Engagement rings, boxes and bands...?

[Righteous1]

#### i need to buy a ring soon, not looking forward to the price tag

[puckedoff]

Originally Posted by Righteous1

#### i need to buy a ring soon, not looking forward to the price tag

I wouldn't worry about it, the jeweler will remove the price tag after you buy it - it won't obscure the aesthetics of the ring itself.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by Righteous1

#### i need to buy a ring soon, not looking forward to the price tag

Definitely don't feel pressure to buy something out of your comfort zone and fall for any marketing BS (especially the old "3 months salary" ploy created by DeBeers). As long as you're not giving her an onion ring, the right girl will tend to appreciate whatever you pick out.

Besides, you'll really need to save your money for the wallet-raping that's to come for the actual wedding.

[Looch City]

Found at your local Home Depot?

[Hi-Psi]

I'm thinking about proposing when we go to Van in March to see all her family and such. Not sure HOW I want to propose yet, still trying to work that part out. I've never been to Van before either so have to find all the "spots".

I did end up ordering one of the "mrs.box" boxes today. I thought it was kind of ridiculous to spend $100 on a little velvet box but I knew she'll love it so whatever. It's a small box and it will be monogrammed with her first initial which is a nice touch. I needed to order something right away as we leave for Van on March 13th so I decided to just bite the bullet and get one.

Does anyone recommend any custom jewelers that might be able to make a band for the ring?

[Hockeyguy15]

If you're in the North (Beddington), Olliver's Fine Jewellery does custom work.

[InBurkeWeTrust]

I recently had a ring custom made as well with our sponsor here

Hoping that custom box becomes available as its so sleek. If not I may go with the mrs box too. Thanks for showing the options OP

[Hi-Psi]

Yeah I was going to talk to Justin at Gem by Carati as well since he's been awesome to deal with in the past!

I'll post a pic of the box when I get back from Van on March 17th and let people know what I think. It seems to get really good reviews online but most do agree that it's def overpriced though.

[DoubleF]

Your ring looks very familiar. Try running over to a Michael Hill or Peoples or even Spence to see if they have something similar in style and check their bands. Might give you some insight into what you're looking for prior to custom making. (Hard to visualize what's going on with a wax mold at times, or rendering vs real is a bit different).

I got custom ring work from Bravin Jewellers, but I'm sure Gems by Carati is great too. I'm opposite. Had a custom ring, then got a band from a store that fit quite reasonably. You might be able to do the same.

Don't forget to get your custom ring appraised and consider insurance on it after you get it completed.

[heep223]

Tie the ring to your shoe lace, like I do with my band at the gym.

Bonus: "oops I just have to bend down here on one knee and tie my shoe..."

[Tron_fdc]

One thing I learned the last few years is jewelry is a rip off. Our resident jewelry guy has a good explanation.

http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showthread.php?t=139479

Here's a story for those interested:

I have a friend with a diamond ring that was purchased for $15 000.00 at a local retailer (long story). It was appraised there for around $20k, making it seem like a great deal when it was purchased a few years back.

Ffwd to today, and I'm selling it for her because she can't internet. The same retailer offered me $4k to buy it back, citing some BS about "wholesale value", which is what they said they were giving in the first place when it was purchased. I know they do this, because I purchased my engagement ring from the same retailer, along with a few other pendants, etc.

If you're going to buy a ring, do your homework and know what you're buying. You can buy a ring for 5 grand if you do your homework properly that some sucker will pay $15k for at a Calgary retailer. It's ridiculous.

Plenty of those suckers are now selling their rings at http://www.idonowidont.com/ which is an interesting little diamond exchange where you can pick up a gem, and have your band made in town for a FRACTION of the cost to do it at all at some place like Spence.

My $0.02 anyway

[Hi-Psi]

Yeah I completely agree and I've done a ton of research on diamonds, settings, etc and feel I got myself the best deal possible on my budget.

I was originally looking at buying online through a site like since1910.com and a year or so ago that would have been the way to go(It probably still is but I'll explain my position). I loved Tacori rings and was originally looking to find one online but with the Canadian dollar it was sort of pricing me out of the market for one as I wanted a 1 carat diamond and usually a 1 carat diamond with a Tacori setting will run you $8-12k.

Funny enough I'm a huge Costco fan and have always thought there was a lot of value to be had buying a ring through Costco. Luckily enough this ring was in Costco a few months ago and she even pointed it out saying how beautiful it was. So when I saw that I wasn't going to be saving as much by buying online I revisited the Costco ring and luckily enough it was the last one in the city and because it was purchased before the drop in the Canadian dollar, it was still priced very well at $7000. I looked online and Costco in the US was selling it for $7500 Canadian after exchange so I figured it was a good deal to buy now. Thankfully I did because now they are charging $7600 in Canada for the ring. It's not a lot but I saved $600 right off the get go.

I took the ring to Calgary Jewelry to get sized and get an appraisal and they came back with an appraisal of $20k. If you take the general rule that they appraise the ring at double the replacement value then they are roughly valuing the ring at $10k which is exactly what another independent jeweler said they would charge for a ring like that when I took it to them right after I bought it.

Overall I'm super happy with the purchase and feel I saved a ton going through Costco and it's a ring I know she'll love which is all that really matters to me.

+1 for Costco engagement rings!

[InBurkeWeTrust]

I ended up grabbing one from Mrsbox.com as well. I doubt that Clifton one will be in stock anytime soon. thanks again for the link

[Hi-Psi]

Yeah no problem, what color did you go with and did you get it monogrammed?

[InBurkeWeTrust]

The Olympia and Monogrammed with rose gold

[Hi-Psi]

Nice, I really liked that one too, ended up going with the Caroline for a more bold color, I thought the rose gold would have been awesome but with my color I went silver.

[SlapPuck]

I bought my wife a rocking ring a few years back and was also thinking of what I can put the ring in other then the box it came in. As soon as she sees the original box she knows whats coming. I came up with this cheesy idea to buy a kinder surprise, take it a part and place this ring inside, wrap it back up like new so she wouldn't notice.

To make a long story short I gave here this kinder egg right after we went bungie jumping in our hotel room. She opens the wrapper, stuffs the chocolate in her mouth and gives me the plastic case that the ring is in. She was busy getting ready for dinner so didn't want to open the toy; I basically had to bag her to open it. She was pretty friggin surprised and cried her eyes out when she finally did. Don't know if it was a good Idea or not but it was pretty unique.

Gotta think outside the box...

[heep223]

Step 1: cut a hole in a box

[OutOfTheCube]

Should've just used the box it came in. She doesn't care about the box.

Also, geez, $7000. Good luck with the wedding planning with that precedent set...

[BigBrodieFan]

All the rage with ring boxes now are the rustic wooden boxes with initials on them- I think they are pretty tacky- but they are popular- like this:



My husband proposed to me by giving me an old book he got at an antique store- one of my favourite oldies- and he hollowed out the middle so when I opened it, the ring was in there. I was shocked.

By the way, that ring is a beautiful choice and I absolutely love it, she's not going to care what kind of box it comes in. Congrats