I plan on proposing to my girlfriend but

INeedHelp15

I have absolutely no clue what engagement ring to buy her.

I have picked out a few that I 'think' she'll like and she's told me before that she doesn't want to go shopping for a ring, she just wants me to pick it!

As I'm clueless I was thinking of contacting her older sister and asking her for her opinion on which ring she'd like the most. The only think holding me back is that I don't want anyone to know what I'm planning until I actually pop the question but I'm absolutely lost on what to do.

Do I just buy a ring on my own, do I enrol her sister to help me and what kind of ring will I buy?

My budget is about 3k but I have no idea what I should be looking for or where to look for it. Can I get a certified diamond engagement ring for that price?

Aaaagggghhhhh

Any help much appreciated.

Tefral

INeedHelp15 wrote: »

I have absolutely no clue what engagement ring to buy her.

I have picked out a few that I 'think' she'll like and she's told me before that she doesn't want to go shopping for a ring, she just wants me to pick it!

As I'm clueless I was thinking of contacting her older sister and asking her for her opinion on which ring she'd like the most. The only think holding me back is that I don't want anyone to know what I'm planning until I actually pop the question but I'm absolutely lost on what to do.

Do I just buy a ring on my own, do I enrol her sister to help me and what kind of ring will I buy?

My budget is about 3k but I have no idea what I should be looking for or where to look for it. Can I get a certified diamond engagement ring for that price?

Aaaagggghhhhh

Any help much appreciated.

Have you done your research on the 4 C's? In my opinion its much better to reduce the Carat size to get a better cut. Ive seen some women with 2 carat rings and they are just like a piece of glass on their fingers.

What are her other rings like Op? does she have a pattern of style? I noticed all my other halfs rings had square stones, so I went with that..

I also downloaded the tiffany app, that has a ring sizer on the screen so you can drop her rings on to it and size her finger from that.

pwurple

You can get a lovely ring for that.

Try bluenile for a bit of research. Largest online retailer of diamonds in the world.
http://www.bluenile.com/ie/

andreac

Personally i would suggest buying a token ring to propose, then go and pick out a ring together, one that she really likes, as she could have very different taste to you...

MarieOC

andreac wrote: »

Personally i would suggest buying a token ring to propose, then go and pick out a ring together, one that she really likes, as she could have very different taste to you...

But she's said she wants him to pick it. I was the exact same and was delighted he listened and bought the ring without me. I love my ring and to me it's extra special because he chose it.

I know girls who wanted to pick their own rings and would have hated their OH's buying without them but if she's said its what she wants she trusts your judgement. Most shops will allow you to exchange it after the proposal anyway, so maybe just double check with them before buying and then you'll have peace of mind.

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

When I got engaged, he did it without a ring and we went the next day and chose one together. However, I'm not a big jewellery person and I would have preferred him choose a ring and it would have been super special because he chose it by himself. That said, it's not how things turned out and I absolutely love my ring.

I'm sure whatever ring you would pick out would be really special because of what it means to her rather than how it looks (which would be important too but not the most important)

andreac

Oh god I'm sorry.i didn't read the first post properly.

Do you have any idea on what style she likes at all?

Milly33

Well you could always just go with your gut instinct and then ask in the Jewellers if by any chance she didn't like ti could she change it.

I would have been the same with my fancy man I wanted him to pick for me.. Which he did, I think he got his mums input as such. But he went around to a few places and sais he choose the one that he did as the man was extremely nice there and assured him there was no problem with changing the ring if I wanted to and that aswell he liked the ring.. I is completely different to what I would prob choose myself but because he choose it for me I love it all the more and would not swop it for the world..

irelandrover

I'd say enroll the help of her sister. At least you can get her recommendations. See if what she picks matches up with what you were thinking yourself. I know you said you want noone else to know but having someone to help make such a decision will help you relax and make the proposal more enjoyable, IMO.

neonman

I picked out the ring for my now wife and she was over the moon that i picked it out myself she loved the design I went a bit left field with it.

I would high recommend these guys.

http://www.diamant.ie/index.aspx

Arrange a meeting with them and they'll talk you through the different types of diamonds and also you can pick the design yourself. We also ended up buying our wedding rings from them.

What is also great is that you're not stuck in a shop looking into a glass case trying to workout what is what with loads of other people coming and going, its nice and private.

Best of luck.

Toots

If you can be 100% sure that the sister won't blab, then I'd run it past her and see what she says. They may have chatted about engagement rings or just rings in general at some stage and your GF might have said something like "oh I hate/love xyz style of ring". As cronin_j said, does she wear any other rings, and if so what are they like?

The tiffany ring sizer app sounds genius, but if she doesn't have any other rings, then the tried and tested string around the finger could work - jewellers are well used to that!

If you really don't want to ask her sister, then what you could do is hunt through your photos and see if there's one where you can clearly see her hands. My brother in law did this, and when he went in to the jewellers they were able to recommend styles of rings that might suit; his fiancee has small fingers so certain types of ring would have looked a bit weird on her. They were pretty spot on and she loved the ring. You could try this for a few different jewellers and see are they all recommending a certain style. I'd advise you to choose something that can be sized if needs be - some rings with a lot of diamonds on the band are limited in how much they can be adjusted. Also check and see will the shop allow you to return it if she doesn't like it.

Princess Peach

My fiance proposed with the stones for my ring and a few design ideas from the jeweler. Gave me a choice of what to pick, or if I didn't like them we could start from scratch. Also then we were sure the finished ring would be a good fit.

Could be an idea to have a design, if she hates it you've not gone too far so.

This wouldn't be my area of expertise at all, but from reading the OP, my only advice is do not ask the sister, the mother or the dog for help. Keep it to yourself. Someone will be bound to ruin the surprise (even if by mistake).

magentis

I would deffo agree.Wing it.I wouldn't ask the sister.Maybe have a look at jewellery your girlfriend has bought herself to get an idea as to what she would like?

magentis

Its really something no one else should know about until the time comes.Just herself,you,the moon and the stars.

halfback5

Borrow one of her rings for size and head into Voltaire Diamonds ...would highly recommend

INeedHelp15

Right...

Firstly thanks to everyone for their suggestions but just posting on here cemented in my mind what I knew I needed to do.

I've not enrolled the help of anyone to buy the ring, I bought it myself based on what I like, what I think she'd like and things that she's said to me over the years. I had said previously that I'd propose with a 'token' ring but she said she'd prefer if I picked something as it would mean more.

I've told nobody about my intentions to propose, I know this will make her very happy as she will ask me did someone help me pick the ring and did I say it to anyone beforehand, she will be very happy that I did neither.

I guessed her ring size but where I bought the ring will make alterations for free if it's the wrong size.

I have no issue if she doesn't like the ring or if she wants to change it, that's fine as it's her that has to wear it.

Thanks everyone for their input, just saying these things out loud and reading your comments helped me greatly.

Now let's hope she says 'YES!'

INoLongerNeedHelp15

Milly33

Yeahh Congrats to you and best of luck with it!!

kitten_k

Make sure you come back and let us know how it went.

Voltaire Diamonds: Seamus

Many thanks for the mention halfback5.

Voltaire Diamonds meet lots of clients who are not sure of ring style, metal colour, stone shape etc. After a consultation with our client and having listened to all aspects of their partners life from existing jewellery they wear, type of employment, clothes styles etc we make a recommendation. With all our clients if the partner does not like the style or wishes to change the style slightly we have no problems making the new style to their specific wishes. The good news is that this rarely happens but when it does we make sure the couple are 100% happy.

Please visit our website to see a selection of styles available. If you have a specific style in mind, our workshop are always delighted to handmake bespoke designs.

http://www.voltairediamonds.ie/engagement-rings/

Hope you all had a great weekend
Séamus

brandnewaward

andreac wrote: »

Personally i would suggest buying a token ring to propose, then go and pick out a ring together, one that she really likes, as she could have very different taste to you...

+1 on this, i just had to fork out on the 2nd ring for herself lately, twas becoming the root of many argument as she had her heart set on one tht was totally unlike the one i got her. could have saved a fair few grand if i just let her pick it out from the start

Sherlof3

GOOD LUCK!! It's such a lovely time being engaged.

jennyhayes123

Did you propose?

NicoleW85

My husband got the lady in the shop to try on a few so that he could see what they look like on a finger. I'm sure her's were lovely and elegant (I've got little stumpy fingers haha) but he knows I'm self conscious about them so he kept it subtle but elegant. It's not exactly what I would have chosen myself, but I love it because it's from him!!!

INeedHelp15

jennyhayes123 wrote: »

Did you propose?

kitten_k wrote: »

Make sure you come back and let us know how it went.

I did propose and thankfully she said yes!

Thanks for the interest!

Toots

Congratulations!

jennyhayes123

Ahh congrats. That's great. Best of luck in future