Engagement Ring Input?

[bhall82]

The best advice you will get.. DON'T DO IT

























































No for real don't

[fargomike]

Blood Diamonds kidding .

Here is what I did , knowing that she is simple in style etc not one for over the top I went out bought the rock and had it set on a simple platinum band . Then after I popped the question asked her if she would like to go an look at some other settings . Thank god she liked what I got ! I also did some research on diamonds etc . Good luck !

[scuba264]

I'm almost a year into marriage, still pretty clearly remember sweating over the ring haha. Only advice I can give is don't buy into the "you need to spend x percentage of your income" BS. That was all developed by guess who...the diamond companies!

Get a feel for what style she'd like (good to ask her mom, her friends you trust, even her if she may be expecting it. Don't need to say I'm going to buy you a ring, but if its obvious it'll happen sooner than later then no harm in stopping in to loosely check them out next trip to the mall)

Anyway, don't spend a million dollars that you'll have to finance for 5 years. Remember, you'll be married and then shes now sharing that debt. Woohoo! In a year or 2 she'll want to upgrade anyway, get her a big f'n rock then!

[PoorMansCamaro]

if she's a good woman, she'll LOVE any ring YOU pick out for her.

[2001ragtop]

To me you should NEVER EVER buy a girl a ring until AFTER you have been married for a while and prove it will last.

Thats a huge investment. and most people "change personalities" every few years.

Marriage = a time when weird things happen that present incredible psychotic insane challenges that you didn't see coming in advance. at least that is what i found out.

do not be suprised if your spouse changes into a completely different person after marriage and you are wondering what you did and how you got there.

get a baby ring first. if you prove it will last, then move up to rings that bury you into massive debt.

if a girl is crazy about you she wont' care what kind of ring she has...she just wants to be your wife desperately.

ALSO many girls prefer to design their own ring. my wife is that way. She has to have complete control over that.

[Mr_Draco]

Originally Posted by 2001ragtop

if a girl is crazy about you she wont' care what kind of ring she has.

If she really loves you and really wants to marry you she won't care how much you spent or if it's a real diamond or not. As long as it looks nice that's all she'll care about.

[Pamaro]

I agree with the folks that have suggested a little window shopping to get an idea of what she likes. When my ex asked me to marry him, he had no idea what I wanted and bought me a ring that HE loved and thought I would too. Granted, it was beautiful, but not my style. We were married for 10 years and I loved the ring for what it symbolized, but it would have been great to have a ring that fit my style better.

[toesuf94]

Another thing to look at are the rings she DOES wear. Sometimes the rings left in the jewelry box are there for a reason. Look at her hands and see what she likes DAILY.

Also, never pay sticker - lots of room.

Always buy a certified diamond and insure what you buy.

If your girl has a job where washing a lot, or where she uses her hands a lot, make sure you specify heavy duty mounts and look into tougher metals such as platinum. Gold is soft and can be easily broken when bumped. My wife cut hair and she is rough on jewelry - her platinum setting has held up very well over 14 years.

[savage99ss]

I was real good friends with someone that worked in the diamond business for years. She told me never to buy a certified diamond. That is just a way to mark the price up. She even proved it by comparing differend rings.

[PonyMan]

Better half and I got married in high school.....going on twenty-nine years ago!!! With our life growing together, so has her wedding ring.....on number twenty-five, she moved up to a 1.5 carat princess cut set platinum with 1 carat of side begets (all are very good cut, D in color with VVS1&VVS2 in clarity). You may be asking why all the details ....."sweating profusely" will never end!

***If you can not go to Europe to buy, Caribbean is the next best place***

[bubsy73]

My husband proposed to me without a ring. He took me out to the jewelry store and let me choose which one I wanted. Turned out my engagement and wedding band together were cheaper than his wedding band! If you really want a ring, I like the suggestion of asking one of her friends to 'spy' for you and report back. Good luck!

[Ladybugsmom]

My husband completely surprised me when he popped the question. He did a great job choosing a ring for me, too (and it happened to have a matching wedding band that I loved, too....):



The important thing is that he listened to me. I had bought a loose stone on a trip to South Africa, and had it set here at home. He had asked once about the stone (it's not very big) and I told him that I'd much prefer a small perfect diamond over a large cruddy one. He wanted a larger stone, so he saved for a couple of years so he could get the quality I wanted in the size he wanted. We're BOTH happy!!

Good luck, and let us know when the big day is!!

[Ladybugsmom]

Oh - what is her birthstone?? Some are only semi-precious gems, so having them set with diamonds might be a challenge...

[Milk 1027]

so back to the topic?
Try bluenile.com. I've yet to find any other jewler that can beat the price for the quality, and there's a lot of good infromation there too.