Engagement Ring

ahende04

Hey Ladies,

I am not sure if this goes here or not, but I was not sure where else to put it. My FI and I got engaged in Sept 2012 and are getting Married Aug 2, 2014. FI purchased an engagement ring from Zales because of their trade-in policy and us not having a lot of money. I went to get the ring cleaned and the jeweler informed us that the warranty covers the band, but not the diamonds due to them being bonded by another company. My ring is currently being cleaned, but now I am wary due to the diamonds not having any insurance. I am torn as to whether or not FI and I should go ahead and trade-in the ring and get a bridal set, or if I will be bummed later on for not keeping the original ring. It was the ring he proposed with, with intention of me trading it in when we had more money. Anyway, would you ladies trade it in if you were in this situation. The stipulation is that we put the trade-in on something at least twice the price, which the bridal sets should be anyway!

ahende04

Here is a picture of the original ring

Maggie0829

Do you not have actual insurance on your ring like through an insurance agency not just the store?  If you don't you should get jewelry insurance pronto.  Most times they can just add this into your homeowners or renter's insurance policy and it will only make the monthly/bi-yearly/yearly (whatever you have) payment go up minimally.

SBmini

I believe you are talking about warranty. Your ring should be insured through your homeowners or renters insurance if it is lost or stollen. A lost diamond would be a warranty item. 

tinaisodd

can you clarify some? my E ring is also from Zales and the warranty we purchased covers both the diamonds and the band, as long as they are inspected every six months. did you purchase a different type of warranty?  and when do you plan on "trading up", because i know you can purchase the insurance then. and i agree with the other ladies, you should have it insured as well through home owners or elsewhere.

ahende04

I am sorry I do mean warranty. I do not have insurance on it due to not having rental or homeowners insurance yet. This is still something I am looking into. The E ring is from Zales, but because my ring was a "special order?" The Diamonds are not bonded by the warranty. I am not bound to getting it cleaned/inspected every 6 months, but I just found out that there is NO coverage of any kind on the diamonds. I did not realize that FI and I knew so little about rings. Does the added warranty not cover against theft or loss?  We paid an extra 100 some dollars for a warranty only to find out that it doesn't cover the diamonds at all. I will get insurance as soon as I figure how to do it separately, but I am unsure of what to do about the ring. Zales sales-person stated that since the diamonds were not bonded to the warranty that they automatically give there is no way about getting a warranty from them on the diamonds.


Did all of this just get a lot more clear? or a lot more complicated?

silver0319

FI and I don't have rental or homeowners insurance either, but I got my ring insured through Jewelers Mutual. I had to submit a copy of the appraisal from our jeweler when I first got it insured, and I think I pay around $70/year. It's definitely worth the piece of mind knowing if anything happens, it's covered. edited for spelling

ahende04

But if I can get either one insured it brings me to my original question....Would you "trade in" your ring or would you be sentimentally drawn to your original ring? If there was a new ring, would you miss the original? This was the original plan, but now I am second guessing

SBmini

If you like your ring, there's no reason to change it. But you may not always like it, and when that happens, I don't think there is anything wrong with upgrading. My aunt, who has been married for 35 years just got a new wedding set. Her diamond kept coming loose, so they opted to replace over continuing to fix.

A ring is simply a symbol of your love and commitment to one another, there's nothing that says you need to be committed to the ring. You can also do something else with the original ring/stones. Like use the diamonds for a necklace or something, so you still have them. 

tinaisodd

have you looked for you "trade-up" set? that may help you decide if there is an emotional attachment to your ring or if you're just second guessing yourself. as for the warranty situation i've never heard of that, though i don't trust Z ales further than i can throw them. my friend just got a custom ring from Kay's and her entire set is under warranty. 

ahende04

Thank you all for the input. I am going to wait until I go pick up my ring from it's cleaning. I will look around and if nothing looks right then I know it is because my ring is MY ring for a reason. We are found an insurance plan, just have to gather the appraisal documents, which I already have in my files. Thank you again for all your help!!!!

silver0319

StageManager14 said:

Anyone who doesn't have renters insurance (excluding homeowners) should get it ASAP, but that's another issue. OP, you need to insure your ring regardless, because a warranty is not the same as insurance. I wouldn't trade it in unless you have the money to now, but then again, I wouldn't trade the ring H proposed with for the world anyway. It sounds like you are unsure if you want to trade your ring in or not, so don't do it until you are sure. Get an insurance policy on it, if it is worth enough that you're worried about replacing it if something happens, then you can transfer that policy to the new ring if you do trade it in.

You can also add on your wedding bands and other jewelry to your ering policy. I get emails periodically from Jewelers Mutual asking if there's anything I want to add on. Stage, I definitely agree about the insurance. The only reason why we don't have renter insurance is because we "rent" my grandmother's house and are covered under her homeowners policy.

rel1988

We added my ring to our homeowner's insurance and it only costs $15 a year. Well worth it!