I’m looking for ideas for getting an engagement ring, 8 years and 2 kids in.
I earn quite a bit more than my partner and she’s pretty frugal even though I say its our money as a family.
I know she would go nuts if I spent 3-6k on a ring. That being said, I also want her to be proud of it and not embarrassed to show it off, so I wouldn’t be happy just spending a couple of hundred.
I think I could probably get away with £1500 (she wouldn’t know, but she’s also not an idiot!)
Looking at high street jewellers like H.Samual, they look cheap (small stones, or cubics) until you get to about 2.5-3k when they start to look respectable. Obviously places like beaverbrooks are going to cost around 4.5k.
I did notice Pandora had lab grown stones, so you can get 1ct for a similar price to 0.3ct in other jewellers, and at least you know its not sourced by little kids in mines, but I’ve never really seen Pandora as a proper jeweller, more as costume jewellery (she does have a couple of bracelets & earrings from here as everyday items).
Would you be happy to receive a Pandora engagement ring? Are there any other options?
I know we can argue about whether its right or wrong to spend x or y and who cares where its from its about the intention, but its a big moment and I don’t want her to feel underwhelmed, or also feel the opposite and tell me we could have had a new kitchen instead of a ring!.
17 comments
I genuinely feel that in your position the best course of action is to discuss this with her.
There’s no reason at all that the proposal itself can’t be a big romantic surprise even if the ring has been discussed before.
There’s a lovely little long-established jewellers on Artillery Row in Victoria. The vast majority of their stuff is antique.
There’s some nice and much more reasonably priced rings in silvery jewellery type shops.
It doesn’t need to cost your salary – it should be what she would want and if she is happy with a £200 silver ring then that’s okay.
Doesn’t need to be a diamond – lots of different gem stones out there.
It isn’t about how much it costs.
My wife proposed to me with a £40 ring as its all she could afford at the time.
Was a good idea to get a tungsten ring tbh because if I wore my 24ct gold ring to work the engraving would get ruined so quickly
I was in Costo at the weekend, and my wife was ‘showing’ me the diamond rings.. they seem quite good value for what they’re charging for them – if you’re looking at the £1-2K price mark.
e.g. this for just under £2K – [https://www.costco.co.uk/Jewellery-Accessories-Clothing/Jewellery/Rings/100ctw-Princess-Cut-Diamond-Ring-18ct-White-Gold/p/958752](https://www.costco.co.uk/Jewellery-Accessories-Clothing/Jewellery/Rings/100ctw-Princess-Cut-Diamond-Ring-18ct-White-Gold/p/958752)
or a single stone – for £1.5K – [https://www.costco.co.uk/Jewellery-Accessories-Clothing/Jewellery/Rings/050ct-Round-Brilliant-Cut-Diamond-Solitaire-Ring-Platinum/p/1750327](https://www.costco.co.uk/Jewellery-Accessories-Clothing/Jewellery/Rings/050ct-Round-Brilliant-Cut-Diamond-Solitaire-Ring-Platinum/p/1750327)
We bought in Hatton Garden 15 years ago, my wife picked (she’d always wanted the ‘day out’ shopping there!) so she got the cut she wanted.. but I can see something REALLY similar on the Costco site for £2000 less than I paid.
As a bonus; get a £1.50 hotdog afterwards!
Discuss it with her first, but my engagement ring is vintage/second hand and was about half the price of a new ring with the same specs. I went to an independent jewellers who did a mixture of old and new jewellery.
>Looking at high street jewellers like H.Samuel
Go to a bigger town and choose either an independent jeweller or one that sells second hand/vintage jewellery.
77 Diamonds.
Go for lab grown.
I’d look for a local craft jewellery maker and work with your partner on a design incorporating an ethical stone. You would end up with something much less impersonal than you would on the high street.
Sorry if I’m being dumb, but how will your partner know how much the ring costs? Surely you can buy it, put it in a plain box and then do the proposal.
A lot of rings look the same to me so I don’t know how you could track it down to a specific seller and brand to find out how much it costs.
I will always hype [Aardvark Jewellery](https://aardvarkjewellery.com/). Lots of under 1.5K options of mostly lab-grown stones including stunning coloured stone options.
Mine was a little over 1k from a small jeweller in the Argyl Arcade in Glasgow and its stunning so you can definitely find one she can be proud of in your budget.
Lab-grown stones are always cheaper than natural ones so they would be something I’d look at as well as looking at moissanite. Its *almost* as hard as diamond so great for an engagement ring and its super super sparklie.
I had no idea when it came to rings, so I bought just the diamond and proposed with that, but I’d booked a surprise ring design appointment the day after we got home.
Maybe buy the stone from Pandora, then take it to some local bespoke jewler/designer?
I think if *she’s* happier with a cheap ring there is nothing wrong with that. You should get her what she wants.
The difficulty with cheaper rings, is making sure you get something that is good quality and will endure. A cheaper ring can break or even fall to pieces, whereas a well built one should last for life in theory.
I agree with others who suggest that you ought to look for an antique.
Day trip to the jewellery quarter in Birmingham – you can get really pretty and unique rings from £500 upwards. Maybe do the proposal and then shop for the ring together or if you know the style then go into several shops in the JQ with your budget and get some quotes and choose one.
You could do what my husband did – propose, and then say ‘ put your coat on, I’ve booked a lovely restaurant and we can go and choose your ring.
Mine is from the diamond store, also a lab based diamond. Mine was around the £200 mark but I’m sure they have good stuff in your budget.
Etsy and other places that are smaller jewelry dealers. You can get some gorgeous custom made rings for some reasonable prices, and you can even get incredible vintage rings too. Cheaper than jewelry shops and more ethical (IMO)