This post is in honor of one of my hubby's very good friends, Gabe, who just proposed to his girlfriend, Athena, while on an Alaskan cruise! Congratulations guys! We can't wait to be at your wedding next year... and we certainly can't wait to go back to the Bay Area to visit! =)
Even though my hubby wasn't the first of all of his friends to get married, he certainly isn't the last either. So for those friends who are just thinking about proposing or ring shopping, they would call up my hubby for advice on diamonds. I totally enjoy listening in on their conversations, and I have to say I am pretty impressed with my other half. He would explain in detail not just 4 but the 5 C's to them:
Even though my hubby wasn't the first of all of his friends to get married, he certainly isn't the last either. So for those friends who are just thinking about proposing or ring shopping, they would call up my hubby for advice on diamonds. I totally enjoy listening in on their conversations, and I have to say I am pretty impressed with my other half. He would explain in detail not just 4 but the 5 C's to them:
Carat; Clarity; Color; Cut; and COST!
Photo Credit: Jessica Claire{I love this picture taken by Jessica Claire. It's actually not so much the rings, but I just love the Tiffany blue boxes and the white ribbon! It's so classic!}
Photo Credits: Cartier, Chanel, and Harry WinstonNow you are wondering how and where my hubby got all that knowledge from. No, no, no... it's definitely not from me! After we got engaged back in 2004, we spent about 3 months looking for my perfect diamond and setting. My hubby knew better not to choose a ring without me as I am very picky about EVERYTHING, especially something that I am going to wear for the rest of my life! He wouldn't dare propose with just any ring! =)
We had gone in to many different jewelry stores, and we learned so much every time we walked out. This was back when we were still living in San Francisco. The very first store we went to was Derco at the Gift Center. I knew what kind of setting I wanted, and the lady just brought out trays after trays of wedding sets for me to look at. Honestly after 15 minutes, they all started looking the same to me and that was JUST for the setting.
Then we sat at another counter to look at all the different loose diamonds. The staff handed my hubby and I the loupe to check out the inclusions, and we looked at each other like - what are we supposed to look for? I couldn't find anything, so was that a flawless diamond? After 2 hours of non-stop staring at all the blings, we were totally "blinged-out" and decided it was time to go.
We were so incredibly overwhelmed after that first weekend, but we got home and read up more about diamonds and how to choose a diamond. After weeks and weeks and weeks of looking at them, we were getting really good at picking the nice ones! And we learned about all the other things as well from the different certifications like GIA, EGL, IGI... to the proportions of the table, the crown, the pavilion and the girdle! It was quite an education.
I am not going to go into details of the 4C's here because you can find that on a lot of the websites out there, but for those of you who are just in the process of ring shopping, take your time and really educate yourself. Even though they always say diamonds are a girl's best friend, it truly is an investment and you want to make sure that the diamond or the ring setting that you are getting is the best value. Ask lots of questions at the store and don't be pressured by the sales staff just because they want to close on a deal.
Or... you can always call my hubby for advice and emotional support too! He is very good at it now! =)
We had gone in to many different jewelry stores, and we learned so much every time we walked out. This was back when we were still living in San Francisco. The very first store we went to was Derco at the Gift Center. I knew what kind of setting I wanted, and the lady just brought out trays after trays of wedding sets for me to look at. Honestly after 15 minutes, they all started looking the same to me and that was JUST for the setting.
Then we sat at another counter to look at all the different loose diamonds. The staff handed my hubby and I the loupe to check out the inclusions, and we looked at each other like - what are we supposed to look for? I couldn't find anything, so was that a flawless diamond? After 2 hours of non-stop staring at all the blings, we were totally "blinged-out" and decided it was time to go.
We were so incredibly overwhelmed after that first weekend, but we got home and read up more about diamonds and how to choose a diamond. After weeks and weeks and weeks of looking at them, we were getting really good at picking the nice ones! And we learned about all the other things as well from the different certifications like GIA, EGL, IGI... to the proportions of the table, the crown, the pavilion and the girdle! It was quite an education.
I am not going to go into details of the 4C's here because you can find that on a lot of the websites out there, but for those of you who are just in the process of ring shopping, take your time and really educate yourself. Even though they always say diamonds are a girl's best friend, it truly is an investment and you want to make sure that the diamond or the ring setting that you are getting is the best value. Ask lots of questions at the store and don't be pressured by the sales staff just because they want to close on a deal.
Or... you can always call my hubby for advice and emotional support too! He is very good at it now! =)
No comments:
Post a Comment