canadiangrrl
Brilliant_Rock
- Joined
- Jun 10, 2003
- Messages
- 787
...and one imperfectly perfect ring.
I am now officially engaged to the kindest, brightest, wittiest guy I''ve ever known.
Mr. Canadiangrrl (his new title, heh heh) and I have been weathering the long-distance thing (the 500 miles) since the outset of our relationship (the 15 months. And I will stop with the parentheses now.) It has been expensive and grueling and I don''t recommend it, but having said that, he is just so worth it.
We had been planning on becoming officially engaged this weekend for the past month or so. So it was a let down when Mr. Canadiangrrl called me last week and said that he didn''t yet have my ring. He explained that he hadn''t yet received it from Rich Sherwood, who was doing the appraisal. He told me that it wouldn''t arrive until after I''d departed. Lies, I tell you, lies.
I was rather disappointed as I won''t see him again until Thanksgiving. Turns out that Mr. Canadiangrrl just wanted to surprise me. I am the pragmatist, he''s the romantic, so I should have seen it coming.
We spent Friday night handing out candy to the hordes of kids who came by his house. I had asked him ahead of time to put aside some Tootsie Rolls from the loot he''d purchased to hand out to the trick-or-treaters, as they''re my all-time favourite candy. After the last of the kids came by, we headed to the kitchen. Mr. Canadiangrrl said that he had a little something for me for Hallowe''en. This did not set off my radar because Mr. Canadiangrrl is forever doing kind and thoughtful little things.
He handed me a handmade card and a little ceramic cup filled with Tootsie Rolls. He had written me a very moving letter inside the card. Once I finished reading it, he said, "How ''bout a Tootsie Roll?" So I took the top one out of the little cup. It seemed oddly shaped, and I said, "Gee, quality control just isn''t what it used to be." I unwrapped it and lo and behold, there was my ring.
Forgot to answer Mr. Canadiangrrl''s "Will you marry me please?" because I had simultaneously begun laughing and crying. What a trip.
My ring is completely and utterly gorgeous. It is icy, fiery, and bright, and I see arrows, which is cool.
It is a size 5.5, which used to be my ring size, but it''s slightly too big right now. I am running quite a bit at present and have a hard time keeping weight on when I am in this mode, so I guess my finger shrunk too. Not sure if I should get it sized or not at this point?
We elected to go with Dirt Cheap Diamonds out of Maryland, and I cannot say enough good things about both Jim Schultz and Joshua Cales. Mr. Canadiangrrl expressed trepidation about purchasing an engagement ring online, and it helped that DCD is only an hour outside of DC, where he resides. Also, the nature of his job is such that he''s often travelling, and so he had neither the time nor the inclination to research diamonds on the internet. So I made it my mission to become somewhat educated about diamonds.
After searching online, asking questions, viewing diamonds in person, and pestering Rich Sherwood, God Among Appraisers, I came to the following conclusions: 1) I wanted a stone that was F or better in colour. Nothing against warmer stones, but I found after viewing stones in person that I really like the icy, complete absence of colour in the D-E-F range. 2) I wanted a thin, platinum six-prong setting, and I liked the fact that DCD''s settings are 900 PLAT/10 Iridium. From what I''ve read, this combo seems to maintain its lustre fairly well. 3) Clarity was no biggie. In fact, I kind of like some inclusions, just as long as they''re not black, and the stone is reasonably eyeclean and doesn''t scream "Hey, I''m horribly included!" from a foot away. 4) It had to be well cut. It had to score 2 or better on the HCA. 5) I had to please Mara, and go for size.
It had to be over a carat, which to me, is plenty big. 6) It could not be hideously expensive. Mr. Canadiangrrl is a spender. Canadiangrrl is an inveterate saver. The twain meet somewhere in the middle.
This was the stone I found at the beginning of my search back in July, and after all of the ensuing research, it''s the one we ended up with.
It''s a 1.18 AGS certed RB, F colour, I1 clarity, and it scored 1.8 TIC on the HCA. There is a tiny white imperfection to the side of the girdle that is now pronged, and a feather under the table that I swear I cannot see. I have tilted it back and forth under various lighting conditions, and while I am blinded by the rainbows this thing shoots off, I cannot see the feather.
Before we purchased the stone, Jim Schultz visually evaluated it and gave it a thumbs up. It was then sent to Rich Sherwood, Giant Among Gemologists, for appraisal. Rich also gave it a thumbs up. He did a bang-up appraisal, and then sent it on to Mr. Canadiangrrl.
I would like to thank a whole bunch of contributors to this forum for their thoughtful feedback to my questions. Mara, Giangi, Garry, Rhino, you''re all amazing. Leonid, thanks for creating this venue - if I hadn''t stumbled across it this past summer during my research phase, I would be far less knowledgeable about diamonds than I am now. Jim and Josh at DCD - thanks for selling us a gorgeous rock and a beautiful setting. DCD''s customer service is really top-knotch, and we recommend them unreservedly. And Rich - thank you so much for patiently answering all of my questions - you were really and truly a huge help to us, and really, I don''t hold the fact that you''re from Texas against you. Much.
And...thanks most of all to my blue-eyed Southern boy, who came along to remind me that integrity, brains, loyalty, and manners still exist in the realm of ''dating''.
Not a day goes by that I don''t mentally fall on my knees and thank the powers that be for putting you in my path. On our very first date in Jacksonville, Florida, I knew in my bones that I''d marry you someday. Thanks for playing "Stupid Answers to Stupid Questions", thanks for indulging my love of hairy, massively-shedding, drooling dogs weighing 150 lbs., thanks for singing along with Cake in the car, thanks for only slightly gritting your teeth when you hear "Do you like the name (fill in the blank) for a girl?" for the hundredth time, thanks for making me completely dissolve in laughter at least three times per week...just thanks.
Will post some eye candy for the troops as soon as it''s available from the digital.
I am now officially engaged to the kindest, brightest, wittiest guy I''ve ever known.
Mr. Canadiangrrl (his new title, heh heh) and I have been weathering the long-distance thing (the 500 miles) since the outset of our relationship (the 15 months. And I will stop with the parentheses now.) It has been expensive and grueling and I don''t recommend it, but having said that, he is just so worth it.
We had been planning on becoming officially engaged this weekend for the past month or so. So it was a let down when Mr. Canadiangrrl called me last week and said that he didn''t yet have my ring. He explained that he hadn''t yet received it from Rich Sherwood, who was doing the appraisal. He told me that it wouldn''t arrive until after I''d departed. Lies, I tell you, lies.
We spent Friday night handing out candy to the hordes of kids who came by his house. I had asked him ahead of time to put aside some Tootsie Rolls from the loot he''d purchased to hand out to the trick-or-treaters, as they''re my all-time favourite candy. After the last of the kids came by, we headed to the kitchen. Mr. Canadiangrrl said that he had a little something for me for Hallowe''en. This did not set off my radar because Mr. Canadiangrrl is forever doing kind and thoughtful little things.
My ring is completely and utterly gorgeous. It is icy, fiery, and bright, and I see arrows, which is cool.
We elected to go with Dirt Cheap Diamonds out of Maryland, and I cannot say enough good things about both Jim Schultz and Joshua Cales. Mr. Canadiangrrl expressed trepidation about purchasing an engagement ring online, and it helped that DCD is only an hour outside of DC, where he resides. Also, the nature of his job is such that he''s often travelling, and so he had neither the time nor the inclination to research diamonds on the internet. So I made it my mission to become somewhat educated about diamonds.
After searching online, asking questions, viewing diamonds in person, and pestering Rich Sherwood, God Among Appraisers, I came to the following conclusions: 1) I wanted a stone that was F or better in colour. Nothing against warmer stones, but I found after viewing stones in person that I really like the icy, complete absence of colour in the D-E-F range. 2) I wanted a thin, platinum six-prong setting, and I liked the fact that DCD''s settings are 900 PLAT/10 Iridium. From what I''ve read, this combo seems to maintain its lustre fairly well. 3) Clarity was no biggie. In fact, I kind of like some inclusions, just as long as they''re not black, and the stone is reasonably eyeclean and doesn''t scream "Hey, I''m horribly included!" from a foot away. 4) It had to be well cut. It had to score 2 or better on the HCA. 5) I had to please Mara, and go for size.
This was the stone I found at the beginning of my search back in July, and after all of the ensuing research, it''s the one we ended up with.
Before we purchased the stone, Jim Schultz visually evaluated it and gave it a thumbs up. It was then sent to Rich Sherwood, Giant Among Gemologists, for appraisal. Rich also gave it a thumbs up. He did a bang-up appraisal, and then sent it on to Mr. Canadiangrrl.
I would like to thank a whole bunch of contributors to this forum for their thoughtful feedback to my questions. Mara, Giangi, Garry, Rhino, you''re all amazing. Leonid, thanks for creating this venue - if I hadn''t stumbled across it this past summer during my research phase, I would be far less knowledgeable about diamonds than I am now. Jim and Josh at DCD - thanks for selling us a gorgeous rock and a beautiful setting. DCD''s customer service is really top-knotch, and we recommend them unreservedly. And Rich - thank you so much for patiently answering all of my questions - you were really and truly a huge help to us, and really, I don''t hold the fact that you''re from Texas against you. Much.
And...thanks most of all to my blue-eyed Southern boy, who came along to remind me that integrity, brains, loyalty, and manners still exist in the realm of ''dating''.
Will post some eye candy for the troops as soon as it''s available from the digital.
. His head is in one spot and his tail is knocking things down in another room. It's the tail that never quits 
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