Engagement Rings

I don't like that ring personally but if you do that's the main thing.

Some of the ladies on here have sapphire rings so it doesn't just to be diamonds.

and it doesn't matter what other people think.

When I was looking at engagement rings one of my favourites was £30 from argos!

And congratulations on the soon to be engagement! ?

I agree with this. Mine is a pretty traditional solitaire style but thats what I wanted.

Have you actually tried any on or have you just been looking online?

Get yourself into a big jewellers and try on a load of different rings and see what you fall in love with. If you want coloured stones then that's what you should get, you'll be wearing it for the rest of your life so I would only worry about what you and your OH think. "Unusual" rings are much more popular now so you don't have to just go for a single diamond.

I haven't tried any on yet but when I was looking I couldn't see any I liked and thought they were all nice enough but didn't speak to me. The minute I saw this ring in the window it just caught my eye and I decided it was 'the one'. I then looked it up online and sent the pic to the OH. It is so not what i thought I would have wanted- I always thought I would have wanted a princess cut diamond and pretty plain whereas this one is round with lots of stones etc. It has 0.5ct of diamond so isn't completely non traditional!

Hi there and congrats. I'd echo the advice to try rings on before deciding. I wanted a ring very like yours but with a central diamond as well, and the outer ring made of baguette diamonds. Very art deco style. Totally had my heart set on it (and, no, it wasn't cheap, the ones I looked at were about £10k so your OH has no worries there!)

However, when we went to look for a ring for me, that style really looked awful on me. Because it was flatter to the finger (what I wanted, due to my work) light didn't get underneath and it wasn't as sparkly as I thought. I have shortish fingers and it just looked like a splodge. In one shop, an assistant said that due to my finger shape, I needed either a small diamond or height to the ring, so I've ended up with a much more traditional large solitaire with diamond shoulders.

When my H2B proposed it was a complete surprise - he picked out the ring (which is a white gold solitaire) and popped the question without me expecting a thing! However - I like to have things that are different and would have chosen something a lot less traditional if I'd had the choice, but am designing my own wedding ring in a style that (I hope) will be completely unique, but will compliment my plain (but beautiful!) solitaire. So I would definitely say that if you have the choice go for what you want and love cause you'll be wearing it a lot!!

I did see somewhere though, that diamond is used generally for engagement rings because its the only stone that is hard enough to stand up to the wear and tear of being worn every day without being scratched or damaged - so I would recommend talking to a good jeweller before getting an amethyst in case it does get damages in any way. I think rubies and sapphires are the next hardest stones after diamond.

I really like your ring!

Again, echoing what everyone else said - get what you like, but also try some on. Mines is a wee bit unusual too (marquise diamond with a pave diamond band) which we got made online but I did try on some in a few jewellers too (as well as different styles). I kept coming back to mine though....

I always thought I wanted something different to the usual solitaire ring but my oh having spent months looking for the right one without me knowing actually bought a simple solitaire and it is stunning! I surprised myself by liking it so much, it has a really high clarity so it is really sparkly and I always catch people checking it out!. I think you should go and try some on first and then see what you really like.

Hi babyb100, I LOVE your ring, mainly as it is very similar to mine, but mine is all diamonds!! I do agree with Frandy though, do go and try loads on. I has set my heart on an emerald cut diamond from when I was small but when I tried it on it just did not suit me at all. In a way a bit like finding "the dress" when you see it and put it on your know it is the ring for you.

Good luck with the ring shopping and the forthcoming engagement - be sure to let us know what you chose ?

I have a sapphire ring (kind of like Kate Middletons) which was picked for me and I love. I have had loads saying how different it is and lovely, and really don't think it looks cheaper than a diamond -IMO can be the opposite, and i love the sparkly diamonds around.

Ultimately though agree cost should not be a consideration - I love that ring!

My original engagement ring was a lovely simple 1 carat solitaire which I loved - it was high up and very sparkly! However for Valentine's Day the boy decided he wanted to add to the ring and as a treat we went to a bespoke jewellers and we designed some additions to it - my 'new' ring (same main diamond and gold for the setting, so not all new) will have a central solitaire, framed with smaller diamonds (it's a round cut stone, so the smaller diamonds will echo this circle) with a baguette diamond set either side actually in the band of the ring. I think that this will be really unusual (although others may have seen others like it, I don't think I have), and I'm quite excited to have something a bit different -although I did love my solitaire. I think you should have whatever you like - and who cares if someone 'assumes' it's cheaper? They'd be very rude to comment on it.

This is mine. I didnt know exactly what i wanted when we went shopping (he proposed first and knew id want to pick my own ring) although it had to have colour, a diamond solitaire just isnt me at all, and ive always loved tanzanite! As soon as i saw this one in the window i fell in love with it and luckily it looks just as good on my finger ? so far noones had anything but nice things to say about it and to be honest i dont care if theyre faking it. I say just have what makes you happy when you look at it every day and sod everyone elses opinion!!!

Its got nothing to do with anyone how much your ring costs. You could spend £20 and tell them it cost £2000 and they probably would be none the wiser.

Mine has a sapphire in it and I LOVE it. It cost £199 originally, in 9ct white gold and no one has ever asked me how much it cost. We've had it reset in a more expensive metal and its now worth considerably more, but still using the same stones. I still love it and no one has any idea how much it costs. In fact i've compliments on how unusual it is for an engagement ring (although i don't think its that unusual)

This is the original ring (its more expensive now):
:

Mine looks pretty traditional but is a swarovski crystal not a diamond. I preferred it to the diamnod rings in our budget but I know when people find out its a crystal they probably think I mean cubic zircona but I dont care, as has been said id have been happy with an argos ring if it was pretty and my Oh had chosen it!

I just got engaged at the weekend and I'm still waiting for my engagement ring to arrive. It's a sapphire and diamond ring which I absolutely adore. I didn't realise that they weren't that popular, I know several people with stones rather than diamonds. I personally am not a huge fan of solitaires they just do nothing for me. My OH said my eyes lit up when I tried on my ring but then I tried on a solitaire and he said I couldn't have looked less impressed ? That solitaire was £1500 and tbh I couldn't tell.

It's your engagement ring, you're going to look at it every day for the rest of your life so get something you love.

Han do you have a pic of the ring?

It's very similar to yours!

Thanks ladies. I wouldn't care if I was wearing a Haribo ring but the OH is just worried that people think he's being cheap as it's amethyst but it costs close to £1000 so certainly isn't!

To all the ladies who've flashed, thank you. I loves me a little perv on other people's things!

If you love that ring then go try it on! The cost of the ring matters not one jot and I would never assume that because a ring isn't a traditional diamond that it was cheaper. TBH, I can't really tell the difference between most diamonds and a cubic zirconia anyway ?

My ER is non-traditional as the main stone is an emerald. It is perfect for me because my favourite colour is green, it's my birthstone and H proposed on my birthday. I've had nothing but lovely comments on the fact that it is unusual!

My ring was 27.95 silver and cubic zirconia !! i love it , i've seen a ring that i would like for my wd it's also silver + cz and it's 19.99 , oh as seen a ring 9.50 ......although we have'nt got a massive budget we could afford more than this but these are the ones we like ... i'm the 1 wearing them FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE ? ( butterflies in the tummy moment saying that ) go for what you like and want.

p.s i love your ring x

Oooh it is! i fully approve in that case ha ha

Congratulations! I love colored gemstones too!You should do what you love and what makes you happy. Sapphires are beautiful. My ring is very similar to stripeyraches. It's a diamond with emerald sidestones. I love it, although like you've seen, some people think engagement rings should only contain diamonds. I also got a good deal on it. James Allen ships free to the UK. Here's my ring:

http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/sold/settings-with-colored-sidestones/6797/Emerald-Cut-Rings.html

I'm wondering why you think sapphires aren't so popular. From what I see they're getting more popular everyday because of Kate Middleton. Rubies, emeralds, and amethysts are not as popular as sapphires though.

I love your ring!

My engagement ring was my mother in laws, she offered it to me and my partner and then a month later my partner proposed. Sadly my mother in law passed away in october so it really is special. its 18ct gold with a sapphire set in the centre which is also special as me my partner and my mother in laws birth stone is sapphire.

We are also using her wedding ring i'll post a pic of that later.

(please ignor the toys in the background)

I think its not at all important what it costs of what other people think.

My other half and I got engaged when we had no money. He bought a band of silver and made a ring for me himself.

Its not a perfect circle, it doesn't have a rock, and lots of other people think its a wedding band - but its perfect to me.

When we went to choose wedding rings last week I have chosen one with rubies in it - people have said - oh a wedding band with stones, how unusual. At the end of the day its yours and your man's choice.

However I would say having gone to try on wedding rings thinking I knew what I wanted I found they didnt suit me at all and ended up with a completely different style, so maybe try a few on and see how they feel. I knew as soon as I put on the wedding ring that it was the one just like my dress.

There are some lovely rings ladies!

My OH proposed with a "cheap tack crap ring" (HIS words- not mine), the second thing he said to me after the whole will you marry me thing is that he was sorry for the ring and he would get me a proper one when we had enough pennies- bless him! This ring is a tiny diamond in a very odd setting that is made to make the diamond look bigger than it is, its unusual and I wouldn't have picked it but it obviously now means an awful lot to me.

My "official" ring, we ordered the other day along with our wedding rings, it is an aquamarine and diamond white gold ring (as stripeyrache said, its my birthstone and OH proposed on my birthday) I can't wait for it to arrive not least because it will fit properly whereas my original ring has never fit quite right. I will always wear the original ring on my right hand and it is very precious to me but I ADORE my new ring which is this one:

Short version of my MASSIVE essay is, its all about what you want! You have to wear it and if you want an amethyst then you have one!