Where is best place to buy an engagement ring?

wmkeep28 · November 2011

Some people recommended we look at places in the Clark Building. We went down there, and the prices were a little higher than we were hoping for. We then went to Jared. It seemed to have reasonable prices, but I don't know if the quality is lower at a chain store.

Any recommendations?

Britt0412 · November 2011

My fiance went to the Clark building not realy knowing which specific jeweler he wanted. He shopped around a bit and ended up buying my ring at Brooks Diamonds (fourth or fifth floor, I think). It's a smaller boutique and he was beyond happy with his experience there.

carcrashheart · November 2011

my ering is from diamonds international, my wedding band is from frost in the clark building. frost & co was amazing and will be our go to place. they actually fixed my ering for $50 when other jewelers told me it would take $1500 and completely starting the ring over from scratch.

carlyanne05 · November 2011

We went to Garcia's in the Clark Building, a long standing family business, and they made a custom ring w/in the budget we gave them, then later created a matching custom wedding band. The customer service is PHENOMENAL and they actually greet us by name now when we enter the store:) As long as they're around we'll never go anywhere else even though that means travelling to Pittsburgh from DC.

pantherRN · November 2011

We actually got my e-ring, my wedding band, FI's wedding band, and gifts for our moms at the Littman's in the Mall at Robinson. Yes, it's a chain and no, my ring wasn't custom made. It was what we could afford and we've actually had a great experience there. The girl we have been working with and bought everything off of is one of the assistant managers and her name is Chelsea. We really like her and she's done everything possible to make sure we are happy and love the pieces we have chosen. I'm not trying to upset anyone who has a custom ring or something from a designer store. I just wanted you to see that it is possible to have a good experience at a mall store. They get a bad rap sometimes.

cgyvhu · November 2011

FI got my e-ring (and my wedding band) from Blue Nile (bluenile.com). Tons of selection, and great prices. If you really want a custom ring, you could always buy the diamond of blue nile and then have it set by a different jeweler. Blue Nile diamond prices are often better than at stores.

InkedMegs · November 2011

FI bought my E-ring at Jared, so we returned for the bands as well. The rings are semi-custom (FI chose the band but had them put a marquis diamond in it rather than the round diamond it was shown with -- can't guarantee some other guy out there didn't think to do that, too!).

I love my E-ring and our bands. Quality is just fine and so is the service -- they can do almost everything in-house. It's really nice because you don't have to mail your ring anywhere for repairs. When I had my ring re-rhodiumed, I dropped it off late one night and had it back the next day (you can get it back same-day if you really wanted). Zero problems with Jared!!

heb557 · November 2011

I Ditto Panther. My FI got my ring at Littman's and we love it there. We went back and got both of our wedding bands from there. They've been extremely helpful and it's nice that I can go back and get my rings redipped every 12-18 months. The whole crew actully knows us now, we go to Westmoreland mall though. GL!

ljs283 · November 2011

My fiance bought my ring from the Clark Building from Brooks Diamonds...Stacey, the owner, is amazing!! Its on the 3rd floor. We were just there yesterday looking for our wedding bands

jmrupprecht · November 2011

My engagement ring is from Jared, and we will probably get our wedding bands there too. I have no complaints about them and my fiance said he had a great experience picking out the ring with them. He "built" the ring and asked them to get it put together so he could see the final result before he made a decision. I go in about once a month to get it cleaned for free and they are more than helpful. I don't know too much about the quality from a chain place but I love my ring and couldn't imagine it being any more beautiful!

Beth0413 · November 2011

I also recommend Littman's, we used the Ross Park Mall location. My husband had a great experience with them and we used them for our bands also. He chose the band he liked and then he had them bring in a few diamonds to choose from so it's "semi-custom".

Tara5384 · November 2011

My engagement ring is vintage, but we got my wedding band at Littman's in Westmoreland Mall and they were awesome! They even told us when the ring I liked would be on sale so that we could come back and get a cheaper price!

arf3420 · November 2011

I very very highly recommend Doug Annibale at S Kaufman Jewelers on E Ohio St! I was having a really hard time deciding on my engagement ring, then we found Doug. He custom designs jewelery. So I took in a few photos of styles that I liked, and he came up with a unique design/mold based on that. He also was willing to work with us on incorporating family diamonds into the ring - I used my mom's diamond and my FI's grandma's diamond as two of the sidestones - so that made it even more special, plus it saved us a lot of money. It turned out really gorgeous - I get compliments on it constantly. And it's totally different than any other ring I've ever seen in a store. He is working on designing my matching band right now.

The nicest part is that he guarantees his work for life. Just a couple of months ago, one of the sidestones fell out! I was so upset, but I took it to him and he replaced the diamond completely free, and had the ring back to me the next week. His prices are reasonable too. We only paid 1/3 of the value that my ring was appraised at.

He does a referral only business though, so you need to have a referral name to have him design something. PM me if you're interested and I can give you my name and info!

sarilynnep · November 2011

Mine was from an awesome small store chain in Louisville (Shane & Co.) that is a direct diamond importer, but not helpful as it's not here obviously.

My friend has worked at a chain jewelry store (which also owns Jared's) and she gave us a word of advice with rings-

1) The markups on rings at the chains is unfortunately higher than smaller mom and pop stores. My friend who works at the jewelry store actually had her fiance go to Shane & Co, where my ring is from, to get her ring as he got more diamond for his dollars.

2) Although the markup is higher at large chains, you can talk the salesperson down. They are authorized to sell the engagement rings at a significant markdown. Most people just don't bother asking and end up paying the full price. So think of it as buying a car- do not bother paying the 'sticker price.' Negotiate the price. They want to make the sale, and will go down on the price and show different offers and discounts that you wouldn't normally know about.

Hope that helps. One benefit to a chain- if you ever move you can get the ring cleaned and buffed in the city you live in with no problem. I have to go to Louisville to get mine done, which kinda sucks.

Flowerstar1023 · November 2011

Will second Brooks Diamonds in the Clark building. It also helps if your fiance does some shopping around - with all those diamond stores in one location you can really bargain. Brooks had the best bang for the buck though per my fiance (I wasn't involved in the planning/shopping/buying of the ring - and didn't want to be). Good luck!

keystoneXOXO · November 2011

Not sure what your style is or what you're looking for, but I realllyyy wanted something unique and not cookie cutter, and I'm really into vintage and antique style jewelry. I actually found a small antique jeweler in Bloomfield on Liberty Ave, though the shop is actually called Antiques of Shadyside (they moved from Shadyside a few years ago I guess). http://www.antiquesofshadyside.com -- but their site is definitely not a reflection of their business!

My fiance and I had such a great experience there. The owners pulled out ring after ring of anything they thought I'd like, all genuine antiques and gorgeous. It got overwhelming! Then they were willing to actually put aside a few of my favorites for FI to come back later and choose from. The prices are also ridiculously low, since the middleman is cut out, and I really liked the fact that we weren't contributing to the African diamond conflicts. The owner Gary brings in a certified gemologist often, so he got the ring inspected and cleaned it so well it looks completely brand new. People have no idea it's actually from the 1930s.

We're definitely going back there to look for wedding bands.

Britt0412 · November 2011

Glad to hear others have also had great experiences with Stacy at Brooks Diamonds. My fiancé did a ton of research and a good bit of shopping around. In the end, he felt the most comfortable and confident buying from Stacy. I wasn't involved in shopping but have been into the store a few times for sizing, etc. and everyone there is just wonderful to work with.

jasonhivner · November 2011

I got my fiances engagment ring from Urbanowitz Jewelers in Peters Township. It was one of the best shopping experiences I have ever had. John never tried to push me in any direction and took the time to educate me about what I need to look for to fit into my budget. I think they have a bigger office in Caste Village, but the Peters store was perfect.

manndy3287 · November 2011

My fiance went to Littman in Ross Park Mall for my e-ring. He went to some other jewelry store, but didn't like the business. They were very helpful and great to work with.

He got the lifetime warrenty on it. My fiance's SIL had a diamond fall out of her wedding band within the first year of having it, so he wanted to make sure my ring had the warrenty. I am glad he went with Littman and not a Pittsburgh-based jewelry store because since getting engaged we moved to Columbus, Ohio and Littman (it's called Fred Meyer in Columbus) is here. The nice thing about the warrenty is that if something happens with the ring, they replace whatever is wrong without even asking what happened. The little jewelry stores did not have that warrenty.

My e-ring might not be custom, but I love it and couldn't think of a different ring on my finger. We will be going back to Littman/Fred Meyer for our wedding bands.

teryan2321 · November 2011

Fiance got my engagement ring at Frost & Co. at the Clark Building and I LOVE IT. The girl who helped him, Sarah Lee ( how could I forget that name?) was very helpful.
But I got his ring at Moses Jewelers in Seven Fields, and I cannot recommend them enough!! Larry might very well be the nicest guy I've ever met. Excellent, excellent customer service. Ordered rings in for my finance just to try on the size. Put my ring on layaway, told me to pay what I could when I could. Once, I mailed in a payment and he called me just to let me know he got it. I had a watch on layaway there, too, for a wedding gift for my fiance, when low and behold, his best friend got him a watch a month ago for being the best man in HIS wedding!! When I explained the situation, they let me take the watch off and apply what I had paid on it to his ring. Everyone there was extremely nice, helpful, and courteous. We plan on going there for any future jewelry purchases!

bamclaughl · November 2011

I don't post much, but HAD to about this, particularly when I saw someone suggest Shadyside Antique Jewelers (yes, really in Bloomfield! -it just relocated from Shadyside awhile back) -- where I got my engagement ring. I could NOT recommend them more highly. This is going to be a long story/review but hopefully it might help someone else out there, and bring business to an awesome local shop!!

My fiance was VERY nervous about getting me a ring I loved while also not having to blow all his savings -- we are young graduate students, and know we'll be ok in a year or two, but are really just starting to save. I tried to educate myself a bit to help ease his mind, while also making it clear that I really wanted it to be HIS thing to go and get the ring, even if I gave him a fairly specific idea of what I wanted (my reasoning was -- I'll do most of the wedding planning -- he can do this much for me!! But frankly, while I love him, it's not for his fashion sense, so I thought me doing some ground work might be a good idea

A mutual, good female friend of ours (one of my BMs) suggested she go shopping with him to help, but she was out-of-the-country for a month at that point, and he and I were both anxious to get the show-on-the-road... she was asking me a lot of questions, too, about what I might want in a ring. And I honestly realized that I really had no idea!! I knew from her that he was getting VERY caught up in all the Cs... (you know, color, clarity, all that good stuff

, what to sacrifice to stay in his budget (full disclosure - about $2500), what metal to get, etc. It was getting a little ridiculous.

I decided, then, to go one afternoon I had off from work to scope things out. I kind of got the idea that, maybe if I got a vintage/antique ring (I had absolutely no qualms w/ having a ring that might have already been worn by someone -- diamonds are around forever, technically!), it would just be about a ring I fell in love with, and not a ring that was 'perfect' in terms of its metal, diamond clarity, etc etc etc. I first went to Marlene Harris's in Blawnox. I'd heard really good things about her. Marlene was pretty entertaining to talk to, and clearly knows her stuff about jewelry, but she was *extremely* brusque and pushy. I told her what I knew my fiancee's budget was, and she kept showing me rings above it, saying that if he really loved me, it wouldn't matter if it was a few hundred more (!!!). She also showed me a ring I fell in love with... only to realize that she'd 'accidentally' (I still give her the benefit of the doubt that maybe it WAS an accident) -- had the STYLE number 2700, NOT the *price* $2700 (it was actually $4200). And of course that ended up being my favorite. Another apparent part of her reasoning for showing me rings outside of his budget was, as she kept putting it, '[I'm] a 'big girl,' so [I] need a big ring.' Honestly, I could not make any of this up. And to be clear, I'm 6 feet tall, and nothing close to overweight -- but one of my pet peeves as a tall girl is being called 'big'! Anyway, like I said, she is a definite personality, and was interesting to talk to in an 'outgoing New Yorker' kind of way (I believe that's where she's from), but it left a bad taste in my mouth.

My experience at Shadyside Jewelers could not have been any more different. They brought out box after box of rings to show me, and the wife, Leenie, spent probably an hour with me. They, unlike Marlene, did not have prices already listed on their rings, which was awesome -- it would've terrified me to try to bargain with Marlene (I can't even imagine how much my fiance, who is a bit of a nervous type, would've despised having to deal with her), but they made it VERY clear they would work with him and didn't even let me look at anything they weren't sure they could sell him for what he was able to afford, tax and all. She was at no point pushy or rude, and as I looked we chatted about lots of things. (I should say, though, that she said something along the lines of that, while her husband is the 'business guy' - she's sort of the 'face' of the operation -- and I agree that she would probably be the best of the two for helping with this kind of thing...so I might even call ahead to make sure she's there at the time you're going. It definitely helps to have a woman's touch for this kind of thing!)

Ultimately, I found two rings -- one that was very pretty, and one that was INCREDIBLE... and actually VERY similar in style to the one I'd loved at Marlene's that she'd 'accidentally' shown me, but about half as much. (In general, their prices were MUCH more reasonable than Marlene's. At Marlene's I only saw four or five rings I liked enough in that range to try on, but at Shadyside Jewelers, I tried on dozens.) They held both for my fiance to come check out when he was able (I warned them our friend would not be home to go shopping with him for two weeks, and they were adamant that was fine) -- and, to be about as nice as you could get -- ultimately steered him in the direction of the one they knew I was particularly in love with (while still giving him the illusion of having a choice in the matter...HA!

. And actually, the ring that I picked didn't even end up being an antique or vintage - it was a new ring, which they do occasionally have, but has a very vintage look to it (it's a princess cut in a halo setting, with pave diamonds on the band). One thing I will say is that my fiance told me it took a bit longer (by a few days) for the ring to be set than he'd expected from talking to them -- they had to send it out because, though they do many repairs/modifications/resizings in-house, this was a particularly delicate setting design for a ring, so they wanted to send it out to someone who specialized in it. I appreciated that they'd do that, though, instead of risking not doing it perfectly if it was beyond their areas of expertise. I've since talked to a lot of other people that it turns out have gotten rings there and no one's ever mentioned anything like this. So, were I giving them 'stars' here, it's not like I'd knock one off or anything

I LOVE my ring and get compliments on it ALL the time -- a number of my good female friends have made the comment that it's 'not a ring you'd expect a grad student to wear!' which is a real compliment!

We will DEFINITELY be going back there to get our wedding rings. Also, this might not sound like a big thing to many of us -- but on a yelp review, it makes it very clear that they are LGBT friendly there, based on the female reviewer's very positive experience getting a ring there with her girlfriend/fiance. This review really reflects how generally awesome and welcoming the couple that owns the store is, though. I can't imagine how sad and disheartening it must be to have what should really be a joyous thing ruined because of a bigoted salesperson.

Overally, if it's not clear, I can't recommend them any more highly. After looking around at prices online, it was insane to me how much more affordable diamonds can be if you are willing to look at antique/vintage ones -- or even if you want a new one but are willing to go somewhere small and family owned. Lastly, I'll say that I know they do business with a number of highly reputable social service agencies that manage the guardianship and estates of seniors. This made me feel very confident that their prices are fair. Plus, you'll be supporting a local business. How much better can you get?!

keystoneXOXO · November 2011

bamclaughl, I have to admit I read your whole post because I'm also clearly interested in another person's experience there! I loved them and can't wait to head back for wedding band shopping.

emilyb213 · November 2011

We went to Orr's in Squirrel Hill for my ring (I got to pick it out)...they were fabulous to work with. I wanted a fairly uncommon gemstone as the center stone instead of a diamond, and they worked with their sources to find exactly what I wanted, despite the fact that it took two different shipments totaling nine stones. They also had the stone I eventually chose cut to the shape I wanted (it was originally an oval and I wanted a cushion). The designer did an amazing job with my setting...despite having a larger center stone, all of the comments I've received on my ring have been some variation of "It's so dainty." Their employees are not pushy at all, and don't try and upsell you to a more expensive ringl; if you give them your budget, they'll stick with it when showing you rings. We will definitely be going back there for the wedding bands, as we could not have had a better experience.

lydiagg · November 2011

My fiance and I went to look at rings at Bucci Jewelers on the 2nd or 3rd floor of the Clark Building downtown. His brother bought his sister-in-law's ring there.

They remembered his brother and sister-in-laws names and were very helpful! Also when he returned they knew him by name from the moment he walked in.
They make all their erings. The nice thing is that it isn't as high of a markup as the bigger name stores.

We looked at rings in Feb of this year - there were several that I really liked - they had something for everyone there and not an overwhelming selections. They also can do custom rings . Feb was the only time I was in the store but from the experience I had and from the expereince my fiance has said - they are easy to work with.

It does have all blue 70's carpet and is at the end of the hallway - but I love my ring and its amazing ! They did a fantastic job and from what my fiance's brother and sister in law say they are always a pleasue to work with.

My ring came with the wedding band - and we will be going back to get my fiances band !

I like Bucci because it is a family owned business and the jewelry itself wins you over without all the extreme lighting and super elegant feel.

before the proposal

clearly I said yes !

skinsgirl · January 2012

Emily B: We also went to Orr's, and the experience was beyond fantastic. Orr's has been the jeweler for my fiance's family for many years, but I had never been there prior to being engaged. My fiance had such a wonderful experience there that he took me back a few days after we were engaged, to introduce me! Their quality is truly the best in the area, and the selection cannot be beat. They carry all of the best designers, but also have a selection to fit almost any budget. There was nothing pushy about any of the sales people (we recommend Jen!!). They truly treat you like royalty there. I could not say enough about how wonderful Orr's is.

Where is best place to buy an engagement ring?

Re: Where is best place to buy an engagement ring?

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