Shopping For Engagement Rings

| 18 Comments

With all the recent weddings and engagements going on with various friends, weddings and engagement rings have been a hot topic in ErinLand.  I am really just now starting to think about my own engagement ring.  Not that I necessarily expect to be proposed to any time soon, or know if I will even have any sort of say in the matter, but in my current situation it is not unreasonable to think it could come up soon (exhibit A).  And I want to be prepared, at least a little bit more than I am now.  And hey, looking at pretty diamonds is kinda fun.

There's so much to think about.  Gold?  White Gold?  Platinum?  What shape diamond?  One stone or multiple stones?  Traditional diamond stone or something us such as Sapphire (my birthstone).  Solitaire setting or added filigree?  What's a reasonable price to spend on a ring (I think I heard something like 2 months salary)? 

One friend of mine who is to be married in May has a beautiful Sapphire stone in the middle with a diamond on each side.  Another has a more art deco style ring which is also absolutely stunning.

I think that I have a basic idea of what I like: round, white gold or platinum, diamond, multiple stones...

engagementring.jpg   

Ultimately, I am not that picky.  And I think I would absolutely love whatever my boyfriend picked out for me (if I am so lucky to have him want to buy me a ring).

I am hoping for some reader participation on this one.  First, I'd love for people to leave their engagement and ring shopping stories in the comments.  Second, I would really like female input on the following:  would you like to be totally surprised by what your significant other picks out or would you want to be involved in the shopping?  Perhaps go along on a shopping trip or two just to get an idea and leave hints as to what you'd like and leave the rest up to him?

Thank you in advance for your input  :)

Also, for anyone who may be looking, I found a nice list of Top 10 Rules on Shopping for an Engagement Ring.

 



18 Comments

My husband and I went shopping together. We wouldn't have wanted it any other way. I picked exactly what I wanted (engagement ring is a diamond set on a gold band and my wedding ring was a simple gold band with three small diamonds set in a twisted center -- don't know if that makes sense.)

We spent probably under $1,200 for my engagement ring, my wedding band and his wedding band. That was plenty good enough. We aren't extravagant shoppers, so while I wanted something pretty, I didn't want anything Zsa Zsa Gabor, you know?

Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

Justin and his best friend went shopping together and picked out my ring for me. I had no idea shopping was going on.

I got one ring for both engagement and wedding. Since he knew I would just have a band and engagement ring welded together he spend more money on the stones.

I personally liked that he surprised me because he took the time and effort to find something that suited me. It was stunning but not "too much." It was practical and it was very me. He even had the band squared at the bottom so that when my ring starts to spin around my finger I just grab the edge of it with my thumb and can pull it back upright. Also - had I gone shopping with him he wouldn't have been nearly as excited as he was!

Ring shot: http://www.pdxtina.com/2009/05/almost-there/

My boyfriend and I have discussed getting married, it's going to happen once we feel financially stable more or less. I don't want to know about anything! I talk about what kind of ring i want with my two best friends and have told him before to solicit their help. I feel like he's got a good grasp on my style and the smarts to know to asks my girls for input. I want to be completely surprised!! (He's great at surprising me so that won't be too much of a challenge!! <3

You might as well have a say in it...you'll be wearing it for the rest of your life! I'm glad I picked out my ring. Almost all my girlfiends have replaced their sets for one reason or another. I'm sticking with the original...the one I got on that special day! :)

The hubby and I went shopping for the ring together. Actually, how it went was - we were at lunch and I said, "You know, we probably really should just get married." (This was something we had been discussing for weeks.) He agreed and so we went to the ring shop we liked best in the mall, applied for credit, and I chose the ring I liked best that was within our budget.

The hubby then held onto the ring for an unspecified length of time until he decided to officially propose. It ended up being two weeks, but it felt like months!

First, thank you all so much for sharing your thoughts and stories!

Kathy: I must additionally thank you for stumbling the post!! Your engagement ring sounds lovely. It sounds extremely similar to my mom's. I have an idea in my head as to what the wedding band looks like but who knows how close I am!

Christina: Justin did a FABULOUS job picking out your ring. That is great that he picked out something just perfect for you and you still had the element of surprise. So many specific details he thought about -- how sweet.

Beth: it sounds like you know exactly how you want things to go and have already set things in motion to make it happen! Congrats to you :)

NatureCat: I hadn't really thought about replacing the ring later on. I don't think I know anyone that's done that (at least yet!). I don't think I'd ever have the heart to trade in/exchange whatever my boyfriend picked out for me. I am pretty easy to please so I am sure I'd love whatever he chose :)

Candice: Ha. I can imagine those two weeks felt like forever! I think I would be super impatient if I knew he had it and was just waiting for the proposal!

Hi good day! This is a good post for those who are looking forward in getting themselves tied up.

Rings especially for the wedding is something that should be agreed by both parties. It's a good thing that we both agreed on our wedding ring. We agreed to have it as simple as possible. Our rings was made in a place in Bulacan, Philippines. The heart city of jewelry makers. We were able to get a good buys on our rings. Personalized and good buys! But the most important of all is how both of you agreed on something.

Hi Erin! i personally don't want my bf to spend a lot of money in buying an expensive ring. I much rather use that money to enjoy his company at a longer honeymoon. I like the idea of using the same ring for engagement&wedding. But that's just me!! Very cool blog. I enjoy reading you

Just me again... sorry! I messed up my previous comment and linked my name to someone else's blog!! I did not mean to do that. This is the link that should have been there!

personally, I think that the engagement ring needs to be a surprise. I think its great to look and see what your fiance comes up with when trying to dig really deep and find something that he knows you will love.. It also doesnt HURT to drop hints every once in a while - but i strongly believe that the guy should pick out the ring..

My husband and I did the engagement the old fashioned way.. I didnt REALLY have a say, because it was all done without me knowing :)

He went to my dad and mom and asked their permission about 6 months before he proposed. My dad offered him a diamond that he found in their cabinets when they were refinishing the kitchen. The diamond is not large, but it is one of the highest clarity diamonds the jewelery guy said he had ever seen.

My husband bought me a gorgeous white gold band with three smaller diamonds on each size. I guess that are inbetween a fleck and a diamond.. They are of the same quality as the original, so they look GREAT together.

Either way, its GORGEOUS and i love it.

We didn't have much money for our wedding bands. I bought my husband a really nice titanium ring which was around $300, and that was about all the money we had left.. AND the jeweler said it might not be ready for our wedding. So we went down the hall in the mall to a little jewelery Kiosk and bought two sterling silver bands for $25 (for both)

That was my wedding band. Luckily the day of our wedding, my husband's band was ready.. so he had a nice ring. I had my cheapy right which I still love to this day.

1 year later for xmas he bought me a gorgeous wedding band with 12 small diamonds around the top. They are small, and you can tell that they arent the same quality as the ones on my engagement ring.. but its AWESOME.

Now I wear three rings on my ring finger. I wear the plain sterling band on the inside, then the engagement ring, and then the wedding band.

Oh yea..

and my dad replaced my mom's ring at their 25th anniversary. My mom and dad were great together btw.. the happiest married couple i knew

Anyways.. on their 25th, my dad stole my mom's ring, leaving her in a PANIC for abotu a week (he thought it was funny) and took the large diamond that was in the single setting and bought another one to match. Those became the side diamonds and then my dad put a giant honking diamond right in the center. It was GORGEOUS.

When my mom and dad married, they had NO money. i mean, they had to boil water for baths because the water heater broke and they couldnt afford to fix it. At their 25th anniversary, my dad had grown his business into a multi million a year company. He felt he needed to get her something BIGGER.

We ordered silver Celtic knot rings over the Internet. I am not a fan of diamonds and already have jewelry I do not wear. This was my second and his third marriage.

I am really enjoying reading all the different opinions and advice everyone has. Thanks to everyone for contributing!

yashiro: i am very glad that you both were able to agree upon something you both like! what a great bonus that you got a really good deal too!

MSQ: i keep going back and forth between wanting something really nice (nothing TOO expensive or extravagnt but still nice) that i can pass on for generations and not wanting to spend too much on material things that are extras. glad you enjoy reading my blog. writing it wouldn't be nearly as much fun if people didn't read and enjoy :)

lindsay: thank you for sharing your stories. i find it sweet that you still wear the one that you actually had on your wedding day. i thought that was really funny what your dad did, but i probably would have FLIPPED OUT if it happened to me!!

CyberCelt: i really like celctic knot rings and other jewelry. i have some celtic knot earrings my sister bought me on her trip to ireland a while back and i love them.

We couldn't afford an engagement ring when we got married but my husband bought me a ring for our first anniversary and then another on our 25th. I might have been a bit worried about letting him choose if I'd known in advance, but he's proved he has good taste. Or, at least, taste that matches mine. :)

My engagement ring came about in a sort of different way. My mother loves going into jewelry stores whenever she can. Anytime that we would go into one my parents and I would always check out what was in stock. So one day we walk into a store and I see my ring. I just knew that it was the one. Little did I know that my father snuck out of the store, called my future hubby, told him where it was and how much. Then as we were standing there K calls the store and asks that they put it in hold for him. Next day he comes in and picks it up. A week later it is on my hand.
I never knew that both my parents and Keith were in on the plan. See what I like and report back to him. We laugh about it and I love that the whole family was in on it.

A.: You didn't know either time? He didn't ask for any input at all? What do each of the rings look like?

Danielle: Wow, that's quite the story. That's so cute that your parents were involved as well. What a sneaky little bunch! When is your wedding date (if you have one)?

Buying a diamond engagement ring for your would-be can be a difficult task for you if you do not have enough knowledge about diamonds. However taking care of the ring is equally important on the part of your woman

It is hard shopping for diamond engagement rings, but once you find the perfect ring, it is very rewarding.

About This Blog

Stories, advice, and random thoughts from a thirty-something female.

Many people in their thirties are dealing with common issues and concerns. Some of these include buying a home, establishing a career, starting a family, and dealing with aging parents. I will blog about all these things as well as other every day stuff as I make my way through this third decade of life.

You can read more about the author behind thirty-something blog on the About Me page.

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This page contains a single entry by Erin published on October 4, 2009 4:03 PM.

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