It''s DONE!!!!!! Thank you all so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ff]

Quick note!!!

She left the house and have seen it in daylight... wow!!!!!!!!! And I thought I was excited before!!!!

I''ll definitely respond to all of your great individual comments a bit later and will post more photos too.

I''m writing up the entire journey from start to finish (summary) as I learned a lot of things during it. I''m hoping the next person that starts the journey where I did (knowing nothing!!!

) can gain from it. And the rest of you should definitely find it amusing! I''ve even put in a confession that should get me in trouble with some hard core diamond lovers here. [ Don''t worry though! I learned from my mistake before I made it!!!

All ended well.

Back to writing it and then to go take some photos. Then I''ll be back!

 

[bling*diva*]

~~I love it!! I love the diamond/sapphire combo...I can''t wait to see more pics!!!

BTW, what kind of wedding band will she wear??

 

[ff]

Ok gang! Here it is... I've done a quick

writeup of the journey to get this put together. Scary to think this is the abridged version... it seems to go fast but this was over a span of months with sometimes long anxious waits between steps.

I hope you enjoy the read and please be kind... None of us are perfect.

Will post photos later. I also have some good photos comparing the initial sapphires I had with the ones I got from Wink side-by-side before setting so that you can see the difference I talk about.

 

[ff]

Time to catch up on responses

:

Everyone: Thank you so much for all your positive words and huge compliments. It really warms the heart and makes a guy feel great. You are all awesome.

I promise I''ll post more of pictures.

Diane5006: I''m completely with you.

I think the sapphire sides give a contrast that is incredible and make the diamond look even better!

Kaleigh: Thanks! I''m also pretty sure she will.

I did very small tricks here and there to get out of her what she would love. Tricky to do so without ever giving it away.

gailrmv: You asked for me to tell you more so you got it! Beware!!!

Read the PDF I posted... it really covers the whole journey. I normally would never post that much details but you have all been so open and sharing and have taught me so much that I would feel bad not doing it in return.

Hopefully it can help the next person that comes along and says, how do I start?!?!?

Lindsey: Glad to hear I converted you!!

Now I know I did a great job.

And yes, I''m super happy with the setting. I''ve looked at so many that I almost got jaded and figured you just have to "settle" for something. Ended up getting exactly what I wanted without any settling.

Tacori E-ring: I assure you... I''m the lucky one.

Linda: As I warned gailrmv... you asked for more info and got it!! ha ha ha.

Beacon: Same warning. That PDF should teach you all to ask for the story and more details.

SuzyQZ: Thanks!

And yes the excitement is through the roof. It''s all the fault of everyone at PS! The contagious excitment started with all of you!!!

And yes that is a big burning hole...

Luckily I''ll be able to report back sometime within the next couple of months... I can''t be too specific as it''s a big secret.

bling*diva*: Have no idea yet about the wedding band. I figure I''ll wait to do that part of the experience together with her. I made sure to choose a setting though that would allow for quite a few options there.

Again, thank you everyone for all your fantastic feedback! I am floored.

 

[FacetFire]

Oh, it is absolutely perfect! Love the color! Can''t wait to see more pics!

 

[lisaC]

Wow the difference in the sapphires- like night and day! The ring is beautiful! Congratulations

 

[ff]

Hi lisaC! Definitely a huge difference. Here''s some of the photos I said I was going to put up which really demonstrates it.

This first photo is in low light. Already noticeable but not huge.

 

[ff]

Here''s the same two pairs but add a little light into the equation. The left pair from Wink (original source pala) lights right up!

 

[ff]

Here''s something neat. I normally don''t use a flash but I took a photo of each pair with the flash on purpose just to see what would happen. The result was a major difference. Notice how much more light is returned from the second pair which is Wink.

attached pair 1 photo.

 

[ff]

here is the second pair with the flash.

 

[ff]

Again, from a non-expert viewpoint, the biggest difference between these two seems to be the polish. The cuts look really great on both, they're super close in size, the color is also really close. It just one seems to have a rough finish so light can't get in and out as easily and the other almost has a mirror finish so super clear.

Shhhhhhhhhhhhh don't tell Garry!!!!

but I did take some loupe photos too. I didn't use them to pick which ones I liked best (that was obvious) but more to understand better why one pair looked so much better. I'll definitely have to go pickup a bullet-proof vest before I try posting those though!!!

 

[chrono]

When I saw the pictures of the sapphires, I knew right away which ones are the new ones from Wink. The blue is so intense yet not dark. Great ring, great sapphires!

 

[ff]

Here''s a photo of the ones from Wink in the lighted scope my setter was using. This photo is purely for fun but came out so cool.

 

[ff]

Some photos!

These were some quick ones after she left to work this morning. Not artistic but simply so that you can see all angles. Will definitely take much better ones later I promise. Enjoy!

 

[ff]

Angled photo.

 

[ff]

Side Photo.

 

[ff]

Some more natural lighting.

 

[Kaleigh]

SIGH!!! It''s so beautiful!!!!

 

[ff]

Thanks Kaleigh!

You''re awesome.

 

[FireGoddess]

Wow, the sapph pair from Wink is beautiful!!!

 

[SuzyQZ]

ff:
After reading your story "The Road" the ring looks even more beautiful to me because now I know its history. Can''t wait to see how you decide to make the proposal! You are right, you''ll have a hard time getting that ring away from her to take pictures. She will be soooo surprised its more that she could have ever imagined!!
Thank you for sharing.

P.S. I love your inscription!

 

[diamondsrock]

oh is that ring gorgeous. I love sapphires and diamonds together and those sapphires are super bright and the perfect color!!! Any girl would love to have that ring. Great job!

 

[4themrs]

Beautiful Ring!
ff, I am not sure if I am suppose to ask here, but I am looking at getting a ring to surprise my wife and I was wondering where you got the ring and what your experience was during the selection, buying process.
Thanks!

 

[ff]

FireGoddess: I can't agree more!

Wink did a fantastic job tracking those down and he had them to my door in under two days. Astounding!

SuzyQZ: I'm glad you like the history behind it.

There were definitely some very tense moments here throughout.

And when it comes to the proposal, I have it all planned out and she sees none of it coming... it's actually just about as elaborate as the ring and has taken just as much planning.

Let's just say I've gotten a lot of great info from those threads about taking a ring through airport security.

In terms of the inscription, thanks! I don't think I posted what I actually put but I'm guessing you liked that it included the infinity symbols.

diamondsrock: Thanks!

I have Wink to thank for those sapphires.

4themrs: I'm sure you're wife will love the surprise! And I'm more than happy to share any info. I can with you. Without everyone's help here, I would have never put this one together.

Then let me know anything I might have missed that you'd like to know. I pretty much listed the source for all the pieces there. Good luck!

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

All that is missing are hand shots!

cheers--Sharon

 

[ff]

Thanks canuk-gal (Sharon

) ! I''ll definitely make sure to post some after I propose. Might be a bit too dangerous beforehand to sneak it on her finger at night while she''s sleeping and take a quick flash photo.

"go back to sleep honey. you must have been dreaming about paparazi or something..."

 

[Linda W]

ff,

I say this from my heart. Your ring is much more beautiful than my Tiffany''s 3 stone ring. And your sapphire''s look brighter than mine too. Your ring is truly gorgeous. I LOVE the design of it.

Linda

 

[Gothgrrl]

I just love your 3 stone ring. I happen to love, love, love sapphires. And I can''t wait to see hand pics. Good job!

 

[WinkHPD]

Thanks ff, I enjoyed reading your epistle on your experience. I also appreciated that you took such good care of your local jeweler and his staff, that shows a LOT of class in my book. I always feel that it is important to have a good local jeweler to take care of you if you can.

You commented that you are surprised that I am so open about Pala being one of my sources. It is to my benefit, and yours, that they do well, so I am happy to share their name. They are consistently able to help me get excellent quality gems for my clients and helping them will only mean that they continue to be able to help me. It is a wonderful synergy that I have with many of my vendors.

Nice job with the photos! I always have a hard time with sapphires and rubies, but you made it look pretty easy.

Wink

 

[sevens one]

those pictures are amazing.
They really capture the beauty of your ring