If you received and engagement ring from Costco,

[teambeaman]

I don't know if this has already been mentioned, but Good Morning America (or something like it) did a comparison of diamonds from Costco and diamonds from Tiffany & Co. They had a diamond expert compare the stones without telling him where they were from. The Costco diamonds were as high of a quality, if not better, as the diamonds from Tiffany's. All you are paying for is a name. I guarantee the diamond you got from Costco is bigger than what you would have got if he went somewhere else.

 

[NHdisneylover]

That's my plan for later today, after I get back from a meeting at school.

Beyond that, though, I'm not holding out much hope. One of the prongs had bent backwards somehow, and I imagine the diamond could have traveled some distance...depending on where I was at that moment. And if it was in the grass at a cemetery?? Let's just say I don't think the odds are in my favor.

But I'll eventually get a replacement. And I'll continue to wear it everywhere. I'm a big believer in really using the stuff I love-- I use my fine china all the time. Yep, we've lost a piece or two along the way. But I've gotten so much more joy from using it than I would have from keeping it in a box somewhere.

It's the same with my ring. I love using the things I love.

I am the same way I don't see any point in owning things just to own them if I am not going to use and enjoy them.
and good luck with the diamond. I really thought I would never see my again. The setting was so badly broken that the repair was about $150; but I got to keep my stone. My father in law took my ring back to the US since he knows jewelry better and could find someone to repair it that he trusted--I get it back in a bit over a week now. I've missed having it.

 

[bcla]

I don't know if this has already been mentioned, but Good Morning America (or something like it) did a comparison of diamonds from Costco and diamonds from Tiffany & Co. They had a diamond expert compare the stones without telling him where they were from. The Costco diamonds were as high of a quality, if not better, as the diamonds from Tiffany's. All you are paying for is a name. I guarantee the diamond you got from Costco is bigger than what you would have got if he went somewhere else.

They would probably have to obliterate/polish off the laser inscription on both. A diamond from Costco would likely contain a laser inscription from one of the major certifying organizations. Tiffany self-certifies (can't find a picture though), but they included their own inscriptions. A good gemologist could spot that easily unless they were removed.

 

[julietsstars]

This sounds like something my mother would be worried about. I would be too thrilled that someone wants to spend their life with me to be concerned where the ring came from. Wowie.

 

[stargazer2892]

nope! heck my engagement ring is from a pawn shop. I love it just as much as I would if it where brand new. It's the meaning behind the ring NOT the ring. I think my wedding ring means more to me then my engagement, and it was a whole$2 on amazon it's just a simple titanium band that matches DH's (his is wider).

 

[Bluestars]

In a bizarre coicidence, I realized yesterday that the diamond was missing from my engagement ring.

I was in the car when I realized it, having just left a cemetery. I did my nails the night before and would have realized it was missing, but that doesn't help at all.. It could be anywhere in the grass or the office of that cemetery, in my car, at my mom's apartment, in my washing machine... you know how it goes. Day to day life means you have to actually USE that left hand, even if it is holding your engagement ring.

I didn't mention it to my husband yet.. he had kind of a rough day and didn't need the additional headache. I took the ring off; for the time being I'll just wear my wedding ring.

We're both teachers, on teacher salaries, so my ring was never ostentatious to begin with. I imagine a replacement diamond will be doable at some point down the road.

In the meantime, it looks so strange to not be wearing that ring! I don't take off my rings, so the last time I didn't have that engagement ring on was for my last surgery in 2009.

I've already decided that if I lose my ring or the diamond falls off, I will replace it with a CZ. I have been married almost 20 years and have different priorities than I did when I was younger. A CZ would be fine with me now.

I would have no problem getting a ring from Costco. The ring, to me, is a symbol of my marriage vows and the money spent on it is not important.

 

[Angelhalo]

My engagement ring is from Kay BUT, my diamond wedding band is from Sam's Wholesale and I have absolutely no issue with that. It is a beautiful ring and if I ever need anything done with it, I can take it to a jeweler.

Side note, I did pick out my wedding band but I did not pick out my engagement ring. I did however tell my best friend some things I liked and she went with my husband to make sure he picked out something she knew I would like.

 

[SmithSmith]

I want to weigh in once more because I'm new here and I don't want your first impression of me as being snobbish or materialistic because I wouldn't want a costco ring. So let me explain further. First, I would never spend thousands on a ring, and that's basically the only price point Costco offers. Second, I loathe big box stores. I find them depressing to shop at. I'm also a bit scared of those monstrous shelving units toppling over and crushing me. I understand they're a great convenience for people short on time, but I'm strictly a housewife and I have nothing but time. Third, in my earlier responses to the OP I was assuming I had to shop for the ring myself. If that's the case, no, I don't want to go to Costco. Shopping for a ring together is like a date night, an event, it shouldn't take place within the grey concrete walls of Costco. If, however, I do not have to personally shop for the ring, then it wouldn't matter too much where it came from. I'd rather it came from a local jeweler, but no big deal if it doesn't.

P.s. It wouldn't even bother me if there wasn't a ring at all. I rarely wear jewelry anyway. I know I'm married I don't need a ring to prove it.

 

[bcla]

I'd rather it came from a local jeweler, but no big deal if it doesn't.

I mentioned jewelry wholesalers. Many large cities have places where jewelry wholesale businesses are consolidated. Many of these will do individual sales by appointment and sort of have small showrooms. The Diamond District in NYC is where reportedly about 90% of the diamonds imported into the US pass through.

My cousin bought her engagement ring and diamond there. She said the seller was orthodox (maybe Hasidic?) Jewish as are the majority of the sellers there. I guess it's not quite going to a retail jeweler, but honestly you could get much better value there than a normal retailer.

It also amazes me how they manage to walk through the streets with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of diamonds without any kind of security escort.

 

[SmithSmith]

I mentioned jewelry wholesalers. Many large cities have places where jewelry wholesale businesses are consolidated. Many of these will do individual sales by appointment and sort of have small showrooms. The Diamond District in NYC is where reportedly about 90% of the diamonds imported into the US pass through.

My cousin bought her engagement ring and diamond there. She said the seller was orthodox (maybe Hasidic?) Jewish as are the majority of the sellers there. I guess it's not quite going to a retail jeweler, but honestly you could get much better value there than a normal retailer.

It also amazes me how they manage to walk through the streets with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of diamonds without any kind of security escort.

I guess I should admit why I keep mentioning local jewelers. My parents friends own and operate a jewelry store. It's a quaint little shop tucked into our neighborhood, just a few blocks away from our house. Every time I pass it (which is often) I think how neat it would've been if my husband had shopped for my ring there. He didn't know this family at the time, so I don't blame him for not thinking of going there. But I don't know, there's something romantic about that notion of my fiancé supporting family friends and it being just steps away from our future home. So every time I mention "local jewelers", I really just have one specific jeweler in mind.

Also, my ring is just a simple band, I'm not into diamonds, so going to wholesaler just wasn't necessary for me.

 

[bcla]

I guess I should admit why I keep mentioning local jewelers. My parents friends own and operate a jewelry store. It's a quaint little shop tucked into our neighborhood, just a few blocks away from our house. Every time I pass it (which is often) I think how neat it would've been if my husband had shopped for my ring there. He didn't know this family at the time, so I don't blame him for not thinking of going there. But I don't know, there's something romantic about that notion of my fiancé supporting family friends and it being just steps away from our future home. So every time I mention "local jewelers", I really just have one specific jeweler in mind.

Also, my ring is just a simple band, I'm not into diamonds, so going to wholesaler just wasn't necessary for me.

The one I got for my wife was actually pretty simple. A little less than a carat selected loose. It was set in a 6-prong Tiffany-style platinum solitaire setting. Got it at a well-known jewelry retailer. It wasn't a mall retailer or a small family-owned business, but they've got a decent reputation for providing good value and service. Maybe enough hints, but they're a company that imports their gems directly and don't go through wholesalers in NYC like most diamonds sold in the US.

I'm not really thinking quaint and romantic. To me that's an idea that's been crammed into the American consciousness by movies, TV, and commercials. My wife appreciates value. And when it came time to get the wedding bands, we walked right into Tiffany's wearing jeans and T-shirts. Nobody looked at us funny, and the service was frankly as good as you'd expect. As long as our credit cards weren't declined, they were fine with it. However, we were fine with it because the wedding bands didn't really cost more than you'd expect at any mall jewelry store or even wholesalers. The price of a plain band is pretty much linked to the price of the metal. The price premium for the band was pretty small. I wouldn't have gotten a diamond there however.

 

[JanaDee]

In a bizarre coicidence, I realized yesterday that the diamond was missing from my engagement ring.

I was in the car when I realized it, having just left a cemetery. I did my nails the night before and would have realized it was missing, but that doesn't help at all.. It could be anywhere in the grass or the office of that cemetery, in my car, at my mom's apartment, in my washing machine... you know how it goes. Day to day life means you have to actually USE that left hand, even if it is holding your engagement ring.

I didn't mention it to my husband yet.. he had kind of a rough day and didn't need the additional headache. I took the ring off; for the time being I'll just wear my wedding ring.

We're both teachers, on teacher salaries, so my ring was never ostentatious to begin with. I imagine a replacement diamond will be doable at some point down the road.

In the meantime, it looks so strange to not be wearing that ring! I don't take off my rings, so the last time I didn't have that engagement ring on was for my last surgery in 2009.

Do you have insurance on your jewelry?

 

[Aliceacc]

Do you have insurance on your jewelry?

Probably not. Nothing I own is all that valuable.

 

[Dancind]

I don't know if this has already been mentioned, but Good Morning America (or something like it) did a comparison of diamonds from Costco and diamonds from Tiffany & Co. They had a diamond expert compare the stones without telling him where they were from. The Costco diamonds were as high of a quality, if not better, as the diamonds from Tiffany's. All you are paying for is a name. I guarantee the diamond you got from Costco is bigger than what you would have got if he went somewhere else.

Exactly. If someone were to tell me "he went to Jared's" I would immediately think that he didn't know better than to pay 2 to 3 times what the ring is worth.

My first ring was small, from a broker. On our 10th, DH surprised me with a one carat high quality solitaire from the same local broker. I found a wedding ring to go with it at Costco. I've since had it reset into a 1920s platinum setting that I love.

I just wish we knew then what we know now. My local jeweler gets some beautiful old rose and European cut stones. Could have gotten a 2 carat stone from him for what DH paid, not that I need a bigger one. I just love those old stones, so interesting looking and pretty, and mined a long, long time ago!

They really aren't an "investment" anyway, because you aren't planning to ever re sale it, right? Just get something you will love wearing.

 

[LisaInNc]

Second, I loathe big box stores. I find them depressing to shop at. I'm also a bit scared of those monstrous shelving units toppling over and crushing me. I understand they're a great convenience for people short on time.

Oh how I WISH more people would shop local business because they are dying a slow death.

Lisa

 

[SmithSmith]

Oh how I WISH more people would shop local business because they are dying a slow death.

Lisa

This isn't the first thing we've agreed on.
We seem to think alike.

 

[chiefmickeymouse]

I've been married for 21 years and I still haven't got an engagement ring, so no I wouldn't turn my nose up at a Costco one! To be fair, DH has been wanting to buy me one for years, but I always decide I want a trip instead.

 

[Nancyg56]

I've been married for 21 years and I still haven't got an engagement ring, so no I wouldn't turn my nose up at a Costco one! To be fair, DH has been wanting to buy me one for years, but I always decide I want a trip instead.

I agree! I wanted an extra trip and DH said that was the down payment for my car., so it would need to wait. No problem! I liked the old rust bucket anyway, so a trip was the better deal!

 

[snapppyd]

Slightly off topic, I am also surprised how many women DON'T wear their engagement/wedding rings all the time. The jeweler did comment to my wife that she was not the norm in wearing hers all the time. This after noting how dirty my wife's rings were.
Only time they have been off my wife's finger are for a cleaning, or when we had the two times we had the prongs rebuilt, and when she had surgery.

Mine has only been off my finger for when I had surgery, and when I had it fixed. Our son was a pitcher and playing catch with him once he hit high school made my ring oval not round.

We never wear our jewelry at home. We put it on to go out, as soon as I come home all jewelry goes on the dresser. I could never wash dishes, etc. wearing my rings. Dh doesn't wear his to the beach, afraid the suntan oil will cause him to lose it in the water.

 

[gwynne]

Slightly off topic, I am also surprised how many women DON'T wear their engagement/wedding rings all the time. The jeweler did comment to my wife that she was not the norm in wearing hers all the time. This after noting how dirty my wife's rings were.
Only time they have been off my wife's finger are for a cleaning, or when we had the two times we had the prongs rebuilt, and when she had surgery.

Mine has only been off my finger for when I had surgery, and when I had it fixed. Our son was a pitcher and playing catch with him once he hit high school made my ring oval not round.

I've never known a jeweler that recommended wearing rings all the time. Housework and household chemicals, sports, lawn work, they are all hard on jewelry. It's true if you catch the damage in time, you can rebuild prongs. If not, you could lose the diamond.

And rings will get very dirty with constant wear...Especially when regularly exposed to things like lotions, creams, powders, chlorine, and various hair products.

We never wear our jewelry at home. We put it on to go out, as soon as I come home all jewelry goes on the dresser. I could never wash dishes, etc. wearing my rings. Dh doesn't wear his to the beach, afraid the suntan oil will cause him to lose it in the water.

Same here.