which engagement ring is better

plumbob

cant decide which to get her the florence bottom left hand corner or the florence 2 2 to the left of the first one. was also givin the option of pink sapphire as the main stone in florence 2.
shes not big on diamonds so thought colourfull gems was the way to go.

Any advice

http://www.pearlperfect.ie/gallery/index.php?type=24

John Mason

As no one knows your GF and her what she likes, it is really difficult for anyone to give you advice.

i can give you my opinion on the rings but you wont like it :cool: but that means nothing anyway, as my taste in rings is probably very different to your gf

Beruthiel

Considering that I think they are both awful (sorry, my taste is probably vastly different to your g/f), were I you, I think it would be best to let her choose her own ring.
Remember, she will have to wear this ring for the rest of her life, it's important that she like it.

padraig.od

Pick her up a smaller, cheaper one and then let her pick her own ring if she says yes. Call it a promise ring, the idea being "I promise I'll buy you a better ring soon"

The ring is just a prop for when you are popping the question.

Moonbeam

florence 2 and 3 are nice but I think they look a bit cheap and tacky
I do like the 1st ring on the page though.

I think you need to let her decide!

I would hate having the normal gold mixed with the white.

This is just me though:)

Monife

Imho, those rings are awful and look cheap and tacky. Just my opinion though.

+1 on letting her choose her own ring. Unless she has a specific taste and style which she has told you about, I wouldn't go choosing the ring. She could change her mind once she tried on the ring too as different styles suit different hands.

Miss Fluff

I think were you to get any of the rings on that page not only will your fiancee-to-be be extremely disappointed but I also think you will be disappointed with her reaction. They are really really awful looking and I think most girls would agree on that, they look a little bit like something you would find on My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding. Sorry hon. I'd suggest buying her a little token ring in Argos or somewhere like that for when you want to propose and then choose something together. Sorry to be mean but you did ask....

Evil-p

Well I think they are very interesting rings. Fun and a bit different. I actually like a lot of the rings on that page. I swear if i see one more diamond solitaire with a diamond band a will die of boredom. Only you know your relationship and your partners taste.

Dolbert

Evil-p wrote: »

Well I think they are very interesting rings. Fun and a bit different. I actually like a lot of the rings on that page. I swear if i see one more diamond solitaire with a diamond band a will die of boredom. Only you know your relationship and your partners taste.

I like 'em too
Having said that I did go for a diamond solitaire in the end...

moco

They look like cheap dress rings, something you'd pay less than a tenner for.

Glad you didn't go for any of them in the end!

Gatica

same as other posters, I'd recommend letting her decide...

disco girl

Hmmm would agree with posters here, you should let her choose herself.

My engagement ring is black sapphire and diamonds, have attached a pic, if you're lookin for something different maybe she would like something similar.

I love those rings...The coloured topaz accents in Florence two are a little OTT for me. I,d Personally prefer the setting of Florence 3 with a pink sapphire.
But Id be chuffed to get any of the rest of them.

Good luck!

Toots

Moonbeam wrote: »

florence 2 and 3 are nice but I think they look a bit cheap and tacky
I do like the 1st ring on the page though.

I wouldn't go so far as to say tacky, but they do look like dress rings, not engagement rings. I agree with Moonbeam that the first ring on the page is lovely. It's elegant but has a coloured gem as the main stone.

Gatica

Try bidz.com, at least the coloured rings there are a fraction of the prices you're looking at.

John Mason

Gatica wrote: »

Try bidz.com, at least the coloured rings there are a fraction of the prices you're looking at.

according to this site - bidz.com is a scam http://www.scam.com/showthread.php?t=14887

mine will have an amethyst as the main stone. get yourself around to some antique shops.

Gatica

That is untrue and slanderous.

Actually, according to the link you posted there are mixed reviews on that site, but it's certainly not a scam.
People get cheap jewellery at cheap prices. Wouldn't buy a 2 carat ring off them, but I've bought 18ct gold rings off them and was happy enough. The diamonds were tiny so I can understand the low prices.
I've also got watches there, which also worked fine and are still working fine.

There is suggestion however that returning of the items is scandalous, since if you return items you'll be charged 15% of cost either way.

EDIT:
This link on the other hand does seem to list some valid issues with that site, with facts to back it up:
http://forums.dealofday.com/threads/196566-Buyer-Beware-Bidz.com?highlight=bidz

so looks like the result is the same, so I apologise. It may not be 100% scam, but it's definitely looking dubious.

vibe666

padraig.od wrote: »

Pick her up a smaller, cheaper one and then let her pick her own ring if she says yes. Call it a promise ring, the idea being "I promise I'll buy you a better ring soon"

The ring is just a prop for when you are popping the question.

ditto to this, its exactly what i did.

find yourself a nice, but inexpensive ring to pop the question, but then take her out to let her choose her own ring.

you could even make a romantic weekend away out of it, take her to a nice hotel in london and spend the day ring shopping on bond street, or something like that.

i seem to remember someone telling me that their trip to dubai ring shopping had paid for itself with what was saved on the price of the ring.

ABajaninCork

vibe666 wrote: »

ditto to this, its exactly what i did.

find yourself a nice, but inexpensive ring to pop the question, but then take her out to let her choose her own ring.

you could even make a romantic weekend away out of it, take her to a nice hotel in london and spend the day ring shopping on bond street, or something like that.

i seem to remember someone telling me that their trip to dubai ring shopping had paid for itself with what was saved on the price of the ring.

If you go this route, then get you to Hatton Garden, NOT Bond St!!

Better prices and probably better stones as it's the jewellery quarter. You can get some really good deals there. The Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham is good too.

Robdude

I don't understand weddings....

If you are going to let her pick out the ring; why buy her a ring at all? If a girl wants a ring, why can't she simply buy a ring?

If you want to go the traditional, romantic route; you select a nice expensive ring, and you propose to her while giving her the ring.

If you don't want to follow silly, out-dated traditions - why bother with the ring anyway?

vibe666

ABajaninCork wrote: »

If you go this route, then get you to Hatton Garden, NOT Bond St!!

Better prices and probably better stones as it's the jewellery quarter. You can get some really good deals there. The Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham is good too.

my wife would definitely disagree with you on that one, and there's still some good bargains to be had on bond st. if you shop around.

Robdude wrote: »

I don't understand weddings....

If you are going to let her pick out the ring; why buy her a ring at all? If a girl wants a ring, why can't she simply buy a ring?

If you want to go the traditional, romantic route; you select a nice expensive ring, and you propose to her while giving her the ring.

If you don't want to follow silly, out-dated traditions - why bother with the ring anyway?

because not every woman is the same and if you've gotten to know a woman well enough to propose to her then you'll know whether she's the sort of woman who just wants the biggest rock you can afford, or the sort of woman who would rather pick out her perfect ring with you, knowing that she's going to be wearing it on her finger every day for the rest of her life and doesn't want it to be the kind of vulgar overstated rock that most blokes would end up buying if left to their own devices that she'll end up hating.

not to mention that if you're going to drop several grand on an engagement ring meant to last a lifetime, you'd want to be fairly sure it's the right one.

its the same reason that a smart guy won't buy 'sexy' underwear for a woman. what he likes seeing her in and what she actually wants to be seen wearing aren't always the same thing, not to mention usually being painfully uncomfortable.

also, robdude if you ever plan on settling down in the future, finding a wife, having kids etc. you'll have quite a bit of trouble finding one who hasn't been dreaming about that "silly outdated tradition" since she was 5 years old, so you might want to spend some time figuring it all out, just to be on the safe side.

Robdude

vibe666 wrote: »

my wife would definitely disagree with you on that one, and there's still some good bargains to be had on bond st. if you shop around.

because not every woman is the same and if you've gotten to know a woman well enough to propose to her then you'll know whether she's the sort of woman who just wants the biggest rock you can afford, or the sort of woman who would rather pick out her perfect ring with you, knowing that she's going to be wearing it on her finger every day for the rest of her life and doesn't want it to be the kind of vulgar overstated rock that most blokes would end up buying if left to their own devices that she'll end up hating.

not to mention that if you're going to drop several grand on an engagement ring meant to last a lifetime, you'd want to be fairly sure it's the right one.

its the same reason that a smart guy won't buy 'sexy' underwear for a woman. what he likes seeing her in and what she actually wants to be seen wearing aren't always the same thing, not to mention usually being painfully uncomfortable.

I guess I still don't understand. There are a million other ways you could propose to a woman, other than with a ring. The only reason people do the ring is because of tradition.

Tradition also states that the man select the ring.

I don't see why people are so quick to throw out part of the tradition (the man selecting the ring) while keeping the rest of the tradition (the man paying for a ridiculously expensive ring).

Certainly, if a girl *wanted* a particular ring, she could simply go out and buy that particular ring without waiting for a guy to ask her to pick out a ring. If she has been dreaming of a silly outdated tradition since she was five years old; I think it would be best if I followed the tradition and picked out a ring for her.

ABajaninCork

vibe666 wrote: »

my wife would definitely disagree with you on that one, and there's still some good bargains to be had on bond st. if you shop around.

Sorry to drag the thread off-piste, but I've NEVER heard of anyone buying jewellery in Bond St without paying Bond St prices! I've never seen any bargains there either. It's just Tiffany, Cartier and the like....

I'm a Londoner, and nobody I know would buy diamonds in Bond St. It's a rip-off!!

vibe666

ABajaninCork wrote: »

Sorry to drag the thread off-piste, but I've NEVER heard of anyone buying jewellery in Bond St without paying Bond St prices! I've never seen any bargains there either. It's just Tiffany, Cartier and the like....

I'm a Londoner, and nobody I know would buy diamonds in Bond St. It's a rip-off!!

well now you have.

my wife and i bought her engagement ring there for the equiv. at the time of about €4000. we had to have it appraised before the insurance company would put it on the house policy and it was valued at almost €10k, so i think we did pretty well.

we went into all the big jewellers just to see what they had, but settled on a small independent jewellers in the end and got the perfect ring for a great price.

vibe666

Robdude wrote: »

I guess I still don't understand. There are a million other ways you could propose to a woman, other than with a ring. The only reason people do the ring is because of tradition.

Tradition also states that the man select the ring.

I don't see why people are so quick to throw out part of the tradition (the man selecting the ring) while keeping the rest of the tradition (the man paying for a ridiculously expensive ring).

Certainly, if a girl *wanted* a particular ring, she could simply go out and buy that particular ring without waiting for a guy to ask her to pick out a ring. If she has been dreaming of a silly outdated tradition since she was five years old; I think it would be best if I followed the tradition and picked out a ring for her.

traditions change.

originally, the engagement ring tradition was a financial commitment from a man to a woman so that she could give up her virginity knowing that the man was financially committed to marrying her and less likely to just ride her and then run off, but it's changed a bit since then.

women today are a lot different to what they were 40-50 years ago. most of them know exactly what they want and aren't afraid to go out and get it, but most of them still want the traditional engagement and wedding.

okay, putting all that aside for a minute, as a man I want to be certain that if i'm going to drop a months wages on a lifetime commitment to a woman that she is going to wear on her hand and see every day for the rest of her life, that it's going to be absolutely perfect and EXACTLY what she wants.

i have no doubt that i could pick out a half decent ring for the same money, but i don't want her to look at it and go "yeah, you picked out a half decent ring, well done you".

i want her to look at it and think about everything that it means and to get such a flood of emotions that she wants to cry with joy because it's a perfect symbol of our love that we picked out together.

Gatica

I think this article someone here posted on another forum explains the engagement ring "tradition":
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1982/02/have-you-ever-tried-to-sell-a-diamond/4575/

though I recommend not reading it if it would kill the romance around the perfect ring with the perfect diamond for you.

Also, vibe666, I think it's good to know you didn't spend a month's wages on a ring when she doesn't accept! (Hope that never happens to anyone, but who knows) At least if she's the one picking the ring, at that stage you know well that's cos she's defo planning on marrying you.

vibe666

i took her on a holiday to the maldives (i posted a BA thread on here and ended up meeting 2 other boardsies out there:)) and proposed whilst we were out swimming in the sea with the island we were staying on in the background, just with a €99 ring that i got in argos just so i had something to put on her finger when i proposed, but like i said i like to think that i know her well enough to know her tastes and that she's very particular about jewellery so i knew she'd want to pick out the ring herself.

we took a detour on the way home from the holiday and stopped in london for a night and went ring shopping the next day and she wanted to do bond street to go to tiffany's, bulgari and vancleef & arpels and all those kinds of places, just to see what they had, but i was hopefully optimistic that she wouldn't go for anything there when she saw them, which turned out to be correct.

there was a small family run jewellers about 3/4 of the way along bond street and we went in and looked at some rings (we had a long list of possible rings at that point, but no definites and the plan was to see everything and go back to the one she liked the most) and she saw one she really liked in there. the guy knew we'd go for it the minute he showed it to her, and he told her to take it outside and see it under normal light and explained that the lights in jewellery shops are all designed to make every gem sparkle, but most lose their shine when they're not under intense lights.

we were both pretty surprised that he let her go outside with it as there was a security door that had to buzz you in and every place we'd gone to had security doors and guards everywhere, but he obviously knew we were genuine.

anyway, the sparkle off the ring was unreal, even outside and i knew that was the one but we'd made a promise that we wouldn't get carried away and just buy one until we'd seen everything and then come back to the *right* one at the end, so we thanked him and said we'd think about it and come back.

we walked about 10 steps out of the shop and she just stopped and looked at me, and i said "that was it, wasn't it?" and she just burst into tears on the spot, nodded and gave me a hug and said yes, it was "the one".

i said we should walk the rest of the way down anyway and so we did and went into tiffany's and a couple of others, but she just wasn't interested in anything else after that and didn't even want to try anything on, even the rings they had in tiffany's for 4-5 times the price with much bigger diamonds in them.

so we went back to him and haggled for all we were worth and got him down as far as we could and walked out with a bargain.

and here it is, although a blurry photo really doesn't do it any justice at all.



the ring itself was new, but it's an antique 1ct princess cut diamond, with 6 smaller round cut stones to the sides in 18ct white gold with a hand cut centre stone with great clarity (can't remember off the top of my head, but it was very nearly perfect), VVS included, but nothing visible to the naked eye, only tiny imperfections visible with a lupe.

my wife works in the IFSC with some very posh and well off women with much bigger and more expensive rings and it outshines every single one of them in her office and they're all very jealous.

she also now has a wedding ring that was made to accompany the engagement ring in the same style, with the small round stones in similar settings to the ones on the engagement ring, made so that they both fit together perfectly.

it's probably not to everyone's taste and it's not the one i would have picked on my own, but it's perfect for her and she loves it, so i'm happy.

Gatica

That's really lovely... I also went for a vintage European hand-cut/old-cut diamond ring with a lovely shoulder pattern. It's not very high clarity though, but I love the setting and the fact that it's old. I'm getting my wedding ring made to match its style, can't wait!