Was your ring bought online?

kerbohl · December 2014

I have a question for people. Did your FI buy your ring from a physical store, or did he order it online? I'm just curious. As the Christmas season comes up, people seem to be buying things more and more online as the years go on, and I was wondering if it also applies to jewelery.

lilacck28 · December 2014

We didn't, but I think we would have, if we didn't need to reset the stone. I didn't want to ship my mom's diamond to anyone. I wanted to hand it to someone I saw in a store. So we shopped around until we found a store that had a good reputation and similar prices as Bluenile or James Allen.

For wedding rings... we would definitely use online (probably Blue Nile.. .their prices are great!), except FI's parents said they'd like to give us money towards our rings... with the caveat that we get them from a store. I think I mentioned in the past that I'd buy the ring online and it freaked them out.

I may still ask a jeweler in CA to make me a custom engraved wedding band (we're in CT)... so that seems like going online to me, because I won't see them in person. But it doesn't seem to bother FI's parents... that I've heard about yet.

ps- I know FI got me a pearl ring from Amazon before we were engaged. He had no qualms with that, and I didn't care about anything other than... FI got me something pretty!

KeptInStitches · December 2014

My ring was bought online through Moissaniteco.com. There was no moissanite available in my area, so online was the way to go.

lacqueredlover · December 2014

We had the stone from my grandmother but we went and had it custom made at a jeweler. I can't imagine buying a diamond online, site unseen (and I literally buy EVERYTHING online haha.) Jewelry though, unless it's something like a David Yurman that you already are positive of the quality, I just wouldn't be comfortable with that.

flyingfoxes · December 2014

FI found the ring online, but I think he actually called the store from Afghanistan and spoke to a salesman about it.

kerbohl · December 2014

I find this really interesting - thanks for the responses! I'm really squeamish about any jewelery bought online, but my husband is all for it. It's a discussion we've had a few times, and I wanted to get other people to weigh in. He wants to buy me a necklace for Christmas, and I'm pretty sure he is thinking about buying online (though he knows how I feel about it), and he usually buys from places like Overstock and the like. Maybe I should lighten up if he buys from more reputable companies online. I just don't like the thought of buying something like jewelery without seeing it up close first.

loro929 · December 2014

I think its definitely more and more a trend to buy jewelry online.

However, if you do decide to go that route, make sure any diamond is accompanied with a corresponding GIA certificate (or related) or a valid, verifiable certificate of authenticity (although this should also be done when purchasing in a store).

thisismynickname2 · December 2014

Personally mine was not, but one of my guy friends is the one who told me all about Blue Nile. He bought his wife's ring there and they raved about the quality.

KatWAG · December 2014

I think an engagement ring is way to big of a purchase to be bought online. I would feel much better going to the store and "kicking the tires"

mikenberger · December 2014

My ring was bought through an online dealer on Amazon.com. I big puffy heart Amazon.com so I'm perfectly okay with it and my ring is awesome. So bingo. But I had it inspected and checked out and it came with a certification etc when it was purchased. I've had to send it back once because I lost a stone but it was replaced within a week.

teddygirl9 · December 2014

Check out pricescope forums. They wil give you so much confidence in buying online.

I don't have a ring yet, but am very PRO online diamond/setting shopping. In general its about 20% cheaper, which either means you pocket the savings, or you get a bigger/better diamond

arrrghmatey · December 2014

My FI went to several jewelers (which he described as the car salesmen of jewelry) to look and ultimately ended up purchasing online. He went with Blue Nile…excellent quality and process. You don't pay commission for employees or overhead, and FI said the quality of the ring he bought from Blue Nile was a lot better than what the stores wanted for the same price (or more!). It comes with GIA certification, too. And excellent customer service….my FI couldn't comment on that enough.

JennyColada · December 2014

DH bought my ring in person. He wanted to pick out my individual diamond and compare the differwnces in color and clarity (which is hard to do online).

vulpiepop · December 2014

FI bought mine at a local gemfaire. He had really specific things in mind, like that the main stone should be a ruby, that the stones should all be conflict free, the quality of the stones, etc. He found exactly what he was looking for while attending the gemfaire for a family friend. It was surprising to me until I went with him to the same faire the next year and saw all of the jewelers there. It ended up being that it was more of a faire where the little mom and pop jewelry stores gathered and set up booths rather than a faire about adding to my rock collection.

kerbohl · December 2014

@KatWAG Your opinion is my opinion exactly. Maybe it's just how I shop, but the "kicking the tires" is a big part of any purchase for me, usually. And there is just something romantic about a man going to a jewelery store and seeing a ring or necklace and saying "oh that's so her" and then purchasing it, rather than clicking through pictures online . . . Maybe that's what I'm hung up on. I'm fine with other online purchases, just jewelery for some reason makes me squeamish when it comes from online.

rosecoloredglasses81 · December 2014

I'm not married or even engaged yet but the rings there waiting

He went and looked in the store first, then got on said stores website and bought the same ring for half the cost!!!

vmj23 · December 2014

Mine wasn't bought online. My now husband was very into physically examining and picking out the perfect/quality diamond. We ended up having my ring custom made, i picked out the setting (with him giving his opinion) and he picked out the diamond for it. We got it from a jewelry exchange type location, not a chain store.

amelisha · December 2014

We bought mine online, from Etsy, because I won't wear or buy diamonds and found my ethically-sourced options in the the stone I wanted (aquamarine) in the metal I wanted were zero at physical stores.

mrscomposer · December 2014

He ordered it from a shop in Vancouver, after finding them on Etsy. The only thing he switched was the gem - the original ring came with a sapphire, so he had them make it in my size with a diamond.

JamieLynn913 · December 2014

Mine was not. FI was really keen on having a custom ring made (setting, stone, etc) so online wouldn't have permitted him to do that. We will probably end up ordering our bands online, as most people I know do.

kerbohl · December 2014

Do you think it makes a difference from country to country? America sort of has a bigger selection when it comes to online retailers - I don't know how many times I have actually looked into ordering something online from Canada, and it comes from a company in the States and therefore I have to pay crazy shipping costs or have to pay at the border.

CMGragain · December 2014

My daughter's ring was purchased online with my help. I used to work for a jewelry corporation many years ago. When her guy told me that he couldn't afford the ring she wanted, I told him I would find it for him. I found a perfect marquise 1 carat stone online from the New York diamond district. It came with the paperwork that mapped and graded the stone (GIA), and had a 30 day return guarantee from the seller. It was exactly what my future son-in-law wanted to spend, and it exceeded daughter's expectations. (She would have been happy with any ring he chose for her.) He took it to a local jeweler to have it verified that it was, indeed, the stone that was described in the paperwork. He then had it mounted in a solitaire platinum mounting and officially proposed to dear daughter!

CMGragain · December 2014

amelisha said:

We bought mine online, from Etsy, because I won't wear or buy diamonds and found my ethically-sourced options in the the stone I wanted (aquamarine) in the metal I wanted were zero at physical stores.

Be very careful with that ring! Aquamarines are a very soft stone, and are easily scratched.

sophhabobopha · December 2014

We got mine on Etsy.

amelisha · December 2014

CMGragain said:

show previous quotes

amelisha said:

We bought mine online, from Etsy, because I won't wear or buy diamonds and found my ethically-sourced options in the the stone I wanted (aquamarine) in the metal I wanted were zero at physical stores.

Be very careful with that ring! Aquamarines are a very soft stone, and are easily scratched.

Uh, thanks for the admonishment, but I realise that as we researched our options thoroughly before making a purchase. I'd rather have a banged-up ethically-sourced and inexpensive aquamarine than have a (mined or lab-made) diamond on my finger, and I'll be happy to wear my cheap, scratched-up ring as long as it lasts as i'm not much into jewelry or symbolism. I'll be just as married if my ring doesn't last forever. I take it off to clean with chemicals or sleep, but other than that I'm really not willing to spend my life worrying for the sake of something worth only a couple hundred bucks. We're just not sentimental people. If it doesn't make it, we'll get another one or I'll wear a plain band.

buttercup1958 · December 2014

amelisha said:

show previous quotes

CMGragain said:

amelisha said:

We bought mine online, from Etsy, because I won't wear or buy diamonds and found my ethically-sourced options in the the stone I wanted (aquamarine) in the metal I wanted were zero at physical stores.

Be very careful with that ring! Aquamarines are a very soft stone, and are easily scratched.

Uh, thanks for the admonishment, but I realise that as we researched our options thoroughly before making a purchase. I'd rather have a banged-up ethically-sourced and inexpensive aquamarine than have a (mined or lab-made) diamond on my finger, and I'll be happy to wear my cheap, scratched-up ring as long as it lasts as i'm not much into jewelry or symbolism. I'll be just as married if my ring doesn't last forever. I take it off to clean with chemicals or sleep, but other than that I'm really not willing to spend my life worrying for the sake of something worth only a couple hundred bucks. We're just not sentimental people. If it doesn't make it, we'll get another one or I'll wear a plain band.

Honestly, I wouldn't be too worried. Aquamarine is 7.5-8 on the Mohs hardness scale and only corundum and diamond are harder (9 for corundum, 10 for diamond) So unless you got into a ring war and use your ring for a weapon or something against diamond I think you should be safe.

amelisha · December 2014

That's actually exactly why we went with something in the beryl family, @buttercup1958‌

I would have considered a (lab) ruby as well but I ended up liking the watery blue colour too much, so aquamarine it was. It's certainly not the first or last time I've had someone try to tell me that my ring was a bad choice, though, lol. It's astonishing how many people have seemed to think they know better than I do about a purchase we made so carefully.

buttercup1958 · December 2014

amelisha I suspected so! I really like aquamarines as well! I honestly may not know much about rings but I've been studying geology for a very long time. I never try to persuade anyone from their ring choice and only offer my opinion when asked.

I do have to say I'm kinda paranoid about pearls since they are only around 3 on the hardness scale. So you could actually scratch it with your finger nail! But as long as people are happy I don't really care. I do have to say though if I got a dollar for every time someone ask me what their birthstone is I would be very rich. Too bad I never know!

ETA: Typo! Can't spell at all

buttercup1958 · December 2014

Whoops finger is 2.5 disregard my silliness!

amelisha · December 2014

buttercup1958 said:

amelisha I suspected so! I really like aquamarines as well! I honestly may not know much about rings but I've been studying geology for a very long time. I never try to persuade anyone from their ring choice and only offer my opinion when asked.
I do have to say I'm kinda paranoid about pearls since they are only around 3 on the hardness scale. So you could actually scratch it with your finger nail! But as long as people are happy I don't really care. I do have to say though if I got a dollar for every time someone ask me what their birthstone is I would be very rich. Too bad I never know!
ETA: Typo! Can't spell at all

I wanted a pearl originally, actually! I have a pair of black pearl earrings that have a very blue sheen and I would have loved a ring to match, but I was too scared in the end because I really would have had to be very careful with it. But my aquamarine is plenty durable for daily wear unless I become a carpenter or something. I will never understand why people think it's okay to make comments like that, though, as if it's polite to assume that someone wouldn't have done that kind of very basic research themselves. It just comes off as veiled criticism and you'd be astonished at how frequently I've gotten it, not just here but IRL.

buttercup1958 · December 2014

amelisha said:

show previous quotes

buttercup1958 said:

amelisha I suspected so! I really like aquamarines as well! I honestly may not know much about rings but I've been studying geology for a very long time. I never try to persuade anyone from their ring choice and only offer my opinion when asked.
I do have to say I'm kinda paranoid about pearls since they are only around 3 on the hardness scale. So you could actually scratch it with your finger nail! But as long as people are happy I don't really care. I do have to say though if I got a dollar for every time someone ask me what their birthstone is I would be very rich. Too bad I never know!
ETA: Typo! Can't spell at all

I wanted a pearl originally, actually! I have a pair of black pearl earrings that have a very blue sheen and I would have loved a ring to match, but I was too scared in the end because I really would have had to be very careful with it. But my aquamarine is plenty durable for daily wear unless I become a carpenter or something. I will never understand why people think it's okay to make comments like that, though, as if it's polite to assume that someone wouldn't have done that kind of very basic research themselves. It just comes off as veiled criticism and you'd be astonished at how frequently I've gotten it, not just here but IRL.

I know I could never wear a pearl ring because I'm way to clumsy! That does sound really pretty though. Oh trust me I know what you mean. V gave me an opal ring and there have been plenty of people telling me to be careful since its so soft, ect ect. I'm like yes I know all of this because wait for it....I researched this! I just secretly roll my eyes and laugh with my co-workers. In my experience, most people who say those things don't realize what it actually takes to create these minerals that are "gemstones".

Was your ring bought online?

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