Help me find an engagement ring please!

[binthere]

DP is taking me engagement ring shopping next week. I’ve tried a few on down our local high street jewellers and think I have a rough idea.

I’ve narrowed it down to a yellow gold band, solitaire, lab grown oval diamond preferably between 0.5 and 1 carat. I like the two toned look of the yellow gold band & white gold/platinum setting.

These are what I’ve found so far:

https://www.purelydiamonds.co.uk/engagement-ring-single-stone-oval-yellow-white-gold-pdl503yw

https://www.queensmith.co.uk/engagement-rings/bardot-18k-yellow-gold-oval

https://www.warrenjames.co.uk/jewellery/9ct-gold-real-diamond-lab-grown-oval-solitaire-1-00ct-9lry035

https://www.diamondsfactory.co.uk/design/floral-shank-engagement-rings-clrn0743601

Appreciate it’s not a very interesting ring but I love the simplicity.

Not entirely sure on budget, I’d rather he didn’t spend more than £1000 to be honest. Would you prioritise the carat weight, clarity, colour? Happy to have a smaller stone & not overly worried about inclusions etc. Is 18k better than 9k for everyday wear? Which of these, if any, would you be more inclined to purchase?

Also open to looking online if anyone has used Blue Nile etc.

Thank you!

Just popping on to say, what a lovely happy thread !
I didn't see it when the Op started it but spotted it just now as it's in ' last hour ' threads.

Congratulations !

and you got lots of lovely advice.

Number four is my favourite.

Yes he was, but they do have a store in London. I absolutely love it, it's exactly what I wanted.
The mined diamond version of my ring is minimum £15,000, mine was under £2,000.

Congratulations on your engagement 💐

I got mine from https://www.abelini.com/ in Hatton Garden.
It's a 1.5ct set in platinum but I really wanted one to match my wedding band as closely as I could.
They were very helpful, had a huge selection of gems, settings and metals to meet your own personal budget.
All lab and mined diamonds are certificated and valured at rrp for insurance purposes.
Thoroughly recommend them.

They’re beautiful! Abelini was where we were looking originally. We ended up going to the Diamonds Factory in Hatton Garden in the end. The plan was to visit Abelini, Queensmith & Austen and Blake but Diamonds Factory was the only one that was able to confirm our appointment.

We were really pleased with them & we’re really excited to see the finished ring :)

Congratulations OP! I think all those rings are wonderful! My comments would be:
Don't have 9ct gold - my wedding ring was 9ct - expensive and from a very reputable shop - and I ended up with contact dermatitis because of the alloys used to make the 9ct gold. I now have a platinum ring and no dermatitis!
It's when you try them on you'll know which one you want!
Think about how often you'll wear it and if the claw setting or raised mount might cause you problems with catching on things.
Enjoy your day choosing it!

Congratulations OP! I think all those rings are wonderful! My comments would be:
Don't have 9ct gold - my wedding ring was 9ct - expensive and from a very reputable shop - and I ended up with contact dermatitis because of the alloys used to make the 9ct gold. I now have a platinum ring and no dermatitis!
It's when you try them on you'll know which one you want!
Think about how often you'll wear it and if the claw setting or raised mount might cause you problems with catching on things.
Enjoy your day choosing it!

I like the last ring as I prefer a round stone to an oval. I follow a ring reviewer on TikTok who always recommends to get a white gold or platinum claws even if the rest of the ring is yellow gold, as it makes the diamond brighter.

Sorry, just realised I’m late to the party and you have chosen a ring already - congratulations!

Much as I love my ring, if we were doing it again I'd go to a small town with an antique centre (typically the have lots of small traders under one roof and I'd browse there). You might just get ideas, but you might also find an amazing ring or one that you could take to a jeweller to have set the way you wanted. Rings there are often suprisingly cheap because they're simply not fashionable, but the stones can be reset.

Raphael’s in Hatton Garden - highly recommend!

I like the bardot one.

I would not get white gold

my engagement and wedding rings are white gold and they tarnish and cost £100 to be brought up nicely again

my sisters both went for platinum and have made their money back in 10 years

For a £1000 budget, I think the best option is a lab-grown diamond under 1ct but with an excellent cut. Proportion matters more than clarity. I compared Purely Diamonds and Queensmith, but Harper Tait Fine Jewellery(https://www.harpertait.com) seemed more transparent about sourcing and certification. It’s not just marketing - they actually send you the full GIA/IGI report, and their settings are handcrafted in Hatton Garden.