WAY OT: Engagement rings, Exploiting my personal life, yet again. Options

[ninefourteener]

Ok folks...... you're not gonna believe this one.

Been single over 3 years now.... Definately did my fair share of "experiencing" all the options out there. Been with my current g/f for 11 months.

My longest relationship in my life (excluding my miserable first marriage) was only 4 months.

I think I made this decision last week. I found out that I have "advanced degenerative arthritis" in my right hip, and at age 29, I have almost no cartillage left in my right hip. Anyway..... my g/f took care of me for over 2 days when I couldn't walk. She cried when my pain got bad, and basically stopped her life entirely to help me.

Oh yea.... and she LOVES the 914 (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif)

Can't think of anyone I'd rather spend the rest of my life with. She graduates from college in a few weeks, and will be a high-school history teacher. I want to pop the question on her graduation day.

QUESTION: Anyone recommend a good place to find an engagement ring? I'll need to finance it, so it'll have to be a reputable store that has a credit program.

..... Shaking in anticipation of the comments about to come--LOL

[tat2dphreak]

I went through this just a couple of years ago...

first off, congrats, it really sounds like you have found somone special for yourself! glad she likes the teener!! (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/smilie_pokal.gif)

when my wife and I started looking at rings together, we looked at expensive places, cheap places, online and stores, antique rings and new... I knew what my wife wanted, so all I had do was get it... (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/wink.gif)
I, like you, didn't have the money saved up for a ring, and my wife would have killed me if I spent the traditional "2 months salary" BS...
buy what you can afford, don't go in debt for a ring(the wedding will do that for you),

fact is, you'll find that *most* women don't care about the ring , they care about the person giving it to them, whether you get it at Sam's(costco, wal-mart), or Tiffany's(or wherever else is $$$) and you can always get them a bigger, better ring later, when you can!

learn about the diamonds, certifications and appraisals... the 2 sites below will teach you a lot... one thing I believe though: the CUT portion of the 4 Cs is the most important, a good cut can make a SI diamond look great or make a "flawless" diamond look bad

as for "where" to get it:
bluenile.com
mondera.com

both get you a lot for your $$. not that they are cheap, but you get a little more value...

if you don't care about certified diamond right now, places like costo, sam's, sears can actually get you a pretty decent looking diamond for a lot less... but it's no longer the same investment that will be worth more money later... but as I already said, it will be worth the same to her! but, if you can, get it from a place with a good warranty, in case the diamond falls out, or the band gets messed up...

and I agree, try to negotiate with smaller places first!!