Choosing Your Engagement Ring

Given that your engagement ring is a piece of jewellery that will be worn for the rest of your life, choosing something you love is very important. Given that most couples live together before they get married, although the proposal may be a surprise, marriage to that person is inevitable, and so often couples will chose the ring together. Although the tradition of a romantic, surprise proposal is still strong and sometimes one partner has spent months doing detective work to find out exactly what kind of rings you love - and yes, it's ok to leave your Pinterest board full of diamonds open on your laptop as a subtle hint ;) And sometimes it comes as a total shock and they just get it exactly right, without even trying! Today we thought we'd share some of our stories of finding the perfect engagement ring, which includes all of the above. And we would love to hear your stories too! Did you chose your ring with your partner? Did he manage to chose something that is beyond beautiful? And are any of you lovely lot the lucky recipients of a De Beers engagement ring?

Lottie - Account Manager at RMW

I hadn’t really thought much about an engagement ring (promise!). If anything the only thing I thought I might like would have been a more vintage looking one with three diamonds in a row, exactly like the gorgeous DB Classic Trio Solitaire. When Edd proposed I had no idea he was going to do it and I have to say he did exceptionally well on the ring! Not at all what I had thought I would like but it was utterly perfect. Simple, classic and oh so sparkly. He had spent months and months researching the best cuts and settings and then had it made especially. It is a simple solitaire diamond like the DB Classic Solitaire but with a north south setting and I adore it. I was so impressed with his choice and also the fact that he had taken the time to find a ring that was exactly right for me. Even if I didn’t know it! I obviously said ‘Yes’!

Eléonore – Product Manager at De Beers

Working in jewellery especially at De Beers means you usually know exactly what you want as an engagement ring, and my husband knew that. He took me on a surprise weekend to Santorini to propose, and he gave me two beautiful “promise” rings (I was so spoiled!). I had been working at De Beers for a couple of years already and had had the occasion to try on all our engagement ring styles countless times; I was completely sure that I wanted the modern and sophisticated DB Classic with tapered baguettes. We went to the De Beers store a few weeks after the proposal, and I went straight to this stunning engagement ring. I put it on, but something wasn’t quite right and I couldn’t identify what it was. Meanwhile my husband was looking around the store, and he noticed the Adonis Rose engagement ring. He asked the Brand Ambassador to take a look at it; he was very enthusiastic but I kept saying it was too feminine and romantic for me, that I had already tried it on and wasn’t a fan. Still he insisted I put it on, and funnily enough I felt the magic happen straight away and I understood that this beautiful floral ring and its amazing solitaire diamond had chosen me. You don’t really expect such a strong feeling when trying on a ring so it really takes you by surprise, pretty much like when you try on a wedding dress and you know it is the one. So in the end, I entered thinking I would leave with a DB Classic with tapered baguettes, and left with a beautiful Adonis Rose engagement ring. I even chose a matching Adonis Rose wedding band! And I never once regretted my choice since.

Becky - Designer at RMW

When we got engaged we lived really close to the jewellery quarter and one of the shop owners lived in the next apartment block to ours. Little did I know that he and Anthony were in cahoots and he had been taking 'late night jogs' all the way over to his apartment to look at diamonds and settings and design the perfect ring for me. It isn't the ring I'd ever envisaged having but it is more perfect for me than any other I've ever seen. It has a round diamond, similar to the De Beers Signature Solitaire ring.

Lolly - Brand Manager at RMLtd

Ste and I chose my ring together one Saturday afternoon. He positioned it as a ‘let’s take a look at the kind of rings you might like for when I do finally propose’ day out, I think because he was terrified at getting it wrong. We both knew we wanted to get married to each other but being the romantic that he is he wanted the actual proposal to be a surprise. He told me afterwards that it was important to him to have the perfect ring in my size for when he did the deed. He needn’t have worried since he was the one that found the bobby dazzler that I’m lucky enough to wear now and I knew as soon as I saw it (much like when I first clapped eyes on Ste) that it was the one for me. The surprise proposal came a month later and it was every bit as wonderful as I imagined. It was similar in style to the De Beers Aura Solitaire Ring.

Lauren - Editor at Rock My Style

My grandma had a beautiful sapphire and diamond ring which I always adored. I was absolutely stunned when I realised James had worked with a designer to create a very sparkly platinum replica based on the original design. I always thought I'd twig when he was gearing up to propose but in reality I didn't have a clue. (De Beers offer a bespoke engagement ring service, you can read more about this on their website).

Alexia – PR & Marketing Coordinator at De Beers

My fiancé knew I wanted to choose my engagement ring with him, as it’s something you will wear every day for the rest of your life. So when he proposed, he had a cute ‘proposal ring’ with him so that I could have something to look at until having the real engagement ring at my finger. When I joined De Beers, I fell in love with the Aura Double Halo Engagement Ring, but I really wanted to live the proper in store experience with my fiancé and also wanted him to fall in love with the ring. So we went to the De Beers flagship store on Old Bond Street, and I tried on a couple of engagement rings, as I wanted to make sure the one I choose was the right one. With the unique in-store diamond demonstrator called the Iris, we were able to see the beauty of the round brilliant centre diamond. And we both fell in love (again) with the De Beers Aura Double Halo Engagement Ring!

Lorna - Social Media Manager at Rock My Wedding

Rob spontaneously proposed to me at a friends wedding so he wasn’t prepared with an engagement ring. Despite not having a ring it was still incredibly romantic. He got down on one knee on the dance floor surrounded by our friends who were just as stunned and tearful as I was and ask me to be his wife. It was quite late into the evening and the Bride & Groom had already gone to bed so nobody’s thunder was stolen, although I still get a pang of guilt. We then took a trip to Birmingham Jewellery quarter the following weekend and chose the ring together, it's similar to the De Beers Classic Solitaire ring. When he actually popped the ring onto my finger he asked me again to marry him and it was just as emotional as the first time.

Fern - Editor at Rock My Wedding

I'm still waiting for my other half to propose - but if he happens to be reading this, I'd like the proposal to be a surprise please! And I'm a big fan of the Caress Pink Gold Solitaire ring ;) Was it important to you to chose your engagement ring? Or did you trust that your other half would chose well for you? Did anyone end up with a ring they didn't like? We'd love to hear all about your experiences - just leave a comment in the box below the post. If you’ve fallen for any of the stunning De Beers jewellery, please visit the De Beers Fine Jewellery page on here on Rock My Wedding.