Have to say Kenny I totally agree with J4CKO

I went to Ernst Jones and chose one myself for less than you are considering. It's the sentiment that counts (unless she's a money grabbing materialistic cow) and the fact that you've asked her to marry you should say alot more than how big the feckin diamond is... :rolleyes:

If you are seriously interested in value for money then take Imlach's advice:

However, the fact that you didn't have a ring to offer her when you proposed leaves me shocked at your lack of foresight :eek:

IMHO you really need the 'getting down on one knee and putting the ring on her finger routine' for maximum effect....










....also makes it harder for them to change their mind ;)

Congrats anyway...but FFS just go and buy a nice looking ring with a small diamond and save the extra cash for your wedding.

She may choose NOT to wear her engagement ring anyway in the future (Heather quite often just wears wedding ring) and all that money spent to just keep it in a box :rolleyes:

Good luck (but yup, you should have bought the ring before going to Paris) ;)

I seriously considered having the ring first but in hindsight I'm really glad I didn't. This process of picking and pretty much designing it ourselves has been really interesting and good fun. I've enjoyed learning about diamonds the last few days :thumb: We went into Earnest Jones but there was nothing that jumped out at as and we just sort of felt like 'everyone else'. I really like the idea of trying to secure a good quality diamond seperately and then getting it set exactly the way we want - its a bit more personal.

I believe this process and the extra time, thought and consideration will make for a more special 'symbol' of our affection for one another. Size and bragging rights don't matter to us - we are looking to get a ring that we both really like :)

Not as good fun as watching her walk around Paris with a shiny new ring on her finger all surprised and over the moon, and watching her face as she sits staring at it over dinner still all disbelieving etc :p

Only joking mate.....delighted for you both :thumb:

Enlighten me, I hope I don't get offended!

Wouldnt call it a clash, its just having lurked on here for longer than I care to remember I know you of old, I do appreciate the level of research you do but I reckon that I could spot you posts even if for some reason no usernames were visible !


You are right of course, a bit of research saves you a packet.

I don't think that's a bad thing though - what you see is what you get. My internet persona is no different to my personality in real life and I pride myself on that. I really don't understand people that try to be deliberately something they are not on internet forums. I suppose Chaos at least got that part right - he was a little w@nker in real life too it turns out :D

Pslewis is a perfect example - I believe he plays a roll on this forum and for that reason I just don't bother reading what he says as I suspect most of it is fake.

I can be really anal and a complete geek at times but I'd rather that that some chimp that buys a £3k beat up 1995 WRX and post on here something along the lines of, GOT MA NEW WRX AND ITS MINTED!! CAN ANYBUDY TELL ME WHERE TI GET VTA DUMP VALVES AND FLAME KITS

* Learn to read, Learn to write, Learn to take CAPS off and learn what the f*cking MAF sensor is all about :D

Quit cho jibba jibba foo'!

My wife kind of chose hers, it wasnt that expensive (about 800 quid I think) as we were buying a house and planning on breeding, anyway it was a Sapphirre with some small diamonds around it, I left it for as long as I could get away with to do the official bit and I am not very good at stuff like that, i.e. keeping a straight face sa being all serious makes me squirm,

So, we were decorating, well I was, she f*cked off shopping as usual at the merest hint of manual labour, I was racking my brains for a method of making it a surprise, it hit me as I was walking round the 8 til late buying my lunch (Bread and a Pot Noodle for pot Noodle butties), they had 'Lucky Bags' which is a bag of tat for kids, she had mentioned that she hadnt seen them for ages a weeke or so before so there was my plan !

Got home, opened the bag, put a piece of lace through the ring, put it back in and sealed it up.

She arrives back and I act all nonchalant, just mentioned that I had bought her a lucky bag seeing as she hadnt seen one, she inspects the decorating progress, mutters about how long its taking and has a bit of a face on, dissapears into the kitchen, the kettle goes on, she then emerges to me on the stairs with a big daft grin on her face.

I still surprise her like this nowadays, completely dead pan, unexpected, not for rings these days, it is however difficult surprising her with new methods to get her enter my own personal methane cloud......

How J4CKO's story could have gone

My wife kind of chose hers, it wasnt that expensive (about 800 quid I think) as we were buying a house and planning on breeding, anyway it was a Sapphirre with some small diamonds around it, I left it for as long as I could get away with to do the official bit and I am not very good at stuff like that, i.e. keeping a straight face sa being all serious makes me squirm,

So, we were decorating, well I was, she f*cked off shopping as usual at the merest hint of manual labour, I was racking my brains for a method of making it a surprise, it hit me as I was walking round the 8 til late buying my lunch (Bread and a Pot Noodle for pot Noodle butties), they had 'Lucky Bags' which is a bag of tat for kids, she had mentioned that she hadnt seen them for ages a weeke or so before so there was my plan !

Got home, opened the bag, put a piece of lace through the ring, put it back in and sealed it up.

She arrives back and I act all nonchalant, just mentioned that I had bought her a lucky bag seeing as she hadnt seen one, she inspects the decorating progress, mutters about how long its taking and has a bit of a face on, dissapears into the kitchen, the kettle goes on, she then emerges to me on the stairs clutching at her throat, visibly distressed and clearing turning blue through lack of oxygen!!! Immediately realising that she is choking I thump at her back in an attempt to free the obstructing sweetie/ring combo. She passes out and the life slowly drains from her as the ambulance races to my house. Realising there isn't time I grab a biro and kitchen knife and hack at her throat to insert a makeshift breathing tube.

Having botched the surgery and cut her vocal chords my loved one can no longer speak but every now and again she points to the large scar on her neck to remind me of our love for each other....

Who needs diamonds eh ;):D

When an obsessive compulsive does humour :freak3:

:D

Surely she could breather through her ring........

Anyway, whos the obsessive compusive, Saxo Boy or me,
Anyway, whos the obsessive compusive, Saxo Boy or me,
Anyway, whos the obsessive compusive, Saxo Boy or me,
Anyway, whos the obsessive compusive, Saxo Boy or me,
Anyway, whos the obsessive compusive, Saxo Boy or me,
Anyway, whos the obsessive compusive, Saxo Boy or me,
Anyway, whos the obsessive compusive, Saxo Boy or me,
Anyway, whos the obsessive compusive, Saxo Boy or me,
Anyway, whos the obsessive compusive, Saxo Boy or me,
Anyway, whos the obsessive compusive, Saxo Boy or me,
Anyway, whos the obsessive compusive, Saxo Boy or me

More detail please.............. :thumb:

^ LOL :D

Having had experience of being with someone that suffers OCD I can say that its not nice and its certainly not something that I have. I'm fairly neat and tidy and like control but that's just a life preference in the way that some people prefer a more random fly-by-your pants approach to life. OCD is a whole other ball game and is horrible to observe because there is no logic or reasoning to it.

The trouble is Saxo Boy your level of research works well with washing machine's and HDTV's e.t.c. A ring is an emotional purchase, you are treating the whole experience as if it's a white good.

Good luck and congratulations by the way :thumb:

I'm not sure I fully understand that. Diamonds can be assessed and graded for quality/quantity like most other commodities. You can therefore 'specify' them to one degree or another. Call me heartless but I can't see how I'd form any more of an emotional attachment to one diamond over another if they are of the same or similar specification. I'd feel differently if I'd found the raw diamond in the ground myself and managed its process to a finished gem but ultimately I have no relationship with the diamond prior to purchase.

This is no different to car shopping IMHO. You specify what you want and what car is actually delivered is neither hear nor there. Your emotional attachment to that car comes in the coming months. I rejected my first VTS within a few weeks of having it and found it quite easy to do. I know that if I sold my Imola Orange S2000 I'd probably not be able to ever have another IO S2000 as I have an emotional attachment to this one.

And there is the exact reason you are being anal about your ring. When looking at cars is there not times when one 'winks' at you....you know that's the car you want out of all the ones you've looked at, even if on paper it doesn't look as good as some others. Buying a ring is like that, it's an emotional time and I agree a diamond is a diamond but are you not buying a ring??

Just think when you're missus is telling the story:

'oh it was so romantic, kenny proposed with no ring so we spent AGES looking at designing one whilst he scoured the internet for deals and advice, it was AMAZING, we saved a FORTUNE!!'

Surely going out hand in hand to hatton cross or wherever (I would NEVER buy a ring from a high street dealers) with a fat wad of cash and choosing an old antique diamond ring, haggling a bit, then having lunch in an old pub somewhere and watching a theatre show at night be more romantic...a better story. Isn't the women you love worth it, rather than trying to get the best 'deal'.

You're making 'love' too clinical and it sounds sh1t to be fair. If I was your other half I'd be pissed I'd said yes to a cheapskate. TV's, Hifi's, pond pumps, roofs - fine, look for a deal. But not a ring.

I sold a couple of diamonds through a Sotheby's auction. It might be worth buying a jewellery auction catalogue as they are very detailed and I suspect you will get MUCH better value buying at auction than you would at a high street store. I couldn't find an on-line catalogue. Anyway this will give you a pretty good feel for what's about and prices. dl

A day out at the auctions....there's an idea.

SB - PM me if you have a spec - I am working with a jeweller setting up something to sell diamonds online. I can get you a price.

Most will tell you not to bother with getting D and Flawless and will recommend E/F VVS1/VVS2 - Given the choice go for colour, you wont see the differences in clarity with the naked eye at those grades.
Make a 'boat' of of white paper and line the stone in the grove (hard to explain) makes it easy to see the colour differences.

High streets shops will generally be GHIJ VS/SI or worse.

Also bear in mind the new grading system from the GIA.

A stone might be D flawless but it may have strong flourscence be badly cut (too much crown/table etc)...
Round brilliants are now also graded as XXX stones but I don't think its relevant to other shapes...

There are other grading systems and different jewellers will offer certificates from different labs.

Quite common not to offer a cert under .40ct

Check otu a local independent jeweller first, I went to one my mother had used for years when buying the ring for the other half.

He tipped out an envelope full of diamonds he got out the safe and right away just said "that one", picked the nicest one out and then made a platinum ring to go with it. The stone weighed in at .51ct I think and wasn't that pricey at all having the ring/mount made from scratch with the diamond mounted on.

To be honest no :confused: When shopping for cars I purely look at them on thier merits and I don't see how one can 'stand' out as such. If a car has swanky alloys but 5000 miles more and missing history I won't buy it!!

I think its more important to know your partner - I know that Laura would have been mortified if I'd made a public scene with a ring so I pulled her close and asked her without making any scene - she really appreciated that. I also know that whilst she would have liked something to show off immediately she also prefers the process of chosing and buying the ring together. We've shot some rings down already because I didn't like them - she wants my input.

Finally this isn't a money saving exercise. If the right diamond is double our expected 'financial range' then it will be purchased one way or another. We are just trying to get the most beautiful diamond we can for the sort of money we have available to us. I think its natural to try and seek good value especially when buying something so important.

Despite the usual sidetracking (which doesn't bother me) the purpose of this thread was to establish if buying from the internet is a reasonable option (i.e. is this a purchase you can trust to make on the net). I don't think that's a reasonable question to ask! I've done most of the dirty work myself and in the last few days have advanced my knowledge to a reasonable level. Far better than 'diamonds are sparkly' which was the extent of my understanding last week!!! :)

RichB thanks for the offer I'll publicly post my requirements in case anyone else can help as well:

My order of priority for the diamond is:

CUT
COLOUR
CLARITY
CARAT

I want an very high standard of cut falling in the top 10% of diamonds.

Colour Range: D-H
Clarity Range: VV1-VS2 (might consider S1)
Carat: 0.4-0.7

I want reliable certification and laser probably a lazer marking to tally with the certificate as well.

I've found diamonds meeting these criteria on various websites at a price we can afford but most are in America and I'm unsure of exactly how much we'll be hit with to get it into this country legitmately.

I bought my wife's engagement ring in San Fran - holiday paid for itself. It's just over 1 carat I think... pretty good stone although I can't remember the details. The setting can make it look a lot more impressive. Proposed on the beach at sunset in Monterey, chicks dig that sort of stuff!

oh yes they do, sunset at cafe del mar a couple of years ago :)

I'm just waiting for the forthcoming threads in the next year :

- Has anyone ever bought a wedding online? Will I save at least 2p per head?
- What colour of ribbon matches my orange S2000 wedding car the best?
- Wedding cakes - 14 tier or 18 tier? Which offers the most crumbs per £?

...and a few more years down the line....

- Any tips on how to breed the perfect child? Does penetration angle affect the gender?

:D :D

On a serious note, do tend to agree with perhaps there being an element of the emotion being taken out of this.....

Design your own wedding bands etc if you so desire....but engagement is different.

Too late now of course, BUT......

If you know the girl, you should know her likes & dislikes, and if not, you should have spent at least 10 minutes of your existing courtship letting her gaze in a jewellers shop to gauge her tastes.

Another way is to buy her some cheap tat ring as a practice run and extrapolating her tastes from that IN YOUR OWN HEAD :D :D

Still, as I said, too late now. You've taken the excitement out of it all :( Boo hiss, poor show ;)

LOL, I hate the S2000 forum girls - it was there idea months and months ago to talk me out of buying the ring in advance :D

In fairness I'm still glad they did - I knew Laura's taste and was going to buy a certain style of ring for her. We spent days in paris looking for that style and didn't find any we liked. Through that process we've both fallen in love with a completely different setting and style and we'll both be far happier with the final ring.

I pulled Laura close and proposed to her in a quiet and romantic way, but not before measuring her Body Mass Index to seven decimal places and subjecting her to a three hour Psychometric profiling programme on which she scored 83.7 percent which is well with the adjusted mean for Scottish female of breeding age.

I would have liked her to score higher but this was only the first run and she hesitated a little and I noted some slight hyperventilation, with work I think we could be into 90's, especially once I get to the bottom of the breathing problem, I personally think the ambient temperature was about four point seven degrees above optimal. My mates bird scored 89.4 on the same and is essentially the same spec (twin sister) so I cannot account for the difference in performance.

had her vtec kicked in yet though?