Hello all! I'm new here, clearly. I hope this isn't a repeat inquiry, but I've been lurking for a few days and haven't seen this specific question come up in the back log. But if it has and I'm forcing you to repeat yourselves, I'll happily cower and beg for mercy.
A little (lot) background: My SO and I consider ourselves NEY. We're generally laid back, but I do care about having a ring and when it's on my finger, we'll pop the champagne and make announcements. I know for a lot of people this means that we ARE engaged, but for us personally that is not the terminology we use at this point. We have a life commitment whether we ever actually get married or not -- so for us, 'engagement' literally refers to the ceremony planning. Marriage is valuable to me, but it's not the end all be all that defines my relationship. Hope that's a kosher POV here.
So basically, after the initial "whoa, we're seriously maybe going to do the whole wedding thing" convo with my SO, we decided on a few things: 1) I would have equal if not more input on the ring selection, 2) we want a guaranteed reputable jeweler (i.e., no eBay or Etsy; he thinks they aren't vetted well enough), and 3) no white diamonds. This is more of a taste issue than ethical qualms since I know there are ways to get eco sourced stones.
As of now, we are actively searching for a ring, though we expect it to take at least a few months since it's a large purchase. We have the stone narrowed down to a pink sapphire, a blue sapphire, or a black diamond. I would also like a rose gold band, but that's less important. I would prefer to spend <$2500, but he is insisting on broadening it to <$4000 (within our price range, no debt worries, but still a little high for me. He says I'm going to wear it daily and a higher cost ring will probably take that usage more.)
Actual question: The point of this blather is to ask if anyone here is familiar with Gemvara.com?
We've had fun creating different looks and it's the best I've found in terms of having pure gemstones (as opposed to, say, a blue sapphire surrounded by white diamonds...fine for others, but again, not my taste). Also, a lot of my favorites are well within MY ideal price range, which is fantastic.
However, like my SO is concerned about eBay/Etsy, I'm concerned about the internet in general. As much as I love these rings (seriously, some of them I totally LOVE), I don't want to end up with poor quality, a poor fit, etc. I'm also nervous that the online images won't translate to the real thing.
Anyone have positive reviews/horror stories? Or general advice for buying/creating/welding/conjuring a non-white diamond ring?
Thanks so much in advance!