Engagement Rings (Modern Gents or other places you suggest to look for rings?)

Check ebay and amazon .. my friend just got married in june and his ring is from manly bands

You can check the big name jewelry stores they ALWAYS have sale especially if it’s purchased around a holiday

Also look at Etsy! We got my ring off of there for a really good price and it looks amazing and is built to last!

View Quoted Comment Do you remember who you bought it from? I love several rings from Etsy...but I'm worried they look better than they are. I'm not sure how reliable they are.

View Quoted Comment

Https://www.etsy.com/shop/TenFingersToWear

I got my promise ring and a "for now" engagement ring from this shop. I wore the promise ring for over a year and I am rough on jewelry and wore it all the time (cooking, washing dishes, showering, gardening, moving) and it still looks brand new.

I actually recommend going to a nice small local jeweler that makes stuff in house. They should be able to work with your budget and get high quality stuff.



Moissanite is space rock and sapphire / ruby are the only things I suggest that are non diamond. You want a Mohs scale of 9 or above... No emerald or you will deal with chips and breaking the stone. Sapphires come in every color (orange, pink, green, white,...) except red because then they are called a ruby.
The other I would consider is jamesallen.com. That is where I got mine. Wait till a 25% off sale.

My e-ring came from JamesAllen.com and the neat thing about them is that you can upgrade the stones in your ring. So the value of your current stones goes toward the price of the new one’s (must be of greater value). So if you wanted to buy something simple and modest now, you can upgrade at a later time. They also have reasonably priced lab created diamonds which are considerably cheaper than natural diamonds.

View Quoted Comment Oh that is so neat! So you can just trade in your current stone for a more expensive one later?

View Quoted Comment So Moissanite is no good? I've seen a few of those rings I've liked 😑

My fiance got my engagement ring from Etsy (although I found it!). The seller specializes in Rare Gemstones & Moissanite rings. Very affordable. I just brought mine to a local jeweler and they said it is a beautiful, well-made ring. If you are interested, I can send you the link to her shop. She has great reviews, too!

View Quoted Comment I'd love a link! Thanks!

View Quoted Comment Moissanite is fine. It's from a meteorite. It's a 9.25 on the scale. Anything below a sapphire tho will cause issues.

View Quoted Comment

JuliaBJewelry

Here you go! Good luck!

View Quoted Comment Thanks for the info! I've been looking at moissanite and alexandrite as diamond alternatives.

View Quoted Comment Alexandrite has the emerald problem. Beautiful but won't last. My sapphire looks like a tanzanite. So you could find the color you like in a sapphire if you want alexandrite if that makes sense.


But you will replace a alexandrite a lot and it will be expensive. It won't hold up as an everyday ring.

My boyfriend and I are at the same stage! So exciting! I recommend trying to find a small jeweler near you that makes the ring in house. The place we're getting mine from is a local jeweler and they knocked the retail pricing down a TON, and a lot of these little places have free sizing and cleanings for life!

I just got a emerald and rose gold ring this weekend! My fiancee says he got it from a store called Angara, and we're happy with it. Haven't heard of modern gents, though

What might work well for you is picking out a setting (so the ring minus the diamond/gemstone) that you love. You could start with a more economical diamond or gemstone in that setting and later upgrade to a better rock (be it larger size, better quality, upgrades stone type, etc.) into that exact same setting. Talk it out with a jeweler, you might like that route especially if you want to hang on to some piece of the original engagement ring for sentimentality. 😊

View Quoted Comment Idk if this is helpful but everyday dust is a 7/10 on the Mohs scale... But I am really into rocks and this is all the advice jewelers have given me. So stones that start to fall below the 9 get scratched up by literally dust, dirt and doing everyday things.



This doesn't mean you can't break a stone above a 9. People do break diamonds. It's more common with cuts like marquise or pear vs round. Round is the hardiest cut of stone.
Corundum comes in every single color literally (sapphires are corundum except red and rubies are red corundum. Various shades green, purple, pink, blue, orange, red, white are all corundum... Corundum has a 9 and is as low as I would go... Because they stand up to dust okay.
Moissanite is a cool space rock. It's not a fake diamond but it's own thing. It's a 9.25
Diamonds are nice till you realize you got ripped off because there is a monopoly on them and really they are everywhere. I have had to sell a diamond. I didn't get much. There is about a 90% mark up on them... Thanks debeers...

There is also a more modern option of no gemstone and get a nice metal work on the ring. These have the most durable gemstone of all. It is the most hygienic ring because settings trap germs like coronavirus.


Ones to avoid because it's 8.5 or below. It will be beautiful but I give it about 10 years before you replace it... Unless you don't wear it every day. Also as someone's mother who has a aquamarine ring... We played find the aquamarine a lot because when it gets chipped, it gets lost... She replaced it 3 times I know about in 30 years
Beautiful but avoid as an everyday ring:Morganite, emerald, alexandrite, tanzanite, amethyst, topaz, turquoise, garnet, pearl, tourmaline, lapiz, Onyx, peridot, labradorite, aquamarine.... They are beautiful but they just aren't hardy. If you have this in your ring already, I recommend either baby it like crazy or when the time comes replace it with a hardier stone.

Good quality Lab created stones are the exact same as "natural." The natural is more flawed and if the same quality will cost slightly more... but they are identical from a science prospective and can be more eco friendly. They still cost a lot too.

My ring is from an Etsy shop.

I found it years and years ago, and never got it out of my head. Made sure friends knew, friends made sure DH knew, and ... yep, that's my ring. Also, on Etsy, you can find a lot of lab-made, ethically sourced gemstones, in a lot of different colors. (I have a purple sapphire.)

Just make sure to check the reviews, as always.