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Since this is kind of the diamond thread, I have a quick question. For Christmas, my dad gave me a diamond solitaire necklace, and the diamond in it was in my great grandmother's engagement ring and was in the family before that. I'm just curious as to how much old (as in from the late 1800s) diamonds are worth. I'm getting it appraised as soon as I can, but the guy that does all the jewelry for my family is in the process of closing his current business because his partner can't work and opening a new one, so it might take a while. It's about a carat and is absolutely stunning. I don't have a loupe or anything, but I can't see anything wrong with it, and according to my dad it's a cut that hasn't been used for a long time. Sorry there aren't many specifics, like I said, I haven't had a chance to have it appraised, but I'm just way too curious. Anybody have any ideas? Oh also, we scoped out the orchard at my dad's house and figured out where we're gonna set everything up. I just have to figure out what wildflowers will bloom in early-mid May in Middle Georgia so my dad can sprinkle seeds out there behind where we'll be standing for the ceremony. I'm excited!
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Dec 1, 2009 03:05
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King Skinny Pimp posted:I'm just curious as to how much old (as in from the late 1800s) diamonds are worth. It's most likely an Old Mine Cut or a European Cut. It's really hard to guess what these things are worth without seeing it and knowing the particulars. But if it's about a carat, and has a good looking color and appears eyeclean then you would be safe in guessing somewhere between $3,500 to $6,000 as a replacement cost. It could be worth more or less depending on the internal clarity and color, though. These things really need to be seen to be evaluated.
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Dec 1, 2009 06:21
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JohnnyRnR posted:It's most likely an Old Mine Cut or a European Cut. It's really hard to guess what these things are worth without seeing it and knowing the particulars. But if it's about a carat, and has a good looking color and appears eyeclean then you would be safe in guessing somewhere between $3,500 to $6,000 as a replacement cost. Ah, Old Mine Cut is what it is. I couldn't remember what my dad told me it was, but that's it. Thanks for the ballpark figure, I knew I wouldn't get a proper answer without someone looking at it proper. I'm gonna try to go by my jeweler today and see about getting it appraised properly.
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Dec 1, 2009 12:09
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The lady and I just ordered our wedding bands from http://www.eweddingbands.com (I mentioned them earlier in the thread). The local jeweler we went to wanted stupid amounts of money for a comfort-fit domed palladium band (3mm for her, 5mm for me). The best part? For both bands, total out the door cost was about $400. The jewelery store wanted $800...for mine alone! Nice thought that our entire wedding is going to be under $1000 including dress, shoes, rings, food, wedding venue, and officiant. I might tack on a new suit for me though, as mine doesn't fit extraordinarily well anymore. We're borderline eloping though, with only about 15 people coming. crazyfish fucked around with this message at 22:28 on Dec 2, 2009 |
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Dec 2, 2009 22:19
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There are time when eloping looks better and better the more I think about the cost of all this cool stuff I'd like to have...*grits teeth* Must. Budget. Harshly.
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Dec 3, 2009 02:45
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crazyfish posted:The lady and I just ordered our wedding bands from http://www.eweddingbands.com (I mentioned them earlier in the thread). The local jeweler we went to wanted stupid amounts of money for a comfort-fit domed palladium band (3mm for her, 5mm for me). The best part? For both bands, total out the door cost was about $400. The jewelery store wanted $800...for mine alone! I think there was some kind of mistake. It sounds like he was quoting you a price for a platinum band, or possibly some type of designer branded palladium band. A designer name would explain the price differential.
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Dec 3, 2009 05:29
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crazyfish posted:The lady and I just ordered our wedding bands from http://www.eweddingbands.com (I mentioned them earlier in the thread). The local jeweler we went to wanted stupid amounts of money for a comfort-fit domed palladium band (3mm for her, 5mm for me). The best part? For both bands, total out the door cost was about $400. The jewelery store wanted $800...for mine alone! I just price checked a local, very popular jeweler's site. Eweddingbands kicks rear end. The local places wants $369 for a 5 mm 14K band, and eweddings wants $176 for the same thing. Thanks,crazyfish!
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Dec 3, 2009 07:22
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Hello again everyone! I'm four days from when I propose, so I apologize for another round of questions... 1. Ring insurance. Do you have someone you recommend? I have the appraisal that came with the ring, and have looked at some places on Google, but I don't know how to judge insurance very well. My roommate is convinced someone may steal the ring as soon as they see me get on my knee. 2. I'm proposing in New York... I'm thinking either Top of the Rock (very pretty at night, it seems), top of the Empire State Building (may be too generic/windy), or next to the giant Rockefeller Christmas Tree. The tree was my first plan, but someone warned me that I may get beaten to the punch because a bunch happen everyday there. Any advice? Sorry for the paranoid/nervous questions!
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Dec 7, 2009 20:56
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Skychrono posted:Hello again everyone! I'm four days from when I propose, so I apologize for another round of questions... Those are all pretty popular spots, so you may get beaten to the punch. But that may be kind of cute. She would totally never expect it and then maybe turn to you --- you are on one knee... cute! As for ring insurance - do you have renter's or homeowner's insurance? I just added my grandma's engagement ring to mine.
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Dec 7, 2009 21:19
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Skychrono posted:Hello again everyone! I'm four days from when I propose, so I apologize for another round of questions... We rent and I have a "personal articles" policy to cover my engagement ring in addition to the renters and auto policies. It's barely more expensive per month than the renters. This is with State Farm, for what it's worth.
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Dec 7, 2009 22:01
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fine-tune posted:We rent and I have a "personal articles" policy to cover my engagement ring in addition to the renters and auto policies. It's barely more expensive per month than the renters. This is with State Farm, for what it's worth. I called my Renter's Insurance people earlier today. They said it's doable, but only if my bride-to-be-I-hope lives with me (she doesn't yet) - and as soon as I give it to her, it'd be transferred to her, so it becomes a problem. Another website recommended a specific jeweler's insurance to cover the item itself.
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Dec 7, 2009 22:06
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Skychrono posted:I called my Renter's Insurance people earlier today. They said it's doable, but only if my bride-to-be-I-hope lives with me (she doesn't yet) - and as soon as I give it to her, it'd be transferred to her, so it becomes a problem. Another website recommended a specific jeweler's insurance to cover the item itself. Ah, yes, we weren't living together when he proposed (and later bought a ring). I had/have the policy in my name, for simplicity's sake. There was maybe a week or two where I had the ring and it wasn't insured. I guess it's a risk that I got stuck taking because of how insurance companies operate. I suppose you could insure it in your name for now and transfer the policy to your fiancee after the fact (much easier if you have a physical office to go to for paperwork signing BS).
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Dec 7, 2009 22:16
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You guys might remember me mentioning an oak leaf ring a while back... well, he proposed!   The stone is a Tsavorite garnet. You can kind of see the oak leaves in the third picture. He's got some better pics of the ring somewhere but I didn't want to wait for him to doctor them since he takes forever. I'm so happy, the ring is exactly what I wanted and I'm getting married 
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Dec 7, 2009 23:24
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For personal jewelry insurance I would recommend: Jewelers Mutual Insurance. http://www.jewelersmutual.com/ I have another company that I would love to recommend but I'm not sure if they sell jewelry insurance. I'll check on that and report back.
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Dec 8, 2009 04:06
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errol _flynn posted:I just price checked a local, very popular jeweler's site. Eweddingbands kicks rear end. The local places wants $369 for a 5 mm 14K band, and eweddings wants $176 for the same thing. Thanks,crazyfish! I was just looking through that site for kicks and the engravings listed had me dying: BETTER THAN BACON My Pet Monster Mother Butter Loves Butter Daddy Say bye bye to freedom babe My muffin, my husband GRUMPYBEAR LIFE W/O PAROLE The toys are LEGALLY mine! We Are... ...Penn State Olive oil forever! You wore me down As long as we have snacks... My Love, My Life, My Butt Man! PUT THAT drat RING BACK ON WOMAN Ring 1: What happened in Vegas... Ring 2: ...Followed me home and my personal fav: I love you more than a fat kid loves cake
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Dec 8, 2009 04:31
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Skychrono posted:I called my Renter's Insurance people earlier today. They said it's doable, but only if my bride-to-be-I-hope lives with me (she doesn't yet) - and as soon as I give it to her, it'd be transferred to her, so it becomes a problem. Another website recommended a specific jeweler's insurance to cover the item itself. My jeweler suggested separate jewelry insurance for my stuff (my engagement ring and a necklace) because it's not worth it to give it to your renter's insurance. I don't have it yet, as I just had the necklace appraised Friday and I haven't gotten the ring appraised yet, but when I do, I'll have a policy that will replace my jewelry for just about any reason with something as good a quality or better. I think you'd be hard pressed to find a renter's insurance that's going to do anything but give you money and may find a way to weasel out of it.
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Dec 8, 2009 06:42
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King Skinny Pimp posted:My jeweler suggested separate jewelry insurance for my stuff (my engagement ring and a necklace) because it's not worth it to give it to your renter's insurance. I don't have it yet, as I just had the necklace appraised Friday and I haven't gotten the ring appraised yet, but when I do, I'll have a policy that will replace my jewelry for just about any reason with something as good a quality or better. I think you'd be hard pressed to find a renter's insurance that's going to do anything but give you money and may find a way to weasel out of it. I work in property insurance and if you have renters/homeowners already it's very cheap to put it on the policy (called "scheduling"). If you have a valid appraisal or even a receipt they'll give you the $$$ to buy new item of the same like, kind and quality. Typically they'll also pay out if you lose it or a stone or it breaks. Never heard of a non-shady company weasel out of paying a scheduled item claim, they have bigger things they don't like to pay. Depending on your insurer and how much the ring is worth, it may be automatically covered up to a set amount for theft ($3-4k usually). But with my company at least, that won't cover breakage or misplacing it. Some will also write a separate policy just for the item called an inland marine. The rates should be cheaper since you're already with the company and will cover just about anything short of deliberate damage. Either way, it can't hurt to call and ask, it's pretty painless. Also, kind of off-topic but I'm curious. How much of a faux-pas did I commit this weekend by not going to a friend's bridal shower? I had RSVP'ed but was disgustingly sick that day. I apologized saying I would've loved to go but didn't want to ruin it by covering everyone in vomit. I'd also already bought her gift off her online registry, so it's not like she came away empty-handed, I just couldn't show up. I've never been to a bridal shower before so don't really understand them/their purpose. In fact, if someone could explain the point of a bridal shower to me I'd really appreciate it because as things progress with this wedding I'm really starting to feel like everything is a money grab which may be really cynical, I don't know.
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Dec 8, 2009 07:07
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Munchee posted:I was just looking through that site for kicks and the engravings listed had me dying: Haha, after reading this I went to the site to check them out. This one is my personal favorite: I love you more than puppies and ice cream Thats TRUE love.
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Dec 8, 2009 10:46
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Munchee posted:I was just looking through that site for kicks and the engravings listed had me dying: Heh, they are pretty funny. I like these: Do I have to wear pants? I do I do! I do love green eggs and ham! I’m gonna buy you so many lizards I only snore for you Bloody Hell and my favorite is this one: ninety years old & blind as bats
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Dec 8, 2009 13:39
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Sarah Barracuda posted:Also, kind of off-topic but I'm curious. How much of a faux-pas did I commit this weekend by not going to a friend's bridal shower? I had RSVP'ed but was disgustingly sick that day. I apologized saying I would've loved to go but didn't want to ruin it by covering everyone in vomit. I'd also already bought her gift off her online registry, so it's not like she came away empty-handed, I just couldn't show up. Did you call her before the shower started to let her know you were sick? She can't possibly be upset with you if you were actually sick & couldn't make it out of the house. Bridal showers are about gifts. Yes, there's food & silly games about the bride and groom, but when it comes down to it they're about getting gifts. You certainly don't have to have a shower if that makes you uncomfortable, but your family may press you into it. But if people want to buy you things, why stop them?
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Dec 8, 2009 13:51
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Sarah Barracuda posted:Also, kind of off-topic but I'm curious. How much of a faux-pas did I commit this weekend by not going to a friend's bridal shower? I had RSVP'ed but was disgustingly sick that day. I apologized saying I would've loved to go but didn't want to ruin it by covering everyone in vomit. I'd also already bought her gift off her online registry, so it's not like she came away empty-handed, I just couldn't show up. Like GoreJess said, as long as you called and let the bride know that you really wanted to be there, but were ill, I'm pretty sure she won't be offended. The showers do seem to be all about the gifts, (Especially one that I went to this year, where there were so many gifts that over the course of three hours, the bridesmaids did all the opening of presents, and the bride just watched them walk by, reading the card if she got the chance.) but I think too that the shower can be used by the families to get to know each other a little better. My question is what's the deal with the wishing wells. The only time I've seen a wishing well at a shower, I was six and didn't know what the hell was going on, but I saw something on an invite to my future MIL that said the wishing well thing had a theme?? What's that all about?
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Dec 8, 2009 14:39
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I got my wedding cake from Wal-Mart, of all places. Apparently, they do them quite affordably, and it didn't even look like crap. My colors were shades of blue, and I wanted my cake to be blue with white scrolls. After stopping by a few bakeries and getting quotes in the 400-700 dollar range for a drat cake, we stopped by Wal-Mart to pick something up and saw they did wedding cakes. I talked to the cake decorator, she showed me some samples, and we went ahead and ordered. The top ended up a little lopsided, but that's not the baker's fault. It was my mom's, who drat near dropped the thing. Not bad for $130. bellybutton fucked around with this message at 15:23 on Dec 8, 2009 |
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Dec 8, 2009 15:21
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GoreJess posted:Did you call her before the shower started to let her know you were sick? She can't possibly be upset with you if you were actually sick & couldn't make it out of the house. Yeah, I let her know several hours before. Friendly Geek posted:My question is what's the deal with the wishing wells. The only time I've seen a wishing well at a shower, I was six and didn't know what the hell was going on, but I saw something on an invite to my future MIL that said the wishing well thing had a theme?? What's that all about? The invitation for this one said where they were registered and that there would also be a wishing well. As far as I can tell you just toss cash in it. I don't know how much is customary, really. What I also don't know is if you're obligated to both bring a gift AND contribute to the well, or can do one or the other. And while we're on the subject, I took the registry/wishing well thing to mean I'd contributing at both the shower AND giving a wedding gift. Since the groom is best friends with my boyfriend I kind of don't feel comfortable cheaping out on them, so I got her something fairly inexpensive and practical off the registry (~$20) and figured my guy and I would give something a little bigger for the wedding itself. It is grating though that the registry is full of crap like expensive cheese graters, sushi rolling kits, futon covers etc because they've been living together for a year and a half.
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Dec 8, 2009 18:49
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Help help help! I got engaged on November 28, and I know that the first thing to do once you get engaged is find a reception venue, since the nice ones book out fast. We want to get married Saturday, September 25, 2010. Many of the reception places I've looked at aren't available on the 25, but are available on the 26. I'm quite happy just doing a luncheon for the reception, but since many of our guests will be from out of town, I worry that people will want to use the 26 for traveling back home. Has anyone here had their ceremony on one day, and their reception the next day? How did that work out for you? Obviously nothing is finalized until my fiance and I decide together on a place, but I wanted to hear about other people's experiences.
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Dec 8, 2009 20:05
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vanessa posted:Has anyone here had their ceremony on one day, and their reception the next day? How did that work out for you? Obviously nothing is finalized until my fiance and I decide together on a place, but I wanted to hear about other people's experiences. If you have a lot of people that aren't local, I would say to prioritize having both on the same day over your first choice of location and date. Speaking as a guest, it is enough of a pain in the rear end when you have like 5 hours between the ceremony and reception, let alone a full day. Just my take, and congrats!!
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Dec 8, 2009 23:29
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Around here, people have wishing wells at bridal showers and baby showers. You put a small gift in the wishing well and give your big gift to the bride/mom-to-be. Examples: Bridal Shower Wishing well gift=a pack of wooden spoons Main gift=a toaster Baby Shower Wishing well gift=a sippy cup Main gift=bedding I'm guessing that the "themed" wishing well was something like "kitchen" or "bathroom" or something...in that case, you would get a small item used in that room.
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Dec 8, 2009 23:54
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bellybutton posted:I got my wedding cake from Wal-Mart, of all places. Apparently, they do them quite affordably, and it didn't even look like crap. My colors were shades of blue, and I wanted my cake to be blue with white scrolls. After stopping by a few bakeries and getting quotes in the 400-700 dollar range for a drat cake, we stopped by Wal-Mart to pick something up and saw they did wedding cakes. I talked to the cake decorator, she showed me some samples, and we went ahead and ordered. Hey, that's frickin beautiful! I like the color and the scrolly bits rock. I want a cake pretty similar for my own wedding, but with a seashell wedding topper. Jesus, what they ask for cakes, though! $400-$700 bucks! loving scandalous prices for CAKE. For seven hundred bucks, that cake better loving be able to do cake-lingus on me or something. Jesus.
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Dec 9, 2009 02:17
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errol _flynn posted:Hey, that's frickin beautiful! I like the color and the scrolly bits rock. I want a cake pretty similar for my own wedding, but with a seashell wedding topper. Jesus, what they ask for cakes, though! $400-$700 bucks! loving scandalous prices for CAKE. For seven hundred bucks, that cake better loving be able to do cake-lingus on me or something. Jesus. I'm not sure how it is for girls, but you're not a man until you've received a cakejob.
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Dec 9, 2009 16:31
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So, does anyone have any experience with ordering engagement rings from Australia. It seems like all of the jewelry that my girlfriend wants is from that part of the world, but I have concerns about making a large ring purchase (sight-unseen) from such a long distance away. She specifically has fallen in love with a pearl ring (she doesn't like diamonds) and they have quoted me a price of $2900 australian, half to be paid up front. My big concern is how to pay and ensure that I'm getting something of good quality.
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Dec 10, 2009 00:43
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Here's a question on pricing. I'm not sure if anyone can help, but I'd like a second opinion that this is a good price for a purchase. .71 CT round cut GIA VS1 G I think are the stats, in a platinum solitaire setting. $3750. IS this a good deal? not that I'm cheap, but I'd like a little peace of mind.
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Dec 10, 2009 03:34
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oneof27 posted:Here's a question on pricing. I'm not sure if anyone can help, but I'd like a second opinion that this is a good price for a purchase. Same stats @ 1ct with slightly worse color was like $500 more for me, so if the cut is great, then it seems like a good deal.
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Dec 10, 2009 03:37
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Acrolos posted:So, does anyone have any experience with ordering engagement rings from Australia. It seems like all of the jewelry that my girlfriend wants is from that part of the world, but I have concerns about making a large ring purchase (sight-unseen) from such a long distance away. Pearls aren't great for rings because they're very fragile. I'd recommend reading up on it a bit and then taking the info to her to convince her to choose something that's not going to be ruined by frequent wear. That's why e-rings tend to have diamonds or sapphires as the stone because they're so high on the hardness scale.
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Dec 10, 2009 04:12
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LorneReams posted:Same stats @ 1ct with slightly worse color was like $500 more for me, so if the cut is great, then it seems like a good deal. That's what I wanted to hear. I wasn't expecting it to be the bargain of the century, but I didn't want to feel like I fell off the turnip truck. Thanks.
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Dec 10, 2009 12:41
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Running off to New York now, proposing tomorrow, wish me luck!
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Dec 10, 2009 12:54
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Skychrono posted:Running off to New York now, proposing tomorrow, wish me luck! Good luck!
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Dec 10, 2009 13:52
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Skychrono posted:Running off to New York now, proposing tomorrow, wish me luck! Good luck!! Report back with details!
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Dec 11, 2009 02:27
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Skychrono posted:Running off to New York now, proposing tomorrow, wish me luck! Awesomeness! Good luck!
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Dec 11, 2009 03:00
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Rooting for you, Skychrono! Good luck!
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Dec 11, 2009 03:55
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oneof27 posted:Here's a question on pricing. I'm not sure if anyone can help, but I'd like a second opinion that this is a good price for a purchase. My advice would be to offer them $250 less, and ask the seller to eat any sales tax. It never hurts to shake the tree a bit.
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Dec 11, 2009 09:12
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JohnnyRnR posted:Ask the seller to eat any sales tax.  Please don't tell people to do this. It's really frustrating working in a jewelry store when people come in and say 'Hey I saw this diamond on Blue Nile, can you guys do it for $500 less than them', and after you shave that off (cutting out staff commissions in the process), the customer says 'Ooh and Blue Nile doesn't charge sales tax either'. Where I work, in Chicago, sales tax is 10.25%. So, in our situation, either we have to take ANOTHER 10% off after taking more than that just to bring it down to internet pricing, or we're stuck having to break the law because some customer wants to ship the item off to their cousin Ronnie in Iowa and pretend they live there. And it doesn't stop there, that's when they also want to walk out with the merchandise, and pretend that we're putting the ring in the box, when really we should just ship some scrap metal or something.This happens literally every single day at the store I work at. Everyone thinks they're above the law, and we get raked across the coals because we have the misfortune of having a physical store, when (for whatever reason that will certainly not last forever) the internet managed to dodge the bullet of requiring sales tax. It's really bad for business but customers do it constantly because they have no respect for the situation we're in. They come in and demand internet pricing but then expect brick and mortar service like same day repairs and appraisals. So please, please, please do not encourage people to shave off the sales tax. I realize you run an internet business and it's good for you since you don't charge it, but there's a need for physical locations too, and they're getting destroyed by this attitude.
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Dec 11, 2009 15:27
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