Would you just propose already?!?! December 31, 2007

It must be nice not to have to deal with any of the hard stuff. I mean, she and I traipsed all over 2 towns looking at engagement rings and picked out our “short list.” We printed pictures of each member of the short list and have compared/contrasted the features of each.

Now the ball’s in my court.

I have no idea what her favorite is. I have no idea what my favorite is. I haven’t even started thinking about custom designs and I feel about nine years away from being ready to pick a diamond.

Her part is done though, so, let the hint dropping about proposing begin. I can only imagine how she’ll work in ideas about proposals to normal conversation.

“Boy, that snow shovel is broken, you should pick up a new one. Did I tell you about how so and so proposed in the parking lot of a Menard’s? Do you think that’s tacky, or is it just me?”

Does anyone have a book they’d recommend? Proposals for under $50, perhaps? Proposals for Dummies, maybe?

Help.

Engagement Ring Shopping: Continental Diamond December 31, 2007

My roommate Rachel’s friend (Ashley? Rachel?) got an engagement ring from here, so consider me “referred.”

We walked into the shop and noticed a bunch of people shopping (it was around 1:30 on a weekday). There must have been at least 12 customers in the shop, and probably 7 visible employees.

We checked out the cases, finding Martin Flyer rings as well as A. Jaffe (both were designers of our short-list rings), but they didn’t have the styles we liked, and the other rings they offered left plenty to be desired.

But, I was hopeful, as there were quite a few people perusing and buying jewelry, so we gave it a shot.

Engagement Ring Shopping, Part 1: Stones December 31, 2007

As a man, I’ve never particularly cared about the engagement ring. While the women all ogle over the thing, I stand back with the rest of the guys and laugh at the poor bastard who spent all his poker money for the next 20 years. (Let’s face it though, it’s not like she’s going to let him play poker ever again anyway.)

Now that I’m in that spot, I can see just how quickly things spiral out of control.

It wasn’t 2 minutes into looking at the first store when the first vulture stopped circling and rested down on us. I don’t take the term vulture lightly here, either. Some are nicer than others, but at the end of they day, they look at all us men as dead meat available for the taking.

I’ll never forget the moment she pulled out the “box of extras” from below the display case. That’s the moment when I knew my carcass was being picked apart for every loose morsel.

Who needs 5 diamonds on an engagement ring anyway? Seriously, people, when was 1 not enough anymore?

How To Propose December 31, 2007

Does the proposal matter?

I’ve heard horror stories of girls saying no, of guys inadvertently “surprising” their girlfriends by asking a question while tying a shoe, of girls who get really angry because their man waits to long/buys a small ring/embarasses them in public, etc etc.

Do you get help from family?
Do you plan an elaborate ordeal or a private affair?
What do the tears mean?
Do you whisk her away?
Do you keep it simple?

How did you propose, or how were you proposed to?

Engagement Ring Shopping: Cartier December 31, 2007

We took a little trip down to Chicago last weekend, so my beloved could watch his Green Bay Packers get trounced by the Chicago Bears. It was a sad (and very cold) day for him.

We drove (!!!) down, and made sure to give ourselves enough time to relax, check into our hotel and hit Michigan Ave. for some prime shopping.

And then, we saw it… (cue angel choir) Cartier.

Of course we had to look!

Engagement Ring Shopping: Scherazade December 31, 2007

One of our first stops was Scherezade in the Galleria, Edina.

Oh, was I excited! The woman who asisted us was helpful calm and PATIENT, showing us styles that aligned with those styles we liked, not pushing or leading us astray.

She was also smart enough to stay away from the money topic, unlike one lady we worked with at another store (coming soon).

Enjoying Your Lunch? December 30, 2007

There used to be a time when I would debate over the number of home games my team had won the previous season over lunch. Who did Brett Favre complete his first pass to? Who holds the record for most hot dogs eaten in 12 minutes?

These were the topics that consumed my energy.

Now, however, it’s virtually impossible to have a meal without talking about something related to getting engaged. Did you know they were only dating for 8 months? Did you know they only had 3 months between getting engaged and getting married? Which ring design do you prefer?

I catch myself, from time to time, staring at a TV in a restaurant with a game on and thinking, “I couldn’t name the 12 starters on either side of the ball anymore.” I usually return to my woman, who is staring at me, thinking, “did he hear any of that?”

Probably not.

Engagement Ring Shopping: Tiffany & Co. December 29, 2007

For some reason, I crave the little blue box a.k.a. any gift from Tiffany & Co.

Did the company do exhastive research on colors that can make women crave and salivate over the contents of the box? How does that little teal-blue color (pantone 1837 for the dorks in the group) make eyes light up like it does?

I always imagined my ring would be from Tiffany & Co., so that was naturally one of the first places we went to look at rings.

And boy, was I disappointed!

Canine Companion December 29, 2007

Trust me, getting a dog as a stunt to delay a proposal doesn’t work. Women see right through that tactic. I speak from experience on this one.

That said, I’m still going through with getting the dog.

Why? Well, I look at it this way. If I’m going to survive the next 18 months, I’m going to need a companion. Someone who sees things my way. Someone who will sit by my side, even if it’s only because I’m holding a treat. Someone who will love me without wanting to frequent jewelry stores.

Sure, I now rank behind the girl and the dog on the pecking order, but secretly, I’m loving it. There’s literally no pressure in being household filler.

Welcome to the family, Stella.

Lord Of The Engagement Ring December 28, 2007

I feel like I’m learning new concepts in language, geology, and chemistry all at the same time. The trick, though, is that there’s only 1 test for all courses, it’s 100% of my grade and it’s pass/fail. In preparation, I learned the 4 C’s rather quickly and thought, “self, you’ve done well.” I thought that all the way up until the first store.

At the first store I learned there are certifications for diamonds. As if that wasn’t enough, there are 4 of them, GIA, IGI, AGS, and EGL.

There are 58 or 59 facets on a round cut. You should look into that. Oh, but there could be 129 facets. (Star 129, remember?)

There are multiple styles of settings. One could go with a cathedral, prong, v-prong, tension, bezel, bar, pave (don’t even get me started on the pronunciation), channel, trellis, classic, or contour. There are multiple types of trellis settings.

Platinum is the heaviest. White gold is coated with something called “Rhodium.” Yellow gold isn’t on our short list.

Most rings are displayed with a fake diamond, but some have the actual diamonds. Some have just the setting.

Any band can be customized to meet your requirements.

“What was that you asked? Price? Well, the pricing scale is complex, but we can hammer through that after getting an idea for what fits you.”

Every time she slips on a ring and does the admiration pose, I feel my head start to spin.  I can’t help but feel that the whole thing is an elaborate scheme to make me give up and spend a fortune.

The worst part is that it will probably work.