Like it - how to put a ring on it?

October 27, 2014 8:06 PM

(soon-to-be) Mrs. B.F.G. and are I planning on getting married. Yay! We'd like to buy a non-diamond engagement ring somewhere in the Chicago area and are looking for recommendations, as well as ring-buying tips generally.

Budget: We'd like to keep it around $1000, but could go up to $2000-$2500 if it's like, the one ring to rule them all.

The soon-to-be Mrs. B.F.G. is fairly picky. Her style tends towards the classic/understated, but she'd like something with some kind of interesting detail and not just a generic ring. She's leaning towards a sapphire of some kind, but we're not set either way yet. We have zero interest in designing our own rings and we'd prefer to see the ring in person before buying.

Where should we go to look at/buy rings in Chicago? In the city is preferred, but we could go out to the suburbs if there's someplace that's zomg amazing. What should we know buying jewelry going in? stb Mrs. B.F.G. has some (1-2) nice jewelry buying experience, but nothing quite this expensive or with quite as much hype surrounding it (which we know we should ignore).

posted by The Notorious B.F.G. to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (12 answers total)

Go for a ring from bluenile.com (my sapphire ring came from them) or thenaturalsapphirecompany.com. Much more bang for your buck and a lot more sapphire selection than what you will find in a store.
posted by saradarlin at 2:16 AM on October 28, 2014 [1 favorite]

I would head to Jeweler's Row on Wabash and just check them all out. You might strike it lucky. It may not be the best deal ever but it sounds like you are early in the process and it would be nice to see a lot of stuff and narrow down your ideas.

Mazel tov!
posted by BibiRose at 3:26 AM on October 28, 2014 [2 favorites]

I ordered the soon to be Mrs Toole Box's engagement ring from Moissanite. 1 carat, $700, done.
posted by John Kennedy Toole Box at 3:34 AM on October 28, 2014 [1 favorite]

We got a custom sapphire ring from Satomi Kawakita for my wife after she scoped out the generic selection at a boutique here in Brooklyn. Looks like there are some in your area as well; I can't recommend her enough, Satomi was extremely nice and easy to work with (and reasonably priced), and my wife loves her ring so, so much (3 years on at this point).
posted by saladin at 6:52 AM on October 28, 2014 [3 favorites]

My engagement and wedding ring both came from Etsy. It's a great place to get unusual designs and often cheaper than a jewelry store.

I know you prefer to look at rings in person, so this might be a bit unorthodox, but: poke around on Etsy for some shops located in Chicago with stuff you like, email them and ask if they do any art shows or if you can see their rings in person. I bet in such a big city you could make this work.
posted by nakedmolerats at 7:02 AM on October 28, 2014 [1 favorite]

Can't help with buying in the Chicago area, but I must tell the bride-to-be: try rings on!!! I was absolutely positive I knew what kind of ring I wanted. Then I tried them on. And they were all sorts of wrong.
posted by Neekee at 7:06 AM on October 28, 2014

If you like sapphires, I think you will find that many jewelry shops now have sapphire engagement rings. We found that some shops also carry estate (antique or vintage) pieces that are unique.

When buying we considered:
- Allergies. I'm allergic to some of the non-precious metals often found in "white gold" and sometimes in modern lower-carat gold.
- Shape. I didn't want a ring that could snag on things.
- Durability. I wanted to know about durability, especially of the particular stone (some are softer), cut, and setting.
- Resizing. My ring was an estate piece. Not all of them can easily be resized. Even if you order to size, it may need adjusting immediately or in the future, and we wanted that to be possible without paying hundreds of dollars or moving stones around.

All of the above were much better found out in smaller but reputable shops. (I looked in a big store for a wedding band and it felt like car shopping.)

We probably should have also considered wedding bands. I didn't want matching rings, but it would have been nice to consider whether the engagement ring could be worn with a wedding band on the same finger. (I can wear mine on either hand but most people can't.)
posted by zennie at 7:18 AM on October 28, 2014

I would second the Moissannite. My engagement ring was from, of all places, JC Penney. I don't believe they carry it any more but it was an amazing deal and it sparkles like nobody's business. If it weren't for the fact that I tell every single person who comments on it that it's not a diamond, no one would ever know. Plus, it's a space rock. Okay, a rock created in a lab to mimic a rock from space...but still...space rock!
posted by teleri025 at 7:22 AM on October 28, 2014

I can't suggest where to get them, but I have a sapphire engagement ring and LOVE IT! It is a little unqiue, meaningful, and just looks all kinds of fabulous. Highly highly recommend it. Be warned that I get a fair number of comments from strangers on it. Might be worth considering if your soon to be wife doesn't like a lot of extra attention.
posted by PuppetMcSockerson at 7:27 AM on October 28, 2014

Seconding Jeweler's Row. They have amazing estate jewelry in some of the smaller stores that would be unusual but still classic.
posted by batbat at 7:49 AM on October 28, 2014

Oh my gosh, some of those Satomi Kawakita rings are amazing!
posted by BibiRose at 4:02 PM on October 28, 2014

We got our sapphire engagement ring at Leber Jewelers in 2006 and went back for wedding bands. They were wonderful to work with.

We tried Jeweler's Row, but got quickly overwhelmed. Also, we were very happy with Leber's social mission.
posted by Xalf at 11:35 AM on October 30, 2014