More Ring Shopping

Since I’ve discovered that the scrollwork and etching that I like so much on rings is only done in platinum, we decided to go the the platinum jeweler (The Jewelry Doctor) in Vienna. Part of me is nervous to make such a large purchase at a small, locally-owned store. The ring would come with a lifetime guarantee, but if the store goes out of business, I’m screwed. On the other hand, I would very much like to support local businesses, since big stores all with the same stock are edging the little guys out of business. The one cool thing about getting a ring there would be that it would be a one-of-a-kind (if I didn’t go with a mass-produced ring from one of the designers).

We paged through several yearly publications of the platinum guild, and I got some ideas of other designers and styles that I like. The store owner seemed quite down on Tacori — one of the designers that I’ve been attracted to — because they are so “mass produced”. Of course, I’m not sure that I care.

He is also a dealer of the Jubilant Crown diamond. It’s a circular cut diamond with 16 extra facets. Placed side-by-side with a regular-cut diamond, I could see the extra “fire”. However, I’m not convinced that it’s worth the extra money. On the other hand, the half carat Jubilant Crown diamond was still less than the diamonds at Bailey Banks & Biddle.

Of course, the settings at the Jewelry Doctor are also a lot more expensive than at other places. This is because they do their own work, and are a small operation. We aren’t sure that we can get both the diamond and the setting there, though, and stay in budget. We’re going to have to think on this.

Ring Shopping

Andrew has decided that he wants the ring before he proposes, so we went ring shopping today to get an idea of prices and styles. Our first stop was Bailey, Banks and Biddle, where we were impressed by the salesman. He didn’t pressure us, and even listened when I said that I really wanted something kind of subtle — nothing very large. He showed us several settings that I liked, and explained how to tell if the cut of a diamond was correct (it should be shiny, even in the shade, and shouldn’t have any “dead spots”).

We went to a smattering of other jewelers, like Shaw and Kay, but their selections were suspiciously similar and not really what I was looking for.

However, we were also impressed by the collection at Christian Bernard . The saleslady also mentioned that they would be having a bridal show in the next few weeks, and would have hundreds more styles to choose from.

We were contemplating lunch, when we walked past Helzberg Diamonds. I decided that we could handle one more jeweler before lunch. Silly me. The saleswoman seemed nice enough. She gave us a long lecture on the four ‘C’s of diamonds. I realize that she is used to dealing with Joe Public, but Andrew and I are in general smarter than Joe Public and, for example, don’t need to be told that if one carat is a dollar, then .52 carats is like 52 cents. We get decimals.

Then, she decided to pull out the “loops” to show us how “other jewelers” would show us the diamonds we might purchase. But, she assured us, HD would let us see the diamond under a microscope, giving more a 3-D picture of our investment. Good goddess. Give me a break. We are not diamond experts, and that’s why we want a certified diamond. We don’t know what to look for. And, frankly, I’d already told her that I didn’t really care if the diamond a few small flaws, since none of my friends were going to look at the diamond under a microscope. I just wanted something that would look nice to the naked eye.

During all of this, she tried engaging us in conversation about how we met, when we were getting engaged, etc. At one point she turned to me and asked, “Isn’t this exciting?” “Yeah,” I replied, but not as giddy as she probably expected. I’m not actually engaged yet, so I’m trying to temper my excitement — I want something left when the big day actually comes. Later, I was pretty sure that she had been trying to get Andrew to see how excited I was, so that he’d be spurred into buying something.

So, with 30 minutes of our lives gone, I was trying to make it clear that we were now ready to leave. I asked if she had a card that we could take. No, of course not, instead they wanted some information from us. While she had bored us half to death, I had no other reason not to give her my address.

Having completed the form, she turned to us and asked, “What haven’t I done for you?” I thought this was just an invitation for us to ask any further questions that may not have been answered by her 20 minute lecture on diamonds. So I answered, “Nothing. Like we said, this is our first day out, and we wanted to get an idea of what we’re getting into.”

Then she asks again, “What haven’t I done for you? What’s holding you back from taking one of these home today?”

Suddenly my mood darkened. I replied, with all the venom I could muster, “Don’t even start that with us.”

The saleswoman tried backpedaling. “Oh, no, that’s not what I meant.”

“I told you this is our first day out. We are not buying today. Do you have a card we should take or not?”

“No, I’m here pretty much all the time.”

“Well, then, thank you for your time.” And we left to get lunch.

Needless to say, HD will never get a cent of our money. Ever.

Grandma’s Ring

Grandma Bengtson had given Mom her wedding and engagement rings from her first marriage — her marriage to my grandfather. Mom wasn’t sure what to do with it. She didn’t want to pass it on to her sons, but she couldn’t figure out why that felt wrong. When she brought it up, I suggested that if she passed it on to either Kevin or David, and they got a divorce, then Grandma’s ring could be out of the family forever.

Anyway, Mom mentioned this while we were at the fair on Friday. While there isn’t anything official that I could say to her, I suggested (out of Dad’s earshot) that she might want to make up her mind soon if she was going to pass it on to me (her only daughter).

Mom gave me the ring today! It’s very small (both the size of the ring, and the size of the diamond), as Mom had mentioned, but suggested that I could use the diamond as a side diamond in my engagement ring. I’m thinking more along the lines of using it as a central diamond on the wedding band — having a string of about 5 similar-sized diamonds, and as the central one, I will know just by glancing at the ring which one was Grandma’s.

Mom also talked with Grandma this weekend, and mentioned that she had given me the ring. She said that Grandma sounded very happy. I hope she’ll be even more pleased when I show her the ring with her diamond in it.