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5 of the best places to buy unusual engagement rings
Engagement rings don't have to be solitaire diamonds
There are plenty of quirky and unusual engagement rings online if you don’t fancy the more traditional route of a single solitaire diamond.
Perhaps you’ve trawled the High Street retailers and come to the conclusion that your potential spouse is more likely to cherish a unique handmade ring or a vintage item? Or perhaps she isn’t a fan of diamonds and would prefer an alternative gemstone?
Here are five of our favourite places to buy unusual engagement rings:
Perhaps you’ve trawled the High Street retailers and come to the conclusion that your potential spouse is more likely to cherish a unique handmade ring or a vintage item? Or perhaps she isn’t a fan of diamonds and would prefer an alternative gemstone?
Here are five of our favourite places to buy unusual engagement rings:
1. Etsy
Etsy specialises in vintage and handmade jewellery so it is a good place to start if you are searching for an unusual engagement ring.
It is essentially an online marketplace – much like eBay or Amazon Marketplace, with thousands of individual sellers competing to offer quirky designs and combinations of gemstones.
At the time of searching, Etsy had a staggering 700,000 rings for sale, including nearly 50,000 handmade engagement rings. You can filter by price and by colour thankfully, although you will spend a fair amount of time trawling through pages and pages of rings.
It is essentially an online marketplace – much like eBay or Amazon Marketplace, with thousands of individual sellers competing to offer quirky designs and combinations of gemstones.
At the time of searching, Etsy had a staggering 700,000 rings for sale, including nearly 50,000 handmade engagement rings. You can filter by price and by colour thankfully, although you will spend a fair amount of time trawling through pages and pages of rings.
2. Not On The High Street
Not On The High Street works a lot like Etsy, offering individual artists, craft people and jewellers a marketplace to sell unique and quirky items.
To me, it feels slightly more curated and selected than Etsy which is a much bigger site. I get the impression that selling on Not On The High Street is limited to a smaller number of individuals.
There’s a big price range on Not On The High Street. You can find a fairly plain ring for £5 on Not On The High Street, or we found an unusual engagement ring with a sapphire and diamond for more than £5000.
At the time of searching, Not On The High Street had about 3000 rings on offer – a much more manageable number than Etsy’s 700,000 and still plenty of choice.
To me, it feels slightly more curated and selected than Etsy which is a much bigger site. I get the impression that selling on Not On The High Street is limited to a smaller number of individuals.
There’s a big price range on Not On The High Street. You can find a fairly plain ring for £5 on Not On The High Street, or we found an unusual engagement ring with a sapphire and diamond for more than £5000.
At the time of searching, Not On The High Street had about 3000 rings on offer – a much more manageable number than Etsy’s 700,000 and still plenty of choice.
3. Amazon
You might not immediately leap to Amazon when searching for an unusual engagement ring, but it is a good option if you are looking for a cheap gemstone which isn’t a diamond.
Many people would much rather avoid the ‘traditional’ diamond option and choose a different engagement ring, particularly as it is a tradition created by a diamond company.
How about a Red Ruby engagement ring or a Blue Sapphire or a Green emerald engagement ring from Amazon.
You will also find that alternative gemstones, such as a ruby, sapphire or an emerald are a lot cheaper than diamond rings, as well as being an unusual option. You can pick up a small engagement ring for under £100.
Many people would much rather avoid the ‘traditional’ diamond option and choose a different engagement ring, particularly as it is a tradition created by a diamond company.
How about a Red Ruby engagement ring or a Blue Sapphire or a Green emerald engagement ring from Amazon.
You will also find that alternative gemstones, such as a ruby, sapphire or an emerald are a lot cheaper than diamond rings, as well as being an unusual option. You can pick up a small engagement ring for under £100.
4. eBay
eBay requires more patience than Etsy or Not On The High Street. They do have plenty of unusual engagement rings, and the prices are amongst some of the best around, but you need to be willing to trawl through lots of irrelevant results to find what you want.
There are lots of people selling their own creations, often for a fraction of the price that you would pay for a unique engagement ring in a trendy jewellers.
Try searching by gemstone (search for ruby, emerald, amber, amethyst, jade, onyx, pearl, opal, tanzanite or spinel)
There are lots of people selling their own creations, often for a fraction of the price that you would pay for a unique engagement ring in a trendy jewellers.
Try searching by gemstone (search for ruby, emerald, amber, amethyst, jade, onyx, pearl, opal, tanzanite or spinel)
5. Gemondo
Gemondo has a bigger range of unusual engagement rings than most jewellers, with a decent search function if you know the sort of thing you are looking for.
You'll start by choosing your ring setting in silver or gold, before narrowing down by choices such as gemstones or by colour. There are some really stunning stones - I'm a big fan of the turquoise cabochon rings.
And Gemondo isn't expensive, certainly not by engagement ring standards. Most of their more unusual engagement rings are between £100 and £1000.
You'll start by choosing your ring setting in silver or gold, before narrowing down by choices such as gemstones or by colour. There are some really stunning stones - I'm a big fan of the turquoise cabochon rings.
And Gemondo isn't expensive, certainly not by engagement ring standards. Most of their more unusual engagement rings are between £100 and £1000.
