Where to start looking?

tempnam

OK so I'm planning on proposing to my gf.

We're together 10 years and I know she'd love to be married - I was never pushed either way but all of a sudden over the last few months I've been doing a lot of thinking about the future etc. (we have a baby on the way too) and I'd love to be married to her.

My problem is that I haven't got a lot of money for an engagement ring!

I could stretch to €1,000 but that's about it.

I also have no idea what style she would like, I don't know a whole lot about jewellery in general, and I don't know what size ring will fit her!

I'm in Dublin so if anyone has any suggestions I'd appreciate it.

Would I be right in thinking that I'd be better off waiting until after Valentine's Day to buy anything? Would prices be pushed up a little coming towards this time of year?

Thanks in advance!

evilmonkee

The best of luck to you

One piece of advice is that if you are unsure what type of ring she would like, and you don't know her size, it may be best to go and pick it together.

Many people do not have the ring when they pop the question, they opt to pick the ring together.
Others sometimes buy a token ring (a cheap ring, anything from Pennys to a €20 silver & CZ ring), pop the question with it and then choose the final ring together.
Another option would be to purchase the stone and let her choose the ring to have it set into.

Obviously you will know your partner better than anyone else, but personally I feel that choosing your own ring is best as often you have an idea in your mind but when you try it on something else may suit better. There are other considerations such as you may not want a diamond, you may wear gold but not silver etc.
(personally I will only wear recycled metal with lab created gemstones and I'm not a fan of diamonds, so perhaps I'm bias!)

If you choose to pick the ring for her, a jeweller will be able to size from a ring she owns. However ,most people do not have rings that they wear on that finger.
One other piece of advice is that you should let the jeweller know that the ring may need to be resized. Some settings should not be resized as it can weaken the setting, the jeweller will be able to advise on this. You may also be able to negotiate the resize as part of the price.

Best of Luck

tempnam

Thanks for the advice!

A couple of points:

She doesn't wear much jewellery in general, only 1 ring on occasion, and ear rings - that's about it.

I know she would prefer to be surprised with a ring rather than picking one out for herself. This comes from years of people around us getting engaged in these sort of circumstances!

I know she prefer's silver, or white gold (or platinum - but probably way out of my price range) and she doesn't like yellow gold. But most engagement rings aren't yellow gold anyway - are they?

She's not materialistic at all. She just loves the thought that someone took the time and put in the effort to do something for her, rather than the actual gifts etc. so I'm not too worried that she wont like what I get her.

Is €1K enough for a nice decent engagement ring? I had a quick look online and most of them were thousands!

westies4ever

I wouldnt get hung up on the price. Mine didnt cost anymore than €1k (and i love it) - hubbie picked mine and I always had him told not to be going mad. Im not big into jewellery and i'd be afraid of losing it.

have a look at the link - there's a decent selection for your budget. best of luck and i hope she says yes!!

http://www.perfectring.ie/search.aspx?keyword=&ringType=3&ringStyle=0&province=0&county=&priceRange=&metalType=&stoneType=&noOfStones=&diamondShape=&colorGrade=&caratWeight=&clarity=&jewellerId=0&title=Diamond_Rings&filter=2&page=2&ps=12

Lisha

http://www.perfectring.ie/Engagement-Rings/Diamond-Rings/International_Diamond_Brokers_Dublin-Cluster-Engagement-Ring-10807-2391.aspx

Thought this was nice op
Thus is s great website, that westies4ever put up, but I think leg work is required by you.
Just pick an upper limit and stick to it and do haggle
Best of luck

tempnam

Thanks for the links - I'll have a look at them.

What are your opinions on whether I should wait until after Valentine's day to buy one?

Are jewellery prices generally inflated on the lead up to Valentines Day?

westies4ever

tempnam wrote: »

Thanks for the links - I'll have a look at them.

What are your opinions on whether I should wait until after Valentine's day to buy one?

Are jewellery prices generally inflated on the lead up to Valentines Day?

Im not really sure about prices (tbh it probably doesnt have any effect) etc but I think a valentines proposal is a bit cliched myself. I would wait til after. Its only a few days away, surprise her some upcoming weekend. let us know how it goes!

tempnam

westies4ever wrote: »

Im not really sure about prices (tbh it probably doesnt have any effect) etc but I think a valentines proposal is a bit cliched myself. I would wait til after. Its only a few days away, surprise her some upcoming weekend. let us know how it goes!

Sorry, I didn't really explain myself properly there! I'm not doing it for Valentines Day. Just wondering if it makes sense to wait until afterwards to buy a ring!

But it will hopefully be some time soon. We have a short break arranged soon so that should be a good time.

westies4ever

tempnam wrote: »

Sorry, I didn't really explain myself properly there! I'm not doing it for Valentines Day. Just wondering if it makes sense to wait until afterwards to buy a ring!

But it will hopefully be some time soon. We have a short break arranged soon so that should be a good time.

Ah sorry OP, I picked you up wrong. I can't say for sure but I'd doubt jewellers would put prices up just for valentines.

Hope all goes well

abbeyrock

I got engaged at xmas, buying the ring scared the bejayus out of me, i was looking for weeks online and probably know more than i need to know about rings. A few friends of mine went abroad to try and save money. Too risky in my opinion if she doesnt like it and if something went wrong i would like to be able to go back to the shop and say oi, fix this, not hop on a plane and get no where.

Ill pm you the guy i went to, a broker, there are a few of them out there who dont have a shop presence but you meet them in their offices, i didnt exactly save money in so far as i spent what i was will to pay but got more for my money, ie she was amazed at the size of the diamond as she knows i dont earn much and was not expecting a big diamond.

tempnam

OK so got the ring. Managed to negotiate 25% off the marked price too so happy with that!

........And she said yes!

Lisha

tempnam wrote: »

OK so got the ring. Managed to negotiate 25% off the marked price too so happy with that!

........And she said yes!

Ahh congrats tempnam, best of luck to you both

pooch90

tempnam wrote: »

OK so got the ring. Managed to negotiate 25% off the marked price too so happy with that!

........And she said yes!

Ah that's fantastic,congratulations!
Enjoy being engaged now for a while before getting swept up in wedding planning.

westies4ever

Yay! Congrats and well done.

Gatica

we got our ring just before valentine's because that was when the shop's sale was ending! Got it 30% off and saved a fortune.

There should be plenty of rings in your price range. You should be able to find a white gold ring for that, if she doesn't like yellow gold. If you go with silver, the stone is less likely to be diamond. BTW, you don't have to go with a diamond stone anyway. Plenty of people have gotten colour stones in theirs, from Sapphires/Emeralds to plain semi-precious like citrine, or some other colour quartz or crystal.
If you pick a diamond, it doesn't have to be some fancy diamond, as most people cannot tell a VVS apart from an SI grading, or differences in its colour quality.

Simple google search:
http://www.brillianteers.com/engagement-rings/engagement-rings-under-1000-dollars.html?ring_color=4
http://www.bluenile.com/ie/build-your-own-diamond-ring?action=add&builder=BYOR&forceStep=DIAMONDS_STEP&is_ring=1&offer_id=7215&oid=7215&sAction=basket&select_this_style_top=Select+this+style&shape= - link probably won't work as it's local-script-based, but you basically can pick price of diamond and setting.
http://www.perfectring.ie/search.aspx?keyword=&ringType=3&ringStyle=0&province=0&county=&priceRange=&metalType=&stoneType=&noOfStones=&diamondShape=&colorGrade=&caratWeight=&clarity=&jewellerId=0&title=Diamond_Rings&filter=2&page=2&ps=12


edit: please ignore needless advice above...

Dolbert

He already has the ring...

Gatica

major Oops then! thought it was another poster for some reason, should probably pay more attention to the names....


Sorry, OP, big congratulations! Hope you have a great engagement! It's a fantastic time in one's life...

Dolbert

Ah sure it's still helpful for others looking for ideas