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Original poster

Would you/ did you buy a second hand wedding ring?

60 replies

MonChoufleur123 · 09/10/2023 19:18

We got married during Covid - tried to rearrange the reception 3 times and ended up just having ourselves and witnesses at the registry office, no celebration allowed. At the time I used my grandmother's ring which has huge sentimental value. We said after the pandemic we'd get 'proper' rings - then the cost of living crisis hit! Most of our savings for the wedding are long gone. I've seen an eternity ring I really really love on Vinted. It's higher spec than I'd be able to afford new, so unusual looking but really 'me'. Would you buy it - or wait a few more years to try to build up savings to buy something new? Have you bought a second hand ring? I feel weird about a ring possibly being taken off someone's hand after they pass away and sold. Am probably overthinking this but it's such an important, symbolic purchase.TIA!

OP posts:
AutumnWellyBootsandScarf · 09/10/2023 22:22

No, because I'd feel too sad about how it had come to being sold.

other rings, I'd buy second hand, no bother, if I loved it. In fact there was a lovely one the other day, I was all set to buy it £250. Wasn't bothered if jewels were 'real' or whatever, it was just pretty. Turned out it was £2500 & I wasn't looking to spend that much (even if I had it checked out & it was worth it)

HamBone · 09/10/2023 22:34

My engagement ring is 1920’s vintage. I think it was probably a dress ring originally, but I liked it and we were pretty broke when we got engaged. It cost £200.

On our 14th wedding anniversary, DH presented me with a lovely new eternity ring, because he could finally afford it. I joke that he wanted to see whether our relationship would last before splashing the cash. 😂

StrongandNorthern · 09/10/2023 22:36

All my rings (engagement, wedding and eternity) are second hand. Chosen because we really liked them.

Helenahandkart · 09/10/2023 22:46

We bought second hand rings from eBay. I really liked the idea that they had a life before us. They were cheap! We both chose different types but they absolutely feel like our rings and are lovely.

NatashaDancing · 09/10/2023 22:48

Yes. I don't have a wedding ring as such. I have a modern ring which was made for me but it doesn't look like a wedding ring and was made to fit my middle finger.

I don't have an engagement ring but I have several Victorian and Edwardian rings, one of which is a widish gold band engraved with flowers which I occasionally wear on the ring fingers of either hand.

Xiaoxiong · 09/10/2023 22:51

My rings are both second hand and so was DH's. Mine was engraved with a 1956 wedding date which was the year my mum was born. I like to imagine it might have been worn by my grandmother, who didn't make it to see me get married but told me the last time I visited that DH was a keeper.

We got our rings at AR Ullmann in Hatton Garden and they were lovely. arullmann.com

LadyBird1973 · 09/10/2023 23:07

I think what's important is the symbolism of the ring for you. What went before, doesn't matter. We all die and everything we have will one day belong to someone else. Personally, I'd like my jewellery to end up with someone who will love it and appreciate its beauty.
It's good to reuse the things already in existence in the world.

Mymugoftea · 10/10/2023 18:11

Mum's engagement ring was second hand. I only recently was told.

I would have no issue with a second hand ring.

I have recently treated myself to a luxury watch, entry level, but almost bought a more premium make/range second hand.

FeelingOblivion · 10/10/2023 19:24

My engagement ring is antique, so second (or probably third/fourth being realistic) hand.

I'd have no qualms about a second hand wedding ring either.

Not quite the same but my wedding ring is my late Nanny's wedding ring. My husband's wedding ring is my dad's old wedding ring.

mylittleprince · 10/10/2023 19:26

To all those people who bought second hand rings you do realise they could have been stolen?

I lost my engagement ring and wedding ring in a burglary so there's every chance someone else out there is wearing them right now Angry

KDPC841922 · 10/10/2023 19:26

My wedding ring is 160 years old

It was once my great grandmas

But we don't know the history beyond her

NatashaDancing · 10/10/2023 19:30

mylittleprince · 10/10/2023 19:26

To all those people who bought second hand rings you do realise they could have been stolen?

I lost my engagement ring and wedding ring in a burglary so there's every chance someone else out there is wearing them right now Angry

My second hand wedding ring , not worn as a wedding ring is Victorian. Who knows how many owners it had.

The vast majority of my jewellery is at least second hand ; some from my mother and grandmother, but most bought from a jeweller specialising in antique jewellery. It's up to the jeweler to verify its provenance.

DrMarshaFieldstone · 10/10/2023 20:25

mylittleprince · 10/10/2023 19:26

To all those people who bought second hand rings you do realise they could have been stolen?

I lost my engagement ring and wedding ring in a burglary so there's every chance someone else out there is wearing them right now Angry

I’m sorry that your rings were stolen but you aren’t seriously suggesting that everyone should buy new jewellery for this reason?

gillywee · 10/10/2023 20:29

Absolutely! I always buy vintage and second hand, I'd actually never buy new now.
Diamonds & gems are millions of years old, you're a speck in their lifetime. I love wondering about all the previous owners of mine, who they were and what they did.
I don't buy into superstitious clap trap.

NnarcissaMalfoy · 10/10/2023 20:31

MonChoufleur123 · 09/10/2023 22:11

These are all lovely stories of old rings, thank you! And great advice. Maybe the next step is to take a photo of this ring I like off Vinted to some second hand jewellery shops and see if I can find something similar where it will have been properly valued and cleaned etc. My grandma's ring was her engagement ring so I'd love an eternity band to go alongside it.
Thanks so much everyone who has responded 😊

This is a good idea. I wouldn't buy the actual vinted ring as (unlike other 2nd hand apps like vestiaire) there's no authentication service on vinted. Alternatively you could look at a website like 77 diamonds- they have no storefront so the diamonds are much cheaper, equivalent to secondhand prices I would say.

Mymugoftea · 10/10/2023 20:33

Second post for me here.

My brother has just bought his wife a second hand ring, which looks adorable.

Her choice of ring too!

JaceLancs · 10/10/2023 21:09

All my jewellery is second hand including wedding, engagement and eternity rings
DD got married recently with a beautiful 22ct gold ring which was left to me by my godmother who married in 1950

mylittleprince · 10/10/2023 23:03

@DrMarshaFieldstone no I guess not. My post was in response really to the poster who mentioned buying on eBay!! I'm guessing that's the sort of place they were probably sold on. Who buys a wedding ring on eBay Confused

I designed my wedding ring and that and my engagement ring were made by a jeweller friend of ours and it makes me so angry that someone else could have them right now. I actually hope they were melted or something for the stones rather than someone else having them.

gillywee · 11/10/2023 00:01

Who buys a wedding ring on eBayConfused

People buy what they can afford and eBay often allows people to buy that little bit better than they normally could. Win win!

I've bought LOADS of fine jewellery on ebay over the years, of all kinds. I've saved an absolute fortune and I love it. Ive bought single pieces worth several thousand for less than 10% of their value and I've bought bits and pieces for £50 and everything in between. I sell what I don't wear anymore to buy the next piece, usually for a handsome profit. I see those brand new tiny little diamonds in the shops where they want £7-£10k for a .75ct and I chuckle to myself.

mylittleprince · 11/10/2023 07:34

@gillywee exactly. Loads of it is probably stolen that's why it's not being sold through jewellers.

LouOrange · 11/10/2023 07:38

My engagement ring is antique so definitely second hand. My wedding band is handmade (new) and cost significantly less than the engagement ring, diamond’s definitely bump up the price!

LadyBird1973 · 11/10/2023 07:44

Jewellers offer very little to sellers and put a huge mark up for buyers. So it makes sense to sell jewellery yourself and many people will choose EBay because they already have accounts, it's easy and everyone has heard of it and has access to it. Doesn't mean what they are selling is usually stolen!

RecklessBlackberries · 11/10/2023 07:50

I have a second hand engagement ring and I love it. The jeweller told me it was an estate piece rather than a divorce and I choose to believe that but it wouldn't really have bothered me either way. We got a lot more for our money compared to buying a similar ring new.

I also like that no one else I know is likely to have the same ring, although that's probably less a concern with a wedding ring.

romdowa · 11/10/2023 08:19

I bought my wedding ring off Instagram , its from the 1980s. Cost me 100 quid and I love it. Buying new was crazy Money and I hated all the designs. The ring I bought it very unusual and not really a traditional wedding band either

Hopingforno2in2023 · 11/10/2023 08:33

If I knew it was from a happy marriage I would. I would struggle if I wasn’t sure of that.