Another 'Help Me Choose an Engagement Ring' Thread...

[stumblymonkey]

Okay...so of course I will make the final decision but which ring would you go for?

Ring 1: Sapphire & two diamonds £3.5k

Ring 2: Three diamonds and a diamond band £1.5k

The photos aren't brilliant and don't do either ring justice (plus I have fat fingers so obviously they don't fit!).

The sapphire one is the one that makes my eyes light up. I love it because the sapphire makes it not the norm but still classy. The diamonds are really good quality and sparkly. It's expensive though and part of me thinks it's worth it for a ring I'll wear every day for the rest of my life. The other half of me thinks that extra £2k would come in handy.

The second one is nice. I like it. I just don't LOVE it like the sapphire. But it's £2k cheaper which is a lot of money!

WWYD?

Where are you OP? Our local (Berkshire) and very reputable jewellers has lots of sapphires for a much more reasonable price.

It's not quite as dark in RL but it is darker than the light/mid/cornflower blue sapphires.

I prefer darker sapphires.

It's from Goldsmith's. We're in Camberley, Surrey. I only know of a couple of independents in the area and they are very expensive (rings are generally £5k and up!).

I might try the Lanes, the issue is most second hand/antiques are yellow gold which I don't like (just personal taste)...

Platinum was very popular at one time so there are a lot of vintage platinum rings around.
Look on etsy too, I found the most gorgeous ring on there (platinum .75 carat solitaire diamond with rubies) from America. It cost £1400 to buy and £300 to import and anything like it in jewellers near me are £3500. It's now valued at £4400.

Op, highly recommend Jacobs in Reading. Very well regarded and have rings that range from gobsmackingly expensive to within your price range. I've never been anything but impressed with them.

(I don't work for them btw, just happy customer).

Of the two you've posted, I prefer the diamond ring.

I also recommend having a look in antiques shops. I got my sapphire and diamond ring in York for about £100. Your budget is a lot bigger than mine, so you'd be able to get a much better quality stone, but still spend nowhere near £3.5k.

Have you looked at moissanite rings? My moissanite ring was about £300 and I get compliments from strangers on a weekly basis.

Congratulations and happy ring shopping!!

John Lewis in Reading has second hand rings - worth a look.

Hatton Garden is definitely worth a trip in to London for, I got mine there. I have a 2 carat cornflower blue sapphire with diamonds that was a bit more expensive than the one in the OP. It is stunning and I knew the moment it was on my finger it was the one for me!

And do haggle if you go, my DP asked the best price he would do today and he gave us a good discount on the label price.

I've just spent some time looking through about ten indy jewellery shops in Surrey and haven't seen anything I love.

I found a similar ring on Ernest Jones site but it's actually the same price (£3.5k) for a worse ring!

Only 9ct white gold compared to 18ct and the diamonds are 0.11ct compared to 0.33ct (and the sapphire is lighter which I appreciate apparently means it's better but I like the darker one more). Can't post a pic as only allowed six per day apparently!

www.ernestjones.co.uk/webstore/d/4928245/18ct+white+gold+certificated+sapphire+and+diamond+ring/

Will take a look at Jacobs and John Lewis

It may be worth asking in the coloured stones forum on Pricescope - they know their gems and know how to get the best stones for the best deal.
www.pricescope.com/forum/colored-stones/

Thanks everyone for the ideas.

Nothing in Jacobs or John Lewis but I think we'll take a trip to Hatton Gardens as we might be able to get a good deal especially if we buy our wedding rings at the same time and haggle a discount which is more likely there than in a chain...

Oh no sorry should have said their website is useless you need to go to the shop if you can. And we haggled, I got 25% off my wedding ring.

Good luck whatever you decide

Can you try the John Lewis in Oxford Street? I was in there last week, and had a browse along the second hand jewellery, and they have similar for less, I'm sure.

Peter Jones ( John Lewis) Sloane Square can have lovely vintage rings too.

This is much better value than high streets stores. It's online with returns but also have a shop you can visit and buy in - Hanover square.

m.77diamonds.com/vintage_rings.html

Neither of those rings have the wow factor for me and the trilogy style doesn't flatter your fingers.

I'd want more bling for those kind of bucks and for a ring that's going to be worn everyday I'd go for white diamonds every time as, much as I love emeralds, rubies, sapphires, and canary diamonds, I'd become bored with staring at the same coloured gemstone day in and day out.

A ring like this www.gemporia.com/en-gb/product/1ct-diamond-platinum-950-ring/pdks26/ would flatter your finger - click on the little pictures until you see the shot of it twirling on a stand. I'd choose a simple platinum or white gold wedding ring and a channel set diamond eternity ring would be a nice addition at some future date.

This ring is similar in style www.fraserhart.co.uk/roseberry-olivia-18ct-white-gold-0-50-carat-diamond-solitaire-engagement-ring.html but I know which one I'd rather have seems expensive in comparison with gemporia's offering.

Whatever you buy and wherever you buy your engagement ring, take it to a reputable jeweller for appraisal/valuation and don't forget to add it to your home contents insurance.

This is by way of comparison with the diamond trilogy ring in your photo and it's less than half the price: www.gemporia.com/en-gb/product/1-2ct-diamond-9k-white-gold-ring/bcks21/

Go to Alan Bick in hatton garden. Phone and make an appoitment as they are based in one of the diamond offices. We got our rings in there trade prices and they give you insurance details for valuation of rings once you get them. Online it says he only does diamonds but they can get you anythin you want. Go with a drawing or picture and details of Carat of gemstone/diamonds cut etc. We had ours done there paid £750 for wedding ring rrp 2.1k. They have rheir own ring makers etc and low oveeheads as they dont have a shop and they explain how the mark up works. Completly legit! Good luck op

P.s that was just my ring. But they dont do credit u need that. Payment in cash when you collect. And theh only do 18ct gold or platinum etc

P.p.s no quibble with insurance co as they issue you with a cert of Rrp NOT what you paid them.

Birmingham jewellery quarter or London Hatton garden

Go to Berganza in Hatton Garden, wonderful antique jewellery and will have a lot more choice of e.g. Sapphires than a modern jeweller. You can see a lot of their selection on the website.

The other thing to remember is that if you find a stone you like second hand you can get a designer to reset it and design your own ring. We bought the diamond in my 'engagement' ring on honeymoon (yes I know that's backward) in South Africa and got it set when we got home. I now have a very unusual ring that I love for a fraction of what it would cost new.

Why not go to Dublin for a weekend and check out Breretons or Rocks on Grafton street or all the lovely jewellery shops in the Powerscourt centre or the laneway leading up to the Powerscourt centre from Grafton Street. ... and you get to enjoy a weekend in Dublin

I love the first one, not surprisingly as it's almost the same as mine. I got mine in Hatton Garden for less than 2k, very sparkly .33ct diamonds and 2.2ct sapphire (green not blue). We bought the sapphire from a different shop and got them to set it into the trilogy ring. The setting is unusual which obviously you can't see here.

Also second the suggestion of the lanes in Brighton, got my art deco eternity ring from a lovely shop there (Fidra) but it wasn't cheap. Go with the one you really love, once the money is spent you'll forget about it, and you'll wear the ring for ever.

OP, if you are going up to London, you might also want to look at Gray's Antique Centre at the Oxford St end of Bond Street.

I got my engagement ring from this company, who are based there: www.antiquejewellerycompany.com/jewellery-type/rings/antique-engagement-rings/