Hatton Garden packs several hundred jewellery businesses into a few streets, and almost all of them will sell you a wedding ring. From the pavement they look much the same. What separates them is who does the work, what happens after you pay, and whether the price on the ticket is the price. Here is what to check, and what a wedding band actually costs.
Ask who makes the ring, and where
Many shops in the Garden are retailers. They buy finished rings from a supplier, add a margin and put them in the window. Others keep a workshop upstairs with a bench and a jeweller sitting at it. Both can sell you something good. Only one can change the ring once you have seen it on your hand.
So ask the question directly: who makes this, and where. A vague answer usually means the shop is a middleman. We make in Hatton Garden, which is why we can set a stone a fraction lower, or taper a shoulder so two rings sit flush instead of fighting each other.
Bring the engagement ring with you
Most wedding bands are bought to sit next to an engagement ring, and most of the regret comes from ignoring that. A plain solitaire with a low gallery usually takes a flat or gently shaped band. A hidden halo or a raised setting often needs a shaped band that curves around it, otherwise the two rock against each other and wear a groove into the softer one within a couple of years.
Any jeweller worth the trip will put both rings on the finger together rather than side by side on a pad. If they will not, you are being sold a ring rather than fitted for one.
What wedding rings cost
Plain bands and diamond set bands are two different purchases. A plain solid gold band is priced mostly by weight and metal, so a narrow 9k band costs less than a wide 18k one, and platinum costs more again because it is denser and harder to work at the bench.
Diamond set bands are where the range opens up. Our shaped V rings start at £645, which buys the Caelia with 0.58ct of round brilliant lab grown diamonds in 14k gold, or the Neris at the same price with nineteen stones running round an open curve. Both are cut to tuck against a solitaire.
Half eternity rings sit at £905. That is the Solenne, seven emerald cut stones totalling 0.99ct, or the Celine, seven ovals at 1.00ct. The Lucine, also emerald cut, is £1,035. A full eternity ring with diamonds all the way round, the Aurela, is £905. You can see the range in our everyday rings, and the Aurela eternity ring gives a fair sense of what a full band of lab grown diamonds looks like on the hand.
Those figures are published on the website. A price that moves depending on how interested you look is not a price, it is an opening position.
Choose the metal for the next forty years
Yellow, white and rose gold all wear differently. White gold is usually rhodium plated to keep it bright, and that plating thins every few years and needs redoing, which is a small cost but a recurring one. Yellow and rose gold need no replating, though they collect fine scratches that settle into a soft finish over time. Most people come to prefer it that way. Platinum neither plates nor yellows, and it scratches by displacing metal rather than losing it, which is why old platinum bands look worn rather than thin.
Matching the metal to the engagement ring matters more than matching it to anything else you own. Two different golds sitting together read as an accident rather than a choice, and a harder metal worn against a softer one will wear the softer one down.
Check what happens after you pay
A wedding ring gets worn every day for decades, which makes the aftercare matter more than it does on anything else in the box. Before you commit, settle three things: whether resizing is included and for how long, what the repair policy covers if a stone works loose, and whether the ring carries a UK hallmark and from which assay office.
Hallmarking is the easy one to verify. Anything sold as solid gold above one gram must be hallmarked by law in the UK, so a ring without one deserves a question.
On set rings, ask about the diamonds
If there are stones in the band, ask what they are and how you know. Lab grown and mined diamonds are both real diamonds and both are graded against the same scales. What you want is an independent grading report for anything above a quarter of a carat, and a written description of the smaller stones that states carat weight, colour and clarity rather than implying them.
Go on a weekday
Saturday in Hatton Garden is loud and rushed, which is a poor way to choose something you will wear for forty years. Weekday mornings are quiet and you get the jeweller's full attention.
We work by appointment from our studio in the Garden, so the bench is free when you arrive and the pieces you asked about are already out on the table. Book a consultation and bring the engagement ring with you.
Common questions
How much should a wedding ring cost in Hatton Garden?
A diamond set band at Luma starts at £645 for a shaped V ring and £905 for a half or full eternity ring, with prices published rather than quoted on the day. Plain gold bands are priced by weight, so width and karat move the figure more than anything else.
Should the wedding ring match the engagement ring metal?
Usually yes. Two different golds worn together tend to read as a mismatch, and a harder metal rubbing against a softer one will wear the softer ring down over time.
Can I buy a wedding ring in Hatton Garden without an appointment?
Many shops take walk ins. We work by appointment so the jeweller is free when you arrive and the pieces are ready on the table, which matters more if you are bringing an engagement ring to match.