Does it sound like he''s going to propose?

[loveforfire]

My bf and I are in a serious relationship & have been dating for 2 years in September [so currently 22 months]. I''m 20, he''s 21, both in college graduating in 1 1/2 yrs. He has a job a few hours away this summer, and I visited him last weekend.

My mom, bf & I went shopping, & he kept saying something about a certain jewelry store. Along the lines of, "I''m surprised you don''t want to go into THAT store."

So we do & he makes his way to the engagement rings. He asks what I like & then asks the sales associate what the prices are on a couple different rings. [in front of my mother mind you]

Long after the shopping that same day, he says, "This question has been in my head all day, i don''t know.. would you like a bigger diamond with more color or a smaller diamond with less color??"

He sometimes talks in terms of the future - "if we get married..," or "if we have kids.." [He knows I''m interested in marrying him] [We do not say "when" because it will not be in those terms until we are engaged]

I''m not sure if he''s for sure saving $ for a ring, but he has a well-paying internship for the summer.

I feel like if it''s going to happen soon, it will happen on or around our anniversary in a little over a month.

What do you think? Does it sound like he''s just curious about rings or looking to take the plunge? I am asking because since this has happened, it''s on my mind and I need to talk about it so I''m not thinking about it so much!!!

P.S. I''m new here!! now my mom''s trying to steer me in the right direction as far as picking rings out she says only the best will do, lol.

 

[luckystar112]

Sounds like he''s going to propose soon to me!!!

One thing though....do your BEST to get him to come review this site before he spends any of his hard earned money at a mall store!!!!! Tell him to check out the "rocky talky" section....and read up on diamonds first.

I say this, because a lot of guys come on here looking for diamond and thinking that a H SI1 diamond is going to be yellow and full of inclusions. lol. So, if he wants to get you a beautiful diamond, tell him to LEARN about them first!

Here''s a cheat sheet that you can give him for now:

1) CUT is alway the most important "C". The better the cut, the whiter the diamond, the more brilliance, the bigger it looks, and it even helps to hide any inclusions.

2) Don''t buy what you can''t see anyway. Meaning, it is totally acceptable to go down to a VS2 or an SI1 with the stone being completely eye-clean. You may even be able to find an SI2!!

3) G-H-I-J colored diamonds are the best value. If you find a diamond with flurescence (no idea how to spell that) then along with the great cut, an I or J can face up bright white.

4) Tell him to look at the vendors on this site. The benefits from buying from a reputable vendor are plenty. No sales tax for one...(which means bigger bling for you!) Lifetime upgrade policies, a pricescope discount (if he mentions he found them here) and so on and so on. So don''t rule out buying online although it may sound scary. The vendors here are all very reliable, and you''ll get more for your money than at a mall store.

5) Just don''t buy at a mall store....period....lol.

6) Or ebay.

Hope that helps a little bit.

 

[luckystar112]

And don''t forget to sign yourself up for the ladies in waiting list!!!!!

 

[loveforfire]

oh wow!! i had no idea about the "mall store" thing. yeah, i mentioned to him my mom took me to bailey banks & biddle, her fave, and they gave me a pamphlet with all about the 4 C''s and what''s good/what''s not. i started mentioning things off of it, and he was like "i know that already." hmmmm... makes me wonder! i will for sure put myself on the list. this is def the place for me bc i''m almost clueless when it comes to good diamonds! thank you!!

 

[luckystar112]

Well it''s not *bad* to shop at a store like BBB, (I was mostly referring to stores like Zales, Jared, Kay, and Robbins Bros) I''ve been in there (BBB) and have seen some beautiful stuff...but you can def do better online as far as price is concerned...and possibly cut too. The thing with mall stores (we call them "maul stores" around here..hehe) is that they are overpriced, and usually the sales associates have no idea what they are talking about.

The good part is that you have a large selection right in front of you at an actual store, and if you go in there knowing something about diamonds...you can ask questions in order make sure you''re getting a good stone. WARNING: That doesn''t mean the sales associate will be able to help you.

Remember, they just sell the things. Most think "cut" is the shape of the diamond.

So it really depends on how your bf feels about buying online, or buying in real life. But he should at least read up on diamonds first. If he finds a diamond at a store that he likes, he can put in the same specs on the pricescope homepage and see what kind of prices the vendors offer for comparison. (It will be less)
If he is totally against online, he could still even post the specs on the rocky talky board and get feedback from a lot of people. There are some smart cookies on this site, including appraisers, diamond cutters themselves, diamond vendors, and then just people who love diamonds in general. So either way, he''ll get good advice.

 

[loveforfire]

So it really depends on how your bf feels about buying online, or buying in real life. But he should at least read up on diamonds first. If he finds a diamond at a store that he likes, he can put in the same specs on the pricescope homepage and see what kind of prices the vendors offer for comparison. (It will be less)

yeah, i did a little research myself just now and found a good deal on a diamond and the perfect setting through james allen. good price for what i want!!! now you''ve convinced me i don''t want a mall ring lol thank you!

oh no! i just texted him and mentioned something about buying online and he says he wouldn''t buy something "that important and that expensive" without seeing it first hand :[ boo!

 

[Mandarine]

sounds to me like he wants to propose. I don''t know how soon from those conversations though.

Sounds just like my BF was at the beginning "if we get married"...after a few months he moved into the "when we get married"...and then into the "will you marry me?"...hehe

My FI also would ask questions about rings, but in a very non-direct way. Your BF is definitely more direct!!....

I would have a conversation with him though. It''s not just about when he is ready...it''s when you both are...so why don''t you just say "honey, let''s talk about our future"...in a non-demanding, just "making sure we are on the same page" kind of tone?.

How exciting! Good luck!!

M~

 

[Haven]

Loveforfire--I''m not sure if he''s looking to take the plunge RIGHT AWAY based on these conversations, but it DEFINITELY sounds like he''s seriously thinking about what he wants to do when he does propose, so that''s very exciting!

I can''t give you advice any better than Mandarine''s, so I''m going to ditto that.

I want to comment about #3 on Luckystar''s cheat sheet (which was so nice of you to do, by the way, Lucky!) Make sure you take a look at I and J colored diamonds in person before you go ahead and give your man the ok on these colors. After spending (way too much!) time on PS I thought I''d be happy with an I or J with medium or strong fluor, but then we went to several different jewelers and looked at them in person and they were way too yellow for me. Everyone here will tell you it depends on your personal tastes, but an I or J with fluor will not face up bright white, in my opinion. Just make sure you know what you like in person before you give any specifics to your man! I think I and J stones have become popular because you can get a lot more stone for your dollar, but there''s definitely a color compromise when you go that low.

I definitely second the "no mall stores" warning. BBB does have a great reputation, but as someone who worked in jewelry stores throughout my college years (including BBB) I can tell you that you will get a MUCH better deal going with a good online vendor or a trustworthy local jeweler.

Looking for the right ring and diamond are so much fun, so welcome to the club Loveforfire, and enjoy the search!

 

[loveforfire]

thank you for all the advice, haven and mandarine!! every little bit helps. i talked to him today about shopping online for a ring, and he was totally against it to my dismay! he says he's willing to pay more to see it in person, as opposed to getting a better deal for a better diamond online [ug]. apparently he knows the 4 C's so i'm trusting he will [eventually] get something really nice. so i pretty much gave him the specs of everything i would prefer and he said, who's to say i haven't already gotten one? i was like, WHAT?! i think he says things like that just to get a rise out of me, lol. i'll keep yall posted but i know it won't be before september 5th, and if it doesn't happen that day, i imagine it will be a while longer. either way, i'm not sweatin' it

 

[mimzy]

loveforfire - congratulations! how exciting just in case he hasn''t gotten it already: even though he has done his homework, make sure he knows what kind of certifications most mall stores offer. a lot of stores use their own certifications that can be significantly lower than GIA, AGS, or EGL-USA. Even the standard IGI cert that you find in most stores is usually noticeably lower. also, if you gave him very specific specs (as in more than shape color and clarity) there is a chance that some stores won''t even have that information on their diamonds (when we went shopping no one could tell us the table, crown, or depth percentages at any of the stores).

also (again, if he hasn''t already got it!) remind him that some online vendors (mostly those raved about on here) can give pictures that give much more detail than he could see in a store under their fancy lighting! stress that it isn''t a question of money, but a question of quality....as in, he could get a much better stone for the same about of money, opposed to the same stone for less money! good luck!

 

[monarch64]

It does sound like he''s ready to propose, or at least look into buying an engagement ring! I''m crossing all my crossable body parts for ya!

 

[loveforfire]

lol, thank you! we were on the phone a few minutes ago joking about how we never change our nephews'' diapers, and he was like, "well, that''s going to be your job 90% of the time. i''ll do it every once in a while, but that''s it." and then joking if we don''t have a boy first we have to keep trying until we have one. omggg sounds like it''s gettin serious !!

 

[monarch64]

That''s awesome Loveforfire! I hope things continue in the right direction for you! Please take note of the above posters'' suggestions as far as stone quality for your e-ring...PS is a wonderful place to gain all kinds of knowlege about diamonds, plus you can take advantage and ask the crowd about potential stones and settings! Best of luck to you!