Exeter couple win £10,000 diamond in engagement ring competition

We all have a dream engagement ring; that ring we just happen to find ourselves looking at on the internet every day. So, entrusting our partners to pick out that perfect engagement ring is pretty nerve-wracking experience. Although the men are choosing the ring as a promise of commitment to their partners, it is the women that have to have to wear that ring for the rest of their lives.

77 Diamonds presents “The Perfect Match”, an experiment designed to test couples to see how well they know each other, and how well they know their partner's taste in jewellery.

Local couple Ed Lister and his partner Ali Stark entered to take part in the experiment back in November shortly after their 4th anniversary as a couple.

The couple were invited to the 77 Diamonds London showroom, where they were split up, with Ali selecting the engagement ring she would pick for herself, and Ed selecting the engagement ring he believed Ali would want.

Ali and Ed were one of three couples to take part in the experiment. The couple who got the closest match on their ring selection won the £10,000 diamond, which will then be set in a jewellery type of their choice.

After a long day of ring selections it was Ali and Ed who were victorious in selecting matching engagement rings, beating off stiff competition from the other two couples.

We were able to get insight into what happens when a man is faced with more diamond shapes, styles, cuts and carats than they ever even knew existed! In fact, a recent survey by 77 Diamonds revealed 80% of people in a relationship would not feel completely confident to buy their partner an engagement ring without them seeing it first!

We rarely see the thought-process that goes behind picking out an engagement ring, but now we can get a little glimpse into the unseen emotional rollercoaster a man goes through to pick the right ring. 

You can see how Ed and Ali got on here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsOds0OQWHQ

See how they compared against their competition here.

Commenting on the process, Ali said: "I am just so shocked and thrilled!  I still can't quite actually believe that we won the beautiful diamond. Thank you to David and the 77 Diamonds team.”

77 Diamonds’ creative director David Allen said about the competition: “We set up this experiment to see how well couples know each other and their jewellery preferences.

"With around 3000 men visiting our showroom each year to pick the perfect engagement rings for their partner, we don’t often get to see the reaction when the ring is presented or what the woman actually thinks of the ring.

"It was really interesting to see how close people were on their matches, and the rationale they had when picking out the ring.

"Diamond education is a problem in general, people tend to assume all diamonds are the same in all aspects other than size and shape but there is much more to it.

"We loved meeting the couples, and learning about their stories and hopefully, when the time is right, the men are fully equipped to pick the perfect ring for their partners!”