Need to get wedding rings in New York

April 2, 2007 5:25 PM

Need recommendations for good locations to get wedding rings in New York City.

My fiancée and I are getting married in November and are obviously going to need those shiny things you put on your finger at some point. Has anyone had good experiences with specific jewelers in Manhattan or nearby? We're not looking for anything super-expensive.

posted by cyrusdogstar to Shopping (13 answers total)

The Clay Pot, on 7th Avenue in Park Slope, is legendary for funky, artistic, classy, and mostly not-too-expensive rings made by various artisans. It's a fun trip to the Slope anyway if you've never been here, and the folks there are very nice, not the typical jewelry sales people (and not the typical clientele, really). Hubby got a very unusual, but very understated, wedding ring there; people have been admiring it for years. Their web site is www.clay-pot.com.
posted by ROTFL at 5:33 PM on April 2, 2007

Try e-weddingbands.com. Twice the ring, half the price, because they don't have to pay for a storefront. They do quarter sizes, which is very nice. They had no problem exchanging my ring for a smaller size at no extra charge when I misjudged my size, even though the ring was engraved. A++++ WOULD BUY FROM AGAIN.
posted by jellicle at 5:37 PM on April 2, 2007 [1 favorite]

Similar to the Clay Pot (but with fewer selections and cheaper prices) is Catherine Angiel at 43 Greenwich Avenue. I'd strongly recommend checking it out.
posted by mattbucher at 5:54 PM on April 2, 2007 [1 favorite]

I highly recommend Little King Ltd. 319 E. 9th Street.
212-260-6140

My fiancé and I got our engagement bands there and it was a really great experience. They were very knowledgeable, friendly, and great fun. We didn't know anything about jewelery and they really took the time to make sure we got what we wanted, within a price range we were comfortable with.

Most of the stuff they display may seem a little bit out there (they have a lot of skull rings), but they are quite capable of doing very simple, elegant, beautiful designs, so don't be scared off by the display cases.
posted by eggplantia5 at 6:53 PM on April 2, 2007 [1 favorite]

Seconding the Clay Pot. It's definitely worth the trip to Brooklyn.
We got our rings there, similar to these Mokume Gane rings. They were made from facing pieces of metal, so the pattern on each one is a reflection of the other.

They were more expensive than an ordinary wedding band but I didn't want a big rock engagement ring so we decided to splurge. They're really special.
posted by bink at 7:11 PM on April 2, 2007

Another vote for Clay Pot.
posted by mkultra at 7:15 PM on April 2, 2007

We got ours from Herman Rotenberg. He and his wife have a booth at 4 W 47th st. Great people, very friendly, and they helped us find just what we were looking for.
posted by schustafa at 7:31 PM on April 2, 2007

Seconding e-weddingbands.com--maybe not for an engagement ring, but their prices for wedding bands are much better than we saw anywhere else. I found a men's band I liked there, and showed it to the designer who did my wife's engagement ring and wedding band, and she said, essentially, "Just get it from them--I can make the same band but not nearly as cheaply." (I don't think it's the lack of overhead so much as that they buy precious metals in enormous bulk.)

Then the band was too big, twice, and they replaced it, twice, with no hassle whatsoever, and speedily, for just the cost of return shipping. Great customer service, no problem getting a human on the phone.

As for the designer of the engagement ring, we found her through Fragments in Soho.

Clay Pot--our experience there has been mixed. (For other merchandise as well as for wedding rings; we live in the neighborhood and have shopped there a lot.) Definitely give it a look, but don't be surprised if a given salesperson seems uninterested in your business or less than accommodating, especially if you're not looking for high-end stuff.
posted by staggernation at 10:54 PM on April 2, 2007 [1 favorite]

Hmmm. We got our wedding rings at Clay Pot, spent around $150 each 15 years ago (hardly high end) and never felt slighted by sales staff. And I love my ring.
posted by scratch at 6:40 AM on April 3, 2007

2nd Little King. I had them make me a (non-wedding, non-skull) ring and they were helpful, knowledgable, friendly, and more than competent. I went on the advice of someone who did have their wedding bands done there.
posted by sonofslim at 6:57 AM on April 3, 2007

I recommend doyle and doyle on orchard street.
posted by alkupe at 8:44 AM on April 3, 2007

Going against the grain here, but I had an amazing experience at ye olde Tiffany on 5th Avenue. I bought the tiniest engagement ring in the place (and a month or two later, wedding bands), and was treated fantastically well. It might have been my sales dude, I suppose -- a gay biker who grokked that I was a poor scrivener. Sure, you're paying retail. But the quality is impeccable, and you can get it resized (twice) and polished (forever) for free at any Tiffany store. You only do this once* -- so do it right, no?

(*Standard 50% divorce rate disclaimer. And no, I don't work for Tiffany & Co.)
posted by turducken at 12:34 PM on April 3, 2007

Response by poster: Hey, folks - just want to let anyone interested know that I'm definitely reading all this and am very grateful for the replies!

Probably doesn't matter at this point, but FWIW I did mean wedding bands only; we didn't bother with an engagement ring.
posted by cyrusdogstar at 10:09 PM on April 4, 2007