Engagement Rings: Where to buy?

[mundane]

Originally posted by: zaku
so is the engagement ring suppose to cost more than the wedding ring? i know nothing of this sort. so after spending $$$ to buy her an engagement ring, i have to shell out much more additional $$$ for a wedding ring? i think i got about another year before i need to worry about an engagement ring, but i should research ahead of time

My fiancee has already told me all about that Apparently, the guy shells out the dough for the engagement ring. The wedding rings tend to be much simpler. She just wants platinum bands, without any diamonds. With luck, the pair for both of you will run under 1/10th the price of the engagment ring. Of course, this is just her preference, and probably isn't universal among women.

 

[Maximus96]

what is so good about platinum? i agree it looks nicer compared to yellow gold, but i sure can't tell the difference b/t plat. white gold, or silver.

 

[mundane]

Originally posted by: zaku
what is so good about platinum? i agree it looks nicer compared to yellow gold, but i sure can't tell the difference b/t plat. white gold, or silver.

Personal preference. She wanted a platinum ring, we ended up getting a white gold ring. The white gold setting had embedded diamonds, and was only $100 more than the plain platinum - damn stuff is expensive. For the bands she wants platinum, though.

The way she explained it to me is that after a while, the white gold takes on a slight golden tinge, and needs to be taken in for cleaning / some weird process after 6 months - 2 years. But otherwise, they're close to the same. I don't know about silver.

 

[LordSnailz]

Seems like there are a few of you that bought their rings from bluenile.com ... after you get the ring do you actually take it to the jeweler and verify the quality? Or is the GIA cert. more than enough. I don't have enough confidence to spend $5k on something I see on the web.

Also, any suggestions for places to check out in the bayarea?

 

[Dulanic]

Never hurts to have it checked out just to be safe. But the odds are good that it is what BlueNile says it is. They are very good dealer.

 

[Maximus96]

in the bay area i bought some jewlery from the diamond exchange in burlingame (sp) bought a 1/2 C. ring as a bday present for my gf for $250 and another occasion bought 1/2C earring for around $250. she likes them, so i can't complain.

 

[LordThing]

Originally posted by: Jumpem
Wow, I feel like a loser since I only plan on spending $1500.

Don't worry bud. I spent about 2100 after all said and done. Bought her a .54 carrat Marquise diamond that was super high quality and cut fairly shallow. Looked about the same size as a .75 or even a 1 when they held them up to each other. Just remember, whatever you give her she will go estatic over. If she gets all bitchy about the size, dump her or tell her you will upsize it in 5 years(depending if you wanna keep her).

 

[LAUST]

So once you get married what happens to the engagement ring anyway? Does the wedding band go with the eng ring? is that how it works?

<--- am most likely going to be in the same boat as Aphex in a few month's

 

[Jzero]

Originally posted by: LAUST
So once you get married what happens to the engagement ring anyway?

<--- am most likely going to be in the same boat as Aphex in a few month's

Goes right on top of the wedding ring.

 

[Jumpem]

Originally posted by: LordThing

Originally posted by: Jumpem
Wow, I feel like a loser since I only plan on spending $1500.

Don't worry bud. I spent about 2100 after all said and done. Bought her a .54 carrat Marquise diamond that was super high quality and cut fairly shallow. Looked about the same size as a .75 or even a 1 when they held them up to each other. Just remember, whatever you give her she will go estatic over. If she gets all bitchy about the size, dump her or tell her you will upsize it in 5 years(depending if you wanna keep her).

She's not bitchy at all. She'd be happy with anything really.

 

[crystal]

Originally posted by: xBeanx
I've been looking for a ring too. You might want to check DiamondTalk for a wealth of info on rrings/diamonds and buying.

That was the place I lurked for over a month before I got the engagement ring for my now wife from one of the dealers there.

 

[ucdbiendog]

cracker jack box

 

[YoCheeseHead]

You should buy her a nice big diamond but tell her it is just cubic zirconia (because you want to save the money for your future together), and if she's like "that's cool" then you have a keeper.

 

[Maximus96]

excellent idea

 

[CChaos]

Originally posted by: LordSnailz
Seems like there are a few of you that bought their rings from bluenile.com ... after you get the ring do you actually take it to the jeweler and verify the quality? Or is the GIA cert. more than enough. I don't have enough confidence to spend $5k on something I see on the web.

Also, any suggestions for places to check out in the bayarea?

To be honest, between the appraisal for 2x what I just paid, the certification and thier reputation I didn't take it to the jeweler. Yes it was crazy to drop a few grand on the website, but it worked out great for me. It helped that I knew exactly what she wanted and I even guessed her size right.

 

[Howard]

www.betterthandiamond.com

 

[Hammer]

i bought mine at blue nile and my fiancee loved it. i highly recommend them. i got excellent service.

 

[Dulanic]

Originally posted by: Howard
www.betterthandiamond.com

That is always a good consideration honestly if you cant afford more at the time. Go with a nice ring, and can always upgrade the gem later. The Asha gems are rather nice looking, even if a bit expensive for a fake.

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: Dulanic

Originally posted by: Howard
www.betterthandiamond.com

That is always a good consideration honestly if you cant afford more at the time. Go with a nice ring, and can always upgrade the gem later. The Asha gems are rather nice looking, even if a bit expensive for a fake.

The "pearl necklaces" are pretty damn stunning - once you look at the price.

 

[WhiteKnight]

Originally posted by: LordThing

Originally posted by: Jumpem
Wow, I feel like a loser since I only plan on spending $1500.

Don't worry bud. I spent about 2100 after all said and done. Bought her a .54 carrat Marquise diamond that was super high quality and cut fairly shallow. Looked about the same size as a .75 or even a 1 when they held them up to each other. Just remember, whatever you give her she will go estatic over. If she gets all bitchy about the size, dump her or tell her you will upsize it in 5 years(depending if you wanna keep her).

No offense, but that stone must have pretty poor light return if it's a .54 that looks like a .75 or 1.

Quote

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Originally posted by: xBeanx
I've been looking for a ring too. You might want to check DiamondTalk for a wealth of info on rrings/diamonds and buying.
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That was the place I lurked for over a month before I got the engagement ring for my now wife from one of the dealers there.

Who did you decide to go with? I'm visiting Barry from Superbcert and Jonathan from Good Old Gold next week.

 

[GrouchyLadybug]

Originally posted by: zaku
so is the engagement ring suppose to cost more than the wedding ring? i know nothing of this sort. so after spending $$$ to buy her an engagement ring, i have to shell out much more additional $$$ for a wedding ring? i think i got about another year before i need to worry about an engagement ring, but i should research ahead of time

i just got married in november (engaged march 2002). my engagement ring cost my poor college then-boyfriend $3000. he paid for it partly on a credit card, partly on a credit line through the jeweler. he bought it from a local mom-and-pop type of jeweler here in nashville...it is a very well-known jeweler here in town. my husband's whole family has been dealing with this jeweler for their whole lives, so he naturally followed suit. we've had great experiences there ourselves. we bought our wedding bands there, and my husband bought my wedding present there (diamond necklace). if you can find a place like this in your hometown, then jump on it! it's nice to know we aren't getting ripped off and that our jewelry is high quality.

by the way, you saw how much my engagement ring cost. my wedding band cost $60, and my husband's was $140. bands are dirt cheap if you just get plain ones. we're leaving the fancy diamond-encrusted ones for later anniversaries!

good luck with your search!

 

[Ninjja]

Originally posted by: Orsorum
Mt. Doom.

this is the best reply ever.