To think it's possible to get a wedding ring for less than £200?

[itssquidstella]

DP and I are planning on going wedding ring shopping next week. We both want very plain bands, probably gold, without any kind of embellishment.

Am I being ridiculous to think we should be able to find what we're looking for, for less than £200 each? Specifically, could we get what we want in Hatton Gardens?

We could spend more, but it seems like a bit of a waste. Equally, I can't quite bring myself to buy my wedding ring from Argos or H. Samuel...

Sorry, omitted my main point which is that palladium is a good dupe for platinum but loads cheaper.

I also used the beautiful company. I think mine was about £50 and DH was £100 or so.

Does it have to be gold? Have you thought about alternatives? You can get wonderful cast iron rings for well below your budget. I've even seen lava rock ones for under £200.

Obviously it's not everyone's style, but it's lovely how they are unique and usually well priced.

How interesting cheshire. I'd have sworn the Bond Street jeweller advised re the carats. But isn't 9ct harder than 18ct and this would wear it? I'm sure you're right though. My ring's nearly 30 years old and the white bit in the middle is still white and has never been dipped as far as I'm aware. Actually it's only been in once.

Ours h Samuel dp chose mine with the engagement as a duo set. We chose his after. Didnt want expensive as he has a job where it could potentially get scratches etc. He liked the style and it was half price for 180 If I remember correctly

Mine was from our local vintage jewellers - 9ct gold and cost £50. Dhs (which he never wears!) was £150 from the same place. Mines been on my finger for 16 years and still looks as good as the day he put it on.

A gold band is a gold band no matter where it is from. H Samuels don't have a special scummy gold for the poor.

DH shopped here for our rings. Don’t know what metal you’d like, but how about this?

www.bluenile.com/uk/wedding-ring-yellow-gold_8206?action=18kYellowGoldSelect&referrer=customizer&track=alternate-metalsCustomizer

Mine was £50 second hand on eBay

I like a bit of history

Ours were about that each (I forget exactly how much) and are from Fine Jewels in Hatton Garden - ask for Chris. Was fully £400 cheaper than the quotation for the exact same spec rings over the street!

I think its definitely do-able although palladium is not really a budget option any more. It is more expensive per gram than platinum but less dense so for example a 2mm band would weigh less in palldium than platinum. 9ct gold or yellow gold would be cheaper than white/silver coloured metal.

I think h samuel and argos are cheaper because they are often very light weight

My wedding ring is from HSamuel. It’s a plain 18ct gold 2mm D profile band. It would be the same where ever I bought it so I didn’t mind getting it from the high street. Cost me £150 about 3 years ago. DHs is also from there but his is stainless steel because he can’t be trusted with platinum and didn’t want something that would scratch. His was about £55.

Gold is gold, as a PP poster said cheap shops like H Samuel don’t have poor people spec gold.

H samuels and Ernest Jones are owned by the same brand - Signet. If that makes u feel better about shopping there but at the end of the day if they sell something you like and in your price range does it matter what name is above the door.

@itssquidstella
My engagement ring was stupidly expensive so our wedding bands were from Hatton garden x2 platinum bands for £450
At that time (10 years ago) platinum more expensive than gold.
I’m sure you can still find plain wedding bands for under £500.
Congrats

Dh and I have plain white gold bands. Together they were under £150 from ernest Jones

17 years ago we paid £9 for my thin gold band. DH’s was £14. Budget jewellers in a midlands town. It’s the marriage that’s the thing...

I second Cyberworrier. A.R Ullmans in Hatton Garden has some lovely vintage stuff in! We almost got my engagement ring there but ended up with a new one from E Katz around the corner.

Hatton Garden will generally have the same quality rings for cheaper than places like H Samuels etc as they are the manufacturers or independent retailers. By the time it gets to Samuels etc there has generally been another markup gone onto the price. So you should get more for your money at Hatton Garden.

Do you have an engagement ring? If so, please try to match the wedding ring for quality of gold. An 18 carat gold ring will generally be softer than a 9 carat gold ring, therefore the 18 carat ring could be worn down by the 9 carat over time.

Dh has worked in jewellers shops (flagship Northern Goldsmiths shop, other NGs, Bernstones (Fraser Hart) and a couple of independents.) so should know his stuff by now. He used to design rings, including wedding ones! He recommends Hatton Garden/independents over Samuels, primarily cos the customer service stinks at Samuels (maybe there are some good ones) and he hates their quality for what they charge. He'd favour places like Hatton Garden, Goldsmiths, Beaverbrooks etc. (Goldsmiths used to get some of their wedding rings from Hatton Garden, don't know if they still do though.)

Also, don't be afraid to ask for a bit of discount. Markup on rings is big enough to be able to try for up to 10% off. If you buy a wedding ring each at the same place and time some places will give a discount anyway. The last independent dh worked at gave a 25% discount on the cheaper of two wedding rings bought at the same time, it's worth asking as you can get better quality rings that would have been over budget otherwise.

Don’t buy titanium just because it’s cheap. If ever you are in an accident and they need to cut your ring off eg broken finger swelling etc they can’t as the metal is too strong for the cutters. Can lead to degloving (urgh!) injuries.

Congratulations on your wedding

A gold band is a gold band no matter where it is from. H Samuels don't have a special scummy gold for the poor.

plain 9ct gold wedding ring about £100 I should think.

You will definitely get a ring in Hatton Garden, after all, that’s where a lot of jewellery is made. Worked there many moons ago and my wedding ring was made there.

Mine was £50 nearly 25 years ago! 18ct gold but it’s not wide and I have tiny fingers.

We bought cheap white gold wedding rings and after a month neither of us could wear them. They made our fingers itch. A year later we bought lovely new more expensive ones so it was a false economy for us.