I want to an engagement ring, but where do I start?

I want to get something unique, in platinum or white gold with diamonds of some sort of fashion. I don’t want something run of the mill like a solitaire and preferably something that is bespoke or one of a kind!

I live in West London, but work in the city so anything close by would be a bonus.

I've heard Hatton Garden is very over priced for they are selling, but is that the best place in London for something special?

Thanks in advance for your help

Do a search......this was asked lat week iirc.

Thanks

Go to "Tiffany's" Mate !

Ladies love it ! :D

South-Star, there wasn't much advice on retailers on the previous thread http://www.scoobynet.co.uk/bbs/threa...=219837&Page=1

Jonto, I had a quick look on at the website, but everything seems really lairy! I guess I will look again, just in case. ;)

Thomas Kettle in Neal Street is good. A bit more unique than Tiffany ;)

Before any of you knock me for saying that, I have a few bits from there!

Cheers guys, I think I may give Jeremy Hoye ago.

A couple of things have caught my eye on there.

Thanks Scoob_babe, I found the website for Thomas Kettle

my engagement and wedding rings are from Jeremy Hoye. We went to the Brighton shop (totally forgot to tell you about the one in town!) and they were brilliant.
If you want any info on them, mail me as profile

[Edited by scoob_babe - 19/06/2003 17:09:27]

or you could try christopher wharton, this is the guy who used to be the designer for Garrard

Elizabeth duke at Argos....Top quality.

they're probably cheaper but hesitant over the use of Argos and quality being mentioned in same sentence ;)

:D

I agree with Thomas Kettle, ended up buying the wife her engagement ring there, went in with a budget of 1.5k ended up spending 2.5k, I suggest you go to the Italian just down the road first and get pi$$ed, also when you get the bill from the Italian(think it was 150 quid just for lunch) you wont be shocked by the prices in TK :)

But like has been said, they are very bespoke and unique and will increase in value and always look good.
I am sure all you gals agree!

Nice to see a guy who thinks before he buys and considers the quality too!

She's gonna be a very lucky girl

J

Magpies! Dont be so silly - get her a silver band and a top of the range Jetski you can both use ;) So much for so little IMHO

Another vote for Thomas Kettle. Quality stuff - nice people. They're not in Neal Street any more, though still somewhere around Covent Garden.

the only problem is they can be a tad forgetful about customers!
I have a necklace and bracelet from there and quite fancied having earrings made to go with them - they never did get back to me!

Sicey - could you tell me what you got, roughly, from TK for 2.5k, if you see what I mean? I like the look of the stuff on their website, but it is quite pricey. I think the max. I could stretch to would be about 3k and obviously it would be nice to get a reasonable sized stone. You could mail me as per profile if you prefer, or can be bothered :).

Cheers,

Charlie.

Try www.cooldiamonds.co.uk they have some nice looking stuff.

Whilst wandering through the Bath city streets a few weeks back we came across a small independant jewellery maker's shop. The stuff in there looks very impressive. Can't remember the name unfortunately but according to the sign in the window they'd won an award of some sort. Google might reveal more

Jeremy Hoye!

I got the engagment ring from there....then the wedding rings, diaond ear rings for a wedding present, presents for bridesmaids, cufflinks for best man and ushers and then diamond neckalce for her next birthday!!!

That was in both the Brightn and London stores, excellent service, quality and generally a bit more unusual!

Peter

Jess James in Newburgh st,Soho..
Very cool and trendy.
www.jessjames.com

oh my god. i cant believe the prices you guys spend on engagement rings!!!!!

its not the amount you spend thats important...its if she actually LIKEs the ring thats important.

*this is of course dependent on how much money you actually have...if youre minted...spend spend spend :D:D:D:D:D

sexy wrx - TBH I didn't have any idea of how much this was going to set me back. Before I started looking into it I thought that a monkey would see me proud :). However, there was a concensus that a month's wages (which doesn't sound that much, does it?) should be parted with. So that bumped up the bottom line a bit, then I started cxhecking out websites and I could see that it would be easy to blow away a fair bit more. Especially if I had a few pints before going in the shop....

In the end of the day I don't intend to do this more than once, so I reckon I should put into it what I can afford to. It would be a bit of a sad state of affairs it the engagement ring cost less than my cd player (Meridian 588 BTW ;)), wouldn't it?



[Edited by ProperCharlie - 20/06/2003 14:26:04]

Months wages is the rule per say, I parted with a far chunk of my bonus whilst working in the city, Take a look down Hatton garden it is a learning experieince you can use in other shops too. There a few places that will make you something unique.

Make sure the diamond is certificated if you are spending a wedge if you want something fashionable the best place i found in Hatton Garden was Hirsh www.hirsh.co.uk, in the end i went for a huge solitaire in Platinum with a deep american setting so the solitaire didnt stick out so far.

there are a few online ring designers which are useful for playing with to get some idea of the design, because if you have some idea what to look for it makes it so much easier when you are shopping.

remember the 4c's and get a certificate to prove it

@proper charlie

I ended up buying what looks like a triple bezel ring, they range from 2k upwards, although I think my wifes has a saphire in the middle and 2 diamonds either side?.
At the time I think they knocked a few hundred quid off because they wanted the sale :)

John.

Now who was it said you should spend a months' salary??? Hmmm I wonder? Probably the same type of business that invented Fathers Day;)

I think it is lovely to spend a few grand on a ring for your loved one, but I could never do it and then us both have to miss out on a holiday or having to stick the council tax on Visa! I guess you need it to be very 'spare' cash n'est pas??

what ever you do dont go to tiffany or any of the other big name sellers - they literally have a 300% mark up. I bought my girlfriend a ruby ring for her birthday a couple of years ago. saw one like what I wanted in a fancy jewellers and got one made for less than 25% of the price and much better quality. you need to know the right people in hatton garden - failing that go to europe and buy it

A month's salary sounds about right. Just don't mention which month ;) ie. January 1992 sounds good to me!

Seriously....I have just taken the plunge myself and looked into getting her a nice loose diamond to have set in a ring out here in Switzerland.

However, I quickly found out that diamonds are simply a commodity and wholease prices are set in USD's. Therefore, with the dollar weak right now, I wanted to make sure I was paying the right price for the stone.

Local prices were ridiculous so I looked at Cooldiamonds.co.uk who were far better but they quoted me something like £250 for shipping (doh!) and I found them to be arrogant so no deal.

So, I ended up ordering a GIA certified loose stone from diamond.com in Florida and hopefully it'll be here by the end of this week and with a 30 day return policy, I should have time to get it re-valued out here before committing to having it set.