Engagement Rings for Brisbane Couples

If you want to walk into a shop in Brisbane this afternoon and try on forty rings, we are not the answer. Wallace Bishop, Michael Hill and the Queen Street mall retailers all have counters and stock, and there is a real advantage in that.

What we have instead is a studio at Level 7, 80 Dorcas Street in Southbank, Melbourne, where every ring is made to order, and a remote process that works well enough that a lot of Brisbane couples never come south. This page is mostly not about us. It is the checklist we would give a friend buying a ring at distance, and it holds up whether you buy from us or from anyone else.

Five things to get right when you buy an engagement ring remotely

1. Get the size from a physical sizer, measured in the evening

Sizing is the most common thing that goes wrong, and it is entirely avoidable. Printed paper sizers stretch, and string is worse. Ask for a physical ring sizer and use it in the evening, because fingers are measurably smaller in the morning and after air conditioning. In a Brisbane summer the difference between 9am and 6pm can be half a size.

If you are buying as a surprise, take a ring she already wears on the correct hand, not a dress ring from the other hand, and measure the internal diameter. Do not eyeball it against a chart on your phone screen.

Then, before you pay, find out what the resizing policy actually is. Ours is one free resize within three months of purchase, up to four sizes up or down, or two sizes on a pave ring, with additional resizes from $80. We post you a free ring sizer before casting. Get whoever you buy from to state theirs in writing, and check whether the design can be resized at all: full eternity bands and channel set rings generally cannot.

2. Get certification in writing, with the report number, before you pay

A photograph of a certificate is not certification. What you want is the report number, the issuing laboratory, and confirmation that the stone is laser inscribed so you can match the two later.

For lab grown diamonds, IGI is the most common laboratory and GIA also grades them. Every lab grown diamond we set is IGI certified and inscribed on the girdle. For moissanite, GRC is standard. If a seller will not give you a report number in advance, that is your answer.

Learn to read the report rather than trusting the summary. Cut grade first, because it decides how the stone behaves in real light. Colour and clarity after that, because past a certain point they only exist on paper. How to read an IGI certificate covers the detail.

3. Approve a render, not a description

Anyone making a ring to order should be able to show you a 3D render before metal is cut. That is where you catch the band being thicker than you pictured, the stone sitting higher than you wanted, or the claws being heavier than the reference image.

Changes at render stage are free. Changes after casting mean starting again. If a seller cannot produce a render, you are buying a description, and descriptions are where expectations and reality separate.

4. Read the warranty properly, especially the exclusions

Most jewellers advertise a lifetime warranty. Almost none of them cover the thing you are worried about, which is a lost or chipped stone.

Ours covers craftsmanship, meaning manufacturing faults such as an unstable setting or a flawed metal finish, and the optical properties of the stone: clarity, colour, fire, lustre and brilliance. It excludes normal wear such as scratches, damage from misuse or improper care, chipped or cracked stones, lost stones, theft and third party repairs, and it is non transferable to a later owner.

That is a normal warranty. What is not normal is writing the exclusions down where you can see them before you buy. Ask for the exclusions list from anyone you are considering. If the answer is vague, assume the exclusions are broad.

A warranty is not insurance. For a lost stone or a theft you need a separate policy, and it is worth arranging before the ring leaves the workshop rather than after.

5. Confirm the delivery is insured and signature required

An uninsured parcel containing an engagement ring is a bad idea in any city. Insured, signature required, and delivered to an address where somebody is actually present. Not a building lobby, not a parcel locker.

Our delivery is carbon offset, insured, and signature required, Australia wide. Ask any seller to confirm all three in writing, and ask when the risk passes to you.

Lab grown diamond or moissanite

Short version.

A lab grown diamond is a diamond. Same carbon lattice, 10 on the Mohs scale, IGI certified and laser inscribed. It behaves exactly like the thing people mean when they say diamond. Designs start at AU$1,350. The full range is in the lab grown diamond engagement rings collection.

Moissanite is silicon carbide. GRC certified, 9.25 on the Mohs scale, so hard enough for daily wear, with a higher refractive index than diamond, which means more coloured light. At the same budget it buys a visibly larger stone. Designs start at AU$800. See the moissanite engagement rings collection.

We do not sell mined diamonds. If that is what you want, a Brisbane retailer will serve you better, and we would rather point you there than waste your afternoon.

One unflattering fact, since we are being useful rather than promotional: lab grown diamond prices have fallen substantially since 2020 as production scaled, and a lab grown diamond does not hold its value. Neither does moissanite. Buy for the wearing, not the reselling.

How we work with Brisbane couples

Thirty minute video consultation, one on one. A free ring sizer in the post. A 3D render for your approval. Four weeks to make. Carbon offset insured delivery with signature required.

The studio in Southbank is open by appointment, Monday to Saturday, if you happen to be in Melbourne. Otherwise nothing about the process requires you to be.

Book an appointment for a video consultation, or call +61 435 232 015.

Brisbane FAQ

Do you have a Brisbane store?

No. Our studio is at Level 7, 80 Dorcas Street, Southbank, Melbourne. Brisbane couples work with us by video call, with a free ring sizer posted out and insured delivery with signature required. If seeing a ring in person before you commit is non negotiable, a Brisbane shopfront is the better fit and we would rather say so.

Is it safe to buy an engagement ring online?

It is, if you do five things: get the size right with a physical sizer, get the certification in writing before you pay, approve a render before casting, read the resizing and warranty terms in full, and confirm the delivery is insured and signature required. Missing any one of those is where the regret comes from.

What if the ring does not fit?

You get one free resize within three months of purchase, up to four sizes up or down, or two sizes on a pave ring. Additional resizes start at $80 and vary with the metal. You pay postage to us and we pay return postage.

How long before the ring arrives in Brisbane?

Ready in four weeks from render approval, then carbon offset insured delivery with signature required. Tell us the proposal date at the first consultation so the timeline is planned around it.

Lab grown diamond or moissanite?

A lab grown diamond is a real diamond, IGI certified, 10 on the Mohs scale, from AU$1,350. Moissanite is silicon carbide, GRC certified, 9.25 on the Mohs scale, from AU$800, and buys a visibly larger stone at the same budget with more coloured light. Both are durable enough for daily wear.

Do you sell mined diamonds?

No. Lab grown diamond and moissanite only. If a mined diamond is what you want, one of the Brisbane retailers will serve you better.

For the detail on lab grown diamonds and on which settings suit a humid, coastal life, read lab grown diamond engagement rings for Brisbane couples. For moissanite specifically, see moissanite engagement rings Brisbane. We work the same way with couples in Perth, and the studio itself is covered on engagement rings Melbourne.