Ring shopping can make for a very expensive shopping trip. Rings vastly range in price, from a few pounds for costume jewellery upwards in to the hundreds of thousands of pounds for an all singing all dancing gold, diamond ring.

If you are looking for engagement / wedding rings but do not really want to spend thousands of pounds then you may look at substituting the gold for something else. Gold or white gold rings can be expensive, add a carat diamond and you are not going to come away with change from a few thousand pounds.

Palladium rings are harder and more scratch-resistant than white gold rings and, like platinum, palladium holds its shine. The cost of a palladium ring is a lot less expensive than the cost of a gold or white gold ring but, to the naked eye, looks identical. It is also considered hypoallergenic so is often suitable for those with metal allergies.