Engagement rings?

[ColourfulOnesie]

I’ve just got engaged, he proposed without a ring, it was quite spontaneous and lovely, so we said we’ll go ring shopping together

Now I don’t really wear jewellery, only the odd thing that’s been bought for me from Etsy or similar places so I have no idea what I’m looking for and tbh, how much it all matters, most look very similar to me
Do we have to spend thousands on a ring? Will people really be able to tell if it’s from, say, Pandora instead?

Also if anyone has any suggestions of where to look, the only jewellery shop I could think of after doing a mental tour of the local shopping centre was Beaverbrooks?

If you don't have strong feelings about wanting brand new I would thoroughly recommend looking in a antique/used jewellery store as you get so much more for your budget.

Erm ok, not too sure what the first two replies are about but thanks

Hadn’t even thought of an antique or used one, that could be a nice idea, something a bit different, thankyou

Bumping for the morning crowd 😊

You can spend what you're happy with. I would recommend going to an antique jewellers or a manufacturing jeweller as you'll get more for your money and far better quality.

I have a beautiful antique diamond ring - I have ethical issues about mined diamonds (I appreciate these were also mined a hundred years ago) and so buying antique / second hand eased my conscience a bit.

I’d look in the more independent jewellery shops rather than a big chain. I would consider that you’re going to be wearing your engagement ring for a long time so you want something that is good quality so you dont have to spend huge amounts but if you spend too little then it will age within a few years

I don't wear my original ring, I wasn't very attached to it and just because I liked it 25 years ago doesn't mean I would choose that now. I now wear a Moisannite ring, so a lab grown ethical diamond looking (actually tests as a diamond even though it isn't) stone. It was less than £100 as I bought it on Etsy and imported it. Lots of videos on YouTube of people showing their Moisannites. I actually wanted something else but they were very delicate stones on the hardness scale and I am clumsy, hence the Moissanite.

My friend got an engagement ring that she used as her wedding ring. A beautiful carved silver band. My friend wears a silicone ring as she reacts to lots of metals. No an engagement ring does not have to fit someone else's criteria of an engagement ring. Wear what you want, don't spend a lot if you don't have to.

I forgot to say congratulations!

Ah thankyou @OnTheBenchOfDoom that was my first congratulations 😊
I’ve had a little google of antique jewellers near me and they’re about 10x the price of high street chains, I think I’m looking in the wrong place
…I’m not very good at this am I 🤦🏻‍♀️
good to know that the general concern us is that I don’t have to go for the standard ‘engagement ring’ that costs thousands though

Congratulations!

My engagement ring is a Victorian sapphire and diamond ring which cost about £400 from a local jeweller although that was about 25 years ago but was still a lot less than a new one would have been at the time.

Does it matter what other people think? Of course you don't need to spend thousands - you can spend as much or as little as you want!

I don't really care for jewellery and don't want to wear anything expensive while traipsing around looking after DC/dog (plus I am careless) so my engagement ring was about £300, and even that is a lot for me to spend on jewellery

Oh and I use my engagement ring as my wedding band now as I don't want to wear multiple rings and turns out I prefer engagement ring over the (also pretty cheap) wedding band we got.

No one who matters cares what engagement ring you have.

If you love it, then thats all that matters

This is my ring. It was £350 from Blue Nile. You really don’t have to spend a lot! How about a gemstone ring?

Mine is £600 from goldsmiths and I love it. Wedding band is £150 from Argos too.
I didn't want massively detailed pieces, just very plain.

So no, don't spend thousands unless it's a) in your budget and b) what you really, really want.

Congratulations! Etsy and Instagram actually have loads of people selling vintage / older rings. I bought my wedding ring from Instagram, I wanted something different though.

Many congratulations!
You can have whatever you want. When we 'set the date', we didn't bother with a ring at all. I finally got an 'engagement' ring to celebrate our silver wedding! It's not big or showy at all, it just has three small diamonds in a slightly unusual diagonal setting, it is the many years of love that it represents which makes it special to me. I suppose it is a bit like me - happy to be in the background, but with a slightly quirky approach to life. Make your ring a reflection of you, that is worth more than the price tag. 💐

I have a 1920s emerald and diamond art deco ring I got from a second hand jewllers near me last year. I love it way more than any new ring I saw and it was £450.

We went ring shopping together with a low but adequate budget and bought from a high street chain. We wanted to put money to our life together rather than jewellery. Like you I didn't and don't much care about jewellery. I wanted something small as I am fairly titchy.

I only wear my wedding ring day to day and add my engagement ring when we go out somewhere special.