[Confidential] Engagement Ring Advice?
 

The following is an anonymous post. If the original poster would like to reply to any comments, please PM me

Hi Guys,

I have been researching and looking at engagement rings in stores/online. There so much information it's overwhelming. I have been doing research for about 2 months now.

1. How did you start looking? In store? online? process?
2. Where would you buy from? In store? online? where specifically?
3. What did you end up getting? Was the ring and diamond very different from what you were initially looking for?

My situation/thoughts so far:

A) My budget is around $10-$12k, looking for round shaped, 3 diamond ring. (1 big centre, 2 small sides)
B) I have been to Spence, Lucinda, Birks, Tiffany, Siba, and even Costco. Spence provides the best customer service and actually spend 1.5 hours with me. All other stores seem not to be interested in my business.. probably I am not asking the right questions?
C) I can't decide whether I want to buy online or in store... the prices online is very attractive for the specs.

I bought mine from Diamond Deals in Surrey. They can replicate anything you show them at a fraction of the cost.
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http://i.imgur.com/fCDPBJA.png

Are they located in the Econoline that you see sometimes in the Whalley Safeway parking lot?

Learn about diamonds first before buying. How to read the quality and stuff.

draw a ring on her finger and propose..

then get it tatooed

money saving.. :fullofwin:

the 3 diamond ring is called the 'past, present, and future' ring. its really nice and you really cant go wrong. are you sure she wants round and not princess cut? has she given you any indication as to what she wants?

also, don't spend 10-12k on a ring. thats retarded.

The following is a reply from the anonymous original poster

@Mr. Chin: can you elaborate on understanding diamonds? I have done the usual homework for the four Cs and shape. What else would you recommend?

@dinosaur: thanks! I didn't know the past present future meaning. That is wonderful. Why do you say $10-12k is retarded? I am considering SI/H/1.00ct plus two sides and I am comfortable with that price range. Anything VS/F/1.00ct plus two sides will be about $15-18k...

Because I think it is ridiculous to spend that type of money on something that adds no utilitarian purpose to your life (vehicle, etc) or increases in value (housing, investments, etc).

The amount you spend on an engagement ring is no reflection on how much you love the person.

I'd rather have an SO spend 200 $ designing and making a ring that is unique to me then 10k on something to show-off to ky friends.

Dont get me wrong...its a nice gesture and thought, but its just an engagement ring...you still need to buy the wedding ring. I would be terrified to lose it or damage it wearing it everyday.
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someone we know is pretty high up there in the upper management of eric goldman jewellry. he did us a big favor and sat down with us to design the ring we wanted. through his expertise, he emailed us a few concepts and alterations to the design that he thought would look good.

sent in the order for the custom/hand crafting work, and 4 weeks later it was ready.
i had mine readjusted since it was a little bit loose. after the rework, everything is ready and done.

awaits jasons2000

Must we? Its like Beetlejuice...you say his name 3 times and you're stuck for the entire movie with him.

Where have you been checking prices? You should be able to get 1ct worth of diamonds VS1/D-E for under 10k, easy. Have a look a bluenile.ca.

are'nt we already stuck with him?

i would start off looking at your budget.. go to bluenile as they will give you a realistic picture of what you can afford and give you some diamond 101 knowledge on what to look for...

The most important characteristic of a diamond is the cut.
I say this because the better the cut, the more the diamond will sparkle and shine in the light. This should be the number one thing you should look for in my opinion.

Colour isn't really that important as this is only noticeable when you compare diamonds side by side.

For me it's
1) cut
2) clarity/carat (I would put clarity slightly ahead of carat)
4) colour

I've ordered a really small diamond off bluenile before. Experience was awesome and all their diamonds are GIA certified. If you don't like the diamond, just send it back (on their dime) and get another one. The prices are unbeatable. I compared bluenile to so many others and their prices are so competitive.

Also, does it have to be 1.0 ct? The price jumps immensely from 0.95-0.99 ct to 1.0ct.

Before you get lost in bluenile.ca sliding all those filter bars up and down, go look at rings of various grades in person to get an idea of the actual difference between the 4Cs.

After that, you'll need to find a design that she likes.. that'll be the hardest part, unless you ask her directly.

Once you have the design and grade that you'd be happy with, you can finally go to bluenile to get an idea of price. Online is always cheaper. Other than that, you can shop around locally. I got my wife's ring made at Minichello downtown. Great service from start to finish.

As for the cost, spend what you're comfortable with.. if you feel you need to spend a certain amount or she won't appreciate it, she doesn't deserve it in the first place.

I certainly wouldn't limit yourself to a certain amount.. everyone has different budgets, and puts value on different things that aren't completely utilitarian. We are on Revscene after all, where most of us spend copious amounts of money on overnight parts from japan on cars that get 18L/100km..

IMHO go to a reputable custom jeweler. don't go to a "box jeweler".
better price, service and diamonds.

I used whiteflash.com......had them ship it to seattle and picked it up myself and then smuggled through the border :thumbs:

I got mine at spence, they were super helpful, and they spent the time to actually go over diamond valuing and whatnot. Wether they were full of shit, I'll never know, but I was happy with the experience and for the money I spent, which really wasn't a lot in engagement ring standards has been enough to make the wife happy, and impress her friends. (its easy to impress a 23 year olds friends with diamonds hahah) From what i've seen, it seems like good value and they allow full value of the ring for exchanges if you ever want to upgrade and cover it from any damage. I think a company like that has a reputation to uphold and want to keep it.

i'm personally not a fan of the "trinity" ring unless it is a princess cut trinity with princess cut chanel set on the sides as well. You ahould ask her to see what her feelings are on princess cuts instead of just round

anyways, instead of asking here on RS, why not go to an actual diamond forum?

RockyTalky; Diamond Jewelry Forum - Compare Diamond Prices, Discussions & Diamond Information

If you do decide to buy online, then PS (Pricescope) will have a lot of recommendations

The following is a reply from the anonymous member

I have started to look further to the four Cs. I find this calculator quite interesting... it maybe useful for other members as well.

Holloway Cut Advisor | HCA Tool | PriceScope

@Presto: The prices I wrote here are from local retailers. Spence and Lucinda. I also went to Tiffany's to see what the hype is about... It's just too expensive. $15k to start for a crappy 1ct with a bland design.

@Hamsup: I have looked at Bluenile, they seem to have much affordable prices and great selection. With my research, it appears that Bluenile is more like a broker than a retailer. It appers that Bluenile does not own the diamonds, do not handle the diamonds, they just take orders, send the orders to a third party factory, and then ship to the customer.

I have also looked at comparable sites. So far, James Allen seems to be the best option because they have actual gemologist to inspect the diamond before purchase. James Allen can also ship to a Fedex location in the states for pick up.

@mx703: I am looking for 1.0ct+ with two side stones. I understand 0.80-0.90 prices are much lower (e.g. 10-20%?), but I'd much rather have a 1.0ct minimum for center. For Bluenile, did you use their return service?

@freakshow: I know the design she likes. She mentioned it about 2-3 years ago. And I don't think that has changed since. How is Minichello? I am hesitant to shop in a mall... or chain stores because they don't seem to have good selection nor good prices.

mk1freak: Yup. I am also planning to check out local jewellers. Harlings is the next store I am going to check out.

extracrunhie: haha, not going to smuggle anything. Especially a diamond ring. Some also advised me to shop south of the border. Where would you guys recommend? I assume Ben Bridge in the mall is not really a good option...

westopher: I went to Spence as well. I should clarify that the prices I mentioned earlier for $13,500 including tax was from Spence - ideal/SI1/H/1.0ct with two side stones and 18k white gold. Also from Spence for $15,000 - ideal/VS2/H/1.0ct, same as above.

I also went to Lucinda on West Georgia, $13,500 including tax - ??? cut/SI1/H/1.0ct with no side stones, small diamonds throughout the band, Tacori.

hakkaboy: I have a coworker who has a three stone round cut. It looks amazing.. but I didn't want to ask her about her specs.

Don't buy retail ..you will get raped with markup. Buy a loose diamond locally then buy a custom setting on eBay. The halo style ring is what's popular right now.

You will save the most money going with either bluenile or whiteflash, great info on both sites.

Have them ship to seattle, picked it up at fedex location, bring a female friend with you have her wear it across the border and voila.

I just took the ring with me, all the other stuff about the ring(certs, box, etc). I got it mailed back to me in Canada muahaha. :badpokerface:

my parents told me if im getting engaged they'll buy the engagement ring for their soon to be daughter in-law hahaa

they're willing to spend 20k or so on th engagement ring

@OP, Minichiello's is not a chain. it has been a small family owned business for i think over 50 years..
I had a great experience there when they custom made my ring, and wouldn't hesitate to shop there again.