Men: please involve your ladies in the process...

[Waited2Long]

Date: 5/16/2006 11:44:22 AM
Author: Bertrand

My gal was Type 1A - no preferences what so ever, not into Jewelry at all (well back then - she is spoiled now). In any case I asked several time if she had ANY preferences and she said no. She was thrilled with the ring and more importantly to her - the way I proposed.

My fiancee was a Type A as well, and didn't know anything about diamonds. We never even spoke of getting engaged before I proposed, but I was positive she would love the setting I chose, and she does. She and I have very similar preferences. A total surprise may not be good for everyone, but it sure worked for me. Pricescope helped me get a fantastic stone too of course.
If my fiancee surprised me with a car I know I would be delighted with her choice.

 

[niceguymr]

I thoroughly involved my GF in the process... So much so it kinda spoiled the whole surprise aspect for me, and probably for her. I actually haven''t given it to her yet, but I will be in about a week.

About 2 months ago, I decided to wander into jewelry stores with her and window shop engagement rings. I would ask her questions like "Which of those do you like best?" and "What do you think of this one?" and "What if it had that stone and that setting?"... those kind of questions. Before we knew it, we had pretty much narrowed it down to the exact ring design she wanted. Now I knew that if I didn''t get her something either exactly or close to exactly like she wanted, she would be disappointed. Not angry, not sad, not mad, not resentfull. Just disappointed. The only problem was that there was NO WAY I was going to buy her e-ring from any of the ''mall retailers'' that I had been taking her to look at, so it was up to me to find what she wanted on my own and elsewhere.

Then I made the mistake of taking the time to educate her on diamonds with information I gathered from the internet. I thought it would be great for her to know what she was getting and to see how there are so many aspects of a diamond that help make each on so unique. What I didn''t realize is that she was well on her way of turning into a diamond snob. Soon, she knew what shape, carat, clarity, color, and cut she wanted... all of them leaning towards the more costly side of the spectrum. What she wanted would end up costing me about 50% more than what I originally planned on spending (which is not a reflection of what I can afford - I could afford to spend more, but I hadn''t planned on it). After successfully convincing her to go down in a few of the C''s to bring the ring down closer to my budget, I made the realization that the reward of her longterm happiness was worth it to me to spend the extra money. That''s where I''m hoping to bring back some of the element of surprise. Not only did I get her better than what I convinced her would be fine, but I got her even better than what she originally wanted. It wasn''t an easy decision for me to make as I was very firm on what I wanted to spend originally. Basically, all I had to do was think about how special, unique, and how wonderfull she is and it wasn''t to difficult after that to convince myself to go ahead a kick in a little extra money.

Anyway... I plan on giving her the ring when I propose to her next week in Jamaica. I know she''s going to love it because she''s expecting a smaller G or H and I ended up getting her a larger F. Wish me luck!

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 5/15/2006 2:56:11 PM
Author: KristyDarling
Romance is dead? I think it all boils down to what type of woman you are:

Type 1) a lady who is NOT a gung-ho die-hard obssessive jewelry lover. Type 1 is most likely the type of woman for whom a surprise ring would go over just fine....as long as you respect her general likes and dislikes.

Type 2) The polar opposite of type 1. We are VERY particular about what we like and don''t like, and would much rather be involved in selecting our e-rings.

Determine which type your woman is and then make your ring-shopping decisions based on that. For a type 1 lady, you could obtain hints from her friends/family or the lady herself about the type of ring she likes and then just buy the ring on your own....she''ll probably love what you choose as long as you''ve followed her general likes/dislikes. For a type 2 lady, take her along for ring-shopping (she''ll LOVE the process) and then let her choose one....or if you want to incorporate some element of surprise, ask her to choose her top 2 or 3 faves and then you would choose the final ring to be presented at the actual proposal. Or, let her choose the final ring and then you can dream up a mind-bogglingly romantic proposal idea that will sweep her off her feet!

Either way, there IS a way to create a romantic and memorable proposal, whether or not the lady is involved in picking the ring. It''s the proposal itself that is most meaningful. And with regard to the ring, being thoughtful enough to acknowledge the type of woman she is (1 or 2 as above) is romantic as well!

Interestingly enough, I don''t care for jewelry at ALL. I think it''s a pain in the butt to wear. But because I DON''T wear jewelry, I was even more particular about the style of e-ring. If I have to go through the trouble of wearing it everyday because he got it for me, it''d better be something I love!

 

[Odilia]

Date: 5/21/2006 6:28:36 PM
Author: TravelingGal

Because I DON''T wear jewelry, I was even more particular about the style of e-ring. If I have to go through the trouble of wearing it everyday because he got it for me, it''d better be something I love!

This was true of me as well.

 

[Kim N]

Date: 5/21/2006 6:28:36 PM
Author: TravelingGal

Interestingly enough, I don't care for jewelry at ALL. I think it's a pain in the butt to wear. But because I DON'T wear jewelry, I was even more particular about the style of e-ring. If I have to go through the trouble of wearing it everyday because he got it for me, it'd better be something I love!

Exactly! TravelingGal, that describes me to a T. I never wear any jewelry and for that reason am extremely particular about my e-ring.