Well, it's (almost) that time, probably less than a year. A couple guys at work recently got engaged and wend the build your own route and said they got more for their money that way. I would ask them but I want it to be a total surprise and word gets around a firehouse faster than you would believe. So I started looking online for loose diamonds and then I take it to a jewler to have it set? I know absolutely nothing about diamonds/jewelry so any help is appreciated.
Any advice on buying an engagement ring?
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^^^^^ What he said!
I knew that was coming. Just didn't think it would beat the leghumper picture requests.
i usually don't request pics in thread with the words "girl Trouble" in the title
well the big thing you need to figure out is if she would like yellow gold or white gold (or platinum or whatever). Then you have to figure out why style she would want. If you are sneaky about it you can probably determine all of this over a few months without her knowing.
When I got the engagement ring for my wife, ended up with white gold and a 3 diamond set. 2 smaller ones and the center one was about double the size. I want to say overall it is like 1 carat (.25 side stones and 0.5 center). Not crazy huge...not crazy expensive. Worked for us
I want to say it was around $1200-1500. But of course, different strokes for different folks. There was a guy in the store (Zales) with me when I bought it that was getting one for his girlfriend.....$11,500 ! yowza.
When I got the engagement ring for my wife, ended up with white gold and a 3 diamond set. 2 smaller ones and the center one was about double the size. I want to say overall it is like 1 carat (.25 side stones and 0.5 center). Not crazy huge...not crazy expensive. Worked for us
I want to say it was around $1200-1500. But of course, different strokes for different folks. There was a guy in the store (Zales) with me when I bought it that was getting one for his girlfriend.....$11,500 ! yowza.spend more than 1500... thats just sad... then again 11500 is way too much lol
I'm looking to spend 6-$8,000.
I've heard good things about Blue Nile.
Oh yeah, and cut/clarity mean a whole lot more than carat size. A small diamond of higher quality will "look" bigger and better than a big crappy diamond. Mine's a high quality 3/4ct, and people swear its at least 1ct.
Oh yeah, and cut/clarity mean a whole lot more than carat size. A small diamond of higher quality will "look" bigger and better than a big crappy diamond. Mine's a high quality 3/4ct, and people swear its at least 1ct.
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Buy used.
Why pay the jewelery store premium.
Find a nice diamond and have it reset.
Lots of exploding relationships, divorcing couples, and husbands selling off their cheating spouses rings out there. Should be able to find a nice stone for pennies on the dollar.
Why pay the jewelery store premium.
Find a nice diamond and have it reset.
Lots of exploding relationships, divorcing couples, and husbands selling off their cheating spouses rings out there. Should be able to find a nice stone for pennies on the dollar.
DO NOT BUY A USED RING UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES!!! NOT EVEN FROM A JEWLERY STORE. I bought a MINT used one from Zales...pretty much half price. Well a diamond fell out of it and she took it in for warranty...which it didn't have. Then she found out it was used....something I didn't mention. Then she felt as if she wasn't important cause I bought her used stuff. I can see it I guess. Then I upgraded her ring so we could get a warranty for the new one. Let me just say it was a painful experience but I am glad she let me rectify the problem. Some will say I'm a ass and that may be true but I can understand her stance. I'd give anything to take all that back and buy her the 2nd ring the first time. -Shane
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That's actually where I was looking online. I just didn't know if it was not something you buy online. The guys at work had theirs made locally.
Briangavindiamonds.com
Ask for Leslie.
Ask for Leslie.
Used as in Craig's list? Or is there somewhere more credible?
Gift Card? LOL!
Obviously you need to figure out what she likes so that is where you need to start. Anyone from her side you can trust to tell you without telling her? My wife had no opinion on it so i went with simple and chose quality over quantity with an Emerald cut diamond. Some women are more into the sparkle and prefer more traditional cuts such as the princess. or round diamonds. I do not know anyone that has chosen a gold setting other than white gold in a long time. Platnium is the best looking IMO but you pay for it. Also - Food for thought but I have an insurance policy on her ring that acts as a rider on my home owners policy.
GL and dont listen to all these guy's that are afraid to move on in life.
Obviously you need to figure out what she likes so that is where you need to start. Anyone from her side you can trust to tell you without telling her? My wife had no opinion on it so i went with simple and chose quality over quantity with an Emerald cut diamond. Some women are more into the sparkle and prefer more traditional cuts such as the princess. or round diamonds. I do not know anyone that has chosen a gold setting other than white gold in a long time. Platnium is the best looking IMO but you pay for it. Also - Food for thought but I have an insurance policy on her ring that acts as a rider on my home owners policy.
GL and dont listen to all these guy's that are afraid to move on in life.
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I ended up spending 7.5k. You can get a really nice ring for that price range, one that is sure to impress her friends and family.
The way I did it was we talked about marriage, and then once we decided that we would like to get married one day we went ring shopping together so I could get an idea of what she would like. 1.5 years later I propposed. If you go to a chain like Tiffany's prepare to get bent over and have little bargaining power. I went to a family owned jewler to get the ring. A ring she fell in love with 1.5 years earlier. Because I was willing to pay in full with cash that day they cut me a deal on both the setting and the diamond. Plus it had been sitting in thier display for a long time so they wanted to move it. Basically I had 7k to spend that day and picked out a setting and a diamond together that was about 8k. They could see the green so they worked the deal to come just under my 7k limit. :beer:
It depends on how good your taste is and what kind of gift receiver she is.
I took my wife out and let her pick her own. That's just how she is. We talked about it beforehand. Not a huge surprise but she got exactly what she wanted.
I took my wife out and let her pick her own. That's just how she is. We talked about it beforehand. Not a huge surprise but she got exactly what she wanted.
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