jennalyns
Shiny_Rock
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2004
- Messages
- 266
Hello all! I haven't been on here in a LONG time... Life has been crazy! I moved back to Florida from Japan last summer and started grad school, and between all that and the first year of marriage I managed to put on 25 pounds... Well, since Christmas I have taken off 20 and am back to my old self, and decided I deserved a little something sparkly to celebrate my hard work.
I had been eyeing the Tiffany etoile band for years, but, um, now I'm a full-time, broke grad student and 2K was out of the question. I looked to Whiteflash, but they had just done that big price jump (which has since been reversed, yay!); I couldn't do white gold because bothers my skin in rings, and their platinum was almost as much as Tiffany's! I thought the ring was just out of my reach... a friend of mine recently opened a jewelry store (high-end, lazare diamonds, rolex, etc) and told me to find someone who already makes the ring, and ask them to make it in palladium. He then went on and on about the benefits and low cost. I went on an internet mission, found a bunch of conflicting information about palladium, but ultimately decided to give it a shot because it seemed like pretty much the same as platinum without the price tag- at the very least it wouldn't irritate my skin. I found about 6 different vendors that make this ring, and emailed them all. Some got back to me, some didn't. The ones that did varied WIDELY on their pricing and attitudes toward palladium. Some said it would cost as much as platinum (up to 2K), but I found a few who priced it closer to the white gold range (around $600-700). I ended up taking a total chance with an unknown (to me and apparently on here, b/c I searched and found nothing) vendor, and am glad I did!
I found http://weddingringhotline.com/ randomly through google.com. They had the scattered band, and I emailed and asked about the stone quality. Within, oh, an hour, I had an email back from the store owner, Mitch, saying they were F/G, VS, excellent cut. This was on a Saturday evening, btw. By Monday, I had about 5 emails back and forth with Mitch discussing the details and giving me a price quote. They could make the ring in palladium 950 for $650, which I thought was totally reasonable. He also quoted me about $1250 for platinum (blue nile has the same ring for $1350 or so), so I wasn't really worried about the price being "too good to be true."
The only thing that made me hesitate was that this would be a custom piece (b/c of the palladium) and would be non-returnable, and I had never heard of the company. I did some searching to see if anything scary came up on the company, found nothing bad, and ran across an entertainmentonline.com coupon for $100 off at the store. I emailed Mitch about it, and he said the coupon was for in-store purchases only but he honored it for me anyway, which I thought was awesome because he totally didn't have to do that (the store is in NJ, I am in FL, so obviously I couldn't go into the store). I decided to take the plunge and placed the order on a Monday evening. Tuesday morning, Mitch called me to confirm and check my ring size and all that. He said it would take 2-3 weeks...
So, 3 weeks later, I get the UPS tracking number. It took FOREVER, man, I should have paid the extra for express shipping! Anyway, it got here today and I am beyond pleased. I immediately took it outside to check the "sparkle," and the teeny little 2 point stones sparkle just as much as the 2 point ACA's in my engagement ring. I was actually kind of shocked by how much fire was coming off of these little babies, especially because they're not name-brand or anything. It looks exactly like my platinum rings did when they were new (before they got all patina-ed!), it's very shiny and classy-looking. The workmanship is perfect, even to my PS-eagle-eye.
I was also surprised at its weight- everyone on here said PD was lighter than 14K white gold; it's not as heavy as my platinum, but it has a nice heft to it and feels heavier than my 18K rings. To my eye, it looks exactly like the Tiffany that I tried on for almost exactly 1/4 of the price.
I'll let you all know how the palladium wears and what it looks like once it starts to get its patina.
The ring is 4mm, size 7.5, comfort fit, with 10 diamonds at 2 points each for 1/4 CTW.
Anyway, long story, but I HIGHLY recommend http://weddingringhotline.com/ for both the high quality of the ring and the awesome customer service. And now, for the pictures!!!
I found http://weddingringhotline.com/ randomly through google.com. They had the scattered band, and I emailed and asked about the stone quality. Within, oh, an hour, I had an email back from the store owner, Mitch, saying they were F/G, VS, excellent cut. This was on a Saturday evening, btw. By Monday, I had about 5 emails back and forth with Mitch discussing the details and giving me a price quote. They could make the ring in palladium 950 for $650, which I thought was totally reasonable. He also quoted me about $1250 for platinum (blue nile has the same ring for $1350 or so), so I wasn't really worried about the price being "too good to be true."
The only thing that made me hesitate was that this would be a custom piece (b/c of the palladium) and would be non-returnable, and I had never heard of the company. I did some searching to see if anything scary came up on the company, found nothing bad, and ran across an entertainmentonline.com coupon for $100 off at the store. I emailed Mitch about it, and he said the coupon was for in-store purchases only but he honored it for me anyway, which I thought was awesome because he totally didn't have to do that (the store is in NJ, I am in FL, so obviously I couldn't go into the store). I decided to take the plunge and placed the order on a Monday evening. Tuesday morning, Mitch called me to confirm and check my ring size and all that. He said it would take 2-3 weeks...
So, 3 weeks later, I get the UPS tracking number. It took FOREVER, man, I should have paid the extra for express shipping! Anyway, it got here today and I am beyond pleased. I immediately took it outside to check the "sparkle," and the teeny little 2 point stones sparkle just as much as the 2 point ACA's in my engagement ring. I was actually kind of shocked by how much fire was coming off of these little babies, especially because they're not name-brand or anything. It looks exactly like my platinum rings did when they were new (before they got all patina-ed!), it's very shiny and classy-looking. The workmanship is perfect, even to my PS-eagle-eye.
I'll let you all know how the palladium wears and what it looks like once it starts to get its patina.
Anyway, long story, but I HIGHLY recommend http://weddingringhotline.com/ for both the high quality of the ring and the awesome customer service. And now, for the pictures!!!
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