Buying an Engagement Ring????

themullet

Hi There,

I was wondering if somebody might be able to offer me some advice about an engagement ring. I am thinking about proposing to my girlfriend when we go to New York a few days before Christmas. At the moment I am browsing jewellers and the web for a suitable engagement ring. Ideally, I would love to have a ring when I pop the question. After looking around for a about a week or so I saw this amazing ring online (being sold by a reputable website with 28 day full refund), and to be honest I have my heart set on it, because it's an unusual design and yet I know that she would love it. I suppose my question is: would I be mad to buy a ring before we go to the states or would I be better to go shopping with her for one after I pop the question???????????? Especially the way the dollar is at the minute, would I get much more ring for the money over there?????? If so where in New York would be the best place to get a ring? Has anyone ever had any experience of buying an engagement ring in NY? Do women prefer to pick out a ring themselves?

I'm really confused and I don't want to mess up one of the most important moments of our lives. I just want things to be perfect and I want to make a real effort to make it perfect. If anyone could offer me some advice I'd appreciate it, especially the ladies!!!

Thanks in advance,

Rob

corrado

I would have to say wait and buy it with her, its a huge thing for the girl
to pick it out. I remember when i poped the question and she was so excited
about us going looking for the ring, plus i found out that she already had a good idea what and where she wanted....

anyhoo what i did was bought a cheap ring for about 100yoyos just to have
something to put on the finger when i asked then told her its not the real
thing just a smybol. We then got the real thing and she uses the sub ring
as costume jewellary. I think it was a good idea and worked well for me.

Best of luck with the big question :cool:

seamus

Last Christmas I did exactly what you're planning

We had talked about it of course, and she'd made it abundantly clear that if she's going to wear a ring for the rest of her life, then she wants to pick it out herself. So I didn't have a ring. I just proposed in the evening and (early!) the next morning we went down to the diamond district. In the end, it was great craic and we got a fantastic deal.

There's loads of info on the diamond district here: http://www.diamonddistrict.org/
It's just one strip full of jewellers and similar people. Most places are reputable - the business of the diamond district depends on everyone being above board, so you can be fairly confident that people aren't necessarily trying to rip you off.

Like everything else in New York, haggle. And haggle your ass off. You buy the diamond and the ring & setting are free. The sticker price for the diamond is usually the market value of the diamond + 5%. So there is tonnes of scope for wiggle room.

We went to this place: http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF-8&q=Diamond+City&near=New+York,+NY,+USA&fb=1&view=text&latlng=40758052,-73981746,2251170640693666574&dtab=3&oi=md_references&sa=X&ei=3nMESKHNO6Dc2gLKi5TvBg

It was the very first jewellers we came upon, but they offered us 50% off for being their first customer of the day and we resigned ourselves to the fact that you can go to 50 places but still not have a clue what you're looking for.
The shop looks iffy, but then so do most of them when in fact they're fine. They were very nice to us, talked us through the four C's and the certificate and showed us shedloads of diamonds.

We got it valued twice independently (once in NY and once in Dublin) and both places confirmed that we did indeed get the diamond for half of what it's worth. So we're happy

tinkerbell

I really don't think you should buy the ring first. You don't NEED the ring to propose, you can get the ring later! A lot of girls dream of being able to pick out their ring, and what you think she might like and what she thinks she might like - well she might not actually like it once it's on her finger! So this is why it's important for her to try the ring on first.

Plus going on holiday to New York, she'd be thrilled to be shopping for a ring over there. Just wait! She has to wear it for the rest of her life so I think she should have her say in the ring choice

Toots

I think you should wait and buy the ring together. As corrado said, you could buy a cheapy ring and have that for the proposal and get the real thing together. TBH, since you've said you have your heart set on this ring, it's an even bigger reason to wait. You love the ring, but she may not like it as much, which would devastate you most likely and she would feel really awful knowing you loved the ring so much.

This happened to a friend of mine two years ago when she got engaged. Her fiancee had the ring made specially and then proposed to her with it. Personally I thought the ring was really nice, but she REALLY didn't like it. She 'lost' it about a year later and had to get a new one, but she feels really bad about 'losing' it still. If you are buying the ring together, you could show the one you like to your fiancee and see how she feels before you buy it.

fozzle

themullet, I dunno that your're going to find anything much better value there than online. More to the point, I think, is weather you think your girlfriend would prefer to pick the ring herself. You (hopefully!) know her better than any of us, do you think she would? My fiance bought the ring before he proposed to me, and you know what? It was exactly what I would have picked. So if you think this is what she would like, and you don't think she has her heart set on ring shopping, then yeah, buy the ring now!

Good luck!

Aquitaine

fozzle wrote: »

themullet, I dunno that your're going to find anything much better value there than online. More to the point, I think, is weather you think your girlfriend would prefer to pick the ring herself. You (hopefully!) know her better than any of us, do you think she would? My fiance bought the ring before he proposed to me, and you know what? It was exactly what I would have picked. So if you think this is what she would like, and you don't think she has her heart set on ring shopping, then yeah, buy the ring now!

Good luk!

Yep agreed. my fiance bought my ring before he proposed and i wouldnt have it any other way, in fact i would have been dissapointed if he didnt have the ring. the ring was his present to me so i wanted it to be what he thought i would like and of course as he knows me very well it was exactly what i wanted!

you seem to think that she would like this ring online so if i were you i would get it. Good luck

locha

Best of luck with choosing the ring, check out the following sites for diamond wholesale prices:
www.polygon.net
www.diamondexchange.com.au
These sites are really educational and will help you get an eye for what represents good value.

Purdie

with the dollar so poor the states is best optionb. Be careful with customs thou you are meant to declare (which could addon 24.5% to price you paid) so wear it through and post certificate home. I know all the Aer lingus girls have been going to Michael Henigan in the Diamond DIstrict for years and he is a member of the gemologists institute of america. Apparantly even if you are not aer lingus if you mention aer lingus you can get the aer lingus discount that he runs! also if you pay cash you will get the tax knocked off and you can haggle some too! About $10k which at current rates is a lot less in Euro will get you an AMAZING ring with him. Given that the Aer lingus crew have gone there for a long time it seem reliable. I have seen a number of rings and other jewlery that Aer Lingus friends have bought off this guy and I can not believe the price they have paid for it. As for having the ring for her you know her best but I personally would prefer to pick it myself or have some input. Remember she will be wearing it for the rest of her life!

Sizzler

Purdie wrote: »

with the dollar so poor the states is best optionb. Be careful with customs thou you are meant to declare (which could addon 24.5% to price you paid) so wear it through and post certificate home. I know all the Aer lingus girls have been going to Michael Henigan in the Diamond DIstrict for years and he is a member of the gemologists institute of america. Apparantly even if you are not aer lingus if you mention aer lingus you can get the aer lingus discount that he runs! also if you pay cash you will get the tax knocked off and you can haggle some too! About $10k which at current rates is a lot less in Euro will get you an AMAZING ring with him. Given that the Aer lingus crew have gone there for a long time it seem reliable. I have seen a number of rings and other jewlery that Aer Lingus friends have bought off this guy and I can not believe the price they have paid for it. As for having the ring for her you know her best but I personally would prefer to pick it myself or have some input. Remember she will be wearing it for the rest of her life!

The irony is here that anytime you come back thru the airport you could be stopped and asked about the ring so theres no need to fret just because you are on your first flight home after buying it All you have to do if questioned is say 'yeah its a nice ring, you better ask my fiancé where he bought it as frankly its none of my business' They can't stop people off flights will nilly and assume you bought it in the USA. Think about it.

Purdie

yes I take your point but the advice I was giving was if you have the certificate in your luggage and you are stopped and questioned and they query the certificate it will draw attention to the fact that the ring was a US purchase and you if caught off guard one could get themselves into a knot and a fat bill for duty.

kluivert

I will be poping the question soon enough as well and plan on buying her a "proposal ring", cheap enough, and then pick out one that she likes, because I know what she would like but I think if she is going to be wearing it she should choose it.

Sizzler

kluivert wrote: »

I will be poping the question soon enough as well and plan on buying her a "proposal ring", cheap enough, and then pick out one that she likes, because I know what she would like but I think if she is going to be wearing it she should choose it.

I hope she doesnt follow your posts on boards :eek:
Good luck

ludzer

Lads, I say if you have any taste go buy it yourself, but only if you have taste. I bought a great ring in Applebys in Dublin, kinda designed it myself. Everyone woman that has seen the diamond and ring have been blown away and when they found out I got the ring myself they were majorily impressed. But again it has to be a good one. I'm sure women would get freaked at the thought of their fella picking out a crappy ring but worked out for me.

van damme

My engagement ring came from a shop on marlborough street in dublin
called Irish rubies. The guys were great would certainly recommend the place for anyone looking to get good value for money.

http://www.irishrubies.ie/index.html