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Cartier, Tiffany-Style Ring

Lots of jewelry shops offer “Tiffany-style” rings or “Cartier-style” rings.

The thing about this is that:
a. They are NOT Tiffany & Co or Cartier rings if they are being sold by another jewelry store
b. You won’t be fooling anyone with a “styled” ring
c. trademark and patent laws ensure that no other jewelry stores will be able to see a ring that looks “that much” like a Tiffany & Co/Cartier ring
d. Brands such as Tiffany, Cartier, Louis Vuitton and the like have been cracking down on counterfeiters and have been prosecuting

That doesn’t matter, you still want a ring that LOOKS like Tiffany & Co. or Cartier even if it isn’t.

Honey, I Changed My Mind

No, not about getting engaged or getting married.

I decided that I won’t be happy unless I can have THIS diamond in THIS ring.

Its a 10.37 carat ideal cut stone. Isn’t it beauteous?

This puppy can be found on Blue Nile for a mere $737,000.

I really would need a crane to lift my arm.

But seriously — I wouldn’t want a stone THAT big anyway. I wouldn’t want my knuckles to drag from the weight (I already have so-so posture) and I wouldn’t want to be seen by robbers as the equivalent of a fresh t-bone left around a dog.

I am pretty certain I’ll be thrilled with the ring my GTB chooses — mostly because I love him and I know he’s putting a lot of thought and effort into it!

Okay, This Is Cute

I imagine my HTB will be excited once he picks up the ring. Maybe not THIS excited, but this commercial put a smile on my face.

Awww, So Damned Sweet

Damn. Do people actually do these things?

I mean, the waiting, the excitement, the sweetness, the surprise?

I love this commercial, even though it makes me roll my eyes a bit out of envy.

BTW — the song is “How Can I Tell You,” by Cat Power.

Engagement Ring: Winners/Losers

So, we covered a few stores — I tried on some fantastic rings, saw some incredible lighting (why doesn’t someone market an under-the-chin light that shines directly onto the ring and makes is sparkle like it does at the store?!) and we narrowed hundreds of rings down to a few.

Here’s my analysis of the shops: scales are 1-10, with 10 being the best.

Scores are given for friendliness of sales person, knowledge of sales person, general customer service (honesty, tact, etc), value, selection/quality/flexibility in choosing diamonds, selection of rings, and would I refer the shop to a friend.

Engagement Ring Shop Comparison
Ratings of the jewelers we visited by the following criteria:
State	Frendliness	Knowledge	Service	Value	Diamond	Ring	Refer
Cartier	4	NA	6	4	3	3	no
Tiffany	5	6	6	4	1	6	sure
Scheherezad	7	6	6	5	8	8	yes!
Wedding Day	7	5	6	7	7	8	sure
J.B. Hudson	7	7	7	6	7	8	yes!
Landmark	8	10	9	9	10	6	yes!
Continental	2	5	2	6	7	7	no!

They Keep On Talking

Of course my family had to ask around Christmas, “so, did he pop the question yet?” Someone from his family asked too.

I’ve gotten various left-hand glances from friends and coworkers, intermingled with the occasional “I thought you’d come back engaged” or “That picture must be blurry, I don’t see a ring.”

My poor FTB is probably cursing the day he ever brought up the potential engagement.

I haven’t even mentioned the potential to many people — I guess when you’re as “old” as I am (hello, not even 30!), people start to think they hear your biological clock, or some other clock ticking.

Enough with this “Living Vicariously Through Kenzie” — I promise, I’ll tell you when it happens.

Diamond Commercial Song

I know, I know, those commercials by DeBeers are SO over the top. The man surprising the woman, the diamond that magically sparkles like the sun, even though the couple is together in the dark or on an overcast day.

I should be embarassed that I like this commercial. It’s not the visual so much as the song. And, it sure beats those annoying Lexus-with-the-big-bow commercials.

The song is by Langdon Pigg

Engagement Ring Shopping: Continental Diamond

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

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?