Thanks MissK8 (and everyone else who has commented!)
She certainly expressed her opinion saying she wanted something vintage (or vintage-inspired), art deco-y with sapphires. Smart girl that she is, she also pinned several rings that she liked on her Pinterest page, so I had a pretty good idea of her taste. I searched for weeks for something that met those requirements. I found several AWESOME true vintage rings that fit the bill, but almost without exception the center diamonds were of relatively poor quality (especially for the amounts they were asking) & I wanted a high quality diamond. I asked several vendors if they would remove the diamond and sell the setting, but no one was willing to do that.
Then I embarked upon a search for new, vintage-inspired rings and found the Royal T Collection at ERD. The one I really liked was essentially this ring, but it had rubies instead of sapphires, so I called ERD and they were fantastic! I sourced the Asscher cut diamond from them and they created the ring to my specifications using the ruby ring as a rough template. There were a couple of delays (it took about six weeks to get the ring when they promised 30 days), forcing me to cancel my planned proposal once, but they came through in the end.
I was so nervous when the ring arrived Fed-ex, but when I ultimately opened the box, I was ecstatic. Knowing it was coming, I had pre-arranged an immediate appraisal since it's a bit scary to be purchasing something of such relatively high value online. When the appraiser (with 30 years experience) saw it, he simply said 'WOW'. He even had trouble finding the pinpoint under the microscope saying it was so small it was hiding behind a spec of dust. His exact words were 'when they say pinpoint, they sure mean pinpoint!'. Anyway, he said I got the ring for about wholesale cost and appraised it at over 60% more than what I paid. WOO-HOO! Although I had massive trepidation buying a ring online, sight unseen, it paid off big time in the end. Just the sales tax savings alone by buying out of state saved me almost $1,000 bucks! Actually, not savings, but allowed me to buy more ring.
Autumn, my fiance, had no clue what she would end up with & I did not want her involved in the process. That takes the fun out of it IMO! She absolutely loves the ring though & that makes me very happy!
But more importantly, the look on your fiance's face says it all: That is a woman who LOVES her ring!
And I really like that she used her Pinterest board to create inspiration, and you were able to use it to guide your choice. That is a really great idea and allowed her to have input and guidance and you to surprise her. Win win. I am going to suggest that to people posting on PS from now on!
I had to find and read this thread just because I loved the design and execution of your ring - lovely and stunning, plus I love sapphires
But you two are even lovelier than the ring! The way you look at her when you're giving her the ring, and the way she looks like she's about to physically lift off from happiness made me smile and smile. I wish you a happy life together!
Congratulations!!! The ring is beautiful...the joy in your photos....stunning! Makes me smile just looking at you and your fiancee's happy faces. Very well-planned and executed.
Gorgeous ring, congrats! Great job on it and great job to your fiance for pinning rings she loved! I love the pictures too - so sweet to capture those moments!!!
Thanks again to all who commented & for allowing me to share our moment. I am overwhelmed by your collective kindness about the ring & our pictures! What an amazing experience all around!
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