Might help speed the divorce process with the karma attached too!Maybe Stinkyboy can offer you a good deal on one of his spares?
I'm just sayin'.
Might help speed the divorce process with the karma attached too!Maybe Stinkyboy can offer you a good deal on one of his spares?
Did you move her into a trailer after the ceremony?The wife's ring was less than a couple hundred. The diamond was my grandma's, and we got it mounted on a new ring. Of course, we were both still in school at the time.
Our whole wedding was less than $1000. The church was free since her dad and uncle(?) did some repair work, her dress was sewn by her grandma, one of our mom's friends did the cakes...
When we met I was living in a trailer. Does that count?Did you move her into a trailer after the ceremony?
DOOOod! DO NOT LET HER KNOW ABOUT RIDEMONKEY!!! ISN'T ANYTHING SACRED TO YOU?Wow thanks guys for all the insight.......it's 9:30 in the morning and I got 3 pages of posts LOL.....
The 3 weeks worth of pay she'd get squat.....she makes considerable more money than I do. About $800-900 more a month than me. I told her what I can comfortably afford......which is in that $3000-3500 range and that's really all I can afford. So she stepped up and offered to help......hell it is not just about her and me, we're suspose to be becomming "ONE"
I got a quote I emailed an online place about........$1700 for the wedding band......and like $3700 for the platium setting WITHOUT the retarded center diamond. I'm guessing that can run another $1,000 easy or more depending on the quality. That is a brand-name ring designer...Kirk Kara I think.
So that's already way outside of our budget combined. We need to go to the nearest local place to check rings out (about 30-40 minutes away) and see what they have to offer. I know I won't buy anything unless it is certified by AGS or GIA that is for sure. I know there's lots of crooks out there too just trying to rip people off. I have seen the diamond chart with the 4C's and I know that I'd rather have a smaller stone of higher quality than some giant chunk of so-so quality.
I'll have to re-read this stuff when I am at home so I can better digest it all. Maybe I'll let her read this as well so she can see the different suggestions and such. We are both as new as can be on this....and so far the only places we've gone to we have either been ignored OR they just didn't have anything that struck our eyes. She has been going to a jewler now for a while getting pieces made and he seems to do a good job, just takes his sweet time doing it. So who knows...
The first rule of ridemonkey...DOOOod! DO NOT LET HER KNOW ABOUT RIDEMONKEY!!! ISN'T ANYTHING SACRED TO YOU?
:huh:
Insert bike, well, trip is good too...and that's exactly my thought!I'm with Wumpus on this one.
We were both still in grad school and I think I spent about $300. I've thought about getting something bigger and better for her. I'm pretty sure that MzDNA would murder me in my sleep if I pissed away a bunch of money on another ring. I can hear it now ... "What the FVCK were you thinking? Do you know what kind of trip we could have taken for that kind of money?"
In my experience, Tiffany charges a $15000 premium for the blue box. That's an expensive box.I'm not by any means, "made of money", so when a co-worker of mine suggested Tiffany, I just laughed. She persisted and I laughed again. It took a few weeks of this before I finally agreed to go 'look'.
I got the BEST service and product selection compared to every other jewelry store I had been visiting. Most of the mall type stores and similar just see you as $$$. The service I got at Tiffany went well beyond what I would have expected given I was spending ~3000 on a ring. And everything they have is top-notch. They don't deal with stones under a certain level.
Because of their continuing service, we then bought our bands there, and it's the first (and last) place I go when looking for any nice piece of jewelry for my wife.
Sure, they can sell you a $100k necklace, but they are just as willing to sell you one for $1k. I have since been to stores in DC, Vegas, and Philley. I have received the same service in all stores (even when wearing ripped up jeans and an old bike race t-shirt.)
Good luck on your search. btw, we did not go with a traditional single stone ring, but a multi-stone platinum band as she likes to ride and was worried about losing the stone. Oh, and speaking of that, she DID lose a stone out of the ring. I took it back and they replaced it FREE. What other jewelry store would do that? And you don't have to take it in for cleanings to ensure a warranty. They cover their work, period.
WERD!OK, some more info for for you...
1) there is NO GUIDELINE about how much to spend. Yes, it is a marketing ploy by DeBeers. Any girl who tells you how much to spend is not worth the ring.
2) Do NOT go to a small jeweler, or a chain store. You are in SB, right? Go to downtown L.A. As was said about the NYC jewelry district, you WILL save a ton. Jewelry has a 300% markup from the jewelry district to the store. We're talking HUNDREDS of stores/jewelers, with THOUSANDS of gems.
3) Do NOT tell her how much it costs, EVER!!!!!! it takes away from the romance of the ring. Remember that the ring is a symbol, NOT an investment. Your money will be better spent on a nice honeymoon, or on a house rather than an expensive ring. Remember: most people can't tell the difference between a cubic zirconia and a diamond, let alone the difference between a high quality diamond and a mid quality diamond.
4) Do your homework about whatever stone you are going to purchase. And not just here on RM. I can tell you about sapphires and a bit about diamonds, but that's about it. And truly high quality diamonds are EXTREMELY expensive.
5) It's the quality of the stone makes the stone high quality, not the box, brand, or store name. Stay away from Tiffany's.
That's the First Rule of marriage.... Don't disclose anything!WERD!
but you forgot to tell him to NOT TELL HIS GF ABOUT RIDEMONKEY!
No good can come of her (or anyone else) thinking it's a diamond when it's really a CZ (or vice versa for that matter)3) Do NOT tell her how much it costs, EVER!!!!!! it takes away from the romance of the ring. Remember that the ring is a symbol, NOT an investment. Your money will be better spent on a nice honeymoon, or on a house rather than an expensive ring. Remember: most people can't tell the difference between a cubic zirconia and a diamond, let alone the difference between a high quality diamond and a mid quality diamond.
No, my point was to maybe get a lower quality diamond and put the savings into a honeymoon or house or something. Not to get a CZ. And I never asked my wife to help with the cost of ANY of the wedding jewelry. She found a bunch of photos of rings she liked and I went from there.No good can come of her (or anyone else) thinking it's a diamond when it's really a CZ (or vice versa for that matter)
:biggrin:
I'm not big into jewelry - but my engagement and wedding bands are two things that I LOVE and wear all the time except when mountain biking or doing dishes (lucking I do neither that often LOL). Ever fall on one of your fingers and watch it swell? It would suck to have those rings cut off. But I digress.
Get her what she wants and she'll love it - but don't ask her to pay for part of it - that's just cheesey. She can buy the wedding band she wants.
relax - it was a joke.No, my point was to maybe get a lower quality diamond and put the savings into a honeymoon or house or something. Not to get a CZ. And I never asked my wife to help with the cost of ANY of the wedding jewelry. She found a bunch of photos of rings she liked and I went from there.
You pay shipping, and I'll send you a box for free. I've got a few laying around. Don't know what kind of 'experience' you had, but I'd say it is NOT typical.In my experience, Tiffany charges a $15000 premium for the blue box. That's an expensive box.
You pay shipping, and I'll send you a box for free. I've got a few laying around. Don't know what kind of 'experience' you had, but I'd say it is NOT typical.