We initially went to a handful of jewelry stores to see what was out there and what we’d like. After meeting untold numbers of pushy salespeople that made used car salesmen and fitness club salespeople look like angels, and a nearly equal number of apathetic types, we finally settled on a design.
At that time, it was as much “This will do” and “I’m tired of this! I wanna go home!” as anything else, so we didn’t buy anything. A little poking around on eBay later, and I found someone selling the same design for far less. Instead of about $400 each, we got a pair of carbide rings for $30 each, and got better service from a random eBay vendor than any store we visited in person.
Now, that’s not completely true - we bought a house for $158,500, too.
Since Jim won the diamond, we didn’t have to decide if we would go traditional with an engagement ring or not. I love my custom-made rings, and I do think they are worth it. I don’t really care if my gems are diamonds, cubic zirconias, or coloured gems, though. We established the night Jim won the diamond that I can’t tell the difference between diamonds and CZs.
ETA: After reading your post about jewellery stores, gotpasswords, I have to say that buying our rings at a custom jewellery-making shop was a great experience. I’d recommend them to anyone (Goldsmiths on 14th Ave, for any Calgarians. )
My ring set is about $23,000. I got it about 3 years ago. It was made at the Michael B studio in Studio City, CA. It is a Michael B platinum micropave diamond set and the e ring diamond was purchased loose in NY and set into it and I have the matching diamond wedding band. Both the band and the ering have 42 small diamonds set into a lace pattern. And yes I love it. A long time ago I saw it in a magazine. Little did I know I would be able to have my dream set but I do.
My husbands is about $400. I don’t remember, he is onto his second one. He lost his first swimming in Maui. Anyways it is white gold plain comfort fit band.
I spent about $75 on a pearl ring (with two small diamond on each side of the pearl) for m’lady’s engagement ring, from USAA, where I had just received a $50 credit for their jewelry store.
I got her band at Sam’s for $999, a 1 ct tw channel set yellow gold band with a kink in it to accommodate the engagement ring.
I bought my band at an online retailer the name of which I’ve forgotten, titanium with a tilted band of gold, for about $275.
I absolutely adore my very unique wedding ring. And I love that it didn’t cost as much as most people spend, yet manages to outshine all the pricey ones! Completely, totally worth it.
Thank you!! I do love to show off my bling. My ring was custom-made by www.moissaniteco.com - although they do not list tsavorite stones in their regular inventory, they were easily able to get it for me - I recommend them if you are thinking about a diamond substitute.
I paid a handsome sum for my girl’s ring, though I could afford it at the time.
The important thing to remember is that the “three month’s salary” guide is an ingenious marketing device invented by the DeBeers diamond cartel - for no other reason than pure profit. Buying an engagement ring is an emotional occasion, and their campaign has played into this well.
A little or a lot, the cost is not the question; so long as the look on her face is priceless.
Finding my wife’s engagement ring as an estate piece was an elegant solution to the fact that I really, really didn’t want to enrich DeBeers with something I recognize as 99.85% marketing and, at the same time, my wife wanted a diamond and not a lecture about how people are tools for buying into the DeBeers myth. This way, she got her rock and I could sleep knowing that DeBeers wasn’t getting my cash.
)
My ring was custom-made by