Engagement Ring Help Needed

LimaBravo

Hi All,
Im new here so im hoping someone can help me out.
Ive decided its time to pop the question and make my girlfriend my fiance but im a bit hopeless when it comes to rings. Im pretty sure she would be much happier for me to pick it out myself rather than both of us go shopping after i ask her to marry me and thats what i want to do. So here goes:
Got a budget of about 2000-3000euro and im hoping to get a platinum ring with a single diamond rather than a few (does that make sense?)
Will i get something decent with that sort of money?
Im in Cork/Limerick regurlarly if anyone knows of any good jewellers around that area! As it happens i will be in New York soon for work and while id be more confident spending my money at home, if someone can recommend a place in New York and tell me why id be mad not to buy it over there....basically ill listen to all suggestions!!

Also, is there any discreet way of finding out what size i should get??

Many thanks!!!

CAT24

Hi Limabravo, first of all congrats on your impending engagement

've just recently become a fiancee but we picked the ring together, this was purely to do with me being very fussy. I wanted a solataire (single diamond) but in 18ct white gold and i got a gorgeous ring in fields for nearly half of your top end budget. I think that you should definitely have a look in there, we trawled the shops for hours and it was only in there that they had the selection and value. Also,at the moment they have 20% off all diamond rings! Good luck.

Seoid

Assuming she doesn't already wear a ring on that finger (or the ring finger of her right hand which will be either slightly larger or slightly smaller) and you can't subtly trick her into trying on a ring then you could try this...

Wait until she's sleeping and then very carefully measure her ring finger with a piece of string (make sure it's not stretchy) and cut it so that it's exactly the diameter of her finger. This should give the jeweller an idea and of course any ring can be made a size or two bigger or smaller - they should exchange/resize the ring for free.

If you know what you want, then you should visit www.diamant.ie - I'm pretty sure they have an office in Limerick. Their jeweller is based in Antwerp so they are guaranteed much cheaper than Irish jewellers. They are also diamond specialists and will explain what makes a good quality diamond etc. - they they will check your price range and what quality, size etc you are looking for. Then you get to pick your diamond! My fiance and I did this together and choosing the diamond is such an experience that you wouldn't get anywhere else! I definitely think it's worth getting the highest quality diamond you can afford (not the same thing as the biggest), especially if you are getting a solitaire (single stone) ring.

Hope this helps and good luck with everything!

The jwellers in the crescent has a particularly nice range of engagement rings. I think it is called JWH. It is across from Vera Moda.
I think all jwellers offer a 10-15% discount on engagement rings as standard.

earlyevening

Buy in NY. Why do want to pay 21% VAT in Ireland, plus the dollar is weak...and you'll be there anyway. Barely needs to be thought about.