then you'll get a lot more for your money. The colour and clarity of the stone will probably be of lower quality in the cheaper ring. This may not bother you but you might notice a difference.

[AngelicaSchuylerChurch]

Ah, cross-post. Thought you meant a cushion-cut diamond.

[MrsLyons]

I bought my wedding ring (4mm 18ct white gold) and am really happy with it.

Got it from wedding rings direct..

www.weddingrings-direct.com/

No complaints at all

[minipie]

I guess the design could be slightly different - it could have sharper or more rounded edges for example, or be shinier or more matt.

Remember that if you buy online you have the right to return within 7 days (unless it was made bespoke for you - check the ts and cs carefully).

Assuming it's not made bespoke then if you don't like it you should be able to return if the design isn't what you wanted.

[FleurThomas]

If its a plain band then def shop around. Even 200 seems like a lot.

[TathitiPete]

I thought £400 for 18kt white gold sounded quite good. My own ring is 9kt white gold and cost €500 but it did have stones, .1kt diamond so that maybe drove the cost north a bit. Incidentally my ring but 18kt instead of 9kt would've been €750.

I'd say shop around OP, it can't hurt to have a few prices to compare.

[lovelybangers]

I have a similar wedding ring - purchased from a local jewellers - similar price (but 9 years ago).

I also have an engagement ring in the same metal - 18ct white gold which was purchased first from a high street jewellers.

As they are both white gold, they need to be replated annually (in my case) the rings tend to 'yellow' as the rhodium plating wears away.

I notice that the engagement ring (from the high street) seems to take on the yellow tint a lot sooner than the wedding ring (from the local jeweller). I don't know why as they are the same 18ct - but perhaps one is just a better quality?

Do you need white gold to match your engagement ring ? If I could choose again I would not get white gold. I hadn't realised about the need to get the rings re-plated regularly. It wasn't mentioned when DH bought the engagement ring.

[roses2]

I couldn't decide on a wedding ring so bought a £12 silver one from amazon. Five years later it still looks great and matches my platinum solitaire engagement ring perfectly!

[Butkin1]

Rings depreciate in value hugely. We tried to sell my late mother's lovely rings last week and they only a fraction of their (huge) cost price.

I'd therefore really recommend buying antique/second hand - such nicer diamonds for your money and surely that is all that matters?

[HappySeven]

I think sometimes they vary in price depending upon what the gold is mixed with. My white gold wedding ring is still quite "white" when the rhodium wears off because of the metal the gold is mixed with (gold isn't pure which is why they have a carat associated with them - the higher the number the more pure it is). My 9 carat ring is only 37.5% gold and so the other metals can be quite dominant in the colour.

[Kiteflying27]

Thank you very much for all the replies. I don't need it to match my engagement ring as that's totally different and I wear it on my other hand.

Really interesting to understand a bit more about the mixes of metals, thanks for all that. Umm, think I'll go and try on a highstreet one.

Thanks again you helpful people!

[B1rdinthebush]

I bought my wedding ring from Orla James who are an online jeweller. It's a 1.5mm, 18k yellow gold cushioned court and cost less than £150. A high street jeweller quotes me £400 for the same ring.

I couldn't recommend them enough, their customer service is amazing and you can order sterling silver versions to try for size and style.

[FuzzyCustard]

I'm another one with a silver wedding ring. It is lovely, wearing very well indeed after many years, polishes up a treat and goes perfectly with my white gold engagement ring.

[Twinchaos1]

My engagement ring was antique/pre owned you get lovely rings for the price you pay.

[crayfish]

I got my wedding ring online from the beautiful company. It was £90. A high street jeweller quoted me £350 for an identical ring (just a plain palladium court band 3mm).

High street shops charge the earth for this kind of thing, I would always look online.

[GrumpyInsomniac]

We were married in 2003 and managed to forget to buy rings. I went through the checklist on the Thursday before the wedding and realised the mistake. I have big hands and fingers, so the only solution was to go for a walk on my lunch break.

There was only one ring that even fit, which was a plain silver band that cost £12. It's still my ring today, despite DH saying we could sort out a gold one after the wedding.

I suppose what I'm saying is that the price is imo irrelevant, it's what it means. So if you have something you like at a lower price that you are happy with, that's what matters.

[gettingtherequickly]

With jewelry you are paying huge % increases for the nice shop location, glass of champagne, pretty packaging.

If you want a plain gold band you can get one much cheaper than 400.

[AngelicaSchuylerChurch]

If you don't need a particular metal to sit alongside your engagement ring (you can't wear a white gold band next to a platinum ring, for example), then look at palladium. It's harder than white gold and won't need re-plating and it's much cheaper.

[FleurThomas]

Just asked a friend who lives near a street of Indian gold shops. You can get nice 22 carat plain white gold (rhodium plated) rings for around 100-150. He said 18c should be cheaper.

[FleurThomas]

in birmingham sorry. Typos galore

[ConvincingLiar]

We bought from here and were very happy: www.weddingrings-direct.com/