Engagement rings

[dieseluser07]

Wheres the best place to buy one these days that is good quality.

All goldsmiths/ernest jones have awful reviews saying diamonds fall out and the quality is poor.

I live up north area so unable to go to any specialist shops in london etc.

[grumbledoak]

Find a specialist closer to you. It really is worth reading about the four C's and getting a specialist to show you both a selection of diamonds and let you choose it all from start to finish.

We used Nightmare's mate Matt in Hoddesden:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=815...

[sealtt]

Blue Nile is a good option, price comes in fair and the quality is high. Will be approx half the price of a specialist local store for the exact same diamond and similar ring.

[legless]

It really is worth a day trip to Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter. Plenty of choice, keen prices and good quality.

[dieseluser07]

Just found 'market cross jewellers' that seems to have fantastic reviews on trustpilot?

[olimain]

I second researching the sort of thing you want and then purchasing on Blue Nile. Delighted with both product and service and they resized free of charge.

[supercommuter]

Blue Nile was the answer when i asked this.

I was about to pull the trigger on a ring on there, only for her to find something 1/8th of the price on Etsy that she loved...score.

[sealtt]

supercommuter said:

Blue Nile was the answer when i asked this.

I was about to pull the trigger on a ring on there, only for her to find something 1/8th of the price on Etsy that she loved...score.

Even better!

[sparks_E39]

I went to H Samuels in Poole, paid £400. No issues and that was last August.

[Octoposse]

I went Victorian/Edwardian (nice way of saying 'second hand'!) for my wife's engagement ring and virtually every piece of jewellery since.

It's not only value, I like that sort of thing and the gold has a nicer (to me) tone . . .

[austinsmirk]

I used a private shop in the centre of Leeds. Saved a fortune (£1000's)

way better than any high street type shop. eg far more bling for yr money.

where exactly are you ?

[TEKNOPUG]

Have one made. If you buy from a store you're paying 300-400% markup on the price of the diamond/metal. Find a jeweller, buy the diamond separately and have it made into the exact ring you want. You'll either save a lot of money or get a lot more for the same budget.

[ReallyReallyGood]

Tiffany

[Dan_1981]

Speak to Nightmare / Equinox Jewellers on here.

I've had my wife's engagement ring & both of our wedding rings made by them & am now getting them to sort an eternity ring for her.

Honestly I can't fault the service, the rings are stunning, the costs far lower than what you'll pay on the high street and you'll get something fairly unique, and the insurance valuations that I had after they'd been made made me smile rather alot.

[768]

Some seven years ago now, but I did the research on Blue Nile and then bought in Birmingham's jewellery quarter. Similar price at the time ( lSTR that fluctuated a lot though) and I could see it in person. Needed the ring resizing after she accepted which they were happy to do.

[MattOz]

Jewellery quarter in Birmingham. We use the Platinum Jewellers on Vyse Street. Always great service and lovely product. You'll also get much more for your money.

[TEKNOPUG]

ReallyReallyGood said:

Tiffany

[addz86]

I'm using Eddie (Ecain) from here, he supplied me with a lovely diamond to pop the question with last month (she said yes) and we're going down to see him to have the ring made in a few weeks.

Can't recommend him enough so far as I had no idea what I wanted when I got in touch with him and he gave me some
Ideas.

[Ceeejay]

Dubai Old Town...

Got a high grade, with certificates, .95 carat set in a custom rose gold band. Price to me was just under 3k, valued for insurance purposes over here at 5.5k.

We into the gold souks and spent a morning bartering with loads of shops. Eventually found a small place with a guy who didn't lay on the hard sell. He gave us a whole range of diamonds to pick from over a wide price range. Our lass chose the band she wanted, but it was in normal gold, and she had a hankering for rose gold. Within 15 minutes he'd taken it to his workshop and had it rose gold plated so she could see what it looked like.

Overnight they made the actual band out of rose gold. When we went to pick up we were taken to his workshop above one of the other stores, and we watched them setting the stone in the clasps, all the time them asking how high we wanted the diamond set. Took them about 40 minutes. Was a real nice experience to see the skill going into what seems so simple a task.

[sparks_E39]

supercommuter said:

sparks_E39 said:

I went to H Samuels in Poole, paid £400. No issues and that was last August.

I paid a similar lower price of £700 for my wife's, albeit in a high street jewellers it would have been about £1500. But I think we are in the minority now.

Every woman I have heard of recently are asking for 1/2 carat diamonds set in platinum, blokes 0 percent financing themselves up 4/5/6k over 4 years. It is madness IMO.

It is madness, I agree. The whole business of getting married and associated costs are incredible if you go all out, and I think putting a somewhat personal and important purchase like an engagement ring on credit takes away some of the shine. Luckily my fiancée and I are both I'm the same mind set, cheap as possible wedding in a registry office and have an amazing holiday instead! No receptions, no parties, nothing like that. Fine if you can afford it outright or the payments didn't bother you, but if we did what some of our closer family wanted us to do, we'd be in for over £10k and be paying it back for years, which isn't something we want to do, let alone paying £80 a month for a ring.