How to Propose Without an Engagement Ring

In Australia it seems there are certain times of the year where romantic juices are flowing and love is all around us. The period between Christmas and Valentine’s Day, Mid December through to Mid February is one such time with people popping the question to the love of their life.

 It seems timely then to write about an issue that a lot of people face but few discuss… how do you propose when you don’t want to propose with a ring?

 Whoah whoah whoah I hear a few of you say!! Who is daring to propose without a ring? What kind of decent prospective partner proposes without a ring?? 

 So maybe I should rephrase this… what if you don’t want to propose with THE ring?  

 

And before I hear cries that this rephrasing isn’t that much better, let me just state that the main reason people have for not wanting to propose with THE engagement ring is that they want to surprise you. 

 They want the proposal to be a beautiful and well thought out surprise for you. 

 Well isn’t that a bit sweet?!

 The logistical nightmare involved with wanting to keep the proposal a surprise includes:

• First and foremost you want to get the ring right. This piece of jewellery will be on your partner’s hand for the rest of their life and you want them to love it. You want it to be something they look at and adore, not something they look and think…I just wish this part was different.

 This is really difficult to do without their input! Personal taste comes in to play here and it is no mean feat to get this 100% right without their input.

• You might not know their ring size. Ideally, if you are taking the time and energy to create an engagement ring you want to get the ring size right first time.  Yes most rings can be resized, up or down, but the fewer times you need to do this the better for the overall structure of the ring.  If there are diamonds in the band this becomes even more tricky as the resizing affects the structure and placement of these diamonds

 

So what do you do?? I hear you ask!!

 There are so many other suggestions on the internet:

• Flowers – however they die and wouldn’t it be lovely to have a momentoto keep forever?

• Propose with a loose diamond to be set into a ring of some sort.

 Whilst we love the romantic notion of this idea, if you really don’t know what type of engagement ring your partner wants you should stay away from this idea. 

 What if you buy her a Round diamond but she really loves the idea of an Emerald Cut? 

• An empty ring box – could be problematic if there is an expectation that there is an actual ring in there. We only want happy tears! 

• A ‘fake’ diamond ring – our personal opinion is cheesy but each to their own!!

When none of these ideas quite cut it - what you are looking for is a proposal ring.

 A proposal ring, in our humble opinion, is a piece of jewellery that is significant, so not costume jewellery but perhaps not platinum either! 

 A 9ct or 18ct gold ring that can be used to propose with.  Ideally the ring would be in the colour gold that your love wears and would be getting their engagement ring in.  White Gold, Yellow Gold or Rose Gold.

 

Floating Gemstone Ring

We love the idea of buying a ring that is able to be stacked with others, so something fine but modern, that can be worn on the other hand or other fingers when they receive their real engagement ring.

The biggest draw card of the proposal ring is – it gives you a beautiful piece of jewellery to put on their finger as you propose and it gives them a piece of jewellery to wear on that finger from the moment you propose.

 

Classic solitaire ring and Baguette Ring

Trust us when we say this piece of jewellery will be worn fondly and cherished as the ring you used to propose with.

 The ring could have a small simple stone in it, often a white cubic zirconia will do the trick.  This keeps it inexpensive but gives the look you are after.

 

Pressure Set Cubic Zirconia Ring

Alternatively you might want to put a small diamond (or a few) to really mark the occasion.

Gemstone Stacker Ring

 Perhaps you know they love sapphires, or pearls, or emeralds, these could be set in their proposal ring.

 

Pearl Ring and Sparkly Cuff Ring

A beautiful touch is to engrave a message on the inside or perhaps engrave the date.

Pressure Set Ring and Signet Ring

Ring size is not as critical with a proposal ring, what is important is that it is big enough to fit on their ring finger on their left hand – the finger next to the pinky.

 In Australia, ring sizes are measured in letters and ring size M is about average for ring finger.  If you are unsure we suggest you go with a larger ring size, just to make sure! Your proposal ring can always be resized later if it is too big!

 At Harry & Co Jewellery we would LOVE to help you create your perfect proposal ring.  Shop our Proposal Ring Collection today!