Would not suggest anything regarding a boat cause they do thorough checks.
What are her interests? If nature, hike to the highest point in Hong Kong, great view and bam.
Would not suggest anything regarding a boat cause they do thorough checks.
What are her interests? If nature, hike to the highest point in Hong Kong, great view and bam.
Would not hire a photographer or invite friends unless your girlfriend likes the attention. I think would be romantic enough to do it in a hotel room with some deocrations and a nice flower bouquet.
If the two of you can resist DeBeers marketing, you'll get a far larger and visually interesting stone if you choose another type of gem. And save lots of money (if money is a consideration).
Can't help with a location, though. That sort of thing is way too personal a choice. And personally, I would not want to get a bunch of friends involved, and would definitely check with them first if they wanted to.
One thing if buying a diamond, make sure you know what she wants. My husband would have bought a huge 1.5 carat diamond and gotten a setting I would have hated (a traditional one). What I wanted was a quarter carat in a particular type of setting that would mean I could wear it every day even when doing sport and it's very unique looking. Fortunately we discussed this well before he bought a ring. We had a few arguments (mainly your mum will think this is super cheap, and you deserve better blah blah). In the end we compromised I got half a carat in the style I wanted (he got it made and bought the diamond at Astor's Jeweler in Mirador Mansions). Sounds dodgy but isn't, has been our family jeweler for decades and do beautiful custom jewelry.
I love my ring, my mum thinks it's stunning and suits me and my personality. It cost a lot less than he had budgeted and so in the end everyone is happy.
He still managed to totally surprise me with the proposal amazingly lol.
Good luck, but personally I'd skip the friends and the photographer, unless your girlfriend is a big fan of Instagram. I just wanted to enjoy the moment with my new fiancé. I didn't tell anyone till the next day.
no friend, no photographer, marriage is over rated, no diamond ring, no boats,
are these the suggestions the OP is looking for?
Agree with this. I would have bought a round cut diamond for my wife but after some not-so-subtle questions such as, "honey, do you like her ring?" (referring to a recently married friend of ours) I worked out that she prefers a princess cut.
Also 3rd-ing the suggestion for Blue Nile. When I was shopping for rings, I brought a GIA report to a couple of the big name chains in Hong Kong to price out a comparison and was quoted nearly double the price of what I ultimately bought from Blue Nile.
Another vote for both letting her choose the setting and keeping it intimate.
Pick a venue that's either special to the both of you or something that's memorable. If you're both in to hiking, do it on the top of Tai Mo Shan. If stargazing's your/her thing, then do it when you're out taking photos of the full moon.
For better or for worse, you won't get 2 carets for 35k HKD
Natural, 2 carets even on Blue Nile I would guess you are talking 150k HKD for reasonable quality (maybe you can do better on price with large visible inclusions)
Lab grown don't get that large and aren't necessarily cheaper at smaller sizes anyway, and if they did get that large they would be far more expensive
Thanks for all the suggestions guys, guess the friends and photographer thing was a tad bit much - always thought girls wanted to capture the “moment” and have friends nearby to share the moment.
as for the ring, I did consider getting a moissanite ring but am worried since my GF is coming from a Chinese fam her fam would think I’m being cheap? (Although my gf doesn’t mind).
might actually just get a moissanite ring first as it’s wayyy cheaper and looks 9/10 like a diamond AND then if she wants we could pick a real diamond ring (tho she doesn’t really care much about it and we’re both aware of the De Beers historical monopoly on diamonds)
might just keep things simple and pop the question in a secluded beach or something...fingers crossed it goes well!