Wednesday 21 September 2011

Are we seeing more contests to win engagement rings in the current economic climate?

It is widely said that after your house (mortgage), car, an engagement ring will be the third most expensive item you own. It's also said that generally speaking the purchase of an engagement should be roughly equal to a couple of months salary (on a relative scale of course, and depending on your job) but with many deals online these days most engagement rings shouldn't cost more than a month and a half's salary maximum. However for many people in the current economic conditions, with things not looking like they will improve any time soon, a month and half's salary might be just too much to spend.

This is why a lot of companies now, are taking advantage off the publicity and increase in traffic to their website that they can leverage if they run a competition on Facebook and link it to their main site, or indeed just run the competition on their main website. With the increase use of Facebook from everyone from kids though to your granny playing farmville games, it's undeniable that advertising on Facebook can maximise your exposure and increase interest from your target demographic and new interest groups. Sensing that many people are now hard pushed to spend as much as they used to on diamond rings, it's a great way for the company to get good PR and give something back as well. A lot of companies are thinking outside the box as well, in order to get their competitions maximum exposure, such as this Ring Race or treasure hunt idea from a US Jewelers. Other more tried and tested routes by diamond and jewelry companies is to boost their fan base on Facebook by running a simple poll vote competition and then enter the participants in a draw.

If you're a jewelry company, looking to maximize your online exposure and social media presence you'd do well to run your own competition for winning an engagement ring and give something back to your customer base.

Sunday 21 August 2011

A Cheeky Practical Joke To Play When Presenting Engagement Rings

I was talking with a friend the other day, who has already had the daunting task of shopping for an engagement ring for his partner. Initially he was prepared to spend way more than necessary, but after speaking to his Dad he found that was he estimated (£4K) was more than double what he could actually get for the engagement ring if he shopped around. It turns out his Dad had a contact who runs a diamond engagement ring website which was selling the same ring he was looking at on the high street for a fraction of what he was looking at, a much more reasonable price - £1700 (with a slight discount seeing as it was through a family connection).

Anyway, he had a great idea for when it came to presenting the engagement ring, which could potentially backfire (depending on your partner's sense of humour). His idea was to buy a cheap ass engagement ring from a well known catalogue company, and first present this. It would be a great test of reactions, and a gauge of how well your partner can hide their true emotions. On the other hand, it could be a sure fire way to end the relationship there and then. Either way, quite a funny idea I thought. But would you have the nerve to do it?

Here's some useful reading on the subject of popping the question and some engagement rings on the more affordable side of the spectrum:
Will You Marry Me?: Popping the Question With Romance And Style
Popping the question ..

Wednesday 20 July 2011

High Street Shopping Vs Online Deals

Many people have been emailing in and asking whether they should go for high street deals or online ones when it comes to shopping for engagement rings. I would say that when in the research stages there's absolutely no harm in browsing the high street jobs and looking on online as well. That way you'll be able to see easily how the styles, quality and prices compare with each. Generally, speaking there's not a great deal of difference, but depending on the time of year you're shopping (whether there's a seasonal sale on or not) you may find that either shopping online offers higher savings when compared to shopping on the high street. Also bear in mind that when shopping online for engagement rings you should always make sure you're protected as a buyer and check the terms and conditions carefully before agreeing to any finance or outright purchase.

Friday 17 June 2011

Diamond Engagement Rings

Probably the quintessential engagement ring is a diamond one, and certainly what every girl dreams of. If you have the budget to opt for such an engagement ring, make sure you follow previous tips outlined in this blog and always look for quality over the size of the diamond. Remember the four C's and also make sure you get the right size for the band. If in doubt always take someone along with you for a second opinion. Here are just some examples of gorgeous diamond enagement rings to give you an idea:

Thursday 17 March 2011

The worlds most expensive engagement rings

The last post regarding Prince William and Kate Middleton's engagement ringprompted to me think of some of the most expensive engagement rings that have been bought by famous people.

The number 1 taking the top spot for most expensive engagement ring is the Chopard Blue Diamond ring with a whopping price tag of $1.5 billion. What's so special about this ring you may ask? Well, perhaps the pimped out blue diamond that makes any other diamond feel they've come up short and inadequate. The 18K white gold band is not too shabby either. Where can you find the natural source for this beastie of a ring? Welll, the blue diamond is usually found among boron deposits and that's where it gets its shade from.

Here's a picture of the beauty in all its glory:
Chopard blue diamond engagement ring