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Engagement rings for men?

phiraphira member
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in Not Engaged Yet
My partner and I have decided to get engaged in the fall, and we'd like to both wear rings during our engagement. We've been looking at rings together, but I have NO idea what to get him.

I originally wanted to get him a band with a flush-set gemstone, but he doesn't want any gemstones. I'm reluctant to get him something titanium with a pattern engraved in it because those rings tend to look cheap (and they often are cheap--less than $100). We're thinking maybe a white/silver colored metal band with some kind of inlay. We're not going to wear our engagement rings regularly after we get married, but we're hoping his engagement ring won't look too much like a wedding band.

Does anyone have any suggestions for styles, or for shops/vendors? We've been looking on etsy, but if there are any Boston-area jewelers, that would be convenient as well. We're looking for something between $200 and $500.
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Re: Engagement rings for men?

  • minskat30minskat30 member
    First Anniversary First Comment 5 Love Its Name Dropper

    I don't really have any suggestions for shops but try a local jeweler (not a big chain).  They will often custom design something for you. I bought stone-inlayed cuff links for H as his wedding gift but they were really pricey as it isn't something a lot of companies do without having to custom design them.  Are you set on a ring for him?  How about a nice watch or something? 

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  • kmbirkelkmbirkel member
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    I third the local jeweler suggestion! My SO doesn't want his own engagement ring, just a wedding band when the time comes for that, but we've custom-designed my e-ring through a local jeweler. I don't have it on my finger yet ;) but I know he has it now and is just waiting for the right time, and I can tell you the experience working with them has been SO positive for both of us. I am pretty sure we will be buying our wedding bands and making any/all future jewelry purchases through them from now on, despite my working at a store where I can buy jewelry at a significant discount... it's really special to know that the ring I'll have one day is one-of-a-kind, that a real person in our town put love and care into making it, and that we're supporting a local business.
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  • leia1979leia1979 member
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    Definitely seek out a local jeweler. Maybe Yelp.com has some good recommendations. My H chose to just start wearing his wedding band early instead of a separate engagement ring.

    If you want something a little different, have you seen Mokume Gane? My H's ring is damascus steel and sterling silver, and rings with those materials ran $350-$500 at our jeweler. They can be made with just about any two materials, but most other metal combos are more expensive.

    Here's an example:
    image

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  • phiraphira member
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    Thanks, folks! I will definitely look up some local jewelers. I don't have a lot of experience going to local shops, but I'll do some Yelp-ing.

    We're both definitely set on rings. My partner doesn't wear a watch, and when I originally floated the idea of no engagement rings and just putting that money towards something like a new TV or couch, he got very upset! He's adamant about getting me a ring, so he's gotta get one, too :)

    @lela1979 that's a lovely ring! Thank you for the suggestion!
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  • kmbirkelkmbirkel member
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    phira said:

    Thanks, folks! I will definitely look up some local jewelers. I don't have a lot of experience going to local shops, but I'll do some Yelp-ing.

    This is what I would recommend! I used Yelp to narrow the dozens and dozens of local jewelers down to about 10 places within reasonable driving distance that had enough positive reviews to make me feel semi-confident about them. Then, on a day off work, I went jewelry-store hopping and visited all of them, just to check out what their current stock looked like as well as get a general feel for what the sales associates and stores were like. I have some funny stories from this experience for sure, but it was extremely informative. I learned so much in one day - not just about diamonds, metals, and custom-designing processes, but also about what I wanted in a jeweler and a ring - things I never could have known or articulated before that day. I'm not sure if I just got lucky or if this is normal, but I knew after all of them right away which one was "the one"... I knew in my heart it was perfect and when SO met me there at my request (he knew about my jeweler-hopping mission ahead of time), he absolutely loved it too.

    I would definitely encourage you to use Yelp to narrow down a list, then visit them and see where you feel most comfortable. If none of them feel "just right," keep looking until you find one that does!
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  • Peaseblossom55Peaseblossom55 mod
    First Comment 5 Love Its First Answer Name Dropper
    edited May 2013

    I would also recommend local jewelers or etsy.  I never got FI an engagement ring.  Since his birthday was a few months after he proposed I spent more on his birthday gift than I normally would

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  • zipis1zipis1 member
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    I wanted to do this so badly, but I could never find one that would work so it never happened. Hopefully it works better for you.

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  • NOLAbridealmostNOLAbridealmost member
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    My H wanted a ring for the engagement so we got a sterling silver ring and had it engraved with something silly. It was only about 100 dollars.  We switched that ring for a ring with a more precious metal and no goofy engraving when we had the ceremony.  

    I personally wouldn't spend a lot on a man-gagement ring if it's simply going to be replaced by the wedding band. I'd spend more on the ring that he'll end up wearing the rest of his life and not the temporary one. 
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  • phiraphira member
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    @NOLAbridealmost Neither of us is going to be wearing our engagement rings past the wedding, but I don't want to spent a lot more on my ring than on his. Since we're going to end up spending about $500 on mine, I don't want to spend a fraction of that on his.
    Anniversary
    now with ~* INCREASED SASSINESS *~
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  • bethsmilesbethsmiles member
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    phira said:
    @NOLAbridealmost Neither of us is going to be wearing our engagement rings past the wedding, but I don't want to spent a lot more on my ring than on his. Since we're going to end up spending about $500 on mine, I don't want to spend a fraction of that on his.
    Just out of curiosity - why won't you wear your engagement ring after the wedding?


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  • phiraphira member
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    @bethsmiles I wasn't really interested in receiving and wearing an engagement ring for a lot of reasons. My partner and I talked about it, and he made it very clear that he really wants to get me a ring, and that while he'd be understanding if I really didn't want to wear one, he would be disappointed.

    Because this is his engagement as much as it is mine, I agreed to wear one so long as we stayed as close to equal with everything. That is, if he's getting me a ring, I'm getting him one, too; if he's spending $500 on a ring, then I am, too. Since he does not want to wear both an engagement ring and a wedding ring on a regular basis, I won't either.

    Honestly, I'd rather not wear an engagement ring any longer than I have to, since I'm a scientist. Even my low-profile claddagh ring gets caught on gloves very easily; I can't comfortably wear any of my other rings to work!
    Anniversary
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  • phiraphira member
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    I did it! I found a ring and just bought it!


    We did find a great local jeweler, and they were amazing at helping my partner figure out what kind of band he likes. We're going to be meeting with them this week to design my engagement ring, but we decided to save some money and find him a titanium ring on etsy. I stumbled across this ring today and we both just KNEW it was the right one for him!

    Thanks for all your suggestions--because of you, I ended up finding the jeweler for MY ring!
    Anniversary
    now with ~* INCREASED SASSINESS *~
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  • loves2shop4shoesloves2shop4shoes member
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    phira said:
    I did it! I found a ring and just bought it!


    We did find a great local jeweler, and they were amazing at helping my partner figure out what kind of band he likes. We're going to be meeting with them this week to design my engagement ring, but we decided to save some money and find him a titanium ring on etsy. I stumbled across this ring today and we both just KNEW it was the right one for him!

    Thanks for all your suggestions--because of you, I ended up finding the jeweler for MY ring!
    What a lovely choice!  Congratulations on your engagement!

    image

    image
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  • KeptInStitchesKeptInStitches member
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    That is a really cool ring! Congratulations, @phira!
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