My ring came from a family member, but if anyone is interested in pre-owned engagement rings, you should check Joint Venture Jewelry in Cary http://www.jointventurejewelry.com. They have a lot of nice jewelry on consignment. I'll probably get my wedding band there.

this one from their website is beautiful:

4/20/2008 2:11:48 PM

oooh love this

4/20/2008 2:52:00 PM

negotiating with b&m jewelers? what's a good price point to start at for any given stone? 20% off? 30? 40?

4/24/2008 11:35:31 AM

is it just me, or are engagement rings the most ridiculous things ever?

4/24/2008 11:37:09 AM

^agreed

doesnt stop me from wanting one
god forbid that day comes

4/24/2008 11:58:07 AM

I've been looking for months now and can't decide where to buy my ring from

My g/f want either a solitaire or a ring with tiny sidestones such as

http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-engagement-ring-setting-white-gold_4779?metal_filter=white&setting_filter=sidestone,%20matching&sort_select=LTHP&filter_id=1&set_shape=

(Sorry the tinyurl website is blocked at my work)

I've been checking out Blue Nile (and other online jewelers) and also local and chain dealers (I really like Finks which is strictly in NC and VA). It seems that I can get a better quality diamond online but unfortunately I can't see it in person.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of shopping with Blue Nile vs. a local store such as Finks?


[Edited on May 15, 2008 at 9:32 AM. Reason : yo]

5/15/2008 9:31:41 AM

Blue Nile stuff is nice, no joke.

5/15/2008 9:33:11 AM

Custom designed for my girlfriend by her former roommate who is an apprentice jeweler. The ring itself was made by her boss. The tiny diamonds and the gold are from my mom's parents' wedding bands (they added rhodium to the gold, I think to make it white). There's also two purple bubble sapphires and a heart shaped diamond from India.

It's kinda out of the ordinary for an engagement ring, of course, but very fitting considering who it's for.

5/15/2008 4:03:58 PM

Why don't you greedy bitches mine your own diamonds?

5/15/2008 5:31:19 PM

most of the people posting in here are boys posting about fiances / gfs!!!

my friend from schools fiance is a diamond miner in canada. her rock is HUUUUUGE

5/15/2008 8:04:19 PM

^^^That ring kicks ass.

5/15/2008 8:40:14 PM

spooks, that ring is fucking awesome

[Edited on May 15, 2008 at 8:55 PM. Reason : it also fits well with Randi ]

5/15/2008 8:55:06 PM

my dream ring

http://www.tiffany.com/Engagement/Item.aspx?sku=21463485

5/15/2008 10:23:12 PM

That heart ring is really nice! Not something I would wear myself but one of only two rings in this entire thread I liked.

This was the other one:



art nouveau style rings can be really nice sometimes.

5/16/2008 2:43:34 AM

Can someone help me compare these two rings?

Fink's:
Part of the Ritani collection
3 sidestones on each side totaling .37 carats
middle stone (.75 carats) and sidestones are H-color, S1 clarity, and a 1 cut
Band is platinum and price is $5995 (not including tax and includes lifetime warranty)

Blue Nile:
6 sidestones on each side totaling .23 carats
sidestones are H-colorm and VS2 clarity
middle stone (.72 carats) is a F-Color, VS2 clarity, and a signature ideal cut
Band is platinum and price is $5012 (no tax for online purchase and doesn't include lifetime warranty)

Here's a link to the blue nile diamond
http://www.bluenile.com/design.asp?filter_id=1&track=design_additem&set_shape=RD


At first glance it seems as though the Blue Nile ring is a slightly better deal. The total carat weight on the sidestones isn't as much (not a big deal to me because middle stone is more important) but the middle diamond is much better quality. I'm not sure what the blue nile warranty is like and how much it will cost.


[Edited on May 18, 2008 at 11:23 AM. Reason : yo]

5/18/2008 11:18:51 AM

anyone?

5/18/2008 6:01:26 PM

why in the world would you pay that much for a piece of jewelry? it's just a shiny rock.

5/19/2008 8:22:20 AM

I'm not actually paying that much

$4000 is my absolute limit

that $5995 ring is the piece that they had on display (i can get a smaller diamond for much less)

I just wanted to compare the display to something on Blue Nile

[Edited on May 19, 2008 at 11:24 AM. Reason : I'm probably not going to spend more than 3500]

5/19/2008 11:07:29 AM

Quote :

"$4000 is my absolute limit"

that's just ridiculous. all of my rings together cost less than $3000, and that's an engagement ring and two wedding bands (one on each side). and they're beautiful! who spends that much money on engagement rings? it's just plain silly to me.

5/19/2008 7:12:28 PM

Personally I would be really angry with my boyfriend if he spent that much on the rings. I'd rather him spend not a whole lot and then we can have money for our honeymoon

5/20/2008 4:33:22 AM

maybe some people aren't poor?

5/20/2008 7:29:36 AM

But it's ok if he blows a lot of money on you?

I was worried for a second there might be a girl who actually cared about her bf's finances.

5/20/2008 7:29:46 AM

i care, and that's why he's getting an engagement gift too....whenever that happens.

(and i know what i'm getting him )

tit for tat...and we're gonna go together (whenever that happens) so we'll keep it nice but to a minimum (which i'm sure he won't believe if/when he reads this, heh)

[Edited on May 20, 2008 at 7:37 AM. Reason : ]

5/20/2008 7:34:43 AM

Quote :

"maybe some people aren't poor?"

Poor. Rich. Doesn't matter to me. I wouldn't want to be wearing something on my finger that cost thousands of dollars. For one I'd feel guilty about it. Secondly, there are things a lot more important to me than an expensive engagement ring. I hope whoever ends up proposing to me knows me well enough to save himself a lot of dough

5/20/2008 7:52:28 AM

some people have cheap tastes, others have sophisticated. as long as someone isn't living beyond their means, i don't see the problem.

5/20/2008 8:23:06 AM

Just because it costs a crapload of money doesn't mean it's sophisticated



I'm sure this ensemble was expensive but it would hardly be considered classy

5/20/2008 8:44:22 AM

i agree, an engagement ring being bigger does not equal more sophisticated by any means. I could afford a ring a whole heck of a lot bigger than what the one I picked out (~$2k) but it would be a waste...as if $2k on a rock isnt already a waste heh. Shes not greedy at all and had offered for me to buy something super cheap if I wanted, but I felt like she deserved something nice so i set $2k as my limit. Id rather have the money towards our honeymoon or something.

5/20/2008 9:04:10 AM

Quote :

"maybe some people aren't poor?"

Maybe some people aren't stupid enough to fall for a tradition created by an industry to increase demand for their product?

5/20/2008 9:08:57 AM

eh while they certainly promote the tradition hard because it suits their needs, the diamond industry certainly did not completely create this tradition. Its not like the greeting card companies. I can see the argument though from the De Beers point of view, im just being picky

[Edited on May 20, 2008 at 9:39 AM. Reason : ]

5/20/2008 9:35:27 AM

So you guys are criticizing people for spending a lot of money for something they'll look at every day for the rest of their lives, and saying instead they should spend it on a trip that will be over in a week?

5/20/2008 9:55:35 AM

didnt say that, some of the money im saving is definitely going into my house saving fund as well. The thing is, the difference between the $2k ring i picked out and the $5k+ rings I looked at was minimal at best despite a larger stone. So regardless of whether she is wearing it for the rest of her life or not, there wasnt enough gained to make it worth it. Besides, she has such small hands that even a .5 carat looks decent sized on her fingers, so the size I got is plenty big enough for her...she actually said stones that were bigger/stuck out farther than the size I ended up picking out would get annoying to wear for the rest of her life.

5/20/2008 9:58:16 AM

After reading through the whole thread, once again, I totally agree with 392. I never understood the role of an engagement ring other than to show off to friends and say "look at me." Commitment my ass. If that's what you need to show your commitment then you're totally fucked up.

they're all blood diamonds anyway, so yeah...

5/20/2008 10:42:53 AM

Quote :

"So you guys are criticizing people for spending a lot of money for something they'll look at every day for the rest of their lives, and saying instead they should spend it on a trip that will be over in a week?"

Or maybe, that money will be used as additional down payment for a house. Over the next 30 years it will save them a lot of money on interest. Honestly I'll be looking at the space I live in a lot more than a shiny bauble.

If she really cared about the guy, she wouldn't need a ring to remind her of why she got married.

5/20/2008 3:31:05 PM

FroshKiller and I are shallow materialistic people. I made him buy me an expensive ring that makes insecure girls jealous and I got him an engagement TV and an engagement laptop. I suppose we could've spent our money on something else like a retardedly expensive wedding, but it's not like we don't already have all the video games we want.

Seriously though, I am impressed with the bitter I'm seeing in this thread. It's not enough to let people celebrate their relationships as they see fit without passing judgment, fiscal or otherwise, on them? Some of you kids are worse than culty fundamentalists the way you're condeming other peoples' choices.

5/20/2008 9:06:41 PM

I'm not condemning anything, I just don't see how it makes any sense. Do whatever you want, but you can't really argue that it isn't much more than a silly tradition. But hey, the world's filled with silly traditions.



[Edited on May 20, 2008 at 9:11 PM. Reason : .]

5/20/2008 9:10:29 PM

well couldn't you argue marriage is just a silly tradition. religion is just a silly tradition. etc etc etc?? i mean, come on

5/20/2008 9:22:18 PM

thumper's ring needed reposting.



Absolutely stunning, I could have a photoshoot with just that on it's own.

5/20/2008 9:32:16 PM

Quote :

"that's just ridiculous. all of my rings together cost less than $3000, and that's an engagement ring and two wedding bands (one on each side). and they're beautiful! who spends that much money on engagement rings? it's just plain silly to me."

I'm sure your rings are pretty and I'm sure my girlfriend would be more than satisfied with a ring that costs no more than $3000.

One of the reason I am willing to pay a large price right now is because I want platinum. Platinum does not have to be re-plated every year to stay shiny like white gold does. Also, the biggest reason is that it is hypo-allergenic (alloys in white gold doesn't work well for my g/f skin).

We both are not materialistic people at all. Her and I have lived an inexpensive lifestyle for the 3 years we've lived together (we've been together about 5 years total). This is one of the reasons I will be able to afford a nice ring and a sizable down payment on a house.

Quote :

"well couldn't you argue marriage is just a silly tradition. religion is just a silly tradition. etc etc etc?? i mean, come on"

so true

Quote :

"Or maybe, that money will be used as additional down payment for a house. Over the next 30 years it will save them a lot of money on interest. Honestly I'll be looking at the space I live in a lot more than a shiny bauble. If she really cared about the guy, she wouldn't need a ring to remind her of why she got married. "

Not considering the fact that I will also have enough for a sizable downpayment on a house, a couple thousand dollars more on a ring now does not make much of a difference in the grand scheme of things.

Also, her caring about me and a ring reminding her of why she got married has no relation to each other. I think the 5 years we've been happily together is the biggest reminder of why she got married to me.

[Edited on May 20, 2008 at 9:47 PM. Reason : yo]

5/20/2008 9:33:19 PM

yayyy the dude!!!

5/20/2008 10:14:03 PM

Quote :

"Seriously though, I am impressed with the bitter I'm seeing in this thread."

lol, people expressing their opinions that are not the same as yours are bitter. I see.

5/21/2008 4:42:11 AM

Quote :

"Seriously though, I am impressed with the bitter I'm seeing in this thread."

5/21/2008 8:03:55 AM

Quote :

"thumper's ring needed reposting. Absolutely stunning, I could have a photoshoot with just that on it's own."

I meant to tell you how gorgeous those pictures turned out! I'm simply stunned with the beauty you can capture with just a flower and a ring! HIGH FIVE GIRL!

[Edited on May 21, 2008 at 10:56 AM. Reason : xxx]

5/21/2008 10:56:28 AM

i dont understand how people could see things differently than i do.

5/21/2008 10:58:30 AM

Quote :

"i dont understand how people could see things differently than i do. "

hey you
get outta my head

5/21/2008 11:01:48 AM

Yes, marriage itself is also a silly tradition. If it weren't for the tax breaks, I probably wouldn't even consider it. Hell, even with them I still may not. (before anyone says anything, I have a girlfriend of three years, so yes, it's something I've actually thought about)

Religion? Hmmmmm....not quite the same, but that's a whole different topic.

[Edited on May 21, 2008 at 12:15 PM. Reason : .]

5/21/2008 12:13:44 PM

Quote :

"Yes, marriage itself is also a silly tradition. If it weren't for the tax breaks, I probably wouldn't even consider it. Hell, even with them I still may not. (before anyone says anything, I have a girlfriend of three years, so yes, it's something I've actually thought about) Religion? Hmmmmm....not quite the same, but that's a whole different topic."

Yes, marriage is a silly tradition that I will only participate in if I need to get on my boyfriend's health insurance.

Yeah you might get some gifts out of it but when you consider all the time you have to put into planning that shit and the cost of getting a good solid pre-nup written it's definitely a losing proposition. Then there's the boyfriend's whining about the pre-nup and keeping separate finances so I won't have to deal with it before one of us needs health insurance.

5/21/2008 1:18:23 PM

Quote :

"well couldn't you argue marriage is just a silly tradition. religion is just a silly tradition. etc etc etc?? i mean, come on"

and they are!

5/21/2008 1:19:25 PM

i know...my point was just that people are arguing engagement rings = silly tradition. but a lot of things people do = silly tradition. so i'm sure most of us are participating in SOME silly tradition. you can probably argue most practices down to "silly tradition" so it is just pointless for people to act all holier than thou and condescending just because you don't participate or want to participate in one silly tradition. who cares, let people live.

5/21/2008 1:39:18 PM

I try to avoid all silly traditions.

Jewelry, marriage, having kids, holidays, traditional gender roles

Doubt running a nudist resort would pay enough for me to add clothes to the list.

Adding monogamy to the list would be fun.

5/21/2008 1:51:40 PM

life is nothing but silly traditions.

5/21/2008 1:53:12 PM