shoppin' for rings

[p_seudonym]

My Gentleman and I are looking for engagement rings. We're broke students, so relatively cheap would be good; we're also not totally committed to diamonds, though we'd like those as an option (moissanite & sapphires are cool, too). We're both looking for rings, both with stones

Comments

[prismatic_star]

What about the new Tiffany store they opened here in Montreal? Of course, you don't have to buy anything from here but you can get some ideas on what you want from there.

[p_seudonym]

I didn't know there was one, certainly worth looking at-- thanks!

[eletyl]

we got mine at le parchemin (Berri). although small, we thought they had a surprisingly interesting selection (diamonds as well as other stones, from what I recall).

[quara]

I also got mine at La Parchemin! They were extremely helpful and much cheaper than Birks! (but not bargain-basement cheap)

[p_seudonym]

Ooh, they have pretties! *puts that on the to-go list*

[evil_mom]

Birks, despite its grand looks, can be affordable. Just don't say "wedding ring" or "engagement ring". Just say you're looking for a ring. Real sapphires vs lab created sapphires is a big difference in price. I wouldn't expect you to find man-made stones at Birk's. If you can afford it, though, your ring will be insured pretty much for life. All you have to do is go in every 6 months to get it cleaned and checked (prongs and such, etc

[p_seudonym]

Thanks for the information!! That's really helpful.

Moissanite is just lab-made diamond. It's almost indiscernable from the real thing (cuz it's, like, carbon that's been heated and pressurized...) and it's much cheaper.

[lauralareine]

If you do decide on a diamond ring, don't go to Birks. I was just there a couple of months ago, and the cheapest diamond engagement ring they have is $2700. Needless to say, my fiancé and I ended up looking elsewhere!

[p_seudonym]

Really? I've seen a couple on the site that are around the $1000 mark. I think we're going to be quite upfront with them-- tell them we'd like to buy it here because there's family significance attached (his grandmother worked there in the 40's; his grandfather ordered her ring while he was overseas fighting in WWII) but we can't afford the "classic" engagement ring styles, and just see what they say. If they say, "Oh, sorry, we haven't got anything that would work for you," then, meh, whatever, we go somewhere else.

[lauralareine]

It's good to know that they have some cheaper rings, because we only went to the downtown location and $2700 was where the rings started. At one point the saleslady had me try on a ring that was $20,000! There must be people who buy those or they wouldn't make them, but we are not those people.

We ended up going with a company called Brilliant Earth. All of their diamonds are conflict-free, (although, to be fair, Birks makes that a priority as well). We were very happy with their service and prices and will be purchasing our wedding rings from them too: http://www.brilliantearth.com/

[p_seudonym]

That is an AMAZING idea. But we might get married in Dec. Ohh well.

[p_seudonym]

Oh, and we did try Bonsecours! And found some rings I really liked! So, good suggestion :)