Where Did Your E-ring Come From?
January 2nd, 2007 @ 6:14 pm by Mrs. Blueberry
I’m trying to put together an entry on the pros and cons of buying your e-ring from a mall chain or department store, and was wondering where you all got your rings from.
Check back tomorrow for follow-up, as well as my findings on various chain jewelers and department store jewelry counters :).
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19 Responses to “Where Did Your E-ring Come From?”
Sounds good. You may also want to refer people to pricescope.com, as it’s got a wealth of knowledge and is how Mr. Lime and I educated ourselves on diamonds before the big purchase.
We shopped at the high-end retailers and mall stores to get an idea of what both of us liked, what looked good on me, and to get an idea of budget in that area. Of course, I fell in love with a somewhat-unique design at Tiffany’s.
Luckily, our friends referred us to a local jeweler in the downtown jeweldry district who was able to work with us in custom-designing something similar to my dream Tiffany’s ring for less than 1/4 of the cost with a slightly better quality diamond, even.
I have a question for those of you who shopped around for their ring, aka tried it on before the big purchase. I have fairly big fingers, I think size 8 ( I am 5′9″ so they are quite proportional) and all display rings are size 6 or so. Either way, too small to slip it on my finger ( oher than pinkie).
I always thought it would be fun to try rings on and see what they look like on me. Instead, I end up leaving the stores depressed. I know they will size it up etc but I feel that I can’t get a very good idea what looks good on me not to mention the excitement of it (kind of like trying on small shoes then ordering the right size). Am I the only one or is anybody else having the same feelings ?
got my rocks at LA’s downtown jewelry district (www.bridalrings.com)
They’re an environmentally conscious jeweler; recycled gold.
pricescope forums and reviews and then to http://www.whiteflash.com for ring purchase
We purchased mine at Derco Diamonds in SF — great prices and repeatedly good service. A website we used which helped a lot to educate us was http://www.diamondsourceva.com. If we hadn’t gone with a custom cut diamond, we would have considered purchasing from them — they were responsive and polite when we got price quotes.
I wanted a set where the wedding band and engagement ring intertwined and happened to find it at the mall. FI knows about diamonds and didn’t like the stone in the setting. He searched numerous jewelry stores and couldn’t find anything remotely close. He eventually had them bring in the same ring from another store and the stone was much better quality. The advantage to the mall is you can get a better stone for less if you know what to look for in diamond quality. It can also be a disadvantage if you don’t know what to look for.
My husband inherited his grandmother’s engagement ring, but since it looked too oldfashioned he kept the stone and my engagement is custom made.
we dealt with a diamond dealer directly (@ L.A. Gems)… then Mr. Daisy worked with their in-house jewelry designer on a setting. it was all through family connections. not sure if they are open to the public or not.
We went with a wholesaler in SF (Steve Padis at http://www.padisgems.com). The service was just as good as at the Union Square shop we visited, and the price was unbeatable.
I had given my mr-to-be the difficult task of no diamonds and not expensive. Not quite sure what I would like, he knew he wanted to propose to me on our trip to Europe this past summer and just figured we’d find something there. As a backup, he brought the wedding bands we bought the year before in New Zealand.
While we were walking through the Marais in Paris one night, a ring in the window of a random jewelry store caught my eye. It was silver with jade and hematite and kind of art-deco-manly. He didn’t say much and I thought nothing of it, least of all an e-ring. Well, a week later in Slea Head, Ireland, sipping whiskey from a flask and watching a beautiful sunset on a cliff over-looking the Atlantic, he proposed with the ring. It turns out that while I was getting ready for our big-splurge dinner in Paris, he went out “for espresso” and ran to the jewelry store and then ran to a boutique to get a shirt I had liked just to cover his tracks. Neither of us knows what the name of the store is, but how stinkin’ cool is the mr?
I got my ring from an Estate Jewelry store. It cost $300 and is absolutely beautiful. I have gotten so many compliments on it, and it’s really hard for me not to tell every single person how much it was and that you don’t have to spend a fortune to have a gorgeous ring. (You can see a picture of it here if ya like…)
My ring is a knock off of Tiffany’s Lucida. I really love the style, but I thought it wasn’t worth paying that much of a markup. We studied up on the three C’s. Then Fi went to his local jeweler and selected the diamond and made the setting based off of the picture.
My FI inherited his grandma’s wedding set. We kept the stone, but reset it into a more modern band for my e-ring.
My FI’s friend works in the diamond business, so he hooked him up with loose diamonds and a setting created on by one their clients. It’s beautiful, unique, and I also love that our friend handpicked our stone. A lot of love and hard work went into finding the perfect ring by my fiance.
Traveling Gem and Jewelry Show! We met diamond dealer from New York (we’re in Seattle) and bought a diamond. Then we decided to get the setting from him too. We wrote him a check and waited for the completed ring to arrive in the mail. Next, we took the GIA cert to a gemologist who inspected it under a microscope and verified the certification.. That was two and a half years ago and I still love it. and recently bought my fiance’s ring from him too when he came through town.
Please tell people not to buy their engagement rings at chains or mall stores! Those stores sell junky stuff at inflated prices. Pricescope.com is a must.
We had my grandmother’s diamond set in a ring we designed ourselves. Our jeweler (www.wormgeardesigns.com) is a wonderful craftsman. He was so much fun to work with, and did a great job translating our ideas into a lovely piece of jewelry.
Mrs. Blueberry, Kansas City
Age and Occupation in 06: 21, Full-time Student
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 23, Full-time Student
Engagement Date: September 10, 2005
Wedding Date: May 25, 2007
Venue: Wynbrick Center - a historic mansion in my hometown.
About Me: We're having an intimate, 125-ish person wedding with a full-blown dessert reception. When I'm not obsessing over wedding stuff or studying for my BA in English, I'm usually playing with our two kitty cats, blogging, doing crafty things, or hanging out with Mr. Blueberry!
We designed my ring together in India. It is very non-traditional (not diamond) and it holds a lot of significance because we lived there together for a year.