Ladies I need your help!

[seaboyforever]

Oh ,dont Do It!!!!!!!

 

[chepar]

If you absolutely wanted to present her with a ring that is as close to fitting properly as possible, then I guess comparing her finger size to your own may be a good route.

Otherwise, I like the idea of buying the stone in a temporary setting and letting her pick out the final setting.

There is a tool jewelers have - it looks like a ring, and where the stone would go the prongs open up to grab the stone - this is so you can imagine what the loose stone would look like set. Maybe your jeweler would have one of those for you to borrow.

 

[Giggi]

The last thing I wanted was to have then-future hubby picking out a ring for me (especially since I had seen his taste in clothes before he started dating me - all black jeans and t-shirts and nothing dressy). I told him that when it was time to go ring shopping, I would like some input, since I was the one who would be wearing it for the rest of my life. (He still teasingly calls me "high maintenance because of that.) So, he went shopping and picked out two or three rings, then took me shopping and let me pick from those. We actually both agreed on the same ring.

However, he was still able to surprise me with it because we bought it right after Christmas and I was eagerly waiting to get it sized. The day it was supposed to be ready, he called me and told me that there was a delay because of all of the post-Christmas backlog. I went to his house for a romantic "consolation" dinner where we had carry-out Chinese by candlelight. After we ate, he asked if I wanted some dessert and I told him that I wasn't very hungry. He asked whether I was in the mood for some "ice," and dropped to one knee and proposed, and handed me the ring box.

I smacked him and jokingly said "NO" for lying to me, but then gave him the biggest hug and kiss in the world for still managing to find a way to surprise me with it.

Maybe you could find a way to surprise her with it in a different way? I've never been a fan of an engagement ring as a holiday gift. Just as another opinion (and not to be disrespectful...and I'm sure I will hear it about this one), but to me it has always seemed like giving an engagement ring as a holiday gift is a copout on the creativity of gift giving and also proposing. Also, if the engagement falls through (heaven forbid), it could really screw up future holidays for you.

 

[pennypue]

Go to the crafts store and get one of those stepping stones kits, you might find it at a toy store too. Most people use them to make castings of their kids hands. You could get her to make the handprint, then take it to the jeweller. LOL

OR......buy her a mood ring to check for fit. Tell her you want to know when she's in a good mood AND a bad mood so you can put her in a better mood.

You could start acting a bit dorky and buying her rings from a gumball machine. Just get your hands on one that fits her.......

Or just get a girlfriend of hers to tell you. I can usually tell my friends ring sizes when they play with one of my rings.

You could just try EVERYTHING. Then she'll think you're whacked out, and you won't need to buy a ring.

 

[chepar]

Well, the holiday season is prime "ring presenting" time (other than Valentine's Day). Frankly, anything you do in an attempt to discern her ring size that involves her participation will probably clue her in.

I think you might consider her being able to help choose the stone also. I'm not saying that she wouldn't love the ring if you choose it yourself - but you'd be surprised at the amount of pickiness a woman will exhibit on just the cut alone if she has the ability to choose.

My sister is currently going through the process of choosing her stone. Wants something other than the brilliant cut. She was convinced she wanted a radiant cut. Then she decided she liked the Ascher cut, but good stones are harder to find and VERY expensive. Now she's looking at the princess cut. Already considered the marquise, pear and emerald cuts. She's driving everyone batty, as she always wants someone to go with her to "help her look".

 

[devolution365]

Heh. I was the same way when picking out mine. It's an important decision!

I did a lot of my looking on the internet, decided on a princess cut, then went out to see some in person before making my final purchase. :huhu: I didn't like them in person.

So, I started all over again (luckily for my fiance, I continued my search on the internet and didn't drag him all over). It ended up taking months, but I got what I wanted. It ended up being a round, but with a slightly unusual cut -well, it has the normal number of facets, etc, but the angles are different than what's considered the "best" (in others' opinions). -It makes mine have a little more fire than the rest, but at the cost of it looking smaller than it is (no big deal IMO).

In the end all the trouble will be worth it 'cause every time she looks down she'll go "Hee! That's so cool!". -And that's what it's all about, right?

 

[Ber Rabbit]

The rigors of my job put limits on what I could have. A single stone would have been knocked off soon after I got it. I told my husband I needed an anniversary band rather than an engagement ring with channel set diamonds. I wanted square ones and we had looked at a ring a year or so before he bought one so he could see what I wanted. 1 carat was too big on my hand so it had to be no more than 3/4 carat. He went shopping on his own and bought a beautiful channel set band with 13 diamonds and a what looks like two leaves that lay on either side of the band. I'd only had the ring a few weeks when I nearly broke one of the leaves off at work. The ring has been in the shop many times to tighten the diamonds (they are round and harder to keep in the channel than square), re-attach the leaves (twice) and replace one diamond when the band broke. I'm really glad he didn't get me anything that stood up I didn't want a separate wedding ring, we couldn't find any bands that looked right with the engagement ring so it served as my wedding ring also, he simply re-presented it to me at the wedding.

He proposed on Christmas Day and I was so surprised my answer was "I think I'm going to puke." I had giant butterflies in my stomach. He said, "Is that a good puke or a bad puke?" Maybe not romantic but certainly original :biggrin:
Ber :lilbunny:

 

[Walter]

My dear Ber, why am I not surprised?

 

[pennypue]

The rigors of my job put limits on what I could have. A single stone would have been knocked off soon after I got it. I told my husband I needed an anniversary band rather than an engagement ring with channel set diamonds. I wanted square ones and we had looked at a ring a year or so before he bought one so he could see what I wanted. 1 carat was too big on my hand so it had to be no more than 3/4 carat. He went shopping on his own and bought a beautiful channel set band with 13 diamonds and a what looks like two leaves that lay on either side of the band. I'd only had the ring a few weeks when I nearly broke one of the leaves off at work. The ring has been in the shop many times to tighten the diamonds (they are round and harder to keep in the channel than square), re-attach the leaves (twice) and replace one diamond when the band broke. I'm really glad he didn't get me anything that stood up I didn't want a separate wedding ring, we couldn't find any bands that looked right with the engagement ring so it served as my wedding ring also, he simply re-presented it to me at the wedding.

He proposed on Christmas Day and I was so surprised my answer was "I think I'm going to puke." I had giant butterflies in my stomach. He said, "Is that a good puke or a bad puke?" Maybe not romantic but certainly original :biggrin:
Ber :lilbunny:

:sigh:

How romantic.......funny too!!!

 

[devolution365]

Ber Rabbit: I know what you mean about being hard on your ring. I work in IT and am always scratching myself on computer hardware, then I go home and work on my car where my hands get stabbed, crushed, and generally get beat up some more. When I'm smart I put on a pair of gloves. I didn't want a ring where the diamond stuck up really far for just those reasons. I ended up finding out about tension rings, and my decision was made. Basically the metal of the ring squeezes the diamond to hold it in place instead of holding it in a setting with prongs. The diamond in a tension setting is usually flush with the metal, so it's very low profile. It's very secure (some say more secure than prongs) and I love the look.

Here's the thing chepar was talking about -this is what my diamond came in when I bought it (I had it set later). It looks like a ring, but the end opposite of the prongs is a sprung hinge. Squeeze the ring, the prongs open (and the diamond falls out -be careful!), but it looks like a ring and makes for good presentation.