Ring Shopping: who did you go with?

[absolut_blonde]

SO has been asking me for e-ring ideas but aside from ''probably a solitaire, something simple & classic'' I am at a loss. I''ve been looking online, but I''m still torn on the specifics. So, he suggested going to look at some in person to get a better idea.

Would it be weird for me to go alone? I could wait and go with him, but we''re currently long distance and it''ll be awhile before we can squeeze shopping into our always jam-packed visits! Someone else suggested going with a friend- which is a fantastic idea in theory- BUT my friends are just in completely different places than me and I''m not sure they''d enjoy it much (they''re either single or not very happy in their relationships).

So, fellow LIW, who did you go with? Or, did you try on rings at all? Would they think I''m odd for browsing alone? I also don''t want to annoy the sales staff since I will obviously just be ''window shopping'' at this point. And is it weird that I feel nervous to go look? I know 110% SO is ''the one'' but it just seems like I don''t ''deserve'' to go e-ring shopping.

 

[honey22]

You absolutely deserve to ring shopping - especially if he has been asking for ideas. I would personally recommend you go without friends, just in case their tastes differ from yours and you are swayed in a direction you don't want to go. We were just talking about this in another thread how friends can have totally different ideas of what to get. I will try and find the link, not very good at this.

I have just been shopping myself this week - my partner has told me to go shopping and pick the ring, purchase it and put it in the safe at home for 'safe keeping' until the suprise proposal, and I didn't feel in the least strange about going alone. If you feel funny about just window shopping, you could always be vague about your intentions, or even get prices, cards, brochures etc so you feel like you are not totally wasting their time. Then, you can jump on here and we will tell you if the info you have is correct, prices reasonable, etc etc. These brochures etc might come in handy for you - especially if you find the setting you love, then you can casually drop in on the table, couch etc at home so he can't help but see it.

Keep us posted on the ring shopping - and enjoy it!!!

ETA - here is the link about the friends
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/frustrated-at-friends.76790/

 

[Cravin My Emerald cut]

I have been ring shopping alone. I usually say I''m trying to get an idea of what I like and most people are very friendly. If they''re not nice to when you''re alone.....well then you know not to visit them again.

Have fun!

 

[Sparkalicious]

If you can''t go with your SO then you can certainly go by yourself and have a blast or go with a friend who loves jewelry and will be supportive and not sulky or hypercritical.

My bf and I are long distance and we did manage to fit in some ring shopping into our limited time together, granted this has been over a couple of years, however, in recent months, every time we saw each other we had to incorporate something related to ring shopping into our time. I mention this simply b/c it was such a fantastic, enjoyable and memorable experience. I am glad that we got to do it together.

If it is just not possible for you two, then please do not hesitate to go by yourself and ask to see as many diamonds as possible. I found that the willingness of the sales associate or jeweler to assist you strongly correlated with whether or not you should be doing business there. If they are not helpful and you feel uncomfortable ... their loss. Go somewhere else where they make the process fun or pleasant and educational.

Have fun and please do keep us updated!

 

[surfgirl]

I went ering shopping by myself. Over the years, my then-SO has been pulled into many a fine jewelry shop so I can ogle rings and I would tell him "if you ever need to buy me a ring, that's the one..." and he'd laugh. But honestly, he doesn't LOVE shopping for jewelry and most men dont. So go by yourself and look to your heart's content and when you figure out what you really love, THEN take him, or email him photos of that ring so he'll know exactly what you love. All I can say is that after my proposal, we then got the ring and he was out of town so I spent two weeks shopping (keeping in mind I'd been looking for a long time anyway), and I found my ering while he was away. I did take one friend who's very into jewelry also, so I could get an unbiased opinion, which was nice but not totally necessary). When he came back I had the ring on hold as it was a one of a kind antique, so it was really fun to take him to the shop, show him a couple of other rings, then show him the one I really loved. His eyes popped out of his head when he saw it - it was really very sweet - and he fell in love with the ring as much as I had. I think it's absolutely fine to shop alone for your ring. That way the only opinions are yours and yours alone. Who cares what your friend(s) think about your ring anyway? They're not wearing it, YOU are! And no, salespeople dont think it's weird at all. I had so many nice people help me when I was shopping. I think it's way more common for the woman to shop alone first (I call it 'pre shopping) than you realize. Dont worry, just enjoy the process and have fun with it!

 

[rubybeth]

Date: 1/20/2008 7:04:28 PM
Author:absolut_blonde

So, fellow LIW, who did you go with? Or, did you try on rings at all? Would they think I'm odd for browsing alone? I also don't want to annoy the sales staff since I will obviously just be 'window shopping' at this point. And is it weird that I feel nervous to go look? I know 110% SO is 'the one' but it just seems like I don't 'deserve' to go e-ring shopping.

I have definitely tried on literally handfuls of rings. It's fun, and it gives you a good idea of how things look on your hands, sizes of center stones you like/prefer, settings types that get you excited or not, plus they can size your ring finger when you're there so you know for sure that even if he buys online, you'd get the correct size.

In answer to your other question, I've gone to jewelry stores with my mom (bad idea, she's too opinionated when it's going to be MY ring, jeez woman

) a friend (who didn't quite believe that I was actually shopping for real), and alone. I find that when I have walked in alone and mentioned that we were in the preliminary stages of looking for rings and really showed that I knew my stuff (asking questions and making comments about carat weights, cut, clarity, etc.) I did't get ANY weird looks.

In fact, the last time I was in one of the more upscale B&M shops in my town, a couple girls came in to try on 'their' rings, even though they were clearly just playing and having fun. I think jewelry salespeople are used to this kind of thing, and once you start talking about the hard facts of some of the rings you really like, they'll know you're more for real than just window shopping, even if you're not planning to purchase there. You can say you're scoping out to pass along ideas to your significant other, or you can say nothing, just ask them to pull out a few you'd like to try on. Last week I walked into a mall store and asked to see something, and just said, "I'm doing some extremely early wedding ring shopping" and smiled, and the gentleman was very helpful and we talked about color a little bit, and then we looked at solitaires (what I'm getting) and it was fun to see the big price tags and know that my FF got such a great value with Whiteflash.

So, in summary, I say: don't feel weird about going alone; you know you're looking for real, and once you start trying on diamond rings, you'll feel great.

 

[absolut_blonde]

I honestly feel SO much better about going alone now! I''m convinced. I have a fairly good idea of what I want but I''m still eager to try things on as I have no idea what they will look like on my hand. I''m 99% sure I want a solitaire, but I just want to make sure.

It came up again on the phone tonight so I suppose I''ll get my butt in gear and actually go look sometime relatively soon. Maybe this week-- I have some shopping to do anyway.

So once I know... I guess I can just give him a wishlist? Heh. I feel so weird doing that, like I''m demanding something though I don''t expect anything huge. I already told him I care more about quality (cut, clarity, and colour... probably in that order) than size. I''d rather have something nice and sparkly than something that''s just big.

 

[ktdid]

I wouldn''t hesitate to go alone! That said, I did go with a friend who is hoping for an engagement ring in the next year. We tried on so many and the sales lady was so nice! I would go back and buy from her just cause she was so genuinely nice and helpful!
I do plan to go to Tiffany by myself sometime in the next 2 weeks to try on rings. I''ve chosen 2 that I love online and really want to see what they look like IRL and on my finger. They are on my Top 3 list and want to make sure they''re worthy of being there

I did take my boyfriend in to take a peek at my fav ring from the first store and that''s the only time we''ve looked together. I don''t see anything wrong with going with your guy if he''s up for it! Honestly, I think it''s more fun to go by yourself or with a friend!

 

[bee*]

I never actually tried on a ring before we went to Tiffanys to buy our lucida. I checked out lots of rings with D as we were trying to find a setting I liked, but just didn''t find any we liked enough for me to move in. I would have had no problems trying on rings by myself though. I did go into quite a few jewellery shops when looking for settings and they always asked did I want to try it on, so I''m sure they''re used to seeing women ring shopping alone. Have fun!

 

[SPOT]

I went with my missus, so she could pick it out since she''s the poor darl that has to wear the thing.

I should have got it the first time we went though, it cost me an extra $500 each time we went.

 

[EricaR]

I went by myself because I didn''t want anyone else''s opinion to change mine. I had a really great experience doing so and wouldn''t hesitate to go again, if needed.

 

[gwendolyn]

Alone, except for once with a friend, who wasn't really any fun--she kept making judgments about what I liked as compared to what she has (which she didn't pick out and said she only feels 'meh' about). It's funny because going alone actually turned out better than going with someone, which I thought would be the other way around. Here's what didn't go well:

While I was ring shopping was with my friend at Tiffany's. I only tried on two rings, and asked (if I do say so myself) at least moderately informed questions (and not many, maybe 2? 3?), and the salesperson got exasperated (there was no one else around) and told us he'd be happy to answer more questions if we "come back with the men," (assuming that's where all the money was? Thought THAT was rude). I was in LOVE with Tiff's because their solitaire is my first love of diamond rings, but that REALLY turned me off to buying anything from them again in the future.

 

[absolut_blonde]

Date: 1/29/2008 8:29:33 AM
Author: gwendolyn
Alone, except for once with a friend, who wasn''t really any fun--she kept making judgments about what I liked as compared to what she has (which she didn''t pick out and said she only feels ''meh'' about). It''s funny because going alone actually turned out better than going with someone, which I thought would be the other way around. Here''s what didn''t go well:

While I was ring shopping was with my friend at Tiffany''s. I only tried on two rings, and asked (if I do say so myself) at least moderately informed questions (and not many, maybe 2? 3?), and the salesperson got exasperated (there was no one else around) and told us he''d be happy to answer more questions if we ''come back with the men,'' (assuming that''s where all the money was? Thought THAT was rude). I was in LOVE with Tiff''s because their solitaire is my first love of diamond rings, but that REALLY turned me off to buying anything from them again in the future.

Oh my word. That is one of the worst (and most sexist) customer service stories I''ve heard!

Did you complain to the manager? I would think/hope Tiffany doesn''t want their salespeople going around saying things like that!

 

[FrekeChild]

Date: 1/29/2008 8:29:33 AM
Author: gwendolyn
Alone, except for once with a friend, who wasn''t really any fun--she kept making judgments about what I liked as compared to what she has (which she didn''t pick out and said she only feels ''meh'' about). It''s funny because going alone actually turned out better than going with someone, which I thought would be the other way around. Here''s what didn''t go well:


While I was ring shopping was with my friend at Tiffany''s. I only tried on two rings, and asked (if I do say so myself) at least moderately informed questions (and not many, maybe 2? 3?), and the salesperson got exasperated (there was no one else around) and told us he''d be happy to answer more questions if we ''come back with the men,'' (assuming that''s where all the money was? Thought THAT was rude). I was in LOVE with Tiff''s because their solitaire is my first love of diamond rings, but that REALLY turned me off to buying anything from them again in the future.

I''ll go back with you and kick her with some pointy toed stilettos! It''ll be fun!!

I went the first time with the BF. Second time with my best friend. The first time we basically got harassed, the second time she was rolling her eyes at me because I was asking so many questions. But I enjoyed myself, even if I didn''t try on any monstrous rocks, and didn''t get along very well with some of the sales staff...But that''s another story...

 

[gwendolyn]

Date: 1/29/2008 8:28:40 PM
Author: FrekeChild
I''ll go back with you and kick her with some pointy toed stilettos! It''ll be fun!!

Hehehe! It was actually a middle-aged, balding, surly dude with greasy, slicked-back hair, but I''m still totally up for some stiletto-kickin''.

absolut_blonde, no, I didn''t complain, although looking back I''m annoyed at myself because I should have. At the time, I was completely horrified that he said that, and my friend who was with me kept wanting to leave anyway, so I basically just considered that trip a wash and left. It was really weird, too, because my friend is all about activism and talks big talk about feminism, but she didn''t react at all when the dude said that! She is partially deaf so she maybe didn''t hear (he said it under his breath, but loud enough so that I could hear), but I told her as we were walking out and she didn''t get worked up about it at all! So that made me feel (at the time) like it wasn''t worth dealing with. I still don''t know why it didn''t bother her. Maybe because she wanted nothing more than to leave that store? She wasn''t very fun to shop with.

Anyway! Enough of my hijack. I''m sure Tiffany''s doesn''t especially care if one middle-aged greaseball sales associate at their location in Chevy Chase, Maryland turns customers off sales with his condescending remarks, so let''s go back to the original topic.

 

[sweetjettagirl04]

I went with my best friend, then BF. It was nice to go with my friend because she was unbiased in helping me determine what I wanted. I was set in my ways once BF and I went, but it all worked out. We didn''t like any of what we saw in three stones (too boring for me) so we designed our own beauty!

Gwendolyn, I don''t live far from Chevy Chase - I''ll put on my stilettos and make a trip... It''s a good excuse to buy myself something....

 

[Haven]

I went alone, with my sister, a good friend, another good friend, my mum, my now-FI--I STILL try on rings whenever I see something I love!

 

[Angel7]

I constantly go by myself! I go to local stores on my lunch or free time to "scope" them out and then if they were a good find, I drag along my boyfriend.

Yours being long distance, I think it''s totally fine to go alone.
Sometimes with friends I think it''s hard. They are going to pick what THEY like and in my case, I always get self concious..becuase of how picky I am and how I know what I want and I worry about the stats and if is cut well..etc.
Non pricescopers might find are diamond obsession weird!

Maybe you have a sister or mom or cousin you could bring along?

I always try to take pictures of settings I like or at least see if the designer or store has it on their website so I can create my montage of pictures and give to the bf!

Most importantly, have fun!!

Please report back on how it went!!!

 

[FrekeChild]

Date: 1/30/2008 10:22:11 AM
Author: sweetjettagirl04
I went with my best friend, then BF. It was nice to go with my friend because she was unbiased in helping me determine what I wanted. I was set in my ways once BF and I went, but it all worked out. We didn''t like any of what we saw in three stones (too boring for me) so we designed our own beauty!


Gwendolyn, I don''t live far from Chevy Chase - I''ll put on my stilettos and make a trip... It''s a good excuse to buy myself something....

Sounds like a great idea to me! Being in New Mexico, it might take me a while to get up there...