NickDavid

Ok, I'm posting this here because your brains work much better than that of the FOO readers/posters. Mods, I beg you, please don't move this into the sea.

Bottom line is, I'm looking for some info on engagement rings. Yes, I'm sure I'll get the responses of, "Don't do it," and my friends who follow my posts will give me crap later. I know there's tons of info on the web, but what better way to do research than by getting opinions and advice from fellow cyclists.

I hate to spend money on a diamond when it could go toward a beautiful new bike or a set of carbon dubs (yes, I just called them dubs) for my future TT rig. And I get infuriated at the thought of buying such a worthless piece of crap that sits on someones hand. Unfortunately, I must take this plunge because no other woman will put up with my **** or infatuation with cycling. In fact, she often purchases me gear and supports my racing/training habit and those women are hard to come by. I've also been pushing the whole, "the man gets an engagement present of equal value from the woman," deal. It's working well

So, I ask you lads; what did you get your woman? If you don't mind sharing the info without fear of ridicule from other members, I would appreciate it greatly. How much did you guys spend. What type of cut did you go with? What setting design did you do? And more importantly, where did you get your deal?

Again, any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.




*EDIT*

Purchased ring. Got engaged. Got new bike. Wedding date set. Life gets even better.

wanders

What she wanted.

kimconyc

This could get good...

cyclefreaksix

Ya know that Cubic Zirconium is pretty good stuff...

GamecockTaco

genuine diamelle.

kaNUK

I'll take "what she wanted" x2

K

NickDavid

DAMN YOU GUYS!!!

kimconyc

I remember the first class I ever took when I went off to college was Econ 101. I don't remember much of the class but I learned two things the first day:

- The 4 C's
- No money, no honey

JoelS

I figured since I was doing the asking, and she had no idea it was coming, I'd buy something simple and elegant. So, it's a .79 carat, elegant cut (grade 1), VS-1, F. I think that was all the grading. It's set in a very simple white gold band. No, it wasn't cheap, but well worth it. Also took me a year to pay off.

Tsuru

I'll bite. For my wife, I went the vintage style band with a nice solitaire. We are not flashy people and didn't like the over the top triple diamond rings, but at the same time, a straight up boring solitaire is rarely on a woman's list. So, a nice vintage white gold band with a nice quality solitaire diamond was perfect.

Something vaguely along this...



but not quite...



Tiffany style (square) rings I think are nice and ladies seem to like them too!



but in the end... it's her personality and style that will dictate it!

Nobodyetal

Congrats on finding somebody you want to buy a ring for!

My wife worked in the south bronx as a kindergarten teacher at the time, so a relatively small stone with a setting that wouldn't get snagged on little kid stuff (1/3 carat Zales diamond).
She got upset that I spent so much ($1200 or so) on a ring, and loved it anyway.

But that's my woman. Yours will likely be entirely different.

Phantoj

I just went to a jewelers and picked up something that I thought looked good. Which is what you should do.

On a somewhat unrelated note... I have no idea what your financial situation is, but my only advice is: money problems will put a huge stress on any marriage. And a good marriage will make you a lot happier than "carbon dubs".

Farby

Before i got engaged, my girlfriend hinted at what kind she wanted for some time. I didn't believe in having her go with me to pick it out because I wanted it to be a surprise. I listened to what she said she liked and picked out what i thought was best. I spent about 5k.

thump55

Go to ONE jewelry store. Walk in, pull out all your crumpled bills and a small picture of your girlfriend and put them on the counter. Tell the lady to pull out THREE rings for you to look at that you can buy with this amount of money. Answer no questions. Pick from those three, pay and leave.

If this takes you longer than 20 minutes, you did something wrong.

There is no point in agonizing over this. You will never pick out the same one she would have.

This is exactly how I did it. If you have the right woman, you can't choose wrong.

urbanknight

Why didn't the thread end here?

I made sure my honey knew that CZ is more flawless than the real deal and was otherwise made of the same stuff, but she wanted a real one. She didn't care what size, but she wanted a genuine round cut rock on a simple "Tiffany style" platinum ring. So that's what I got her. Funny thing is, if I could go back, I'd get a smaller rock. Even though the thing looked tiny in the store, at 0.65k it scrapes me all the time when I'm snuggling up with her.

Oh yeah, and another thing. If you think the cost of the ring is a significant investment, wait until you see what the marriage costs (not just the wedding).

Psimet2001 

I searched for a stone first. I knew it when I saw it. Then I "designed" the ring and chose the setting.

Beautiful ring and she still gets compliments on it to this day. I did it while still in college. I still use the same philsophy today....with my wheels.

YOJiMBO20

I'm kind of in the same boat.

I have decided, however, that I'll spend more on her ring than I will on a bike.

Well...my next bike, anyway. Who knows what I'll buy years down the line.

caloso

We went custom. Not only did she get what she wanted, she helped design it.

55/Rad

1ct Princess cut center stone flanked by two, 1/2 ct trilliant shape stones. It was what she dreamed of as a child growing up in a house where dad was a gem dealer/jeweler.

Of course, she doesn't wear it anymore and last I heard over a year ago, she had misplaced it. I wonder if she ever found it but I will never ask. The ring she wears now from her current husband is nice too.

55/Rad

urbanknight

Oh yeah, and if she knows you're shopping, have her spend some time here and tell her to put rings she likes on the "wish list" on the site. She will have much more fun viewing all the choices than you will have agonizing over them. Then, you can look at her selections to get an idea of her style and go find a generic brand of similar style (the ring, not the rock) for less.

sced

Pay attention to # 9, 10. Simple designs are best, timeless. Solitaire in the 3/4 karat range is ample. The mark up on jewelry is huge, so shop around and try bargaining....very happily married 28 years.

Biker395 

What she wants. +100

And I did a smart thing when I bought my wife her ring. You might not be surprised to hear that a 0.99 carat stone is significantly less expensive than a 1.01 carat stone. When we were picking it out, she fully expected me to go for the 0.99 carat stone.

I didn't.

And every time she accuses me of being a shameful cheapskate, I remind her of that day.

Money well spent.

El Diablo Rojo

If you live near a wholesale jewelry district go there (I went to the one in Los Angeles). Educate yourself about gems first and shop. I ended up getting the wife a 2.5c VVS1 L color (she likes a slightly yellow colored stone) for about half of what a jewelry store would have charged. Granted the L color helped lower the price as most people like stones in the D range but you will still do better than in a retail store.

cod.peace

Rather than support the dirty, nasty diamond mining business with its history tied into apatheid/AFrican civil wars/etc etc etc get your gem from Apollo Diamond. Manufactured in Massachusetts, indistinguishable from a mined diamond.

urbanknight

I should have asked your advice!

I actually went with the middle size of the 3 stones I was viewing in my price range. The largest one had too many flaws, even to the naked eye.