Engagement Ring on a Budget

FireDX

My girlfriend and I have recently become 'unofficially' engaged this past weekend. We've discussed the possibility of a ring, and we've both agreed that the meaning is more important than the value, and considering that neither of us has a lot of money right now, it may be better utilized in the future. I also like the idea of what both my grandparents and parents did; A cheaper engagement ring to be replaced by a more expensive one at a specific milestone (5/10 years).

We're heading on a trip in a couple of weeks, and I've decided I'm going to get her a ring and 'officially' propose. My problem is, my budget is ~€300 +/- €50. I'm thinking something along the lines of a 0.25 carat solitaire with a white gold setting, and obviously I'd be getting a lower quality diamond to fit within that budget.

My question is, where in the Dublin area could I find something within my budget? I know I can order online, but I'd much rather see the ring in person.

Thanks for any help

westies4ever

im honestly not being cheeky but you could do worse then check out Argos. Not the most romantic shop granted but they have a decent selection in your budget and you could view the ring instore - see link for selection. best of luck OP

http://www.argos.ie/static/Browse/ID72/14416995/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7CJewellery+and+watches%7C14416987/c_2/2%7C14416987%7CRings%7C14416988/c_3/3%7Ccat_14416988%7CEngagement+rings%7C14416995/r_001/5%7CPrice%7C60+%3C%3D++%3C%3D+299.99%7C2.htm

FireDX

How does the Argos process work? It seems like they don't have the rings in stock, just one for show, and then you order one in your size? Any idea on turnaround time?

What about quality?

westies4ever

AFAIK you view the one on show and then if you like it they'll order it - i honestly dont know about the turnaround time. Most of the diamonds on the list seem to be I2 quality. An I2 quality diamond is not the greatest admittedly but as you said, you are hoping to replace it with a better ring down the line and you're going to be limited in your budget.

Im after finding this one as well - thomas gear is in the ilac centre; what do you think?

http://www.thomasgear.com/shop/product.php?productid=18344&cat=249&page=1

Heroditas

Try Patrick Glynn on Abbey Street. He has top notch stuff and could even put a ring together for you on your budget I reckon.
High Street places have horrendous mark ups.

jinkybhoy

"Im after finding this one as well - thomas gear is in the ilac centre; what do you think?

http://www.thomasgear.com/shop/product.php?"

Be careful of him though as I have a strong suspicion that he is a vampire - Have you seen his ads for cash for gold <:eek:

westies4ever

jinkybhoy wrote: »

"Im after finding this one as well - thomas gear is in the ilac centre; what do you think?

http://www.thomasgear.com/shop/product.php?"

Be careful of him though as I have a strong suspicion that he is a vampire - Have you seen his ads for cash for gold <:eek:

haha - you could be right, im sure op will be ok if he goes during daylight hours :P

geraldishere

FireDX wrote: »

My girlfriend and I have recently become 'unofficially' engaged this past weekend. We've discussed the possibility of a ring, and we've both agreed that the meaning is more important than the value, and considering that neither of us has a lot of money right now, it may be better utilized in the future. I also like the idea of what both my grandparents and parents did; A cheaper engagement ring to be replaced by a more expensive one at a specific milestone (5/10 years).

We're heading on a trip in a couple of weeks, and I've decided I'm going to get her a ring and 'officially' propose. My problem is, my budget is ~€300 +/- €50. I'm thinking something along the lines of a 0.25 carat solitaire with a white gold setting, and obviously I'd be getting a lower quality diamond to fit within that budget.

My question is, where in the Dublin area could I find something within my budget? I know I can order online, but I'd much rather see the ring in person.

Thanks for any help

LOL cheap **** should have saved before you proposed

FireDX

geraldishere wrote: »

LOL cheap **** should have saved before you proposed

I didn't propose, it was just something we mutually decided. Unexpected for sure. I don't think I could ever bring myself to spend thousands on a ring though...especially when it's the symbolism that's supposed to matter.

westies4ever

geraldishere wrote: »

LOL cheap **** should have saved before you proposed

thats a bit mean. my engagement ring wasnt overly expensive either. At the time, saving to get stuff for our house was more important tbh.

geraldishere

FireDX wrote: »

I didn't propose, it was just something we mutually decided. Unexpected for sure. I don't think I could ever bring myself to spend thousands on a ring though...especially when it's the symbolism that's supposed to matter.

it'll never last

westies4ever

geraldishere wrote: »

it'll never last

hmm. going by your other posts i guess it time for me to stop feeding the troll.

pwurple

How much of a budget?
You can get silver rings very reasonably. Second-hand or antique shops often have lovely rings.

HSamuel stock a budget range of engagement rings
http://www.hsamuel.co.uk/webstore/l/diamonds/occasion|engagement/

Or, for lower cost again, tungsten carbide.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wedding-Tungsten-Rings/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=n%3A197402031%2Cp_n_material_two_browse-bin%3A197461031%2Cp_n_target_audience_browse-bin%3A197411031


If you want a traditional solitare diamond type, www.bluenile.com lets you chose the diamond, and chose the setting. 383 euro is about the cheapest I could create one there. Is that over budget? It's .27 carat diamond in a white gold solitare setting.

Toots

geraldishere banned for being a tool

rgmmg

If you want to do it cheap, buy a second hand one. Who said romance was dead, but you'll get a lot more value for money!

listermint

rgmmg wrote: »

If you want to do it cheap, buy a second hand one. Who said romance was dead, but you'll get a lot more value for money!

Romance doesnt equate to money


I think the OPs premise about milestones was fairly well thought out tbh.

FireDX

Thanks for all the input guys, I'm liking the ring that westies4ever posted in Thomas Gear, not sure how small 0.15ct is in person, but it seems to be a higher quality diamond. I might have to go and take a look this weekend

westies4ever

FireDX wrote: »

Thanks for all the input guys, I'm liking the ring that westies4ever posted in Thomas Gear, not sure how small 0.15ct is in person, but it seems to be a higher quality diamond. I might have to go and take a look this weekend

aww glad to be of some help. in fairness i think its a lovely ring. best of luck and let us know how u get on.

cmbutterfly45

Don't count out some of the high street jewellers like fields they have a 9ct solitaire for €350 but u can haggle and if u apply for a privilege card they will giv u 15% discount
Best of luck with it

pooch90

Also, marquise cut diamonds look like they're a bigger carat.
Mine is only .5ct but looks bigger than most 1ct solitaires.

stinkle

Hi, we went to Neil Conway on Trinity Street a couple of years ago - like yourself we were on a budget. A ring in the window caught my eye and as it turns out it was perfect for our budget! I've no idea if you'll find one within your price range there, but I can highly recommend him if you do. Good luck and congratulations

The Big Red Button

Have you thought about buying at an auction?

I'm in the process of selling an engagement ring myself, I went to John Weldon. He's a lovely guy, he sat down with me and had a good look at the ring and was able to give me an estimate of what I could expect to sell it for. He reckoned I'd get around €500 to €600 - this is for a white gold ring with three round diamonds (1ct in total) and several smaller diamonds, the ring is not engraved or anything, and he said it's in perfect condition. It would've cost around €2,500 new.

He does auctions once a month, anyone can go along and bid. He said he receives several engagement rings for each auction - on Valentines Day alone, there were six brought in to him!!

So if I were in the position of ever buying an engagement ring again (not gonna happen!), I'd definitely try a few auctions and see if I could pick one up at a good price there. And I'd definitely recommend this guy - he seems really trustworthy, not the type to rip anyone off.

hoodwinked

FireDX wrote: »

Thanks for all the input guys, I'm liking the ring that westies4ever posted in Thomas Gear, not sure how small 0.15ct is in person, but it seems to be a higher quality diamond. I might have to go and take a look this weekend

don't be afraid to go different also,

my engagement ring had 2 small diamonds between three small gems which are my birthstone, and its the same birthstone my daughter has so i can one day pass it onto her and have it be relevant and special...


i think people spend so long worrying about the diamond they forget about the metal in the band, depending on what metal the engagement ring is made of, it will matter for the wedding band so think ahead too if you can.

dahamsta

Don't be afraid to be completely different: Diamonds only really took off in engagement rings because of a marketing campaign by De Beers. They also have a risk of coming from conflicted countries (albeit less so these days), and they don't hold their value; excepting sentimental of course.

Myself and my wife have matching plain platinum bands (originally white gold, but they didn't like the hard water in east Cork), with identical gold wedding rings. I'm sure some people thing I'm mad for having demanded a matching engagement ring, but screw them, I like it. Plus of course mine are man-sized, so I got more gold and platinum out of it.

MadsL

+1 on ignoring the diamond hype. Maybe try a craft jewelry whose style you like. My wife has a silver and gold handmade ring and I have a split platinum band with melted gold insert also handmade from Matthew Perry in Powerscourt.

Nice to get a one-off rather than a same old same old solitaire.

John Mason

Why go for a diamond ? every second person has one.

Go for a coloured stone, i can highly recommend Lapis on Nassau Street.

and who said an engagement ring has to cost more than 300e in the first place

dahamsta

De Beers. :-)

abbeyrock

Do not pay high street prices, either go abroad (risky) or use one of the mand diamond brokers in Dublin, do a search on google. I bought mine for my wife through a diamond broker for half the price i would have paid in a shop. pm if you want the name otherwise do a search online for a diamond broker.

delthedriver

Congratulations on your Engagement
This is an exciting time in your lives.
The size or quality of the ring does not matter.
The ring is only a symbol, what matters much more is that you love each other.
Have a wonderful life together