hahaha oh. i thought you meant engagement rings in general. i was like...damn they sell everything else. like EVERYTHING else.

million dollar engagement rings....who knows. guess they do everything big. giant ketchup, giant salad dressings, giant bag of chips, giant engagement rings?!

3/18/2011 1:23:52 PM

That was my point on the post. I saw that and was like WTF. Who would buy a million dollar ring at Costco...

I know the warranty at Costco is awesome...maybe that is an incentive?

3/18/2011 1:29:32 PM

You'd definitely need that Amex Black

3/18/2011 1:35:24 PM

does costco take all credit cards. i'm sure they do and yea....amex black damn can you imagine charging a million dollars??

remember back in the day when club warehouse stores would only take whack credit cards like discover??



[Edited on March 18, 2011 at 1:46 PM. Reason : .]

3/18/2011 1:46:27 PM

Quote :

"got the appraisal done for insurance done today $1k over purchase price purchased in november."

I was pretty pissed about our appraisal. The ring appraised for almost $10k over what we paid, which more than doubled the damn insurance cost.

3/19/2011 6:12:45 PM

I worked at Kay Jewelers for like a year and a half and ended up getting a certification as a "Diamondtologist" or whatever word they made up. Needless to say I know way more about diamonds than I ever thought I would.

Needless to say, my fiance isn't a big fan of solitaires, and one day she was in the store just looking around waiting for me to go on my lunch break so we could have a meal together (she had to work late). This ring caught her eye and she fell in love with it.



So the next day, we're slow and I'm just sitting at the diamond case. I pull it out and check it out for about 20 minutes, just sitting there looking at it. With ten minutes to spare before my shift ended, I decided that that night would be the night, so I walked over to my boss and bought it. (Hooray Employee Discount!) Went home and showed the roommate the ring and then got him to stalk us throughout the night with his camera and take candid shots.

Don't know where else to put this, but it's important that you know I had given her a pendant about three weeks earlier and she had wanted a longer chain so it would sit lower on her neckline.

We were going to have a date night that night any way, so we went out to the restaurant that our first date was at and just talked throughout the evening. She kept joking all night about how I needed to propose soon. At one point she even said "I know the ring's in your pocket." She told me later she was just joking and giving me a hard time and felt terrible about it. haha

Anyway, after dinner we walked across the river on this little footbridge to an island in the middle of the river along a running path. We sat there and I read a letter I had written to "my future wife" in a Moleskin journal that she had given me. At the end of it she smiled and we just sat there looking at the river for a minute. I then said "Oh hey I got that longer chain you wanted." and pulled it out. At the end of it was the engagement ring that she had seen and fallen in love with. She was on the verge of crying and just nodded smiling with teary eyes. That's when the roommate and her friend jumped out and took more pictures.

It was definitely last-minute prep, but she loves telling the story and she loves her ring. We're getting married in July.

3/20/2011 5:30:15 PM

^ congrats!! and what a super sweet story that is- it's the kind of thing you'll be sharing for many, many years

3/20/2011 5:37:03 PM

^^ aww and what a gorgeous ring!

3/20/2011 7:59:02 PM

^2 that ring is gorgeous congrats!

3/20/2011 8:09:35 PM

I can join this thread now.

I looked at more stores and rings than I care to remember. Had a wide range of experiences from terrible to great in terms of store selection, customer service, and employee knowledge/selling approach.

In the end, Fink's was the best for what I was looking for in terms of setting, diamond quality, and customer service.

3/23/2011 7:30:09 PM

^that is GORGEOUS!!!


(and finks is where mine came from!)




congrats!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

3/24/2011 5:33:59 PM

2^congrats!

3/24/2011 5:37:09 PM

what is the general money rule on these engagement rings? i've been polling some of my friends and seen a wide disparity on how much they spent on their fiancees.

3/29/2011 4:59:50 PM

Classic stance : Three months salary.

Stance now: Find out what she likes and buy something like that.

For example, if she wants a Sapphire engagement ring (most want the diamond), then you're going to have a hard time finding a sapphire to spend a couple grand on. Most will be under the $1000 mark.

At the same time, if she likes some bling to hers, then go for the vintage setting (in my ring above) or something really classic (the last picture above is a gorgeous three-stone setting).

Keep in mind how big her fingers are. If she's dainty, then a solitaire diamond will probably look great if you can find a decent one. If she prefers something that sparkles, then go for a setting that will have tiny diamonds on it.

The thing that is popular right now is white gold and side stones. Vintage settings seem to be pretty big, but it's probably going to need to have a couple small diamonds coming down the side of it somewhere.

3/29/2011 5:04:28 PM

dear Morphine Boy,

1.omghi2u

2. that ring is gorgeous!!!

heart,
begonias

3/29/2011 5:11:54 PM

So I dropped some bank on an engagement ring last year and its getting time to buy wedding bands. She doesn't want to spend a ton, she wants something cheap (I think she deserves it), and I want something that matches the quality of what I got her but I, too don't want to spend a load...again. Any suggestions on where to look?

3/29/2011 5:27:12 PM

^ u think she deserves something cheap? o.O

3/29/2011 8:16:11 PM

^lol

^^Check out overstock.com. We searched for a wedding band that I really liked that had a price tag that I liked too. This proved to be insanely difficult.

I LOVED my engagement ring but the matching band was just too much. I found one at jewelers that had diamonds set in the band which I liked but it was over $500. More than I wanted to spend.

I ended up getting the same band on overstock.com:

http://www.overstock.com/Jewelry-Watches/10k-White-Gold-1-10ct-TDW-Diamond-Wedding-Band-J-K-I2-I3/3049132/product.html

It is dainty but it fits great with my engagement ring and has the perfect amount of sparkle. I'm sure it is not the most amazing quality but I liked it and the price.

3/29/2011 8:47:39 PM

^&^^ lol, I should have proofed that.

3/29/2011 9:01:41 PM

I don't think I ever posted a pic here:



Bottom one is the engagement ring. We each had one, made from the same azurite-malachite rock, 2 minerals that often naturally grow together (with blue & green being our favorite colors). And then each did the ring on top for our wedding day, with our names and wedding date engraved (3.6.9, might not be very legible in pic).

3/30/2011 5:01:12 PM

who did the inlay?

3/30/2011 6:21:49 PM

http://www.boonerings.com/

3/30/2011 10:20:38 PM

so why shouldnt I shop at a mall store?

4/21/2011 6:35:13 PM

Quote :

"our names and wedding date engraved (3.6.9, might not be very legible in pic). "

should have engraved "Damn, You're Fine" underneath the date.

4/21/2011 6:57:03 PM

^^^^^ not trying to bust your bubble, but how could it have come from the same stone, when it is reconstituted?

Also since azurite and malachite are soft stones, how is it holding up?

4/21/2011 7:46:14 PM

I found a ring I love and then after further observation, it is identical to Samwise16's ring. I guess Eric has good taste. Good thing there is a lot of variety.

4/21/2011 8:08:46 PM

Quote :

"so why shouldnt I shop at a mall store?"

That depends on which mall store we're talking about...

4/27/2011 9:55:22 PM

so how does the process of duplicating an existing ring work?

i've got a vintage ring that the girlfriend likes, and obviously the initial detail was worn down over the years. i want to essentially buy a new version of the same ring, which will entail adding some detail that's not currently there. i have a feeling that this means i'm going to have to pay out the wazoo for some design process. then again, i have no idea about any of this, i just know i am not going to be picking something out of a catalog.

4/27/2011 11:30:45 PM

go to diamonds direct - best service ever. just dont talk to the creepy old guy who gets WAY too excited about selling. talk to richard, the older lady with the spiky hair (vickie or valerie) or the skinny girl with the brown hair with the nose ring. shes good too. i think her name is Ginny

we got my engagement ring almost 1500 under what it appraised at - theyre the best prices and the best service in the business.

[Edited on April 27, 2011 at 11:36 PM. Reason : yay wedding!]

4/27/2011 11:34:59 PM

Quote :

"since azurite and malachite are soft stones, how is it holding up?"

Its coated in a layer of acrylic I believe, so its not exposed at all, and holding up perfectly.

4/27/2011 11:38:20 PM

where would be a good place to get a loose diamond? my gf lives in another country, and I would like to get our ring designed there. I figure loose diamond would be cheaper in the US, maybe that's not true.

4/27/2011 11:57:15 PM

My engagement/wedding ring should be done this week. It'll look like the picture below but in white gold instead of sterling silver.

4/28/2011 12:57:29 AM

Quote :

"dear Morphine Boy, 1.omghi2u 2. that ring is gorgeous!!! heart, begonias"

Oh hi! Thanks. She loves it.

As far as shopping at a mall store goes, I can tell you from first-hand experience that Kay Jewelers was quality when I worked there. Granted every store is different and I was at the one in Lynchburg, VA. The company has a decent standard on diamonds, and there should be someone in the store that knows what they're talking about and has been trained and certified when it comes to stones.

4/28/2011 1:56:57 AM

Quote :

"so how does the process of duplicating an existing ring work? "

There are several ways to do it....

The most common is to make a mold (wax) of the current ring, then pour it to be identical.... If there are antique engravings, sometimes they're added by hand, to get an effect that will be deeper/ last longer than the molded version.
It really isn't a difficult process... And aside from metal prices being what they are currently, the cost shouldnt be much, if any, more than looking 384 places to try to find one like it.

4/28/2011 7:37:20 AM

Quote :

" For example, if she wants a Sapphire engagement ring (most want the diamond), then you're going to have a hard time finding a sapphire to spend a couple grand on. Most will be under the $1000 mark. "

haha, don't know how you guys let that one slip

4/28/2011 4:42:35 PM

are the simpler rings out? all the rings i'm seeing are pretty intricate and show lots of complexity to them. i was thinking i had one picked then looking through here i'm not so sure now.

any ideas?

5/24/2011 10:35:54 AM

Tiffany's has tons of classic, simple looking rings. If you don't want to pay that much, take a look and then figure out what you like.

5/24/2011 10:38:03 AM

I cant say this enough....Diamonds Direct. Go there.

5/24/2011 10:50:02 AM

^^^ I think it depends on the girl. I hate solitaire diamonds, but some girls love the simplicity. Just depends really.

5/24/2011 11:01:39 AM

I bought my fiancée a plain solitaire ring and she couldn't have been happier

5/24/2011 1:04:19 PM

I just bought one of these things.

5/24/2011 1:04:59 PM

^ you'll have to tell me tomorrow about it.

5/24/2011 8:40:34 PM

I'm with begonias -- I personally never liked the solitaire style but my friends/family that has that style love it (and it looks gorgeous on them)

it's all about personal preference

And, you might also surprise her. I thought I loved the cushion and princess cut halo rings by far, but when Eric proposed I fell in love with the round one.. I think it's because I know it's a combination of what we both like

[Edited on May 24, 2011 at 8:46 PM. Reason : .]

5/24/2011 8:45:40 PM

3 months salary I spent 1 month and got a very nice ring. Bought our bands this week, hers was $800 something just a channl set band with .25 carat total weight. My ring was $4.99 on overstock.com

5/24/2011 8:56:18 PM

Asked smcain to marry me last Thursday with this one:



made with a soft gold finished wedding band that fits inside.

5/31/2011 10:37:08 AM

congrats!

i've noticed the marquis diamond is making a bit of a comeback. i've noticed quite a few engagement rings in the last couple of years with the marquis cut.

5/31/2011 10:46:47 AM

^^ So...what did she say?

5/31/2011 11:09:08 AM

^ she said yes . And maybe a little "about damn time".

I like the marquis diamond. I have long and skinny (piano) fingers, and it looks fabulous. Got the nice Celtic style too. He did good

5/31/2011 2:15:25 PM

^Congrats!

5/31/2011 2:28:33 PM

Quote :

"And maybe a little "about damn time"."

whats your secret?

5/31/2011 2:36:01 PM