Antique/vintage engagement rings

[showmethegin]

Posted here for traffic.

DP and I have decided to get married and have started looking for a ring. We had a wander around the jewellery quarter in bham and I've decided I would like an antique/vintage ring as they seem to be better value for money (want to stay under 1.5k), I want a gold band and we're after something a bit different.

We didn't find many shops selling antique stuff so has anyone got any recommendations of places in England that have places like this? We are thinking of combining it with a little weekend away. We are thinking of York but not sure how good it would be for stuff like this?

Congratulations! Apparently the Lanes in Brighton has lots of antique jewellery shops.
I've never been, so hopefully somebody else will confirm! 💍

There's a lovely jewellery shop in Exeter called Mortimer's - lusted over lots of their stuff for years:

www.mortimersjewellers.co.uk

We got mine and a lovely friend got hers from Berganza in London, they list most stuff on the website. I still love mine!!

www.berganza.com

Hatton Garden and/or Burlington Arcade. THere's a few nice jewellers in Richmond. York is probably quite a good idea.

I wouldn't recommend Hatton Garden in central London. There are a few antique shops, but I found them quite expensive when I was looking. I imagine the cost of having a shop in central London means the jewellery is more expensive than in other cities.

Also, @showmethegin I had a similar budget and originally wanted antique, but ended up finding things I liked a lot more on Etsy and other smaller sites. What style are you looking for? Happy to suggest sites I liked.

Op have a look at auctions near you. Fellows in Birmingham have several catalogues online & buying jewellery at auction is so much better value (I'm a n auctioneer and have sold & bought(!) some lovely rings)

Oh, and I only mentioned Fellows as you mentioned Birmingham. Check out your local saleroom if you are not in B'ham

I got my beautiful engagement ring from Adamas antique in Birmingham. They said they bought alot of their stuff from Brighton!!
Good luck and congratulations!

Congratulations. There's some lovely vintage jewellery in the shops in York, I would think you could find something there.

Berganza is a rip off, go somewhere else. My engagement ring is from there. I regret it, I had an issue with it and the customer service was very poor.

Auctions! Look at sworders, bonhams Knightsbridge, Chiswick auction depending on your budget

I got my beautiful Art Deco ring from cavendish jewellers in York. They specialise in antique rings and you can definitely find them under 1.5k. Offer quite a 'luxury' service too unlike some of the other ones we went to in York!

Not antique but you can price up your setting and stone on quality diamonds (I know the name is really off putting and naff) - I’ve just got some stunning earrings from them (found them on a style and beauty diamond thread) and have got so much more for what I paid than I would have got “ready made”. I also looked at antique ones and I’ve definitely got better stones for the price.

@TheWashingMachine oh dear! I have always had good service from them, free clean and check over every year etc.

Auction.
Mine came from a sale where a jewelry shop was shutting down and they had a whole load of old new stock. It helped that I worked in the auction rooms so knew it was coming in and could tell DH which one he needed to bid on!

Yy to buying at auction - generally much better value even than buying second-hand from a jeweller. Have a look on thesaleroom.com, they have all the Fellows auctions plus loads of regional ones so you can get an idea of prices.

The lanes in brighton is the place - there are about 30 antique jewellers there.

I was also going to recommend Mortimer's in Exeter, though I see someone else got there first! I got my ring there.

I have also heard there's a lovely place in Oxford with a huge selection of vintage rings (on the High somewhere?) but I'm afraid I don't know the name.

We got mine on holiday in Whitby. Three stone diamond with a yellow gold band from a antique/junk shop. It wasn't expensive at all and I love it so much. We have a local auction house that has jewellery sales. Which is great amongst the 1970s percolators and house clearance things to find a 2k emerald ring! Places like York I would think would be a premium but it is lovely to buy on holiday. You could also try pawnshops. Most towns and cities with have a jewler that either solely does vintage/pre loved/ second hand often a long standing family business. Buy a hand lens/ Loupe to check hall marks (couple of pounds) and stones for major cracks etc and download a hallmark card- also consider a diamond tester (about 15 pounds IIRC). Felt a bit nervous buying a diamond from a random shops with no certification or come back! I'm sure more established jewlers would offer something. Mine was displayed in vintage box but that didn't come with it - quite disappointed with that so check negotiate.

Congratulations too- we also decided to get married!

We had the same plan but got a bit fatigued with the effort of trying to find the perfect vintage ring. Ended up with one from Victoria James in the jewellery quarter. Love it.

I second Berganza! How about this one: www.berganza.com/Edwardian-five-stone-ruby-and-diamond-ring-circa-1903-.html?search_category_id%5B%5D=1&search_pricerange_id%5B%5D=2&search_max_price=2000&page_num=0&page_size=0

Or Ullmann. How about this one: arullmann.com/product/ruby-diamond-cluster-ring-5/

Or this one - very Princess Kate! arullmann.com/product/sapphire-diamond-cluster-ring-6/