If you received and engagement ring from Costco,

[LisaInNc]

I have a friend that married when they were young and poor. They got her ring at a pawn shop. Let's fast forward 25 years, they are quite successful, still married and she still wears the ring. I think it's more about your mindset, who cares really?

It's not about the bling it's about the commitment!

Lisa

 

[Jennasis]

I would have been over-the-moon to receive an engagement ring gotten from a gumball machine...I was/am so in love with DH, the piece of jewelry or where he had acquired it (short of theft) was beyond unimportant.

 

[SmithSmith]

I have a friend that married when they were young and poor. They got her ring at a pawn shop. Let's fast forward 25 years, they are quite successful, still married and she still wears the ring.

It's not about the bling it's about the commitment!

Lisa

I completely agree! Same can be said about the wedding as well.
I've heard too many friends say "I don't want a marriage, I just want a wedding".

I wish more people would put more thought into their marriage rather than their ceremony or carat size.

 

[LBIJim]

would you be offended?

Sounds like a rehash of the Walmart ring thread from two months ago.

The local Costco has a $32,000 ring in its jewellery case.

 

[usd2bmd]

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Here is the set.

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That ring is beautiful!

I wouldn't care where it came from. My husband picked mine out 24 years ago and surprised me with it.

No, especially if I were given the $449,999.99 diamond ring they have for sale right now.

http://www.costco.com/4.25-ct-Round...itaire-Ring-$449,999.99.product.11658103.html

If the recipient has an issue with saving money, my advice to the giver would be get out now while you still can.

If my husband bought me that ring I'd kill him... we could do so much more with that much money! lol

 

[LBIJim]

Many couples, maybe most pick out a ring together.

Who does that these days? Propose without a ring or use a stand-in. Then shop for the ring later. Most women I know (not sure about how same sex couples handle this) have an idea of what they want.

I was informed decades ago that a man popping the question with an already selected ring is terribly gauche.

The only proper way to select an engagement ring is to have the couple choose TOGETHER after the proposal was accepted.

From Art's link above:

“A diamond is a diamond,” says Russell Shor, a senior industry analyst at the Gemological Institute of America, the premier rating and certification agency for diamonds. “If you have a stone from a top jeweler with the same grade as the discount place, they’re basically the same thing.” Good Morning America tested this theory in 2005, when it appraised both a Tiffany diamond and a Costco diamond. As it turned out, the $16,600 Tiffany cut was valued at only $10,500, whereas the $6,600 Costco version was actually priced 17 percent under its appraised value of $8,000.


Give me the better priced/quality Costco diamond any day.

I automatically assume anything sold at Tiffany's is at least 20% overpriced. That's the cost to avoid having people with shopping carts full of toilet paper mar the experience.

 

[CF'er]

I also think a lot of it is the look of the ring. A beautiful ring is just that no matter where it came from.

Thanks for the compliment as well.

 

[Aliceacc]

It's about the engagement, not the ring. The ring is just a symbol.

I chose the right guy... we share the same values.

 

[CF'er]

I also think a lot of it is the look of the ring. A beautiful ring is just that no matter where it came from.

Thanks for the compliment as well.

As I said earlier DH hates shopping with a passion. To drag him to store after store would have been torture for both of us. This was the perfect solution... I got the ring I wanted and he didn't have to suffer.

 

[bcla]

I automatically assume anything sold at Tiffany's is at least 20% overpriced. That's the cost to avoid having people with shopping carts full of toilet paper mar the experience.

Depends on the item. I'm pretty sure that many would love to buy a Tiffany engagement ring setting and then buy a loose diamond to go in it. Tiffany's won't do that. A VS2 F color brilliant-cut is going to be worth about as much from Tiffany's than from some regional chain with better prices, but if you want that name on the setting you're going to have to pay their price for the diamond. If you're OK with less than VS2 or really would prefer to buy a loose stone and have it set, then Tiffany's isn't going to be the right place.

I have a Tiffany wedding band in .950 platinum. The price was fairly similar to any other wedding band of the same weight. The price had far more to do with the amount of platinum than the cost of any markup. However, it would have been possible to find another one on sale, but Tiffany never discounts.

 

[Jillpie]

Absolutely not offended. Costco is very, very picky and selective about each and every product that go into their stores. They don't have a million things on their shelves for a reason. I would think my "future husband" is a very smart shopper if he got my engagement ring there.

 

[CF'er]

Considering their generous return policy I wonder if they would take the ring back in the event of a divorce????

 

[Disneyland1084]

DH bought my wedding ring at Costco.

 

[LisaInNc]

I completely agree! Same can be said about the wedding as well.
I've heard too many friends say "I don't want a marriage, I just want a wedding".

I wish more people would put more thought into their marriage rather than their ceremony or carat size.

Oh sure true words.

I cared about the dress greatly. To the point where I said if I am not married by 30 I am buying the dress anyway.

First marriage I was a Princess, the dress, the flowers it was over the top. The marriage was not so great. I was focused that I was of that age and well a wedding dress is a lot of juju. It was time and I had to have a certain type of wedding. It was great for that night.

Married again now. Dress bought off the rack and wearable again. Justice of the Peace and HAPPY. Oh so happy. I wish girls could just buy the wedding dress of their dreams go to some big ball sponsored by a local charity and show off all they want and get back to the regular lives and then finding the right man for them. They got the dress out of their system. Now it's on to the relationship.

Oh wait….isn't that what the prom was for?

 

[BlovesC]

I would have been over-the-moon to receive an engagement ring gotten from a gumball machine...I was/am so in love with DH, the piece of jewelry or where he had acquired it (short of theft) was beyond unimportant.

Yes, exactly! DH could have proposed with a lifesaver and I would have been overjoyed. He did buy a beautiful ring, but the ring was definitely not my focus that day. And the proposal was a surprise...we did NOT look at rings together, which just seems so strange to me. And before anyone says we're just old-fashioned, this was in 2010...and we were both 28.

So, no, I wouldn't be "offended" by a ring from Costco. I think any woman who cares about her engagement ring that much is compensating for something she considers lacking in her husband. If you've found the perfect partner, the perfect ring/dress/wedding/reception/etc just aren't that important. I don't know why you think a woman should be offended with such a ring, Art, but if you're comfortable with a woman who values jewelery more than your companionship that's your prerogative.

 

[nd5056]

Considering their generous return policy I wonder if they would take the ring back in the event of a divorce????

Now that's what i call "planning ahead", just in case.

But seriously, You could not like the quality or the cut, but where it came from???

You must have watch "He Went to Jared " commercial way too many times.

 

[SamRoc]

Back in the 80s our wedding rings came from Consumers (if anyone remembers that store) i think my band was 40 and my dh's was 60! i didn't mind at all, we were just starting out.

 

[Minnesota!]

Anyone who'd be offended by receiving a Costco ring is truly not worthy of the Costco ring, much less one from a more expensive source.

I couldn't buy an engagement ring at Costo either. I wouldn't feel right about it. I think most women would prefer it not come from there, no matter what you are reading on this thread. Over the course of a lifetime the average savings would not matter, to me.

I think you are wrong, there. My engagement ring was a hair over $100 and came from Piercing Pagoda - the kiosk - in a mall. The ring is not the important part...the commitment and the promise is.

 

[kamik86]

Not at all. My engagement costs less then $200. I'm fine with that I picked it out.

I was much more upset about the lack of thought put into the proposal (but obviously not too much I did say yes and have been married more then 5 years)

 

[Hisgirl]

I'm not reading through all the responses so I apologize if everyone has already said what I'm about to say.

I hope have a unique perspective on this as encourage responsible spending habits to clients and I have run a jewelry business for the past 13 years.

Retail stores go to the same wholesalers to get their gems. Then they price them. There's a general suggested price in particular areas and it's up to the store to decide how much mark up.

Sure, diamonds have vast different quality, but you can get a nice color, cut, clarity from Costco just as you can get a really crappy cut, color, clarity from one of the more well-known jewelry stores.

Some folks aren't happy, though, unless a large price is spent. I've always priced my pearls reasonable and once had a woman declare they were fake since they weren't expensive. Um...ok..you can pay 500% markup plus labor if you want....

If my fiance had purchased me a decent stone from Costco, then I would say he is fiscally wise and won't be spending us into the poor house down the road. This is so much better than if he gave you a $20,000 ring from Tiffany's and you are now paying $450 per month for the next five years.

It's all relative, but be happy. Save money where you can and don't fall for these shiny marketing campaigns. Diamonds are diamonds are diamonds once you establish the cut/clarity/color etc you desire.