The ring, at long last!

I got the ring back from Edward Arthur very soon after placing an order with them, and when I saw it, I was absolutely floored. The ring is gorgeous! Even in my imagination the ring wasn't as beautiful as it is! The pictures don't do the ring justice, but you can get an idea of what it looks like. I've very happy with it and I hope others are successful as I was in getting their engagement rings!

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!

Jeweler 6: Edward Arthur

We had heard that Edward Arthur was a locally-operated jeweler, and that they were amazingly knowledgeable about jewelery, so we were eager to check them out. The first thing that hit us when we walked into the store was how absolutely gorgeous the store was. Everything sparkles and shines in the most dream-like and amazing way. We definitely felt out of place with our graphic T-shirts and loose-fitting jeans. Regardless of the way we stood out like a sore thumb, the employees greeted us very nicely, introducing themselves, asking our names, and referring to us by our first names.

We described to the man we were working with what we were looking for. He led us over to the case that had all of their ring mountings. I just about fell over looking at how absolutely gorgeous their ring settings were. The lighting was set just right to knock the socks off of anyone. The rings here were a bit pricier than at other places, but you can definitely appreciate why that is. Not only did they have the emerald accents we were looking for, but there were diamond accents abound! Each ring was designed very beautifully and could be tweaked a little to fit someone's fancy.

What we had heard about their knowledge was absolutely true and we were both blown away by the amount of information the man knew about, not only our diamond and its cut, but all of the perfect ways to complement the diamond and to draw out its features in a ring. We left that store in such a daze that we actually forgot to get a card from the man we dealt with, and had to return for it.

The selection of rings is not very expansive, but my fiance liked that there was no need for a catalog in this store. We were both getting sick of looking at the same catalog over and over again, and actually getting to touch and see the ring up close was definitely a breath of fresh air.

This jeweler was placed immediately at #1 on our list of jewelers who we were considering getting the engagement ring done with.

Knowledge: A+
Demeanor: A+
Selection of rings: B
Willingness to find information: B
Estimated Price: $1500 (diamonds abound!)
Overall Grade: B++