Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with diamonds and engagementring

Engagement Ethics Optimization: Estate Jewelry / MYOR

lalochezia — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 10:41:11 -0800

Buying an engagement ring. Advice wanted on a) Estate Jewelry: recommendations on how to buy & not get ripped off. b) Make-your-own-ring workshops: how to get a good used diamond. c) recommendations for both of the above in the LA / SoCal area. My sweetie wants a diamond ring for her engagement. I want to give her one. I would like to avoid Tifffany, Big Box stores and even (gasp) Blue Nile. I'd either like to make my own ring or buy her an unusual used one.

I'd like to either

i) Buy her Estate Jewelry: it's more unique, doesn't contribute significantly to the demand for new diamonds, and considering the value of diamonds drops precipitously after being used, should provide a good deal.

How do I get a good deal? How do I avoid being ripped off? Does anyone have any good recommendations from PERSONAL experience in Southern California with used/estate jewelry?

Alternatively

ii) There are workshops (in SF and NYC) where you can craft your own engagement ring with your own hands: they provide eco-gold and tuition and you provide the stone.
Does anyone know whether there is a similar person/organization who runs a workshop like this in SoCal? (google fails me on this count)? How would I go about buying a used diamond for this process?

I have seen the many questions on AskMe before, but none address the points above. Please: no all diamonds are evil spiels. No non-diamond gems. No new natural diamonds. If anyone can show me white synthetic diamonds that are indistinguishable from the natural stuff, go right ahead. I know her ring size and I know her taste: we've looked at rings together & have pictures of ones she likes.

I've made my peace with buying some compressed carbon. I just want to perform an optimization on the nature of the transaction to maximize my ethics within the framework of buying a Rock.

Romantic symbolism: conflict-free and on the cheap

kyleg — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 19:32:18 -0800

Help me find a quality, non-diamond engagement ring that wont plunge me deeper into debt. My fiancee and I have been engaged for long enough that it's getting annoying and pretty ridiculous that she doesn't have a ring yet. We are both aware of the sins of the diamond industry, but she likes the look of diamonds or light-colored gemstones.

We've been to jewelers in person to find out what styles we like, but their prices range from too much to completely insane, and there's too much focus on the hard-sell of the diamond. Where can we go to find what we're looking for, either in Chicago, NE Indiana, or online?

What we're looking for: emerald-cut stone, plain or engraved white gold band, antique style, pave halo around the stone (without using diamonds, which is seemingly impossible). But nothing too fancy. Is a custom setting our best option? Is there any way to do this on a tight budget?

Capital jewelry

thewittyname — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 14:18:10 -0800

I'm looking for recommendations for a reputable jeweler in the Washington DC area. I'm going to be buying an engagement ring, and I have a pretty good idea of what I want and how much I want to pay for it. I've looked around on-line, but I want to visit some real stores as well. I'd prefer to stay away from mall chains like Kay Jewelrs and the such, but I have no experience with buying jewelry of any kind. I'm worried about getting scammed, can anyone help?

Any recommendations (especially for shops in Montgomery County, Maryland) would be greatly appreciated.

What could my friend do to avoid being bullied by his fiancee's family?

taumeson — Mon, 24 May 2004 13:25:09 -0800

There's already been a question on AskMe about engagement ring advice, but I'm looking for something a little different. My buddy just spent $10,000 on an engagement ring because his fiance is feeling the pressure of being a brand new attorney in NYC and wanting to look the part. He didn't want to, but he did it anyway, cause her family was giving her the "If he loves you, he'd spend the money" spiel and it was really getting to her.

What could he have done at that point? She's a great girl, just a little prone to doing what her family wants her to do, so "RUN" isn't an appropriate response. Also, what is an appropriate price? $10,000 is about two months salary, but it seems extreme.

Google's not really any help....strangers who I've interacted with (ala MeFites) are significantly better than strangers I have not (ala some random webpage).