My ten year wedding anniversary is approaching, and I’ve set my mind on buying my wife an eternity ring.
I believe I have decent taste when it comes to jewellery, but I’m curious to hear from the doper ladies particularly about whether you’d be OK to be surprised with an eternity ring or would rather have input into the choice?
I would never buy someone a gift with the expectation that they would publicly display it. And I wouldnt want to receive one. She will feel forced to wear it, even if she would prefer not to add additional bling, not of her choice, to her appearance.
Also, dont be a dupe to the jewelry industry by jumping on a self-serving fad that they have created.
I’d love an eternity ring, particularly one that my husband had chosen for me. But then, he knows my taste in jewellery very well. If you know your wife’s taste, I’d say go for it, but keep the receipt so that you can exchange it if need be.
You should get massive brownie points for this. 
Get feed-back from your lady. Seriously. If I had a dollar for every time a girlfriend bemoaned her significant other getting her unwanted/ugly jewelry, I’d be rich.
That said, my own wedding ring has a bunch of flat-set stones, though not all the way around. Gunk gets stuck in-between the set stones constantly, and it requires regular cleaning. It is nice if she works with her hands, as there’s nothing to catch on things… But, maybe she’d rather have a nice pendant or a set of earrings, instead?
What’s your budget?
Looking at circa £1,000, but probably happy to go up to £2k if the right ring jumped out at me.
She’s ‘hinted’ more than once in the past about wanting an eternity ring to match her engagement and wedding bands, so I know I’m on pretty safe ground with a ring.
I’m leaning towards a channel set, but I’ll keep that in mind about the cleaning problem.
Are there no places she has always wanted to travel to, where the two of you could share experiences together that would be remembered “forever”? Is there maybe something she always wanted to do, but never had the time or budget to do it?
In my opinion rings and such are…o.k., but shared events leave a greater impact.
edited to add: I see that you’ve posted that she wants the ring…but I would still spend 1/2 to 2/3 on the ring and the rest on something else for her.
I have no expectation that she has to show it off. I do know for a fact though that she would like a ring to add to her wedding and engagement bands. So I’m on safe ground there really.
Funny you say that. We’ve recently uprooted our lives in Australia to move to the UK for a few years with one of our top reasons for doing so being travel. In this case it’s definitely not a case of the ring or a holiday, as we gradually make our way through the ‘travel list’, which is seriously extensive. 
OK, we know the lady would like another ring.
Could you take pictures of the existing jewelry & let a jeweler pick something “harmonious”? Perhaps go to the place that sold the other rings? Or even get her to drop a few more hints–since she’s already dropped a few. (Better than dropping no hints & getting mad when receiving a state-of-the-art vacuum cleaner.)
When making the purchase, do ask about the return policy in case you get it wrong. If the jeweler knows you’ll be coming back to switch rings, it’s not the same as asking about a refund.
Isn’t an “Eternity Ring” what a wedding ring is already supposed to be? What’s the new ring supposed to mean, “Well, I didn’t really mean it ten years ago, but now I really do, honest”?
Then there you go-Give her a surprise trip to go with the ring.
It’s the “Jewelry industry wants to sell more rings” ring
But if the lady wants rings I suppose I can’t blame her. Not what my wife would want but then GreedySmurf is not married to my wife.
“Mommy, last night I saw you in bed with Daddy, and he had his boy thing in your mouth. That’s not how you get a baby.”
“Correct, dear. That’s not how you get a baby. That’s how you get jewelry.”
Regards,
Shodan
I’m not sure how anyone can, in good conscience, support the diamond industry these days.
Not all engagement/wedding/whatever rings have diamonds.
Even those that do, can have lab-grown diamonds that have no worry about being blood diamonds.
Unless you’re referring to the exorbitant price, which I would agree with, but is not relevant to someone buying a ring for aesthetic purposes.
Prong-set eternity rings are uncomfortable to wear, because they rub on your fingers on either side, and they also snag on everything like clothes and hair.
Go with the channel set in the same cut of diamonds and metal as her wedding set, and maybe throw in an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner. They aren’t very expensive and she can use them for the rest of her jewelry, too.
(PS, what’s with all the judgemental business towards **GreedySmurf **for how he chooses to spend his own money, or his wife for happening to like jewelry even though you or your wives don’t? Not nice.)
Classy.
I would not be okay with it, but my husband knows this about me. However, as a former jewelry seller I can attest that millions of women WOULD be okay with it, and also, buy it someplace with a return policy (which is most jewelers) (but not most pawnshops).