Is it safe to buy a wedding ring online? What to check first

Is it safe to buy a wedding ring online?

Yes, for most people, as long as you buy from a seller who tells you who they are and what happens if something goes wrong. UK law gives online buyers more protection than buyers in a shop: the Consumer Contracts Regulations give you fourteen days from delivery to cancel most orders without giving a reason. The Consumer Rights Act requires everything you buy to be as described, of satisfactory quality and fit for purpose.

The real risks are a seller you cannot trace, a ring that turns out not to be the metal described and a size that is wrong. Each one can be checked before you pay.

Check who you are buying from

A UK company selling online must publish its full name, company number and the part of the UK it is registered in and must give a geographic address before you order. If a site will not tell you who it is, buy elsewhere. You can look any company number up free on the Companies House register.

We are Trothe Ltd, company number 17431230, registered in England and Wales. Our terms page gives all three, with our address.

About Trothe: Who makes the rings and where.

Contact: How to reach us before or after you order.

Read the returns terms for the ring you want

Returns terms vary between rings, even in one shop, so read the terms on the page of the ring you want rather than a headline. Ours run from fourteen to thirty days on rings that are not personalised and every ring page states its own.

Engraving changes the picture. An engraved ring is personalised, which puts it outside the statutory right to cancel, so it cannot come back for a change of mind anywhere. A ring made with your names, date or fingerprint is the same. If you are not yet sure of the size or the design, order it unengraved and the full returns window applies. A fault is different: the Consumer Rights Act covers every ring, engraved or not.

Returns: Which rings can come back, inside what window and how.

See your engraving before you order: A picture of your words inside the ring and what to check before it is cut.

Get the size right before you order

Size is the most common reason a ring goes back. On titanium and black zirconium it matters more than on gold, because those metals are not resized in the usual way. Measure at home with a ring you already own or a strip of paper and allow for the band's width: a wide band fits more snugly than a narrow one in the same size.

If you do not know the size yet, you do not have to guess. Choose I do not know yet when you order and the size is settled before anything is made.

Ring size finder: Measure at home in about two minutes.

Can a ring be resized?: Which metals can and which cannot.

See it on your hand first

The thing a shop gives you that a website cannot is the ring on your finger. Our free ring try-on gets close: upload a photo of the back of your hand, choose a ring and a width and see that ring drawn onto your finger from its own photograph. Compare two widths on the same photo before you decide.

See a ring on your hand before you buy: The try-on, a paper width test and a ring you own.

Check the metal and the hallmark

In the UK, gold over one gram, platinum over half a gram and palladium over one gram must be hallmarked by an assay office before they can be sold as precious metal. The hallmark tells you the metal and its fineness, so a 9ct ring will carry 375 and an 18ct ring 750.

Titanium and zirconium are not precious metals and are not hallmarked, so look for a clear statement of the grade and the finish instead. A black ring should tell you whether the black is grown into the metal or plated on top, because plating wears off.

UK hallmarking explained: What each mark means and which rings need one.

Why black plating wears off: Grown black and plated black are not the same.

Check how it is posted and how long it takes

A ring should travel insured for its full value on a tracked service that needs a signature. Ours does, free, in both directions when we ask for a return.

A made to order ring takes longer than one picked from stock, because it is made in your size after you order. Most of ours take one to two weeks to make and a solid gold band about four, then a working day in the post. Work back from your wedding date and order with time to spare.

Delivery: Insured, signed for and how long each stage takes.

How long does a made to order ring take?: Making times and how to plan around a date.

Pay in a way that protects you

A credit card gives you extra protection on purchases between £100 and £30,000 under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, because the card provider is jointly liable if something goes wrong. A debit card can offer a chargeback through your bank. A bank transfer to a seller you do not know offers neither.

Look for a checkout that takes your card details on a secure hosted payment page. Ours does, so your card number never touches our site.