I wonder what this guy did; this is a pretty old thread; maybe I should read all the replies. my current spouse used her grandmothers ring so all I had to buy buy was an matching wedding band. she brought her grandmothers ring to a jeweler with me and together we worked with the jeweler to make something custom that would fit together with the heirloom. I got off cheap. I was going to pay to have the diamonds reset in a new custom ring but the jeweler said that didn't make sense since the old ring was so beautiful. when it was appraised in 1990 it was worth $6,000.00. so who were we to argue, right?
if I were to do it again I would be hard pressed between letting her pick something out and me picking something out. money would be no object. the ring would have to be heirloom quality and not just a stupid giant rock and a plain gold band. it would have to be one of a kind - just like the love of my life. I would search high and low and looks at hundreds of rings in multiple states. I guess I'm leaning toward her ot being involved, but OMG what if she didn't like it? I mean, women are so picky about every little thing - how do women feel about this? THAT'S WHO YOU SHOULD BE ASKING! :-)
BTW; the reason the OP picked this one to marry - "because she's the only one who will put up with him" is a lousy reason. he should really keep looking for someone he can't live without; can't breathe without and dies a little each day he is away from her.
... just sayin'