wheres a good place to buy an engagement ring?

[brainsmile]

I know a good jeweler in LA

[ufcrusher]

Honestly, it all depends on what you want to give her. There are many different styles of cuts and bands which greatly change the cost of the ring.

You dont want to buy anything at a mall shop, thats a given.
I have 2 different jewelers that I use and trust. Both offer top quality merchandise and good prices.

I am sure you know the four C's: Cut, Clarity, Color and Carat. You want to buy less color, higher clarity, and larger carats. However you can save a bundle if you go with right under the level you want to buy. For example, a 1 carat ring and a .95 carat ring are virtually indistinguishable to your eye but the .05 difference saves you a bunch of money!

Expect to pay $3000+ for a good quality ring....up to $10,000 or more. My wife kept picking rings that were 10k + when we were looking to see what she wanted. Drove me insane.

Another hint, Costco has rings that they guarantee are at least a certain color and clarity. If you arent as picky and want to save some money, you could always go that route.

[avlena]

Originally posted by chosenfool

should it be traditional gold? or should i go with something like platinum? should it have some rock in it? how big should the rock be?


these are questions you might want to consider asking her. as much as i'd love to be surprised with a ring, that's going to be something i have to wear every day for the rest of my life, so i'd like it to be something that fits with my tastes! most of the women i know have the fear that if the guy surprises them with jewelry, it's gonna be something really hideous, that they'll have to wear anyway. i think the best idea is to ring shop together, and have her point out what she likes/dislikes, and maybe pick a few rings to give you some choices.

if you still want to surprise her, try being sneaky about finding out her ring tastes. you could show her a pic, and say one of your friends just got it, and what does she think of the ring. or, grab her best gal friend, and tap her brain.

good luck with the ring shopping!!

btw, in so-cal, my boyfriend and i looked at a Robbins Bros (http://www.robbinsbros.com/), which seemed pretty nice. since we just started looking, i'm not sure how they rank against other jewelers, but it was a nice place to start.

[johnnymk]

Jewelers Row in Philly.

That's where I went. Go to several shops there and don't be afraid to bargain with them. They will do anything for your business. The markup is incredible on diamond rings.

People tend to get sentimental about rings and guys don't want to look like cheapskates to their girlfriends when looking for the cheapest ring.

Please.please, stay away from malls.

[cheapchinese]

if your in the so cal region..
i know this place that manufactures rings...
and it'll make it for you on the spot..
basically you just need to bring a picture of the ring you want.. and they can imitate it.
but thats if you don't want anything on your ring, however if you do want to have a rock on it, just buy a rock somewhere else.. and they'll make it..
same my friend a whole bunch of money, not to buy the brand named ones.. :P

[hoey222]

i got mine at helzberg there prices were reasonable - the jewels were good quality.

i actually picked a ring with a smaller stone and bought a slightly larger one to set in it.

you're in the philly area - try rocks at robbins - robbins diamond jewelers, they have a good name in the area.
http://www.robbinsdiamonds.com/

[mwatson]

When I got my wife's ring, I bought the diamond an Ashford.com in their outlet store. We got it for 50% of the appraised value. Every jewlery store laughed at us when we told them what we wanted and at what price but we still found it. Since we bought the diamond separate, we took it to a local Jewler and had him mount it in a ring we bought there.

[oblongmelon]

Always in your own best interest to buy the stone separately..that way you can have a better selection of what you like and arent limited to ones that "look pretty" already in settings..
Personally, I like antique rings..they have more charm than "new" rings..most of them are so unique in design that you can be guarenteed that no one will have one like it..
I almost hate to say this-but try EBAY..I've seen some exquisite rings there..for fractions of the price..
The old european cuts are spectacular..
as are the old Miner's cut stones..I wish I had a picture of one to show you..do a search for miners cut stones..they are "classic" diamond cuts.
~or if you're close to NYC take a trip to the diamond district..there are hundreds of sellers there..and always buy SLIGHTLY less that each carat you purchase..if the ring is a 1carat..purchase one that is slightly below 1 actual carat..2, slightly below 2..etc..the price will be slashed by HUNDREDS, even thousands sometimes..

[Kim]

I wonder if you are joking?

[zenbooty]

<Cough Cough>Pawn Shop!<Cough cough>

[molecularfire]

I agree with avlena on this one. Ask her for her opinion, or better yet, go ring shopping together. As for where, it's probably not the best priced place, but I'm a big fan of Tiffany's rings because IMO they look really classy. I'm a bigger fan of how the ring looks than how many karats it is. I suggest a tension mounted diamond. Looks like it's just floating on air.

btw. Congratulations dude. :thumbup:

[TERRIBLETOM]

There is never a good place or the place. Start poking around at different places, make sure you note the clarity, color and size of each ring. Learn more here... Cut, Color, Clarity and weight (http://www.affinitydiamonds.com/Education%20Center/4%20C%27s.htm?ovchn=OVR&ovcpn=&ovcrn=diamond+color+clarity&ovtac=PPC)

[Paymaster]

I bought one from http://tradeshop.com/index.shtml and my wife was very happy with it. The site does look a little amateurish, but it was recommended to me from a friend, and if you search here at got|apex you will find other testimonials for it. I had the ring independantly certified, and it checked out 100% as described.

This place was hugely cehaper than other places I went to. I tried to play different stores off each other (all of them will negotiate on such high price items), but none would even match the tradeshop price. One place told me that the price was below his cost, and said that I if could get it for that price, then I should buy it right away!

[Nija]

Originally posted by Kim
I wonder if you are joking?

:stupid:
I'm glad I wasn't the only one thinking it

[RoniMan]

wow, congrats! :thumbup:

[Jenny]

Originally posted by Nija


:stupid:
I'm glad I wasn't the only one thinking it

:stupid: I thought it too. heh

[ray]

Chosenfool, you don't need to buy me an engagement ring. I value our friendship and bond more than anything money could ever buy...well, with the exception of an 80 inch plasma TV and a house at Whistler.

I too think this may be an April Fool's joke. If it's not, well, Congrats CF!

[RoniMan]

Originally posted by ray

I too think this may be an April Fool's joke. If it's not, well, Congrats CF!

yeah, i thought so too...but didn't want to be mean about it...but just in case...CONGRATS!!!

:shifty:

[LegendKiller]

I actually asked my fiance to marry me on April 1st, I had the ring for 2 months and I was waiting for my uncle to get back to me about getting a room at the Mandarin Oriental to pop the question. Her whole family started to think I was going to back out, came home to find her upset, I had to end the torture.

Ohhh well, so we got engaged on April 1st, it could have been Fri 13th or something worse.

LK

[whitak24]

i'm w/ nija, kim, and jenny :heh:

nice one CF.

[bachviet]

Congrats... :cheers:

[chrissy]

Originally posted by whitak24
i'm w/ nija, kim, and jenny :heh:

nice one CF.

Yeah, CF is the one of the last ones I would have thought of to post this question.

[DaFunkyUnit]

we saw through that like grandma's underpants. :shake:

:P

[GilbertsGrape]

Originally posted by hoey222
i got mine at helzberg there prices were reasonable - the jewels were good quality.



Dido .... i bought one for my Girl there as well. They treated me verry nice ... and i felt like a recieve afair deal shopping there. and you dont have to worrie too much about them selling you junk or switching rocks or anything cause they are a large chain and have a reputation to hold on to. also if you dont know much about dimonds they will teach you what you want to know.

[GilbertsGrape]

also you want to consider your GF's occupation. mine works at a vets affice and only whears hers when she is not working. she dont waht to follow a criter around to claim it back if something eats it.

[kimchicowboy]

chosen, like the others have said and what my friends tell me, ask the girl what she wants cuz yeah, she is going to be wearing it for a long time. :)

all i know is that i need to start saving right now (being 23) for an engagement ring cuz i don't want to have to worry about it later.

here are my friend's wants: 2 carat (!!) princess or round cut, VS2, F-grade, on platinum or white gold. that'll run over $20k!

[Paymaster]

Alright... I got suckered, but seeing other people continue to post meakes me feel a little less stupid. :)

[CornMonkey]

Originally posted by Paymaster
Alright... I got suckered, but seeing other people continue to post meakes me feel a little less stupid. :)
haha, same here. :)

Originally posted by chosenfool
writing it on april first does seem like a joke, and i dont blame you for thinking so, cuz it really is.
revelation was very subtle...i likes.

[Jenny]

lol nice Chosen

[brain]

Don't go to Robbin's Bros. They will try to take advantage of you. They prey on the ignorant and people w/ poor credit. They have APRs as high as 29%.

[avlena]

Originally posted by brain
Don't go to Robbin's Bros. They will try to take advantage of you. They prey on the ignorant and people w/ poor credit. They have APRs as high as 29%.

what would you recommend instead?