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Need help w/ purchased of engagement ring

A

AmdInside

Golden Member
Guys,
I am planning on proposing to my gf in two months. The problem now is finding a ring. This is my first time doing this (and hopefully my last). Can anyone offer some pointers in choosing a ring please? Can anyone suggest places to buy a ring from? Should I stay away from all mall jewelry stores? I live in the Bay Area in California so if anyone in particular knows a place locally, that would be great also. Also, any tips on how to propose? Gonna take my gf to the Ritz Carlton for her birthday and propose to her over dinner. Anyone have any interesting stories of how they proposed? Thanks.
 
make sure its no smaller then 4 ct. good lck.



🙂 j/k id say look at the rings she has now and try to get something she would like, usually simple is better when you dont know which way to go.
 
There is lots of research that you can do on the web to get an idea of what it is you are looking for in a Diamond. I did a tremendous amount of research on the four C's (cut, clarity, carets, color) and basically I found out a few basic things that might help you out.

1) Only buy a diamond from a jeweler who sells the stones seperately from the settings. A diamond that is already put into a setting allows them to hide things about the diamond.

2) Many flaws in diamonds can not be seen with the naked eye... for example, the stone that I bought was .92 Caret and had a few very minor flaws that you could not see without putting the stone under magnification. I found that the CUT of the stone was extremely important... two diamonds can have the same charecteristics but a diamond with a good cut will have that dazzling sparkle that all the ladies love! Also, color is very important... you want a diamond that is fairly clear... cheaper diamonds will often have a slightly yellowish cast or other tint to them. The stone that I bought was about $4800. You can usually find a pretty nice 1/2 caret diamond for around $2500 (without setting). I felt that the extra dazzle of the 1 caret stone justified the higher price. It does a pretty good job of advertising from across the room that she's taken 😉.

3) Make sure you get a guarentee from the jeweler guarenteeing the value of your purchase in case something happens. As difficult as it is to comprehend, she could say no, or something might happen to the two of you before the actual wedding event.... don't ask me about this one. 🙁
 
Good luck and goodbye to our friend
AMDInside
He proposed with a rock of a ring
That cost him his hide

She hemmed and she hawed
That the ring was too small
Poor AMDInside had spent all his money
Could not believe she was bored

But he professed his love
Upon bended knee
"Oh my sweet Marie!" he cried
"Thoust shall marry me!"

But Marie refused
Much to his dismay
And threw the ring away,
In the brush, it did lay

Marie ran away
So he took the ring
Back to the store
They said "yes, we'll take it back."
And give you One Dollar, twenty four.


And the moral of the story is: When you return the ring, you'll get about 10% what you paid for it, if that.

Other than that, good luck, my friend.

ps
Buy a puppy; it's cheaper and doesn't talk back.
 
Stay away from mall stores in general, (unless they are a local jeweler). The mega-chains will sell you inferior quality stones at well above you should be paying for them (rent for the retail space is very high in shopping malls - ie, you pay their high rent). Don't be fooled by the lighting they setup in these type of stores so that the diamonds sparkle more. Ask to take the ring out in the natural light just outside the store to observe the quality. The difference is amazing without those highpowered track lights.

Buying a diamond is like buying a car - the price is ALWAYS negotiable. Also, remember that buying the ring is purely a financial decision as opposed to an emotional decision. Settle for the best price and nothing less when making the deal, and leave the emotions for proposing to your lucky soon-to-be fiancee.

The only thing i might have done different is to buy a little larger stone than I did, since a couple of years down the road the extra 500-700 bucks will seem like nothing. Also it's tremendous satisfaction to mentally compare the size of your fiancee's ring to other ladies' (kinda Freudian I guess, but believe me YOUR fiancee will doing this too).

Best of luck on a long path of spending money faster than you can make it. It'll only stop after you get back from the honeymoon, if it ever does (car, house, kids, etc. ad nauseum)

-Ice
 
uh, when i proposed, i just used a fairly plain ring b/c I knew that my wife wanted to build her engagement ring from a collection of stones that her mother and grandmother had given her.
 
Good luck with the ring, the question, and everything else.

I to hope to be in this situation maybe before the year is out
 
The above advice is very good. I just want to third or fourth the "watch the stores in the mall" idea. We actually have a local dealer here who is located in the mall which is VERY reputable. But with that reputation comes a SUBSTANTIAL price. So there are exceptions to that rule, but use your common sense.

Good luck. I was lucky and inheirited my grandmother's diamond. I always enjoy jokingly pointing that out to my younger brother who is now shopping around for a ring himself 😉
 
If she loves you it wont matter what ring you get her, she'll still say yes.. I know from experience 😉. Getting laid off sux.
 
Don't bestupid and blow 4 months salary on it. That's just silly when people do that. If you have to take out a loan for a ring it's too expensive.
 
Well it really depends on his income level... and how long he wants to wait to propose. I did pay cash for my ring but I can understand that there are situations where financing is justified.
 
Thanks. She is really good about this but I still want to take time to make a good purchase for her. I am shooting for $2000-$2300 in price after taxes. Hope to make the most with this money. The money I am going to spend on proposing will be close to $1000 with hotel costs and food and other travel expenses.
 
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