Engagement ring

[twotoner]

Originally Posted by megatron

4) How long does it take to ship to you?

5) Is there insurance on the ring when shipped?

6) What if there is something wrong with the ring? Is there some sort of warranty/exchange?

Have I missed anything?

I will be digging more around the site to see if I can answer all of these questions myself.

I can't remember exactly, but it wasn't long - probably three or four days once I ordered it. If you have time, get the ring appraised once it gets to Calgary. I'm sure you will be happy after that. Good to have an appraisal report for insurance too. If you don't like it, I think you have 30 days to return it (check, to be sure).

Another thing, I ordered the wedding band at a later time from Blue nile. We both didn't like the look of it when it got here. (our mistake, we picked a lame style). No problems at all sending it back and getting a full refund.

[BuzzardsWife]

bidz.com has Amazing deals, I have bought jewellry from them and been very happy, the last ring i bought was under 200 dollars and i got it estimated at 1,200 canadian

[DOK]

Well, as you can see, every woman has a different opinion. I think there's certainly a standard that should be there on quality, I'm just saying that in the store between the two if you can't tell the difference, then take that for what it's worth. The comment about the ability to keep it clean, etc, is valid I suppose, but again, with mine, I feel like it shines easily and brightly.

Personally, for me, I'd really not like it if my guy proposed with no ring at all. That would be the worst for me, but that's just me. I'm cheesy maybe, thinking that he should know me and know my style (which he did wonderfully). However, there are guys out there that, even with the best intentions, can't see style like women do. Still, I'd rather him pick something out, that shows me that he did a lot of work before to get ready for it. I'd feel too on the spot and wonder too much what he thought of the rings I was picking out. Maybe he thinks I'm too materialistic if I pick a big ring, or I'm too cheapy if I pick out a small ring, I don't know.

Bottom line? Maybe what you could take from this is to find out what type of girl she is. Would she love looking for her own ring? Would she love ANYTHING you give her? Do you think maybe, just maybe, she'd like something bigger than smaller? Does she wear lots of jewelry? Is it generally gold, or silver? Does she do activities that a ring would get in the way for? Does she like name brand stuff? Would she brag about the size, quality, cut, carat if she knew all that? Those are better questions to find the answers to, then you'll find your ring.

[Claeren]

Originally Posted by Daughterofkinger

Bottom line? Maybe what you could take from this is to find out what type of girl she is. Would she love looking for her own ring? Would she love ANYTHING you give her? Do you think maybe, just maybe, she'd like something bigger than smaller? Does she wear lots of jewelry? Is it generally gold, or silver? Does she do activities that a ring would get in the way for? Does she like name brand stuff? Would she brag about the size, quality, cut, carat if she knew all that? Those are better questions to find the answers to, then you'll find your ring.

As a bonus to following this advice, you will find out if you should NOT marry a girl based on her answers to most of these questions!! lol


(IE: If your future wife needs a perfect ring so she can 'brag to her friends' or 'show of her namebrand ring' please just GeT oUt NoW wHiLe YoU StIlL cAn!!)


Claeren.

[Boblobla]

I sent you a PM.

I am sure it has been said already but please, for the love of all that is holy DO NOT go to spence diamonds.

[DOK]

Originally Posted by Claeren

As a bonus to following this advice, you will find out if you should NOT marry a girl based on her answers to most of these questions!! lol


(IE: If your future wife needs a perfect ring so she can 'brag to her friends' or 'show of her namebrand ring' please just GeT oUt NoW wHiLe YoU StIlL cAn!!)


Claeren.

Yeah, that's exactly what I was implying.

[csnarpy]

Originally Posted by Jayems

I went to Alberta Diamond Exchange and got a great deal and a really nice ring. Friendly staff and knowledgeable.

Seriously, go here, hands down the best experience i've had with jewelers, ever.

[megatron]

Originally Posted by twotoner

True. But you do get to read independent certified AGA and/or GIA reports on the specs. Most places in Calgary couldn't show me that. Once you know what specs you want (colour, cut, clarity and size) it just be comes a matter of finding it.

If you want you can buy just the rock and get the ring anywhere else. Anyhow, I'm not like their spokesperson or anything. I just remember three years ago getting all edjumucated up on rocks and then feeling the disappointment going to all the places in Calgary to try and find the diamond I wanted. Only one store had one close to what I wanted in Calgary (Birks downtown) and they wouldn't even let me see it. I figured I saved 40% and didn't have to compromise on anything going with blue nile.

Originally Posted by twotoner

I can't remember exactly, but it wasn't long - probably three or four days once I ordered it. If you have time, get the ring appraised once it gets to Calgary. I'm sure you will be happy after that. Good to have an appraisal report for insurance too. If you don't like it, I think you have 30 days to return it (check, to be sure).

Another thing, I ordered the wedding band at a later time from Blue nile. We both didn't like the look of it when it got here. (our mistake, we picked a lame style). No problems at all sending it back and getting a full refund.

I think that's the biggest thing. At a "brick and mortar" store, she can actually see the ring and try it on. Going with BlueNile, she can't. However, like you said, once we are educated and we know exactly what she wants, we can order from BlueNile and probably get better value for the money. And if she doesn't like it, we can send it back for a full refund -- this is very appealing.

What I've decided is to get a ring with her birthstone (sapphire) and propose with that and then get the actual engagement ring with her later on. She can then wear the sapphire ring on a different finger when she has the engagement ring. I know she won't care (she's not materialistic) if I propose with or without a ring, but I just don't want to do it empty handed (and a toy ring sounds lame IMO).

Thanks for the info everyone.

[octothorp]

Sounds like a good approach. My own thoughts are that people focus far too much on the stones. When I was getting a ring for my wife, I opted for one that had small stones but really elaborate, elegant filigree work. Definitely not the cheapest option, but I still think it's one of the most beautiful rings I've seen, and perfect for my wife's style. I got it from Carati in Bankers Hall, which certainly wasn't the cheapest option but they were the only place I could find locally that had the style of filigree rings I wanted.

[mykalberta]

When I was close to the proposal stage I talked with my girlfriends friends to get her to spill the beans as to what she would like. Whether a ring I bought, or no and then she goes and pick it out, etc. I was able to get a ring size - sometimes friends can be a gold mine of information.

Thats why its always important to befriend the friends. Some women, its the moment and thought that counts. Others, its the ring. I suggest to some backend sloothing.

[octothorp]

Originally Posted by mykalberta

When I was close to the proposal stage I talked with my girlfriends friends to get her to spill the beans as to what she would like. Whether a ring I bought, or no and then she goes and pick it out, etc. I was able to get a ring size - sometimes friends can be a gold mine of information.

Thats why its always important to befriend the friends. Some women, its the moment and thought that counts. Others, its the ring. I suggest to some backend sloothing.

Yeah, but some girls won't agree to letting you slooth their backend until you give them a ring, so it's a bit of a vicious circle.

[Russic]

I had a good experience with Spence. I was a little on the young side so I didn't have a ton of money and my wife has never been the type to get all dolled up all the time. She wears minimal jewelery so something overly large wouldn't suit her.

I went in feeling like I was way out of my league and told the guy my situation and he never once tried to sell me something beyond my budget. He seemed to not only understand my situation but he gave a damn. I'm sure I could have found a better deal elsewhere, but when I find a salesperson like that I will go out of my way to make sure they get my business.

My advice would be to find a ring that suits your lady.

[alltherage]

Spence was awesome when I bought from there. Great service, and great explanations about what I was buying. I had a budget and got something stunning for the money.

The diamond embarasses other diamonds I've seen, too. I got my gf a smaller ring a long time ago, and even the smaller "side" diamonds are more brilliant!

I'm super happy with Spence. They don't sell any conflict diamonds, and they INCLUDE a 5 year warranty. Pretty sweet IMO.

Even though my hubby bought mine at Peoples (and I love it BTW) if I had the choice, I wouldn't go there because of past bad customer service experiences. And unfortunately because of their connection, that rules out Mappins as well.

Good idea with the sapphire ring, just make sure she doesn't have to wear it too long before getting the real one. It'll be a hassle when all her friends and family ask to see the ring (because that's the first thing that people ask when they find out you're engaged) and she has to explain to them why it doesn't look like an engagement ring.

As for quality... I could care less. In fact there is a tiny little flaw in mine (that you can only see if you look closely). But it's cool that I can look at it and say "Yup, that's mine!"

[Peanut]

Yes, good tip about trying your best to find out her ring size (friends, other rings she has but maybe doesn't wear often you could "borrow" from her jewellery box).

It's a bit of a downer when you want to tell people you're engaged and your brand new ring is in the jewellery store getting re-sized. Happened to me and also one of my friends recently. Definitely one of the first questions women friends ask when you tell them the engagement news is "let's see the ring!!". So if she doesn't have it on, it takes some of the fun out of it for everybody.

Edited to add: There are lots of stores in Calgary that will give you the GIA/AGA certification with your ring. Troye Shoppe, Calgary Jewellery, Birks... just to name a few that I know do for sure. Also none of these stores sell conflict diamonds. Most mall jewellery stores also do not sell conflict diamonds (they call it 'The Kimberly Accord' I think).

[c.t.ner]

I'm probably late to the party, but I got engagned last January and I did an extensive search of the city. I went to pretty much all the mall locations, Spence diamonds and a couple of places on 17th.

The only place that had anything I likes and that made me feel pretty comfortable was Jewels By Maximes.

Which is impressive, because I have had a horrible taste about that place since the day it first opened in Chinook Mall. It just looked cheesey and very "popped-collarish". I only went in on a whim.

But they won me over and did a great job with the ring, delivery and everything. They are also the only place in Calgary that sells Alishan rings (Which is an amazing designer). The market mall location has a giant selection and has a great gemologist on board.

I still went to Spence Diamonds, but I only went for the "Engagement Rings 101" session that they provide you. They'll tell you absolutetly everything you need to know about a ring - cuts, diamons, colors, quality etc., - in hopes that all that information will guilt you into purchasing a diamond through them. But I found that I didn't like anything that they had in their store.

[Russic]

Originally Posted by alltherage

Spence was awesome when I bought from there. Great service, and great explanations about what I was buying. I had a budget and got something stunning for the money.

The diamond embarasses other diamonds I've seen, too. I got my gf a smaller ring a long time ago, and even the smaller "side" diamonds are more brilliant!

I'm super happy with Spence. They don't sell any conflict diamonds, and they INCLUDE a 5 year warranty. Pretty sweet IMO.

Tis true ... their diamonds are all Canadian (my wife's sole request).

[Frank the Tank]

I had my wifes engagement ring custom made. I figured if I was going to drop that much coin, it was going to be something very unique. So my wife has an amazing, one of a kind engagement ring. And it was well within your stated budget range. Just a thought.

[megatron]

I love this forum. The wealth of knowledge is great.

My gf has been out of town and I tried to "borrow" the only other ring she wears to get the size, but put it on before I could get to it (and pretend it was "lost").

Anyway, that's why I'm hesitant to buy anything -- the size and style of ring are not known for sure (and the cost of buying something that expensive shouldn't be rushed).

I'll go to Spence with her afterward and then we can find exactly what she wants.

[MoneyGuy]

I took my fiancee around to several stores and we checked our rings. After about five, I said thank you, I'll choose one of these. That way she was surprised but I knew she would like whatever I chose. I'm so smart. We've recently celebrated our 30th anniversary.