Jewellery Q & A
Your jewellery is a big part of making you feel like a princess, but not everyone knows how to go about getting it right. Check out these answers to some commonly asked questions…
How much is the average spend on wedding rings for the bride and groom? I have no idea how much to allocate for them, as a proportion of my £10,000 budget -
Budgets vary from wedding to wedding. I advise couples to spend as much as they feel comfortable with bearing in mind that the rings, the video and the photographs are the only things that you are left with after all the celebrations are over. I always think it is a shame if someone wakes up every morning looking at their wedding ring wishing that they had got the one that they really wanted, but didn’t because it was... more expensive. The rings are a very long-term purchase and so, within reason, should not be too budget related. I guess that with a total of £10,000 to spend on your wedding, you should probably spend about £1,500 on the two rings.
I have got a gold diamond pendant to wear which my Grandma wore for her wedding. Is it OK to take it into a jewellery designer and ask them to replicate it in a ring? Are diamonds OK in a wedding ring? -
It is a really nice idea – I am all for making the most of family heirlooms which mean so much. Diamonds are very much OK to have in a wedding ring, in fact they are almost becoming ‘standard’. They complement the diamond in your engagement ring and make the whole set a pair seeming to have been made to go together. Also there is nothing all that attractive about lots of heavy metal once it is slightly scratched and dull which unfortunately happens to all rings, even those made in platinum.
The do's and don'ts of wedding rings
You can mix metals as long as you do so in both the engagement and wedding rings. For example don’t have a platinum engagement ring with an 18ct yellow gold wedding ring or the platinum will wear away the gold where the rings touch. Don’t set the diamond of your engagement ring too high unless you plan to be a lady of leisure… You will find it will catch on things like tights and later on (if you have children), your baby’s skin.
A very big DO - Enjoy the whole experience of buying your rings. It is one of the best parts of wedding planning and buying, and you should have a great time doing it. Stick with someone that you trust and who you think has the experience to advise you correctly, but most importantly go with your gut instinct – you’ll know when you’ve found the right ring. Why not make a day of it, taking in a long leisurely lunch while you’re at it.
My mum has offered my late dad’s ring to my fiancé and has said she doesn’t mind if we have it melted down. But how do you go about having this done? Is it a good idea? -
It is a lovely idea for you to have your late father’s ring, however, I wonder if you would rather have it melted down and the metal used in a ring for you rather than have your fiancé wear it. Obviously this is a very personal thing. It is perfectly acceptable to melt down jewellery as long as it is a really plain band. This is because the more work there is in the ring, the more solder and impurities there will be in the metal which will create problems when the jeweller comes to make something new out of it. Any experienced jeweller will know how to cut out the solder from the original ring. It is best to add some fresh metal to the old to make sure that the gold or platinum content is pure enough to be hallmarked.
Make sure your nails are up to scratch so that they show your ring off in its full glory. Never again will your hands be on public display, or so photographed. So sort it out, now!
Ring fashion
Rings in a square shape are most popular at the moment. They have a contemporary feel and are more minimal in style than rings with lots of rounded claws. These days, almost all of the brides’ rings that we sell are set with diamonds, even if it is only a few spaced out evenly across the top. In fact I don’t think that we’ve sold a plain ladies’ wedding ring for about four years.
We are also selling an increasing number of gents’ rings set with diamonds. This is a fast growing trend, although there are still many grooms that are horrified by the idea of wearing diamonds.
There are even some (although small in number) who are adamant that they won’t wear a ring at all. Of course, I always try to persuade them otherwise!
4 fab diamond types
- The most popular shape of diamond for engagement rings is the princess cut diamond. The reason being that it has a square outline which is contemporary, and brilliant cut facets which make it very sparkly.
- Another popular cut of diamond is the brilliant or round cut diamond which also has brilliant cut faceting giving it beautiful sparkle. Brilliant cut diamonds work well set either simply as a solitaire in a claw basket or with a bracket holding the stone at each side.
- The beautiful emerald cut diamond is rectangular in shape. It’s almost icy looking and can look absolutely magnificent if it is mounted well. It also looks wonderful if it has small diamond squares set into the shoulders of the ring.
- Other unusual shapes are oval, marquise, and even more rare; Asher cuts; similar to square emerald cut.