Please can you help me find an engagement ring? (Poss art deco style)

[nonegotiation]

Me and DP have been together since we were quite young and after buying our first house last year he is finally in the position to buy me an engagement ring. We have been together a long time so I’m not bothered about a big proposal, we know getting married is the next step so this is just a formalisation of this, and a chance for me to get a lovely ring!

Over the years I has tried on a couple of more classic rings but I always come back to a website I stumbled across a few years ago, the problem is this jewellers is out of budget! I really love a lot of the rings particularly the art defo style ones https://jessicaflinn.co.uk/collections/engagement-rings

So I was wondering if anyone is able to recommend jewellers who sell similar, either new with lab grown diamonds (although I haven’t ruled out a colour stone) or also happy with second hand.

We are near Preston, and an hour from both Manchester/Liverpool so looking for places within the Lancashire/manchester/Liverpool areas that we can travel there and back in a day. Budget is £1-1.5k absolute max.

Hopefully that is everything but really appreciate any suggestions.

Chester and Leeds are probably about the same distance as well.

Yes happy to travel up to 1.5/2 hours of Preston which Chester and Leeds definitely both fall into, getting the train to Birmingham for the jewellery quarter is also an option if anyone has any specific recommendations of jewellers to look at.

I looked at that for you too but it is very expensive so would that affect the budget?

I am no help at all with the original question.

i don’t think this ring is particularly art deco

that aside, to get most bang for your buck and possibly genuine art deco, I would buy at auction

What about this lab diamond one (£1K) from TJC: https://www.tjc.co.uk/luxuriant---950-platinum-sgl-certified-vs-ef-lab-grown-diamond-trilogy-ring-1.50-ct-platinum-wt-4.68-gms.-8021729.html#start=9

Or this one: https://www.tjc.co.uk/luxuriant-9k-yellow-gold-sgl-certified-pear-emerald-cut-lab-grown-diamond-vs-ef-ring-1.00-ct.-8132155.html#srule=topSellers&start=146&sz=48

Or this one: https://www.tjc.co.uk/navigation/the-toi-et-moi-luxuriant-950-platinum-igi-certified-vs-e%2Ff-lab-grown-diamond-ring-1738918627.html?dwvar_1738918627_band=Pear&dwvar_1738918627_size=L#srule=topSellers&start=241&sz=48

https://www.tjc.co.uk/storefront-catalog-tjc/luxuriant---9k-gold-sgl-certified-vs-ef-lab-grown-diamond-ring-1749465235.html?dwvar_1749465235_shape=Emerald&dwvar_1749465235_size=M&dwvar_1749465235_color=White#srule=topSellers&start=303&sz=48

We were similar to you in that we had agreed to get married and it was an excuse for a lovely ring.

We went to the Birmingham jewellery quarter (from the South Coast!), the first few places we went in felt like market stalls and not the experience we were after. We headed to a cafe round the corner and stumbled across Mitchel & Co. Despite no appointment, they gushed over us with champagne, sat us down and had plenty of time to spend with us. I told them what I had in mind and they got our similar rings and did a computer design for me. We also got to examine the specific diamonds and chose the exact one! What they could achieve in our budget was huge compared to our local jewellers or chains. They sent updates on the ring being made in their workshop and DH picked it up a few weeks later.

They were utterly lovely and it’s a really special memory for us, of the whole day out- cannot recommend them enough!

Do you mean it costs to get to Birmingham or that the jewellery quarter is expensive? We don’t mind paying for the trip to Birmingham if we get good recommendations and that wouldn’t effect budget as we would just pay that out of the joint account

That sounds really lovely I will take a look thank you! Your first couple of experiences are why I wanted to ask for recommendations as if we are making the trip I want to make sure we are going to the right places!

I'd have a look at Bygone Times in Eccleston, lots of second hand rings including Art Deco about 1/3 of the price of new

Ahh it’s actually a trip to Bygone Times a few weeks ago that got me wanting to get a ring sorted we went for furniture and didn’t realise they had jewellery, they had some gorgeous rings but all the wrong size / out of budget but it’s somewhere we will keep going back to if no success elsewhere!

We got my art deco style engagement ring from Etsy, this store
I can highly recommend them. The ring took about 3 weeks to arrive, there are customs to pay so you have to factor that in to the cost.
The ring we got is exactly as it looks on the picture, and great quality. We had it valued/ authenticated here by a local jewellers, and the stone was the quality promised, and slightly bigger carat than the listing stated. It was valued at more than we paid for it + customs for insurance purposes.

I love my ring ☺️ and I get lovely comments about being unusual. I would have been happy to buy elsewhere at auction, etc, but struggled to find what I wanted (yellow gold, emerald/ asscher cut, at least 3 stones, minimal type of look).

Oh, and just to say, that store very regularly has 10-30% off, so if there's one you like, hang on for a couple of weeks and it's likely to be reduced.

Have a look at Helen Burrell. She has a website, is on FB and Instagram and several other sites. She designs and makes beautiful rings, will recycle old family jewellery and will pretty much design whatever you like.

Have you checked out your local jewellers? We went to a small, independent one last week and around half of their stock was secondhand with a good array of rings.

Also agree with looking at your local auctioneers.

Would definitely seriously consider secondhand. You get so much more for your money. I have a beautiful ruby and diamond engagement ring that I've worn now for 23 years. You could get an original art deco ring rather than a modern copy.

This website has lovely second hand art deco rings https://friarhouse.com/collections/art-deco-diamond-engagement-rings

How about one like this one OP?

@nonegotiationthe 2 owners of the display cabinets facing the door are in 1 on a Saturday and 1 on a Sunday, I know the left hand one will do re sizing if that helps

That’s a good point too. I had a look around one in Longridge a couple of summers ago. They had some nice rings in at the time.

Speak to London diamonds or look them up on instagram. They’re amazing and will make you what you want. Don’t go to a shop, you’ll pay loads more.

Some great suggestions that I will check out thank you, I had kept an eye out on local jewellers over the years but none have ever jumped out at me as having anything art deco style. I will have a look at auctions too, do I just need to find local auction houses and see what they have? I’ve never been to an auction before or really know how it works!

That’s lovely!

It was just before Christmas and crazy busy when we went so yes maybe we need to go back and have a proper chat this time, thanks for the info

If you look on ebay there are a lot of jewellers who advertise, however you would need to check out the reviews some are poor quality!

Im looking for a ring, but no luck so far - congratulations

Would also recommend Birmingham Jewellery quarter, mine came from there 25 years ago!

https://www.djmbespokejewellery.co.uk/
Fantastic range of pre loved, new and bespoke jewellery. Lots of art deco styles.
The stuff they sell isn't anything you'd find in a high street jewellers.
They are based in Sedgley which is close to Dudley, a two hour drive from Preston.
There is a fabulous little Thai restaurant nearby set inside an old fashioned pub that is worth a visit if you're travelling a long distance.