Our best tips before buying your engagement ring
THERE IS HARDLY ANY PURCHASES AS SYMBOLIC AS BUYING THE ENGAGEMENT RING FOR YOUR PROPOSAL. THE RING WILL NOT ONLY BE USED ON A DAILY BASIS BUT HOPEFULLY FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE. BUT DON'T WORRY, EFVA ATTLING AND HER EXPERIENCED TEAM WILL TELL YOU EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW. BECAUSE WHEN YOU FINALLY HAVE DECIDED TO GO FOR A CERTAIN MODEL, YOU ALSO HAVE TO CHOOSE METAL, CARAT, AND RING SIZE. THE QUESTION IS: HOW ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO EVER BE ABLE TO DECIDE? WE GUIDE YOU THROUGH THE PROCESS.
- Start
- Our best tips before buying your engagement ring
The sun is shining through the large shopping windows in Efva Attling’s largest concept store, located on Biblioteksgatan in Stockholm, Sweden. It’s early morning and the city slowly awakens. Outside the windows, people are strolling by. But inside the store, there’s more movement. Soft jazz music is playing, giving the room an air of New York. The scent of fresh lilies is pleasant.
Efva has designed wedding and engagement rings since she started her business more than 20 years ago. She creates rings in 18 carats of gold, white gold, and silver. To affect and inspire people has always been important to Efva. She calls her design Beauty with a thought and each collection has its own unique message. Today, the list of people wearing her wedding and engagement rings is long; “I feel proud and honoured to be a designer for love”.
Efva walks up the stairs to the upper floor of the store. After her comes Helena, Soledad, and Jenny, who all have daily contact with the customers – both in stores and through the online customer service. Throughout their many years within the company, they’ve answered more or less every question related to wedding and engagement jewellery there is. Together they will try to answer some of the most common questions. We sit down in the purple velvet sofas. This is the place where excited couples every week are trying out engagement and wedding rings from the white wedding box, filled with Efvas design.
What is your best advice to someone who’s about to choose an engagement or wedding ring?
“I think it’s often about fulfilling old dreams”, Efva starts. “Many of us have had a ring of our dream since we were a child. Like a certain design that got stuck and has become your preferred choice. In those cases, I think you definitely should go for that one.”
“We usually tell our customers there are no musts in either the choice of engagement or wedding ring.” Helena continues: “Instead, we are trying to help the customer to find rings that reflect their personalities.”
As with everything, there’re many trends when it comes to engagement and wedding rings. What would you say are the strongest right now?
“Today, it’s more common to choose a solitaire ring for the proposal, than it was maybe 10 years ago. Before that, in Sweden, the engagement rings were plain rings in gold or silver. You had to wait for the diamonds until the wedding. But people are more impatient today, they want the diamonds as soon as possible – the American way”, says Jenny.
“That’s smart”, Efva smiles. “You never know what happens.”
“Some people are looking for a large center stone with smaller diamonds on the sides, some preferer something discreet. And there are also those who want a really, really big rock. Most of the rings that Efva has designed fits very well together, they become like one piece when you add the wedding ring. Like Circle of Love and Crown Wedding, for example.”
“If you find a ring that might be difficult to combine with a wedding ring, I don’t think you have to worry about that. You can simply choose to wear the engagement ring on the other hand, when you are getting married”, Jenny says. “Many of our customers do that.”
What kind of trends can you see when it comes to rings for men?
“I have actually designed a ring that’s very popular among guys. It’s a little thinner on one side – I’ve named it Irregular. It’s perfect if you’re not used to wearing rings and are looking for a more comfortable ring. Efva continues; “We also have a thin ring with black diamonds, which is very nice. But you don’t have to wear a ring in gold. Some people just feel more comfortable in silver, it doesn’t matter.”
What should you do, if you and your partner have a completely different taste in design – is it important that the rings match each other?
“No, absolutely not. Jewellery is so personal, and I really think it should be too. You know who you’re engaged to – hopefully!” Efva laughs. “And if you forget, you can always look inside the ring, if it’s engraved.”
Today it’s common to let the proposal be a surprise. What’s your advice to those who want to buy a ring without their partner knowing about it?
“You have to take several aspects into consideration when you’re going to choose the engagement ring. The ring size, and how wide the ring is, for example.” Soledad continues; “Your right ring finger and your left ring finger are rarely the same sizes. And if you’re not engaged or married, you might not have a ring that fits your left ring finger. But if your partner has a ring that fits the correct finger and is in the same width as the one you would like to buy, you can use that ring as a preference. We also have a good size guide.”
“It’s also possible to rent an engagement ring for your proposal,” says Jenny. “We have a service that we call ‘Say Yes’, which gives you the opportunity to rent a mockup for 14 days. You can use the mockup when you ask the big question. Then you can choose the real ring together, afterwards. The delivery time for our engagement rings is a couple of weeks since the rings are made by hand upon request. But when you rent a ring, you’ll get it within 1-3 business days if you place the order online, or the same day if you visit any of our stores. This way, you don’t have to make a big investment right away.
If you would like to buy an engagement ring from Efva Attling, but you live far from our stores?
“You can always talk to us on Customer Care through our chat,” Soledad says. “It’s just like visiting any of our store, only digital. It’s real people who’ll answer you, not robots as some people think. And everyone who works at Customer Care has worked in our concept stores earlier. And if you buy online, you’ll always have a 14-days withdrawal
Suppose you have decided to propose to your partner, but you have no idea how to do it. What are your best tips?
Efva smiles; “Don’t think so much – just do it”.
“I know that many people put a lot of pressure on themselves, that the proposal has to be so special. But really it doesn’t. One thing you could do, if you, for example, choose to rent the rings, is to book a personal consultation and make a romantic happening out of choosing the real ring”, says Jenny.
“To choose the ring can be an as big part of the proposal, as the question itself. And we really recommend people to enjoy it! Make a romantic weekend out of it. We are here throughout the journey, to support and to make sure that you are completely satisfied.” Helena continues; “Sometimes, the customer comes back to the store after the proposal, to tell us how it went. A few weeks ago, for example, a couple bought a pair of rings. They told us they had invited their friends to a party since they both turned 50. But actually, they were planning to surprise everyone by turning the party into a wedding. They came back to show us the film. That’s fantastic, to get a chance to see their moment of happily ever after.
“There is nothing more wonderful than working with love”, Efva concludes. “Wow!”
You can rent a ring at Efva Attling Stockholm for 14 days to propose with. This way you can feel that size, colour and shape feel just right.