Engagement ring advice

newtothis13

Hi all, OH and I are hoping to get engaged soon and have been saving towards it. We have no clue when it comes to shopping for the ring however. I have heard of the 4 c's etc. I have no idea what style I would like, am hoping something jumps out at me!
What is a general budget when it comes to this? We are thinking between 2000-2500. Is this too little? Should we say this budget when we go to a jeweller?
Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

goldenhoarde

do a search on here for engagement rings to find the advice people have already asked for -> http://www.boards.ie/search/submit/?query=engagement+ring

Also check out the sticky on engagement rings here -> http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056141075 as this goes into the 4 C's and lots more!!

Okay as to advice (remember most people only do this once ) does she wear rings already (i'm assuming that you are the guy in all this but open to correction) as this might give you a clue to what she might like? also location of yourselves would be good so people can pass on recommendations for that area?

My OH didn't wear rings so we got a bespoke one made up as both of us had no idea. We did some looking around and with the help of the jeweller we got the ring she loves (and one i'd never have picked by myself)!

newtothis13

Thanks for the reply, we will go together to choose the ring, the only factor is not yellow gold. Just wondering would a budget of 2-2500 be good enough or too little, should we tell the jeweller our general price range? If we knew that for example we wanted a princess cut with diamonds down the side can we just see those available in that range etc?

CLL

Congratulations in advance!
We have recently got enraged and chose the ring together, out budget was similar to yours and we had lots of choice.
I had tried in a couple of rings in my own in a local jewellers to get an idea as to what suited me.
Booked appointments in Dublin city centre for John Brereton and Voltaire one Saturday afternoon- call in advance as they are busy.
We told them. What I had been looking at and how much we wanted to spend and they had rings lined up and ready to try on when we got there.
I ended up going with a ring from John Brereton as it was stunning and in budget - that's the beauty of calling head with the budget so that you don't fall in love with 6k rocks!

Make a day of it and book somewhere nice for lunch etc...

newtothis13

Thanks v much that sounds good!! Great advice. What range of carats would you be looking at in that price range?

CLL

newtothis13 wrote: »

Thanks v much that sounds good!! Great advice. What range of carats would you be looking at in that price range?

I suppose it varies depending on the style but we found they went from .30 ( in Tiffany) to approx .50. Both with great clarity etc.
I tried not to get too caught up in the technical points and focus on finding a beautiful ring that I could wear every day...job done:)

Moonbeam

The carat depends on the quality of the diamonds that she wants.
2-2500k is quite a large budget now a days and do haggle with the shops.
Does she want platinum or white gold? That will also effect price.

newtothis13

Moonbeam wrote: »

The carat depends on the quality of the diamonds that she wants.
2-2500k is quite a large budget now a days and do haggle with the shops.
Does she want platinum or white gold? That will also effect price.

White gold is the aim. Carats aren't a huge priority, just a ring that is easy on the eye and wearable forever.
Glad to hear the budget is good, was afraid we'd go shopping to find that would be a starting price. Is haggling generally the done thing?
Thanks for the feedback.

CLL

It wasn't in JB- the sales assistant knocked €50 off for us but we didn't ask for it:)
You will have lots of choice with your budget - happy shopping:)

Gatica

Get something made! It's much much cheaper than buying in the shops.

Would recommend Michael Horan (http://www.michaelhoranjewellery.com/) and lots of people on boards have also used Voltaire. You save a huge amount by just not having a pretty shop-front.

John Brereton Jewellers

Many thanks for the mention on this thread CLL. We have a wide selection of engagement rings in this price range and you can view a small range of them here on the link below. There is also information on the 4 C's (Cut, colour, carat and clarity) on our website.

http://www.johnbreretonjewellers.ie/Engagement-Rings

You can either call into us at any time in any of our three branches (Grafton Street, O Connell Street, Capel Street) or make an appointment in advance and we can reserve an area for you. This can be done by phoning us (01-6775350) or by sending an email to info@johnbreretonjewellers.ie.

superman28

The jewellers off Grafton street always ask, what's your budget.. but you should always begin by saying show me a selection in different price ranges... don't reveal your budget until after you have viewed the 3 (or more) different price ranges.

Their is a massive mark up on rings,, and they are salesmen and women after all,, so don't get suckered in and take your time.

Voltaire Diamonds: Seamus

Many thanks for mentioning Voltaire Diamonds in this thread.

My advice is shop around, see what you can get for your budget in the retail shops.

Voltaire Diamonds do not have the overheads of a retail premises, hence more competitive prices. We meet all clients at our offices on Harcourt Street in Dublin.

Our workshop can make any style of ring to suit your specific budget.

Please visit our youtube channel where you will see over 800 styles we have made for happy clients.

https://www.youtube.com/user/VoltaireDiamonds/videos

Many thanks
Seamus

www.voltairediamonds.ie

eustie5

newtothis13 wrote: »

Hi all, OH and I are hoping to get engaged soon and have been saving towards it. We have no clue when it comes to shopping for the ring however. I have heard of the 4 c's etc. I have no idea what style I would like, am hoping something jumps out at me!
What is a general budget when it comes to this? We are thinking between 2000-2500. Is this too little? Should we say this budget when we go to a jeweller?
Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

We had a similar budget to you - max €2.5k and did a fair bit of shopping around. I'm from Limerick but found prices a good bit better in Dublin.
We went with Bespoke Diamonds (www.bespokediamonds.ie) and met with Peter, the diamond wholesaler - got a beautiful ring for under our budget.
I found that many of the other jewellers, when we told them our budget were showing us rings for about €4k plus which was quite annoying.
The jeweller gave me a link to his website with the 4C's but think a few jewellers have provided this info already.
http://www.bespokediamonds.ie/engagement-rings/

We looked at the whole buying online but heard a few horror stories so decided to go somewhere where I could try on a ring and if I liked it - to buy it.
The online shops have great advice tho on diamonds and engagement rings and even what the preferred dimensions should be for a marquise cut diamond for example. Found the American jewellers did the whole 'diamond education' a bit better than us Europeans.
Main point is tho - your budget will get you something very beautiful.

John Brereton Jewellers

My advice would be to try on the ring in the shop as you get a much better idea of what suits the hand. Also, as all jewellers have different pricing structures, you should look at the final price that you are being offered on the ring rather than the discount. It is also important that you compares like-with-like when shopping around and this may be done by comparing the diamond certificates which contain information on the diamond cut, carat weight, colour and clarity.

John Brereton Jewellers have been in business for almost 100 years and our rings are very keenly priced. Moreover, our diamonds are of exceptional quality as they are hand chosen by our diamond specialist Liam Brereton.. Please visit our website for more information on www.johnbreretonjewellers.ie

Lombardo86

John Brereton Jewellers wrote: »

My advice would be to try on the ring in the shop as you get a much better idea of what suits the hand. Also, as all jewellers have different pricing structures, you should look at the final price that you are being offered on the ring rather than the discount. It is also important that you compares like-with-like when shopping around and this may be done by comparing the diamond certificates which contain information on the diamond cut, carat weight, colour and clarity.

John Brereton Jewellers have been in business for almost 100 years and our rings are very keenly priced. Moreover, our diamonds are of exceptional quality as they are hand chosen by our diamond specialist Liam Brereton.. Please visit our website for more information on www.johnbreretonjewellers.ie

I have to admit, in our search for an engagement ring, i found John Brereton Jewellers to be quite lacklustre. Arriving into the Grafton Street store (Albeit without an appointment one Saturday), we were asked what we would like to see and were shown upstairs. We had also indicated a price range.

The guy showed us a number of rings, and even though he asked us if we knew our diamonds (we said we didn't), and didn't explain ANYTHING to us. This was incredibly frustrating.

Without an appointment, we couldn't be upset at the lack of selection on the site since we arrived unnannounced, however, the representative informed us he would call the other branches as we had the day to go around town and said we might visit their other branches. What happened next was quite hilarious.. he a) didn't call the other stores and b) after saying he would give us the cards of the other stores with addresses/phone numbers, simply ushered us out of the store without either.

Would not recommend

snickerpuss

If anyone is unsure I'd recommend going to Voltaire and having a chat with them.

I had never worn jewellery before but had some ideas of what I'd like based on an antique engagement ring I'd seen. They made the ring bespoke for me and it's exactly what I wanted. They weren't pushy at all with the budget either. I gave them the amount and they told me how they would make it for that budget. I was the one who increased the spec Very happy overall.

Vet Thrower

When getting engaged, my wife and I went around the shops and tried on various different styles of ring / stone. She ended up deciding on a style which she said she never would have thought she would go for until she saw it on her finger.

Once she had chosen what she wanted, I bought a diamond online from Blue Nile - at a much better price than I would have paid here. I was wary about this about this at first, but I checked them out and they are a publicly traded company, so not going to mess around. They have a huge selection and allow you to search using all the different criteria - 4cs, symmetry, depth, flourescence, table, etc. It was delivered by courier very promptly, with its certificate, and everything checked out when I got a jeweler to examine it.

Then I brought it into a jeweler and had them make up the ring exactly as she wanted it. It took some shopping around to find a jeweler who would make the ring for us though, as most of them wanted to source the diamond themselves (and mark up accordingly). Due to the savings on the stone, the finished product cost about two thirds of what it would have cost to get here in Dublin.

I'm sure the Dublin jewelers won't like this advice, but it worked out extremely well for us.

Theboinkmaster

All i would say is pay attention to the CUT of a diamond as i think it's incredibly important to get the best possible.

I've seen 2c diamonds look smaller than 1.5c ones due to the cut - no point getting a large dull looking one.

Quality over quantity IMO - I'd much rather a 0.5c triple A cut GIA diamond rather than a dull 1c one.

BespokeDiamonds.ie: Martin

Many thanks 'eustie5' for mentioning Bespoke Diamonds Dublin on this thread.

We have a large selection of engagement rings available to view in our Dublin office.
All our diamonds are certified and they can be exchanged for something else at a later date which is great for guys popping the question!

We specialise in finding the best quality diamond for our clients budget and recently won the 'Jeweller Of The Year 2014' from WeddingsOnline.

We encourage or clients to shop around in different jewellers before visiting us, which helps them get an idea of preferred style and budget.

Many thanks
Peter Fitzpatrick
Diamond Dealer

www.bespokediamonds.ie

Fagashlil

Extremely surprised at the negative review for Breretons, we found them brilliant. Went to the store on capel street, staff couldn't have been more helpful, brought rings from the other stores for us, and when I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for, they changed the stone from one ring into the setting I liked of another. Went back to get our wedding rings from there too, and will be heading in soon to pick out an eternity ring.