Down to the wire, still a few decisions.

[Ellen]

Date: 9/6/2008 12:16:31 PM
Author: mobius8
Thank you for the kind words. I know you guys and gals have seen some extraordinary pieces on here so I appreciate your comments and hope you mean them

I suppose this is pretty common, but I got an appraisal from the retailer where I made the purchase and the appraisal value for the completed item was 10k more that what I paid.

Is this common?
Should I get another appraisal before going to get insurance on Monday?

Of course we do!

Yes, an over inflated appraisal is common, and yes, you should get one done by an independant appraiser. They will give you the realistic value, which is all the ins. co. is going to pay should you make a claim.

And please let us know how the proposal goes, whenever that is!

 

[:)]

Date: 9/5/2008 4:53:27 PM
Author: mobius8
#4
Please excuse my raggedy finger nails.

ROFL Mob! I was too busy looking at the ring to notice your nails!!! That is a good sign if the ring distracts the viewer from the nails!!!

The ring is perfect - you definitely made the right choice (and yes I really mean it!). I am excited for when you decide to propose! (although I reserve the right to throw eggs at you if you make us wait until New Years...!)

ETA:
Yes as Ellen says overly inflated appraisals from the point of sale are the norm as opposed to the exception!

 

[mobius8]

Date: 9/8/2008 3:58:25 PM
Author:

Date: 9/5/2008 4:53:27 PM

Author: mobius8

#4

Please excuse my raggedy finger nails.

ROFL Mob! I was too busy looking at the ring to notice your nails!!! That is a good sign if the ring distracts the viewer from the nails!!!


The ring is perfect - you definitely made the right choice (and yes I really mean it!). I am excited for when you decide to propose! (although I reserve the right to throw eggs at you if you make us wait until New Years...!)


ETA:

Yes as Ellen says overly inflated appraisals from the point of sale are the norm as opposed to the exception!

Thanks for the kind words.
Unfortunately, since I am on a bit of a time crunch and working every day until we leave for our cruise I did not take Ellen''s advice to get an independent appraisal and I went ahead with the insurance today using the retailers appraisal. I will sleep much easier now that it''s insured.
I also dropped the ring back off and the jeweler to have a minor tweak done. This will be hard to see in the pictures, but there is on either side of the ring a small diamond below the diamond. The mount that holds these small diamonds did not get "punched through" correctly on one side of the ring during the manufacturing process.
When I picked up the ring and looked at it under the microscope I noticed this and asked if they could fix it and they said they could.

Sorry, that was a lot of typing for an insignificant piece of information : - )

 

[mobius8]

Alright, this is it. Thanks for taking this journey with me. I have the ring back from the minor repair/modification they did to it.
I just want some last minute opinions from you, who have helped make this possible.

Should I:

Propose on the cruise later this week?

Wait a few months and use my elaborate New Years Eve plan?

Just figured I''d see what you thought.
Thanks!
You guys are great.

 

[Ellen]

Mobius, when you ask yourself that question, what does your gut tell you to do? Seriously, that is your answer. We can all say what we think, be we aren''t proposing to her.

 

[mobius8]

DONE!
The question has been popped.
The answer was YES!

Details and hand shots will follow.

 

[kcoursolle]

Holy Cow, what a stunning ring!!!!! You did an excellent job mobius, the stone is really incredible!

 

[mobius8]

Date: 9/16/2008 12:41:41 AM
Author: kcoursolle
Holy Cow, what a stunning ring!!!!! You did an excellent job mobius, the stone is really incredible!

Thanks!
We''re both really happy with it.

 

[Ellen]

Date: 9/16/2008 12:39:30 AM
Author: mobius8
DONE!
The question has been popped.
The answer was YES!

Details and hand shots will follow.

I can''t wait to hear the story!

 

[mobius8]

The story of the tiny box........

Several years ago my lovely fiance played a little joke on me where she had a little tiny cardboard box (1.75" x 1.5" x .5") and she placed it in my car for me to find. Just one of those "what in the world is this doing in here" moments that I found infinitely adorable. There have since been other random things left in my car like slices of kraft cheese, etc..
This is right in line with my sense of humor.
So, I kept the tiny box. And later that year, or perhaps the following year, it made another appearance at Christmas time. The tiny box had been wrapped in red paper and placed in with my Christmas gifts. Wrapping that tiny box is no small feat (no pun intended).
Again, I found this to be adorable and I kept the tiny box.
Fast forward to last week. I finally get the ring complete. I pull out the tiny box and undo the red wrapping paper to see if the ring will fit. It does.
I wrap the ring in tissue paper so that it won't rattle around in the tiny box.
I was going to try and wrap it myself but luckily I was able to get a professional to do it.
I tried the local mall and they wouldn't wrap something so small.
Then I tried a local Hallmark store and the girl there was great, she thought it was a fun challenge and did a great job wrapping it and even making a small bow. Then she didn't even charge me. (I'm now a customer for life)
I purchased an Altoids can and dumped the mints to have a safe place to keep tiny box on my person.
At one point as we were packing for our trip she even knocked the Altoids can on the floor while looking for something else.
Thursday we left for our cruise VERY early. We drove all morning and most of the day. Arrived in perfect time.
I nervously proceeded through the security checkpoint and directed her to go through a shorter line several feet away in case my Altoids can set off any bells.
It went through smoothly.
On the second night of our cruise we had a formal dress up night and I arranged for the stateroom to be prepared after dinner with rose petals and sparkling wine and chocolate covered strawberries. Unfortunately no candles.
We finished our dinner and went dancing for a bit with some friends we made on the boat. That couple went back to their room to change shoes and then returned. We stayed out a little longer and then retired to our stateroom.
When we walked in I played it off as if I knew nothing about it. She thought maybe they dressed up the rooms for all the couples. Then she wondered why the other couple didn't mention their room being dressed up.
I told her to grab the bottle of Moet and as she did I quickly pulled out my Altoids can, removed the box and placed it on the plate of strawberries then replaced the lid to that plate and set it on the bed.
I uncovered the plate and we remarked on how nice everything was. We pointed out the tiny box, which she didn't recognize and I suggested she open it.
At this point she thought it was a gift from the cruise, perhaps some candy.
I gave her a tiny pair of scissors to assist in opening the box.
Once she removed the tissue paper she realized what was going on and began to cry.
She finished unwrapping the tissue paper and saw the ring.
I got down on my knee, asked her to marry me and placed it on her finger.

I no longer have a girlfriend. I have a fiance!

P.s. She received several compliments on the ring later in the cruise from people that didn't even know that she was recently engaged. They just liked the ring. : - )
(Hand shots still coming)

 

[Ellen]

Aw mobius, I love it! I'm a sucker for sentimental stories like this, and the "tiny box" couldn't have been more perfect!!

You did a great job, all the way around. I hope she knows how lucky she is.

Many congrats to both of you!



p.s. I love the cheese, great senses of humor!

Now hurry up with those pics.

 

[stone_seeker]

good work....i had a feeling you couldnt wait

those rings burn holes in pockets!

 

[mobius8]

Hand shot as promised.

 

[mobius8]

Hand shot as promised.

 

[Ellen]

Beautiful!! and verrrry nice finger coverage going on there.

Good job.

btw, you never said, does she love it? Does she know what you went through to get it?

 

[mobius8]

She loves it.
I didn''t go through anything special. Just took care in picking something nice. That''s not unusual.

 

[Cleo]

Oh I love it!!! It looks stunning on your fiance (and doesn''t she have beautiful hands?!) - a huge congratulations to you both.

Please feel free to post many more pictures...

x x x

 

[Sharon101]

What a beautiful story!!! From the beginning to the end. Im so glad you didnt wait till NYE. That rings needs to be enjoyed from NOW!!!!! The ring reaqlly is classy and very blingy. I definately like!!!!

 

[:)]

Mob I was hoping you would do it on the cruise, and to be honest, I actually like the way you did it even better than your original plan! It makes for a great and very personal story to tell for years to come. Your story actually made me tear up!!! The ring looks gorgeous on her hand and I am very happy for you both!

 

[E B]

Date: 9/16/2008 8:22:08 PM
Author: mobius8
She loves it.

I didn''t go through anything special. Just took care in picking something nice. That''s not unusual.

You sound like a keeper! Congratulations- the ring is beautiful!

 

[mobius8]

Thanks everyone. You were all a great help.

 

[JSM]

What a wonderful story! It made ME tear up!

Congratulations and GORGEOUS ring!

 

[mobius8]

My fiancées ring keeps falling to one side of her finger.
Is there a way to prevent this and keep it centered?
Thanks!

 

[Ellen]

Date: 9/21/2008 1:56:57 PM
Author: mobius8
My fiancées ring keeps falling to one side of her finger.
Is there a way to prevent this and keep it centered?
Thanks!

Yes, there are a couple options, other than getting it resized. I don''t know where you live, but if it''s still somewhat warm there, it will most likely be looser in the winter. Sizing it down a bit might help, but if she hasn''t been through definite warm weather, when fingers may swell and rings get tighter, you might want to wait.

If sizing is not the problem (sometimes top heavy rings just spin), you can get what''s called a horseshoe sizer. Here''s a thread on one.

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/horseshoe-sizer.38617/


Or sizing beads. Here''s a pic of some.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

How gorgeous and what a wonderful proposal story!!! I am so glad you did it on the cruise!!!

The ring will feel tighter once she wears the wedding band with it. So definitely don''t size it down now. Someone here once said that Clarie''s at the mall sells little things you can attach to the back of the band to make the ring tighter as a temporary measure.

 

[AprilBaby]

Congratulations and AWESOME JOB! I think that is SOOO much prettier than the round would have been! You did GREAT!

 

[kcoursolle]

It''s just beautiful on her!!! What lovely proportions, it really looks fantastic!

 

[mobius8]

Thank you all and a special thank you to ELLEN.
You are all so wonderful.

 

[Ellen]

You''re very welcome mobius.