hi, im not lookin for "how to" propose, rather, what is it i need... like a ring?

is that the socalled engagement ring? then i have to buy another ring for the wedding? there goes my 911 suspension upgrade

I guess it all depends on your bride. Does she like jewlery?(ok dumb question all women like jewlery) I guess what I meant was how much does she like jewlery. I got away with one ring, same ring for engagement and wedding. Had sentimental value, bought in Costa Rica where I proposed on the beach. Wasn't even that expensive.

But my wife would rather be driving around in her teener than wearing a spendy ring.

Guess I just got lucky!

Good luck to you on the proposal

Yep, 2 rings. The engagement is the most expensive. It's usually the fancy one with a diamond or ten in it. The actual wedding band is just solid gold (1-2 c-notes).

What is she says no? Get a receipt!

3 months salary yikes! that's more than just a 911 suspension!

traditional is to have both an engagement (i.e. diamond $$$) ring and a wedding band (less $). worry about the engagement ring.

My wife is the same way, she doesn't get into spendy jewerly. She likes riding around in the 914, and helping out on it.... a little. I was very lucky to find her for sure!

Yes, typically you will have a promise ring before the engagement, an engagement ring and the wedding band that goes with the engagement ring. If you planning on purposing, me thinks you skipped the promise ring part. And are moving along to the engagement ring part? If so, you should only have to buy the engagement ring and the wedding band to match it. She wears the ring now and puts the band on at the wedding.

Good luck! Let us know if she says yes!

I bought a $10 engagment ring....we used the money for the "real" deal instead...........it all depends on her, mine was okay with the "cheap" engagment ring....

would any of you think its a bad idea if i buy myself a welder and weld my own wedding band? lol this is pretty much the only excuse i can think of so she will let me buy and actually use a welder..

Not all women go for big engagement rings...if she loves you she will accept anything ..Money doesn't show when it comes to LOVE !

Rings may be optional, but the prenuptial agreement is required!

Good Luck.

For my wife, (3 years together today) there was an engagement ring, and then wedding rings after. I did make sure that she got me an engagment present too though.

My rule was 2 months salary (she wouldn't go for 2 weeks) and the ring had one diamond, not big (0.58 carots), but it was of the highest quality (cut/colour/clarity)I could afford.

Do what Chung did, and go with a titanium ring. Looks cool, feels light weight. Plus they're not TOO spendy. They have them on ebay. Just don't tell her you got her rings off the bay.

Good luck!!

Jen

edit:

Amazing......

I am having a jeweler in Dallas create a ring for Amy as we speak - it will hopefully be here next week.

We leave for Newport on the 22nd to visit my family (she has never been to the west coast). If the weather is good I am thinking about the Huntington beach peir as the place.

Try and find a link to a wholesaler. Aims ring has a fully documnted/accredited stone and I am saving over 65% off of retail - thank goodness!

Good luck with your proposal!

Does anyone know if girls still go for the one knee approach?

Yes we still go for the one knee thing...and a bouquet of flowers !



Good luck

The 2 month's salary idea is just a clever marketing ploy.

Spent what you can afford and not a dime more.

Get something nice - talk to an independant retailer or try www.bluenile.com

That site had decent deals and a decent return policy.

I spent my entire car restoration fund on my wife's ring. It didn't even hurt - she was worth it and in the end she bought me a 911.

So...beat that.

if you put a big enough, nice enough diamond in that tension setting, it can get spendy...

but those first two settings are v-e-r-y similar to what Joy and i have -- titanium with platinum inlay. -not- from Ebay, but from Titanium Era i'd recommend them. Statman Designs is another source - Statman hangs out on the 911 RennList a lot.

we went with just the one ring originally, the tension-set diamond solitaire for her, a Pt inlay Ti band for me. our 3rd anniversary is coming up and i've alreeady ordered the anniversary ring from Titanium Era - it's a little more like a conventional wedding band, but with inset Moisanite.

neither of you NEEDS a ring - there's no legal requirement. it's simply tradition and convention.

but you should make sure your expectations are compatible -- 'cause if you can't agree on something this basic at the beginning of the relationship, it does not bode well for bigger issues down the line ...

Since I just went through this..... I bought my stone from a web-broker, a place called and don't laugh... dirtcheapdiamonds.com. The diamond was GIA certified. Upon reciept I had it checked out by a local GIA gemologist who verified the certification. They offer a 10 day no quetions asked return policy. They are a broker and the diamond came to me direct from a large wholesaler in NY. I saved sales tax plus some extra $ over purchasing locally. Also, no-one local had the GIA cert. they were certified by other labs that allegedly aren't as good. After I got the stone, I had it set locally. I did pay a few $100 extra for the setting since I brought the diamond in, but I still saved alot. Also, check out www.pricescope.com. Alot of good info and a diamond search engine that searches a bunch of brokers.

Regarding 2 bands or one, that is just personal preference. When you choose settings, some will come with 2 bands some won't. Some settings are designed so they cannot work with 2 bands.

Finally, the best thing I did was go into a jewelery store and window-shop with my girlfriend. What I would have bought for her, and what she wanted were completely different. I still surprised her with the ring. But it was really important to find out what she liked.

Now she is wearing my next Porsche on her finger. I wanted to get an SC for a daily driver....

Rings can get way out of hand. We took more the farmers approach to it. My band is simple white gold, I think it was $75 or so? My wifes band has a very,very nice diamond, but smaller, I think a little over 1/2 carrot? Also white gold. Still, our whole set was under $1k. We have better things to spend our money on. Plus it was what we could pay cash for.

Thinking about it, I didn't do the one knee thing. We use to walk down to the beach everyday at a house we still own, but can't live in anymore. While sitting on a beached log, I popped the question.

Gee one question no one has asked, Are you two good friends? If so, why screw up a good friendship? Seriously though, spend what your comfortable spending. I spent more then 3 months salary but only because I cold afford to. Keep in mind the following, the ring is a symbol of your love, devotion, and commitment to each other. Find something that will covers those three without looking outrageous and hope she's satisfied. I married my best friend, and we still like each other after 9 years.

Good Luck!
Mike D.

After 24 years, I would suggest psychological testing prior to any ring Ok, so I'm bitter

The 4 "C"'s of diamonds: cut, clarity, color, carats
(and that is the correct spelling for carats BTW)

I'd invest in a good pair of sneakers though, cause if'n you don't run away, she'll keep you on the run.
Good luck.
Married since '82. Damn, almost a life sentence.

she's the one, there's no doubt about it. i didnt think of the Ti idea, thanks jenny. looks like thats what im gona go with now, bc i was thinking of white gold before. Ti is much much better (imho)

Opera guy,

Since you're in SoCal, I highly recommend you do your shopping at the International Jewelry Center in downtown LA (3rd & Figuroa). Absolutely the lowest prices on the same stuff sold at the majors (I have confirmed this myself). I assure you you'll pay 1/3 to 1/4 the price you'd pay anywhere else. There are probably 50+ vendors there all competing for your business...they're open on Saturdays. If future wife goes along to pick something out, you can make a day out of it and see literally thousands of choices in all price ranges. Most are diamond brokers as well. I didn't buy an engagement ring even though my wife is the bling-bling type......said nothing, and saved a bunch of money!

Andy

A'yup. I never fancied yellow gold either, too gaudy. I always wanted white gold, then platinum, and now, titanium. Much more practical.

Also depends on if she's a show-y type of girl. Some like the flashy stuff (bling-bling), some prefer the more subtle approach. I think Ti is a nice subtle bling.

Jen

Oh yeah,

Statman Designs

I've emailed Dan before, and he's really great about working with you if you have a particular design or whatever in mind.

Jen

I got my wife’s ring at a pawnshop, they even let me take it to a jewellery shop (with a deposit of course) and have it appraised. It is an older style setting, white 18k gold, single stone. It was appraised for $2800 and I got it for $700.

My wife loved it and she had a band custom made to match for around $300.


A friend got his wife a fake mosinite (sp?) stone (she does know) in a nice setting, even jewellers have a hard time telling them from a real diamond. It's huge and about 1/3 of the price.

ummmm, you might like the Ti, but does she???

I knew my wife was not a fan of silver, plantinum or white gold so we went with yellow gold (14k for me, 18k for her)...in fact we had our rings custom made by a jewler in SF, we went to go inspect the rings that he had cast (it was neat to see the wax originals) 2 weeks before the wedding....the jewler opens up the velvet lined box and my wife damn near fainted...he screwed up and made the rings in white gold...I thought they looked great, but needless to say, he had to remove all the diamonds from her ring and mine and had to recast the rings in yellow gold....he kept the "accidental" white gold rings to put new diamonds in and sell, so someone out there should have a matching ring to ours

I guess we all about the bling-bling, LOL....now to get the matching gold on my teeth, hahahahaha

Don't DO it...

Alternatively...rob a 7/11 at gun point...That way you'll be out and free in 3 to 5 years with little or no debt...Good behavior might be just 18 months...

2-OH!

My wife's engagement ring is an antique, which she inherited from her great aunt if I remember right. It's got a nice intricate art deco white gold design, and a not too big diamond. It's a very different sort of bling, that isn't for everybody, but it's perfect for us. To me, the design of the ring is more important than the stone that goes in it. As for the wedding rings, I took a jewelry casting class here at Cal Poly, and designed them myself to match the engagement ring. That made me appreciate the intricacy of the engagement ring even more. (it's damn hard to carve details in wax)

dont worry, if i buy it, she'll like it. thats how i know she's the one

Ti is very tough; not as hard as tungsten (another new choice at Titanium Era) but much more scratch-resistant than any jewelry-grade precious metal and holds its shape -very- well (else it'd make a really crappy spring...)

it is virtually inert although it will develop a slight darkening from surface oxidation that lets it contrast nicely with a Pt inlay, and since it's used in medical implants, there are no contact dermatitis issues. Joy has seen some sensitivity to some SS alloys but is unaffected by the Ti.

it's light, so i can type really, really fast [ :-) ...] and of course it is very heat-resistant ...

since i do more stuff with my hands i got the slightly harder alloy, but J's is 16-4 aircraft-grade Ti, both have .900 Pt inlay.

For the true race fan:
Carbon Fiber

While what she likes is very important, the ring is a symbol of how you value her. Presuming everything goes well, the two of you could be looking at that ring for a long time. Be sure you get a nice one because 20 or 30 years from now you don't want to wish you'd bought something better.

Good luck and best wishes.

Carl

Buy a comfortable couch.

Often times the way you propose can also make it that more special.

Buy a nice ring... the first thing everyone wants to look at when a woman says she got engaged is the ring.

Give them something to oggle at!

Buy what you can afford. I bought my wife's stone for about 65% off appraised value from a local jewelry shop. The stone was from an estate collection. Designed the mount myself.

Learn about diamonds... the 4 Cs.... have some fun at it. Don't buy off e-bay. Have it appraised first. In this case... size doesn't matter. A small ring that is perfect or near perfect can look much prettier then a 2 carat honker with poor color and flaws visible from 5 feet!

The welder and 911 suspension may have to wait....

What's more important... your woman or your car?.... (wait! don't answer that... if you had to think about it, she might not be the ONE!)

Good luck!

Any other BBS' or Forums out there where a guy can get an "engagement" question answered ?? I'm so happy we let people be "people" here on this site.


Good luck. My best wishes are with you and yours.



B

All that is needed for a good wedding proposal are two people in love who promise to stay with each other forever......that and a pre-nup of course. Nobody gets 1/2 of my cars without me around....

And some women chimed in too! That always helps.

I will just reiterate, that it is very important to find out what she likes, she has to wear it.

I also got my girl a smaller but very high quality diamond, she actually wishes it were smaller because it gets in her way when she tries to work. She actually picked her own ring out, but she picked a white gold setting and later confided that she really wanted platnium, but it was simply too expensive. I went back and had it changed so she really loved that.

Anyway, many of the jewlers will set the diamond in a simple solitare for you to propose with, then you can go back and she can pick the setting that she wants, I'm sure you pay for the extra setting one way or another but it is worth it.

You may find that even if she isn't into bling and huge diamonds, she may have some definate ideas about the cut she wants and so forth, so find out one way or another what, if any, they are.

A buddy of mine actually made his ring. He ordered a foot of Ti bar stock, machined the ID, OD, etc on a lathe. Then split the band, bought a stone, then used jewler's end mills mahined the setting. Looks really neat and it really came from the heart more than the wallet.

I paid three months salary for my first wife's ring, I laid around watching the Price is Right! for three months, drinking Jack Daniels, while she held down two jobs to support my video poker addiction.

My new wife and I were married thru email. She's a Russian girl that I ordered online. I send her money every week, and told her not to think about coming to meet me, because to the language barrier, and the fact that I don't want to hear it out of her.

Then again, I've never been married..


M

I bought my wife a engagement ring with a moderate size diamond. All the while I was going to have her pick out an wedding band and have the engagement stone set in the new band. It all worked out for the best (just like I planned ) She loves her ring and I was able to save the hassle and expense of having to buy two rings. As long as the wife is happy thats all that matters right?

Tip: Diamond prices are negociatable. So don't be afraid to haggle a bit. Stay away from the Mall stores and shop around.

Pat

Hell yeah!



Oh, I thought you said 'hooker'.



M

OMG

Prenuptial, 2 years, 5, 10, 20, 40 it’s all a matter of time.

Damn, when I proposed to my now "X" girlfriend I was in the shop and twisted a ring out of safety wire (did a damn fine job, I might add-7 twists per inch and would have passed a QAR inspection easily!)....

She said it was definately different!

That one ended up pissing me off and now I have a new one that is just awesome! Too bad I wasted the cool ring idea on the old one and a few grand to boot! Hell this new one wants to get married right away after just a few months- BUT I have too much R&D going on for that crap!

I think I might take my dads advice.. He lost 360K bucks due to a shitty wife...

"Son, just spend 100 bucks a week on a piece of ass, you'll have more fun and save lots more money. When you get tired of her just go to the next block and find a new one"

I think I would rather have a special proposal than a fancy engagement ring (although a flashy rock is always welcome). For the proposal, integrate an event/place/etc. that has special meaning in your relationship.

I've been watching too many episodes of "A Wedding Story."

Mer

Definatly use one Knee... The shock factor and she can tell her girlfriends about it... (they'll ask)

Buy a nice ring you can afford and can take back. Then take her with you to pick one out. She's the one that has to wear it. Worked for me. 25 years next August. (2 ring upgrades later)

Good Luck!
Dan
(lost 2 rings, now wear none. No single girls have asked me. I wonder why..)

Ti rocks. . . but it's the rock that's expensive.

I looked for a loose stone at a highly reputable online dealer. . . didn't want to dink around w/ Bay Area price craze especially because i didn't know jack about looking at diamonds www.bluenile.com and www.mondera.com served me well. I went w/ .43 carat almost perfect stone 'cause she didn't want something that would get in the way if she wore it all the time, and proportionally, the tension setting I was after didn't take well to large stones.

Then, I looked around at settings and found www.boonerings.com . He gave me the element of surprise 'cause the guy made my ring in 1 day 'cause he machines them in his garage with his computer-controlled machines (he used to make bike cranks) ,and he made it to the profile I specified. I next-dayed my loose stone to him in Georgia. He recieved it at noon, made my ring, set the stone, and sent it next day back to me same day he got it. I have nothing but good things to say about this guy.

Paid premium for wedding band at a mall store because she really liked a particular platinum band w/ 7 really tiny stones. I couldn't find that profile elsewhere, and they looked good together. . . and well, she likes diamonds.

Best of luck.

Titanium now that is cool. We were engaged damn ner 20 years ago
nice, inexpensive ring for engagement and wedding. 10years later when I was making more money I got her a BIG ASS diamond .80 Marque cut. and a Porsche 928.

Comming up on 20 in November Already got the New Mini. Now I plan on getting her into Autocross. Been showing her the in car videos from AutoXforum.com Delta region. Think she is talked into at least a few runs.

Jake If'n I was your brother I woulda listen to dear old dad. Sounds like the best way to go. if the piece is terrible it is not like you had much invested (time, money. emotion)

Shoulda coulda woulda.