A plain tungsten band gets noticed too, especially if it's the only ring you are wearing.

Now if I could only get one in the right size. I need a 6, ordered online and the 6 was a 5 1/2 and the 6 1/2 was actually a 6 3/4 so I still don't have the size I need. I really like the style of the ring, but I guess I'll have to try something different.

3/21/2010 10:10:31 AM

Quote :

"And I never wear jewelry. So it seems silly for me to have a diamond ring"

im actually the same way.
the only jewelry i wear all the time is my ring now

3/21/2010 9:20:39 PM

Anyone with any info on traveling to Antwerp to purchase a diamond?

Cheaper for the stone itself? Or is the price fairly similar if purchased stateside? Im sure there is some markup for shipping, resale in the US, etc.

[Edited on April 15, 2010 at 11:31 PM. Reason : ]

4/15/2010 11:18:21 PM

I would imagine you'd have to factor in the Customs tax as well.

4/16/2010 1:29:20 AM

Diamonds Direct @ crabtree FTW!

4/16/2010 6:05:41 AM

4/16/2010 6:48:22 AM

LOL

I love that pic

4/16/2010 7:10:09 AM

Looky looky what i did

4/16/2010 10:59:59 AM

This thread has taught me that hands look kind of weird.

Anyway, we have a ring picked out from topazery.com

4/16/2010 11:08:44 AM

^^GORGEOUS!

4/18/2010 9:02:32 PM

^^^reminds me of Samwise16's ring

and lol at the potato

4/18/2010 9:39:33 PM

diamonds direct +10000

you get way more than you thought you would . They will put the rock you're thinking about against 3 or 4 others and see if you can tell the difference w/ a microscope. they also do the price slashing

4/22/2010 3:30:20 PM

i, too, was very happy with diamonds direct

deemarie wanted it in yellow gold, so the guy was straight up with us and said not to spend the extra on a rock with great color b/c the yellow is gonna show through anyway and you won't be able to tell. they explained all the diamond bullshit to me first before we even looked at a stone and they put it in terms i could understand. got a lot more bang for the buck there too. courteous folks, no pressure, just an all-around good experience for me (except the whole part about shelling out $texas for a goddamn rock )

4/22/2010 7:04:53 PM

NICE KeB I agree w/ begonias, it reminded me of my ring... good choice


^ Eric was so pissed at Diamonds Direct... The day he went in there he was ignored for 15 minutes (not even a single person asked him if he needed help) and he was the only guy in the engagement ring section (probably the best customer to help at that point)....

So he went to Bailey's and so far we've had a really great experience!

4/22/2010 8:15:47 PM

damn, they jumped all over me when i walked in and were offering me water and shit

i went to pick her ring up on halloween around 10 or 11 am and they were offering me mimosas

[Edited on April 22, 2010 at 10:33 PM. Reason : i guess i just give off that big-baller spending some cheese aura ]

4/22/2010 10:32:26 PM

Went bluenile.com and was very pleased.

I ordered over the phone and there was a "rare" mixup where the exact diamond that I had picked out had already been sold, so they sold me a better quality diamond with mostly the same specs for the same price.

4/23/2010 9:59:15 AM

Quote :

"Eric was so pissed at Diamonds Direct... The day he went in there he was ignored for 15 minutes (not even a single person asked him if he needed help)"

my fiancée and i had the same experience...when they finally bothered to help us, the woman was hella pushy and said that every ring my fiancée LOOKED at was "the one" for her and then became so fucking annoying with her, "let's talk about payment plans...you may think you only want to spend $XXXX, but you easily spend twice as much if you love her and we all know diamonds are forever blah blah blah"

also, their prices sucked donkey balls...also, she was pissed as all hell when i told her i'd be using her mom's diamond and was only looking to purchase the ring and mounting services

we left and never went back...i ended up getting the ring from reed's in cary towne center and the assistant manager that helped me from the beginning bent over backwards to help me out (even went so far as to call up the store manager 5 minutes before closing so that he could get me a sale discount that had ended the previous week)...i don't remember his name, but they were all swell folks

4/23/2010 10:03:58 AM

yeah Bailey's offered Eric freshly baked cookies and soda they were really helpful, he said... Even offered to let him take the ring outside to see how much it sparkled. He told them what style I wanted and also showed the guy a picture of this ring that I saw online that I loved and they offered to make him an even better one. Needless to say, they got him

4/23/2010 1:50:06 PM

i lucked out. a 1 ct diamond looks huge on a size 2.75 ring finger

4/23/2010 3:32:59 PM

2.75?? what the flying fuck?

4/23/2010 10:05:09 PM

yea man, i'm a 4.25 and they said that was teeny tiny

4/23/2010 10:07:44 PM

lol I've got tiny hands too. I think I'm a 3.5 though I don't remember anymore.

4/23/2010 10:22:45 PM

there's only a couple millimeters difference between 2.XX and 4.XX

[Edited on April 23, 2010 at 11:33 PM. Reason : i don't think the scale is linear]

here, use this http://www.onlineconversion.com/ring_size.htm

[Edited on April 23, 2010 at 11:34 PM. Reason : sd]

4/23/2010 11:33:05 PM

The future Mrs. and I got engaged in December ... finally getting around to posting pics of her ring.

4/24/2010 6:14:29 PM

Quote :

"2.75?? what the flying fuck?"

yeah, places i went to thought i didnt know what i was talking about. but she really is a 2.75.

had to get the ring mold completely custom made, since almost no one ever gets an engagement ring that small.

4/24/2010 10:03:46 PM

i really, really want to see her fingers

aha. that sounds weird.

4/24/2010 10:35:45 PM

this is the 2.75 size ring band

(and me trying to hold the camera phone still)

4/25/2010 3:53:35 PM

There's nothing less romantic to me than the idea of my gf picking out her own engagement ring. It will be a symbol of my life for her, but a symbol of what she told me to buy.

Though clearly I should have an idea of what she'd want to wear if I were to pop the question. I am starting to think about it. I sort of think she will be the one. Holy shit they're expensive.

Diamonds Direct or Blue Nile seems to be the winner of this thread, correct?

4/25/2010 5:30:59 PM

^^ i got that one at rhudy's jewelry in fayetteville

they can autocad the mold and create the ring from start to finish right there in the store. i got a really good price and was able to get a matching wedding band for that engagement ring as well.

also got the completely custom ring done in 4 weeks.

4/25/2010 5:40:46 PM

That is probably my favorite ring in this thread. ^ Rudy's is pretty damn nice.

4/25/2010 6:23:12 PM

funny story about rhudys though.

anyone who knows about fayetteville knows about murchison road. not the most friendly part of town. the building that rhudys is in is a plain grey cinderblock brick building pawn shop with two doors that are set with bars. its the ugliest building ever. once you walk inside its the worst looking pawn shop you have ever seen in your entire life. we're talking old as hell cell phones, crappy audio equipment and VCRs, and you cant forget about car rims.

so you walk in and walk up to the equally crappy looking clerk behind the counter and ask to see jewelry. he motions you to the side of the counter, opens the counter door and tells you to walk into the back and take a left by the sink. there is a sink behind the counter for some reason. you walk into the back in a semi dark hallway and down the hall into the most amazing jewelry store. diamonds everywhere, any kind of watch you could want. you name it, they have it.

everyone working there in suits. a fayetteville police officer in uniform is also standing back there at all times in the store. the walls are lined with autographed pictures of famous people and military generals that have shopped there. the back room of the jewelry store also has computer equipment and printers that can print 3d wax molds of autocad drawings.

the deal i got at that store was one of the best priced deals i could get anywhere. i shopped around before going to rhudys (im from fayetteville so i always felt like that would be an option)

and like i said, they were able to deliver a completely custom order that i designed within a 4 week time frame. i was also able to pay half up front and the other half on delivery. did that for both the engagement ring and the wedding bands.

4/25/2010 6:40:12 PM

rhudy's is awesome.

my grandpa took my cousins and me there a few years ago and let us pick out christmas presents

4/25/2010 6:53:02 PM

yeah the first time I went in there I was blown away. You gotta get buzzed in to the Back of some Murch pawn shop you've got millions and millions of jewelry in there, cases full of stuff that's out of this world. I dont think I've seen anything like it. Maybe I just don't get out much.

Best place to go for any type of car audio as well. Small replacements or if you were hooking up your Integra for the ladies....

4/25/2010 8:00:33 PM

Quote :

"There's nothing less romantic to me than the idea of my gf picking out her own engagement ring. It will be a symbol of my life for her, but a symbol of what she told me to buy."

She's the one who has to wear it for the rest of her life. I don't think there's anything "unromantic" about wanting her input.

4/25/2010 8:23:50 PM

take that reason and practicality bullshit and gtfo

4/25/2010 9:30:42 PM

^^Exactly.

I can't imagine turning eleusis loose in a jewelry store, tasked with finding me the perfect ring.

I picked out my rings and I think that's the best thing we could have done. What happens if you get a ring she doesn't like? I bet it happens more often than you think.

4/25/2010 9:33:33 PM

input is totally different than letting her pick it out.

there is something to be said for a man that listens and understands his woman enough to know what her style is and the exact thing that she would want.

my fiance didnt pick her ring out or tell me what she wanted, but i went in to stores knowing exactly what i was looking for.

4/25/2010 9:50:27 PM

I've shown my girlfriend types of rings I would consider and she like my taste on all of them

for that reason alone, I'm picking it out "without her input"

4/25/2010 10:39:38 PM

Exactly^^

how is it a symbol of my love if it something she selected....then it's simply a symbol I wrote the check for.

"she has to wear the ring forever" I have to wear her forever. If I drop that type of cash on a woman and she doesn't like it....she doesn't need to be my bride.

Luckily I've talked, and I listen to her so know exactly what she'll want to wear. Most guys can handle doing that.

4/26/2010 12:01:20 AM

finally got around to taking decent pictures of my fiancée's ring

4/27/2010 10:41:04 AM

Quote :

"Diamonds Direct or Blue Nile seems to be the winner of this thread, correct?"

and Bailey's!! seriously, they're awesome



as for picking out your own ring... I never really understood that either, but I did give him ideas and tell him the style I preferred. I think he did pretty damn good I actually like the ring he picked out more than the one I thought was my favorite

4/27/2010 10:43:49 AM

Quote :

"Diamonds Direct or Blue Nile seems to be the winner of this thread, correct?"

half right...blue nile is pretty awesome, but diamonds direct is really a bunch of assholes

+1 for reed's in cary towne center

4/27/2010 10:45:07 AM

Quote :

"I never really understood that either"

it's rather simple actually. i'm gonna be wearing these rings for the rest of my life. they ain't cheap. we wanted to make sure i got something i liked that looked good on my finger. the best way to ensure that is to pick them out together.

4/27/2010 10:49:10 AM

yeah, i had my fianc´e pick out her ring...we saw a lot of rings and it was easy to get overwhelmed (for both of us, actually)...i had her narrow it down to 3 or 4 that she liked and i just gauged her reaction to each on my own to decide which one she liked best

even then, it was something like a month after we last looked that i actually proposed...i'm pretty sure she doesn't actually remember all of the ones she liked after that long, but if i'm going to spend this kind of money on something she will have for the rest of her life, i want her to love it

4/27/2010 10:54:38 AM

^2 I don't think it's "rather simple" because I just wouldn't want to know ahead of time. People are different. I knew that Eric knew what style I liked and he's never done me wrong in the jewelry department so I was like have at it... Not to mention, yeah I know I'll be wearing the ring forever and it will be on my finger but I would like it to have his personal style involved in it as well.


The only thing I specifically said I DIDN'T want was a "past, present, future" ring

4/27/2010 11:38:46 AM

True, all relationships are different. Some women like to be surprised by an engagement. "I had no idea you were proposing! OMG! " But we had talked about getting married for quite awhile before we actually got engaged. And I was still tickled pink and just as excited.

I moved in sometime in March, knowing full well that he would never live with a girl unless he planned on marrying her. We went looking for rings in May knowing we'd someday be getting engaged. I found a ring at Reed's in Cary Towne Center that I loved, but he said we should look around and not settle on the first ring I found. Then I saw a ring I loved even more at Whitehall Jewelers in Cary Towne Center and decided that was the one. So that's what we ended up going with.


The only surprise in the whole thing is that we picked the rings out (and purchased them) on Sunday. The jeweler said they'd be sized and ready to go for pickup on Thursday. He lied and called eleusis to come pick them up on Wednesday. So I was totally surprised when he came home on Wednesday and dropped down on one knee to "officially" propose to me

Aww typing that up made me cry
I'm such a sap.

4/27/2010 11:44:44 AM

Ok, so I'm fairly curious. Ladies, show me a picture of a hideous engagement ring. One so bad you'd make your man take it back and get you another one. There are rules,

It has to be in the price range you can reasonably expect from your man, and
it has to be a legit engagement ring

go.

4/27/2010 1:00:37 PM

^There have been at least 3 (maybe 4) in this thread alone that have made me shudder.

I would not be able to tell him I didn't like it, and I would not be able to tell him to take it back. Therefore, to avoid that situation, I went with him to pick it out.

4/27/2010 1:04:35 PM

I'd send this one back

4/27/2010 1:04:36 PM

Is that from this thread?

4/27/2010 1:09:35 PM