CaptainFlashheart, I was thinking wedding rings, but you never know!

Ah, well that’s a good point!

Hope she loves it, and good for you! 🙂

Thomthumb it is all about the death and destruction that surround the diamond mining industry

Just the same as the oil, cocoa and unobtanium industries, then.

Charles Green in birmingham. My parents got theirs from there and 35 years later so did i. They even had the cutting template from the original ones.

As somebody said, sounds like you want a princess cut.

Why not treat her to a weekend in London and she can pick her own in Hatton Garden?

I got a novelty flashing disco ring in Goa to pop the Q to my wife as a stopgap.

Let her pick her own, or go and pick one between you once you have proposed … its a fun process. If she is nice, she will understand your budget ( may hold back a little to keep some reserve, cause no doubt, she’ll pick something thats a little over the budget ! …. been there ! )

I say this cause I had ideas in my head of what type of ring would be the right one. Once I had proposed, we went and tried the ones I thought would be nice, and they just didn’t suit her.

Also, read up on diamonds and their grading … once you understand it, you’ll see the differences between the diamonds when you’re looking at them. Biggest is not always best.

In the end, we got a solitaire engagement ring. Not the largest, but the diamond is near flawless, near colourless and an excellent cut. It really really sparkles.

good luck.

🙄

mrs xiphon’s was free – ancient family treasure, from 1850, made from cut-off jewels at the crown jewellers Garrard’s 🙂

( Great-great-Grandfather was the chief crown jeweller at the time!)

Sorry, like to brag about that one 😀