Starting over with a new jeweler

We went today to go pick up the diamond from J. Brown to find that they had really done absolutely nothing with the diamond. The diamond was still in the pendant that it was originally set in and it was still dirty, so in three weeks, they clearly hadn't gotten very far. We got a few evil eyes from people who had worked with us in the store when we came in and then got nasty with us on the phone. They glared, I glared right back at their big, incompetent faces.

We decided to go straight to Edward Arthur since everyone (including me, of course ;) ) seemed to secretly like the ring they showed us at Edward Arthur better than the one at J. Brown. It was definitely more impressive-looking than the one at J. Brown, so to Edward Arthur we went.

My fiance's mother wanted to get an amethyst in the pendant that housed the ring, since she obviously didn't want to just have an empty pendant. J. Brown had quoted $150 to place an amethyst in the pendant (which seems pretty damn high considering amethysts are very cheap), so we figured we'd go to Edward Arthur to see what they would quote for the work.

Back in Edward Arthur, we went straight back to that ring setting we had looked at and had fallen in love with before, placed an order for it immediately, and asked them for a price on the amethyst. The engagement ring, with all diamonds in 14k white gold was quoted at about $1460 including tax, though the price may change slightly by Tuesday, when the order for the setting will actually be placed. We also looked at wedding bands and asked for a price for the amethyst, only to feel like J. Brown was trying very hard to rip us off.

The wedding bands at J. Brown cost $350 (before tax) for mine (plain 14k white gold), and $750 (before tax) for my fiance's (also plain 14k white gold). For about the same price at Edward Arthur, we could get a nicer, more designed band in 14k white gold.

The amethyst at Edward Arthur was quoted for $30. $30! We aren't talking about a crappy stone here; we're talking AAA quality amethyst. My fiance's mother just stared at him, realizing that J. Brown had just tried to swindle her out of at least $120 and they hadn't even guaranteed her that they were going to give her a AAA quality amethyst (it very well might have been, but I didn't hear that come out of their mouths).

I was seriously relieved to get the diamond from J. Brown and get that order started with Edward Arthur; they are closer to us than J. Brown, and the ring looks nicer too. I told them about our issues with J. Brown and that we would like to get the ring as quickly as they can manage to do it due to the 3 week delay that J. Brown put us through, so hopefully things will work out. They told us 2-5 weeks for the ring, so I'm hoping it will be done on the earlier side of that! The setting is stunning just as I remember it, so hopefully it will look that much better with our diamond in it!