How to buy an engagement ring in Dubai without stress

Big moment. Small object. A lot of pressure. Let us take the weight off plus go in order.

Step one, set a number you feel calm about

Forget the old salary rules. Pick a figure in dirhams that does not keep you awake. Custom work at Studio ALOI starts from AED 1,000, plus centre stones sit on top of that. Now you have a frame.

Step two, learn the shape she already loves

Look at the jewellery she wears now. Round reads classic. Oval looks longer on the finger. Emerald cut is quiet plus architectural. Pear is a little daring. Shape is taste, not quality.

Step three, pick the setting for her hands, not the photo

• Solitaire, the timeless one. It lets the stone speak.
• Halo, small stones around the centre so the ring looks larger.
• Three stone, past plus present plus future, plus more sparkle across the finger.
• Bezel, metal wrapped around the stone. Best friend of anyone active.

Tell us how she works with her hands. A surgeon, a swimmer plus a painter all need different heights.

Step four, spend where the eye looks

Cut first. Eye-clean clarity next. Near-colourless is plenty once the stone is set in warm gold. Then land just under a round carat number plus keep the difference for the band.

Step five, give it time

A bespoke ring takes us around six to eight weeks from first sketch to final polish. Allow a little extra for resizing. Proposing next week? Tell us. We have made that work before.

One client came in nine days before a trip to Hatta, sure it was hopeless. He proposed with the ring. Then he sent us a photo of the sunrise!

Getting the ring size quietly

Borrow a ring she wears on the same finger plus bring it to us. Or ask her closest friend. If it is a surprise, size slightly large. Making a ring smaller is easy work.

Come and start it

Bring photos, a budget plus a story. We will sketch with you, source the stone plus make it in the UAE. Book an appointment at the Dubai atelier when you are ready to begin.