I just wanted to take a few moments to express my heartfelt gratitude to Mark Turnowski from EngagementRingsDirect. My boyfriend proposed to me a couple of weeks ago and knowing my fussiness (and the fact that I am a geologist with a passion for sparkly stones) he thought it was best we chose the diamond together. He spent a huge amount of time researching the type of diamond and availability and so finally we decided on a round cut brilliant diamond (colour H) of approximately 0.9 ct...Great!...all we had to do now was find one! Easier said than done!
I currently split my time between London and Amsterdam so we scoured the streets in both cities looking for a suitable diamond...yes, including the famous Gassan Diamonds in Amsterdam! In fact, I even had a few days in Dubai for work during which I used every available moment of free time on the quest for my diamond. I could not find a thing, in fact I was really disappointed with the quality of the diamonds for sale (and the prices people charge for them).
My fiance meanwhile was reading up on all aspects of diamonds here on pricescope and began to read the testimonials from people who had dealt with Mark Turnowski; everyone seemed unanimous in their praise. Thanks for writing your posts, they have been a fantastic help. My fiance contacted Mark and they began emailing back and forth. As fate would have it, my best friend and I were planning a weekend away and where better to do some Xmas shopping but New York! My fiancé arranged that my friend and I would go to see Mark at his offices when we arrived there. I must admit to being very nervous about going so far away to chose a ring without my fiance, but I need not have been. My friend and I arrived at the offices and were immediately made to feel at home. Mark had arranged for me to see three diamonds, all meeting the specifications he had carefully talked through with my fiance. What followed became the highlight of not only my trip but my best friends too (and she was not even getting a ring
). Mark and his assistant (I have to apologise as I have forgotten her name- but she is excellent!) allowed us ample private time to look at and discuss the diamonds amongst ourselves, whilst always being on hand if we had questions. The decision was hard as all three diamonds were superb...there was something special about them all. I was absolutely astounded by the quality of the stones. They exceeded every expectation I had! I finally decided on my diamond and the next part of my adventure began. We were shown to a nearby jewellers which had every possible ring you can imagine - I couldn''t even begin to count the number of styles of settings. I explained to the lady the kind of thing I was looking for and my concerns about some of the styles I had tried on already...then a fantastic selection was laid out in front of me. Each ring I tried on had MY stone gently placed into the claws so I could really see what the ring would look like. Eventually (I was not quick!) I chose a classic platinum band with a four-claw setting and left the shop with a massive smile on my face. We then went directly to have my band sized to fit me....Mark''s assistant was fantastic, she explained every procedure of the ring making we were going to see which was great. After the ring was sized for me the ring was taken to be set and polished. We arranged to return to Mark''s office later that afternoon to collect my ring. As I walked into the office that afternoon I was a little nervous...had I chosen the right ring, setting style, etc etc? I sat down and Mark passed me over the litle bag containing my ring. It was (and OK I am biased but...) the most beautiful thing I have seen. Everything I wanted and so much more. The diamond was phenomenal! My fiance felt totally part of the process as he had spoken to Mark about what we wanted and Mark had managed to find the most superb stones within the specifications (and price range!) we requested. Choosing and seeing the whole process was a rare experience and I feel really lucky that I have been involved in every step of my engagement ring''s creation! If anyone is looking for that special ring, I would totally recommend Mark and all at Engagementringsdirect!! I will post a picture of my ring as soon as I stop looking at it for long enough to take a photo!!!
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