If you received and engagement ring from Costco,

[msjprincess]

I wear my wedding ring every day. But I take it off whenever I'm applying lotion or anything like that and sometimes I forget to put it back on. DH never wears his ring. He can't wear it for work and he never really got into the habit of wearing it when he's not working.

 

[Angelhalo]

I wear my rings everyday and will even go back home to get them if I forget to put them back on after a shower. Showering is the only time I take them off other than to put lotion on my hands. My mom never takes hers off. She has worn them every minute of the past 41 years of her life. I clean mine religiously and always get praised by the jewelers for the good shape that I keep mine in. Everybody just has to do what feels good to them

DH lost his wedding ring while mowing the lawn 3 years ago. We want to replace it but just have't done it yet. He has GIGANTIC fingers and lies somewhere between a 14 and 15. We know we could get one special ordered exactly to his size but frankly he doesn't want to pay for it because he'd rather us go on trips. We'll get him a new one someday. LOL!

 

[Andtototoo]

What would have been important to me would be the quality, not the store name (or the size).

I have a relative and he and his wife are diehard bargain hunters, but what they have never realized is that often they are not getting a bargain, but paying less because they're buying lower quality. They did just that with her engagement ring. They bought it from some "guy" who was selling rings "cheap". They bragged about how they saved so much money compared to others but they didn't, because they are not comparing diamonds of the same quality. Her diamond is horrible -- basically it's opaque/white and looks nothing like a diamond should. But they are convinced they got a steal because it's the same size as a friend's but cost 75% less. Yes, because it's worth 75% less because it's a piece of crap. They would have been way better off spending even less on a CZ.

I did not have an engagement ring, actually. Call me shallow, but I would have really liked one. II didn't ever want a big one (I have small hands and I wouldn't have wanted a lot of money on my hands), but something would have been nice. We were too poor and trying to be nice and practical, I told my boyfriend not to worry about it. Unfortunately, that also meant I never got a nice proposal either because he took that to mean that I was so practical he didn't have to bother proposing to me. It was just, "So are we going to set the date now?" I really wish I'd gotten at least a decent proposal, but once the cat is out of the bag, there is no putting it back. Ten years later, he offered and we went to get an anniversary ring, but to be honest, it wasn't the same... especially since Mr. Romantic handed me the ring in the store and said, 'Well, here it is. What are you waiting for? Put it on before you lose it." I've never much cared about that ring. Wonder why?

 

[bcla]

I wear my rings everyday and will even go back home to get them if I forget to put them back on after a shower. Showering is the only time I take them off other than to put lotion on my hands. My mom never takes hers off. She has worn them every minute of the past 41 years of her life. I clean mine religiously and always get praised by the jewelers for the good shape that I keep mine in. Everybody just has to do what feels good to them

DH lost his wedding ring while mowing the lawn 3 years ago. We want to replace it but just have't done it yet. He has GIGANTIC fingers and lies somewhere between a 14 and 15. We know we could get one special ordered exactly to his size but frankly he doesn't want to pay for it because he'd rather us go on trips. We'll get him a new one someday. LOL!

I wear a wedding band every day. Paid $20 for it. Tungsten carbide, and I can easily find another one if I lose it. Before that I got a titanium band. It was light, but scratched up easily. My platinum band stays in the drawer and comes out for special occasions.

 

[Luvchefmic]

I think a ring is a ring is a ring. The commitment behind the ring is what is important. My husband had my ring made for me, it is a simple solitaire. The jeweler told me the DH wanted me to have at least a carat, and he explained the cost differences between the sizes. I chose a smaller diamond, and have a very high quality stone. There was no way I could justify the cost of a larger stone in the quality my DH had specified.

With that said, my neighbor has a gorgeous assortment of engagement/wedding band rings. They are stunning. Her DH is a jerk. She is miserable. But she got the rings she wanted, and the guy that came with them. I got my DH, the man who would go without eating before my family went without anything. The man who wore blue sharpie on his nails to work after DGD gave him a "manicure", and the man who keeps pictures of all of us on the dash in his truck. The ring is not the most expensive one (thank goodness, because it is in my jewelry box) but the man I married is priceless.

I realize we are not saying that men who give expensive rings are less than committed, but I do think that there is more to a commitment than the symbol on my finger.

Beautiful post

 

[CandleontheWater]

I wouldn't care if my ring came from Costco, I'm not a store snob at all, but that being said, if my DH were to spend multiple thousands of dollars on a diamond, I hope he would do his due diligence, and Costco does not have the right set up. Most jewelry stores do not either, be it Jared or in some respects Tiffany.

Really, its never idea to buy a pre-set stone, because its very hard to inspect it, once it is inside a setting. The problem I would have with Costco is that all the stones are pre-set, they don't have the proper lighting to accurately see the color gradations, and they do not have access to magnification so you can see the inclusions, compare across stones, or even verify that the stone you are being sold is the exact stone in the appraisal.

I do value a good deal, but when it comes to purchasing something that is very expensive and also something that I would wear/use forever, I think it is important to both get a good deal and also make the most educated decision that you can. I'm just not sure my DH could have done that at Costco (or at most chain jewelry stores, really), which would be where my reservations would come into play.

 

[bcla]

I do value a good deal, but when it comes to purchasing something that is very expensive and also something that I would wear/use forever, I think it is important to both get a good deal and also make the most educated decision that you can. I'm just not sure my DH could have done that at Costco (or at most chain jewelry stores, really), which would be where my reservations would come into play.

I got my now wife's engagement ring at a place that sold loose diamonds. That really is the best way to buy an engagement ring, especially with the opportunity to mix and match diamond and ring.

 

[disney1990]

I wear my rings everyday. The only times they weren't on was when I had surgery. I don't want something that I am afraid I might lose.

 

[Kellykins1218]

Nope. My rings are from Sam's Club and are just as pretty, and the quality is just as good, as any of the jewelry chains. Why pay a lot more for the exact same thing?

 

[LBIJim]

I wouldn't care if my ring came from Costco, I'm not a store snob at all, but that being said, if my DH were to spend multiple thousands of dollars on a diamond, I hope he would do his due diligence, and Costco does not have the right set up. Most jewelry stores do not either, be it Jared or in some respects Tiffany.
y.

Yeah, I doubt anyone at Costco could explain the $32k ring I saw there. Probably no microscope to view it under magnification. They'd let you read the papers, but you'd have to be a pretty educated consumer to know if it's a good value.

Luckily, DW didn't want an engagement ring, so I got off easy. But I probably would have considered spending in the two to three thousand range. Yeah, I heard choosing a loose stone is the smart way to go, but I don't know if loose stones are available at that price point.

Wedding rings are plain gold bands. Purchased at a local jeweler. Don't remember the exact price; maybe $100 +/- each.

I don't recall ever removing my wedding ring. Not for yard work, painting the bedroom, cleaning up after Sandy, etc. I like how it's a magnet for those women who like to flirt with married guys.

 

[bcla]

Yeah, I doubt anyone at Costco could explain the $32k ring I saw there. Probably no microscope to view it under magnification. They'd let you read the papers, but you'd have to be a pretty educated consumer to know if it's a good value.

Luckily, DW didn't want an engagement ring, so I got off easy. But I probably would have considered spending in the two to three thousand range. Yeah, I heard choosing a loose stone is the smart way to go, but I don't know if loose stones are available at that price point.

The company where I got my wife's engagement ring won't sell them preset - only sold loose and then set for the customer. They have diamonds listed on their website along with prices. The least expensive is listed as a 0.17 carat, E color, I2 clarity princess cut. Price is $130. Their platinum solitaire rings are $725. For about $3000 before tax, I think you could get something like a .50 carat VS2 F color. You could get a bigger stone if you chose gold instead of platinum.

 

[bcla]

Nope. My rings are from Sam's Club and are just as pretty, and the quality is just as good, as any of the jewelry chains. Why pay a lot more for the exact same thing?

Not that I think there's anything particularly wrong about where you got it, but most would recommend buying a loose stone from a wholesaler or direct importer.

Another issue is the cost of certification. When we got our stone, it wasn't certified by an outside agency but by the company's staff gemologist. The outside certifications added a few hundred to the cost. It probably costs them about $100 for the cert and maybe $50 to get the laser inscription. They probably make a higher percentage profit from the certification than from selling the diamond.

There are issues with buying from a certification. No diamond broker would buy solely on a certification. They want to look at it loose.

 

[Kellykins1218]

Not that I think there's anything particularly wrong about where you got it, but most would recommend buying a loose stone from a wholesaler or direct importer.

Another issue is the cost of certification. When we got our stone, it wasn't certified by an outside agency but by the company's staff gemologist. The outside certifications added a few hundred to the cost. It probably costs them about $100 for the cert and maybe $50 to get the laser inscription. They probably make a higher percentage profit from the certification than from selling the diamond.

There are issues with buying from a certification. No diamond broker would buy solely on a certification. They want to look at it loose.

I don't know ANYONE that has ever bought a loose diamond. Everyone I know has gone to a jewelry store. We had my rings appraised after we bought them for our insurance & found they were everything we expected. If they weren't, we would've just returned them. I don't know about Costco but Sam's sells high quality rings.

 

[DisneyJules]

My engagement ring is from Costco. Let me tell you, if my fiancé had gone to a normal jewellery store, he would have gotten a ring that was half the quality and twice the price! He had my ring appraised and it was worth twice as much as he paid because you're getting it at a wholesaler and you're not paying for the overhead that a jewellery store would typically factor in. Their jewellery is such good quality. Can you tell I'm a Costco jewellery fan? As you can imagine, we got our wedding bands there as well. My band is SO beautiful, it's encrusted in diamonds and only cost around $700.00.

So in short, I couldn't care less that it came from Costco, who would ever know?? I've gotten lots of compliments on it and if you're considering a ring for your sweetheart, I would say go for it! It comes in a beautiful brown wooden box, she'll never know

 

[DisneyJules]

My husband weighed in, and he may have a point. Does Costco have a jeweler? Would they maintain the ring if it needed to be resized, polished, or reset?

The price of resizing, polishing and resetting is still going to cost WAY less buying through costco and having to go to a jeweller, than going with a jeweller and having them do all the work.

 

[suzannen]

I don't know ANYONE that has ever bought a loose diamond. Everyone I know has gone to a jewelry store. We had my rings appraised after we bought them for our insurance & found they were everything we expected. If they weren't, we would've just returned them. I don't know about Costco but Sam's sells high quality rings.

I agree with bcla. Most everyone I know goes to the jewelry store to select the sort of setting they are interested in. Then they select the diamond (loose) & then examine it in the jeweler's loup and then select side stones, etc. We designed & bought ours from my MIL's longtime jeweler in the Diamond District of NYC. People fly in from all over the world to do this & to get the best quality for the best price & to know exactly what they are getting. As well as future stone/ring maintenance & cleaning.

 

[crz4mm2]

I agree with bcla. Most everyone I know goes to the jewelry store to select the sort of setting they are interested in. Then they select the diamond (loose) & then examine it in the jeweler's loup and then select side stones, etc. We designed & bought ours from my MIL's longtime jeweler in the Diamond District of NYC. People fly in from all over the world to do this & to get the best quality for the best price & to know exactly what they are getting. As well as future stone/ring maintenance & cleaning.

I picked out a loose diamond and a setting from our local jeweler. Of course this was 38 years ago

 

[bcla]

My engagement ring is from Costco. Let me tell you, if my fiancé had gone to a normal jewellery store, he would have gotten a ring that was half the quality and twice the price! He had my ring appraised and it was worth twice as much as he paid because you're getting it at a wholesaler and you're not paying for the overhead that a jewellery store would typically factor in. Their jewellery is such good quality. Can you tell I'm a Costco jewellery fan? As you can imagine, we got our wedding bands there as well. My band is SO beautiful, it's encrusted in diamonds and only cost around $700.00.

So in short, I couldn't care less that it came from Costco, who would ever know?? I've gotten lots of compliments on it and if you're considering a ring for your sweetheart, I would say go for it! It comes in a beautiful brown wooden box, she'll never know

I have no issue with Costco per se, but I probably wouldn't buy a diamond engagement ring there. There are too many variables and it's like most retail jewelry stores in that the diamond and setting come as an unbreakable set. I don't think there's anything wrong. I think the whole crux of this thread was whether or not it was cheap or low-class to get one there among the people buying toilet paper and frozen foods.

I doubt Costco provides better value than a direct importer or wholesaler. There are some who have great prices and include lifetime maintenance. These businesses don't set up in fancy malls and have low overhead too. However, they have the personnel, security, and facilities to sell loose diamonds.

I personally wouldn't recommend that anyone buy an engagement ring at a typical retail jewelry store. I probably wouldn't recommend Costco either. I think the utility of being able to examine a loose diamond without a setting is extremely important. Some jewelers use the setting to hide imperfections that affect the value.

 

[suzannen]

I picked out a loose diamond and a setting from our local jeweler. Of course this was 38 years ago

That's great! I picked out mine almost 25 years ago & still love it (and my DH) so much! And, we had such a wonderful time custom building our rings & then going out for a romantic dinner. I highly recommend this approach.

 

[soccerdad72]

Damn, I miss Art