Robbins Brother Engagement Ring?
Q.Does anyone have any advice about how to buy an engagement ring? I am terrified that I will spend my money badly. I've looked in the "diamond district" in my city (Philadelphia), and I don't trust ANY of the diamond merchants I met there, including one I've met socially (at a church, no less). They all say bad things about each other, which makes me mistrust them all. So I tried going to a big fancy jewelry store (Bailey, Banks, and Biddle). I was fairly comfortable with them, but my fiancee is afraid we will spend too much money if we go there. I tried another couple of small jewelry stores, but I was confused there too. Any suggestions?
A.With regards as to where to shop: Don't go to B, B, and B unless you are really rich and want to splurge on the ring but not the wedding. My fiance and I shopped around before we finally found THE RING. We ended up getting it at Shaw's because they were the only ones who didn't make a face at what we wanted. Basically, I have a VERY romantic, personalized ring, with a princess cut diamond in the middle and our birthstones on either side of it.....I love it and the service there was better than I expected (the ring did arrive later than expected because they had to special order the 2 side stones). I would look into edward arthur, kays, and shaw's...they seem to have relatively the same quality rings for less money. Typical guideline for an engagement ring is 3 months salary, but peole have spent more and less and gotten pretty nice rings. As for how to propose, there was a book at Waldenbooks...we have it, but I can't find it right now, that tells of real-life, romantic proposals. I think it was in the "self-help" section (don't ask why....mixed in with P.S. I LOVE You and several massage books). Off hand, I can remember a few. One told of a guy who sent his girl on a scavenger hunt to several places where he had arranged everything sith the various vendors.....clothing store, florist, liquor store, restaurant, etc. Another had the guy propose to the girl where they had had their first date/kiss. It's really up to you. My fiance proposed to me when I was lying in bed reading after getting frustrated with the hot/cold game. I have been proposed to several times (don't care to know why anymore) and they have included at a fast-food restaurant, at a pretty nice restaurant, on the docks in downtown Annapolis after a good dinner and romantic stroll. Another idea that I got off a tv show about weddings and proposals was where a guy had videotaped his proposal and had a karoke group set music to it for his fiance to sing to...at the end of the video, he was standing on a beach drawing a heart in the sand...he walked up behind her and proposed...in full tux and with a dozen roses. M.., my best advice is to shop around a lot! Leave your checkbook & credit cards at home, and just go to a few places to soak up as much information about diamonds as you can. If someone treats you badly, or insults other businesses, let them know that you DON'T appreciate it! In this situation, I found that money talks. Don't buy anything until/unless you're satisfied that a) you're not getting screwed on the price, b) they treat you well, and c) you find something that you (and your lucky fiancee-to-be) love! My bias is for diamond district jewelers and against mall jewelers. BB&B has a great rep, but I wonder about their markup... We went to a quality wholesaler with an excellent reputation, in Boston. Perhaps you could find the "perfect" diamond at BB&B, make careful notes about its specifications, and then see if you can match it elsewhere, for less. Also, ask EVERYONE you know where they went to buy their diamonds. How were they treated, did they get a good deal, etc. This worked for us.
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