Trying on rings!

[merilenda]

Hi LIW! I just wanted to introduce myself to you. This is definitely the place for me. I''ve been with my BF for almost 3 years now, and he''s finally come around to looking at rings! He knows I''m picky, so we''ve been looking at settings together. He''s kind of bummed that it won''t be a surprise. But I''m trying to tell him that once we pick out THE ring, he can surprise me with the proposal.

We have a ~1 ct emerald cut diamond that BF''s family has offered to let us use for the ring. So we''re mostly just trying on settings. Admittedly, I''m still trying to sell myself on the EC cut, but this stone is much nicer than anything we can afford on our own.

So we''ve been trying on settings in local stores to get an idea of what we like on my finger. I''ve also been obsessing online, but it''s hard to tell without trying them on in person. We went to some local mall-type stores to try on settings, and while a couple of the salespeople have been really nice and helpful, most have been unhelpful and rude! What''s your experience with that? I don''t really know any way around it though. We went to one store today to just try on different settings, and the lady acted like we were bothering her. And then she tried to pressure us into buying something today. When we told her we weren''t really to buy anything quite yet, she just kind of rolled her guys and told us to come back in a few months since we obviously weren''t ready yet. I couldn''t believe it!

Anyway, I just wanted to say hi to you all. Looking forward to talking with you!

 

[PavePrincess]

First of all - Congratulations on starting the ring process! It''s so much fun and super exciting to seem something that sparkly on your finger! I''ll tell you a little bit about my story since my bf and I had an amazing experience finding **the one**.

The boyfriend and I started looking at rings after we had been together for about 6 months. At first we were kind of intimidated because we didn''t think people would want to help the "looky loos" if you know what I mean. We looked in a lot of mall stores, but they never really made us feel comfortable. So, the boyfriend suggested that we go to this fairly upscale store in our city that he had heard about from some friends. I still felt kind of weird about it since we had only been dating for 6 months and I knew we wouldn''t be purchasing any time soon. BUT I had to see the Michael B Princess setting in person! So, we walked in and the owner sat down and gave us a full on tutorial on diamonds! He let me look at (and try on) several settings. He also showed us some loose diamonds to get an idea of what we liked

. When we were ready to leave he sized my finger and wrote down all of the information on a card for my bf to keep. We had made it clear from the beginning that we were **just looking** but he was so helpful that my boyfriend and I walked out feeling great!

After comparing the in-store prices with online sites, we realized that the center stones were priced VERY fairly. So, we decided that when we were ready, we''d go back. Well, flash forward 6 months and my boyfriend was ready to look for the one! Long story short my boyfriend has been making frequent trips to their store over the past 9 months (they know him by name.. LoL). The store ordered 2 settings for me to look at, and we probably visited about 4 times before we even bought the center stone. After looking at a bunch of settings and making a few more trips we decided to go the custom route. I''m truly grateful that we found this jeweler. My bf and I had a few panic attacks regarding the details of the ring and they never made us feel like we were bothering them. In the end, we had a great experience and soon I''ll have the ring of my dreams!

Sorry this was so long. I just wanted to let you know that it IS possible to find a jeweler who will treat you like gold (or platinum

) even if you''re not purchasing right away (or ever). Welcome to Ladies in Waiting!! Have fun and good luck!!

 

[getting excited]

Congratulations on starting such a fun process! I am in a similar position to you. My personal suggestion is to check out some local jewelers. I think they have better prices and much better service than a lot of the big mall chains. Do you have any friends who went to a local jeweler? Maybe they can suggest one. Look on yelp. There are so many jewelers and that is a good way to find out which ones have good reviews. Good luck! Keep us updated!

 

[PumpkinPie]

Welcome merilenda!

 

[merilenda]

PavePrincess - See, that''s what I''m saying! We all have to start somewhere by "just looking," you know? It seems like some of those stores expect you to just walk in there for the first time and buy something. I wish they would just realize that if they treated customers like that really well, we remember that! And we will think of them when we''re ready to buy. That is so exciting about your ring. It looks super pretty in your avatar!

getting excited - We did go to a local store here. And you''re right, they were much nicer! We just wanted to go try some other places, since they didn''t have any EC rings for me to try on there. Plus we''re moving in a few months, though we''re not sure where yet (long story). I just can''t imagine buying something from those mall chains after the way a lot of them treat people! I''ll definitely be keeping you updated on the search!

Maevie - thank you!

 

[legallyspoiled]

Date: 4/24/2010 7:55:06 PM
Author:merilenda
Hi LIW! I just wanted to introduce myself to you. This is definitely the place for me. I''ve been with my BF for almost 3 years now, and he''s finally come around to looking at rings! He knows I''m picky, so we''ve been looking at settings together. He''s kind of bummed that it won''t be a surprise. But I''m trying to tell him that once we pick out THE ring, he can surprise me with the proposal.


We have a ~1 ct emerald cut diamond that BF''s family has offered to let us use for the ring. So we''re mostly just trying on settings. Admittedly, I''m still trying to sell myself on the EC cut, but this stone is much nicer than anything we can afford on our own.


So we''ve been trying on settings in local stores to get an idea of what we like on my finger. I''ve also been obsessing online, but it''s hard to tell without trying them on in person. We went to some local mall-type stores to try on settings, and while a couple of the salespeople have been really nice and helpful, most have been unhelpful and rude! What''s your experience with that? I don''t really know any way around it though. We went to one store today to just try on different settings, and the lady acted like we were bothering her. And then she tried to pressure us into buying something today. When we told her we weren''t really to buy anything quite yet, she just kind of rolled her guys and told us to come back in a few months since we obviously weren''t ready yet. I couldn''t believe it!


Anyway, I just wanted to say hi to you all. Looking forward to talking with you!

Welcome!

1. The Pricescope LIW threads are an awesome place for soon-to-be brides. You don''t have to bother your FF with ring and wedding talk. You can share it here and we are all eager to hear about it and we never get bored of it! We also know what you are going through and won''t think you are looney!

2. I''m picky too. My FF tried to do it on his own but just couldn''t because he was getting so stressed that he would make the wrong decision about a stone and/or setting. I was disappointed because I thought that I would never get my dream proposal. I started a thread here and thanks to the LIW, I realized that just because our engagement won''t be surprised...doesn''t mean that the proposal can''t be.

3. Pretty cool that you already have a stone! That is half the battle.

4. It sucks when salespersons are that way. If someone is coming in to look at engagement rings, they are in love and this is an exciting time in their lives. Why not make sure that you make their shopping experience pleasant?

 

[PavePrincess]

Unfortunately I feel as though a lot of the "mall salespeople" are paid on commission. So, they don''t want to help you if you''re not going to buy from them that day.. so lame. I''m sorry but an engagement ring should NOT be an impulse buy and they should understand that! I HATED the look we got from one store when we told them we were **just looking**.

I''d also recommend going to a local jeweler. Most are relatively small, family owned businesses so they''re not paid on commission. They''re more concerned with the reputation of their business and building relationships than they are with making a quick sale. I''ll pay a little bit more for GREAT customer service any day. Let me know if you''re moving to California and I''ll give you a great recommendation.

 

[dawnabee]

Welcome Meri,

I tried on settings before in a mall and the lady was truly nice andhelpful, even wrote down information for us. Then this place we went on the weekend felt like they were pushing us out the door to come back when we are "ready"! I think it all depends on the person behind the counter.. some want to rush you bc they want a sale or some just dont have the patience to teach you what to look for or how to buy. i just hate how they are scrutinizing you while you try something on! I think if you are selling engagement rings you should have patience bc the people looking for them don''t want to be rushed and usually don''t know that much about buying or like us, are just looking. I wouldn''t give up though even if it gets discouraging though... I would find out if anyone you know used someone nearby because chances are they were a helpful salesperson. I''m not sure I''d buy something so expensive from someone who can''t take their time with me.


Throwing some dust your way!!!

 

[merilenda]

I agree with all of you ladies. It seems like most all of my friends who are engaged or married have been surprised with rings. I had a friend a few years ago who picked out her ring, but I''m not really in touch with her anymore. Also, as far as I know, everyone has gone through a mall chain-type store, although some have had really good experiences. I think it does just depend on who''s behind the counter at the time.

I love having people to talk with about all this stuff! I''m actually having a mini internal ring crisis right now. So I may start a thread about that later if I have time, because I need input! BF already thinks I''m obsessed, so it''s so great to have an outlet.