How Long Ring Shopping?

[CNYHopeful]

Just curious, is there a standard time frame for ring purchases? Understanding there are many variables (custom design, setting detail work, price comparisons, window shopping, saving money, etc.), that can affect it, how long does it take the average FF to purchase the e-ring? I have read many posts from LIW''s who have looked with their SO''s and it sounds like it can be a very lengthy process (several months).

I suspect my SO is planning on proposing in the next 3 months sometime, but I don''t think he''s actually done any ring shopping yet (unless he''s very sneaky).

He''s going to take his mother and sister to look at rings with him but their schedules are quite crazy. Is it possible for him to purchase "the ring" in just a week''s worth of visits with the jewler or is it more realistic to expect that it would take him longer?

P.S. He has been saving up for a ring since May, so the money might not factor in as a delay. Your insight is much appreciated!

 

[katamari]

I am not sure if this is a question that can be answered easily because there are so many variables. For us, the biggest hang up was finding a stone. I wanted an asscher, and since less asschers are cut than most other shapes and because the cut can be so highly variable and is so important, it took us several months of intense searching to find a stone we wanted. I think, though, given that I wanted a simple solitaire setting, had I wanted a RB we could have gotten that one in a week for our budget and search criteria. If he(your FF) is willing to buy from a BM, if could only take one trip.

 

[BlueSki231]

I think it depends on what you''re getting..

In some cases you can go to the store and walk out with the ring right away.

In other cases I think it would be fair to say the average time is about 4-6 weeks (I believe). Could be less, could be more - just depends on the ring and the designer/jeweler!

 

[jcarlylew82]

we already had the stone (family). what took forever was deciding on the setting. plus, it is on lay away. i would say a good month or two is a healthy answer.

 

[emeraldlover1]

Obviously there are so many variables. For us it took about 3+months from the time we found the stone to the time he recieved the final product. My fiance wanted to propose July 1 but he bought the stone in May. Setting was not finished till the middle of August. Now...we bought the stone seperatly and had it put into a Tacori setting. Even though Tacori is a brand is still took about 8 weeks. If my fiance had listened to the advice of his friends he would have went to a NYC diamond district storefront and bought a ring and would have had it set within the week.

 

[sammyj]

Date: 12/23/2008 12:11:26 AM
Author: Namaste
I think it depends on what you''re getting..

In some cases you can go to the store and walk out with the ring right away.

In other cases I think it would be fair to say the average time is about 4-6 weeks (I believe). Could be less, could be more - just depends on the ring and the designer/jeweler!

what she said

.

 

[gwendolyn]

Date: 12/22/2008 11:49:03 PM
Author:CNYHopeful
Just curious, is there a standard time frame for ring purchases? Understanding there are many variables (custom design, setting detail work, price comparisons, window shopping, saving money, etc.), that can affect it, how long does it take the average FF to purchase the e-ring? I have read many posts from LIW''s who have looked with their SO''s and it sounds like it can be a very lengthy process (several months).


I suspect my SO is planning on proposing in the next 3 months sometime, but I don''t think he''s actually done any ring shopping yet (unless he''s very sneaky).

He''s going to take his mother and sister to look at rings with him but their schedules are quite crazy. Is it possible for him to purchase ''the ring'' in just a week''s worth of visits with the jewler or is it more realistic to expect that it would take him longer?


P.S. He has been saving up for a ring since May, so the money might not factor in as a delay. Your insight is much appreciated!

Like everyone else has said, it depends.

About your specific case, it''s hard to say. What type (shape) of stone are you looking for? What type of setting? If you want a round brilliant set in a Tiffany-style six prong setting, it could take a week or less depending on where he goes and what stores have in stock (or, better yet, what GOG has at the moment!). But then it could maybe longer if your boyfriend knows his stuff and will hold out for an excellent stone and there aren''t any in his price range with the specs he wants from the sources he''s tried. Will he try online stores like GOG or WF or is he set on buying from a B&M?

Again, as others have said, it is also possible that if you want a fancy shape stone and/or a hard-to-find or custom setting, it could take many months to acquire both the right stone and the desired setting. Depends on what you''ve asked for, what sort of a shopper your boyfriend is, and how much of a perfectionist he is with diamonds (I fear it will take 6 months for me to get my ring because I foresee a long search for THE stone because I''m a bit of a perfectionist with this sort of stuff and then I want Mark Morrell to set it).

Hope it''s sooner rather than later!!

 

[gryffindor]

You can walk in and out of a store with a diamond and setting on the same day. I have visited all the B&M stores in my area multiple times and they always try to close a sale with me with the products they have on hand before I leave. But it depends on your preferences. My FF was ready to plunk down his credit card and make a purchase after visiting our first B&M store, but I asked him to give me a few days to research. I started reading on here and informed him he was about to get ripped off and to search some more to get a better diamond for his money. So now instead of him having the ring in his hands in October like he was planning, he won't have it until mid-January at the earliest. It took me 2 months to find my stone, but if I had more time on my side, I would have kept looking since it isn't the color FF had intended (color D) although I am pleased with it (it is a color H). Before starting the research process, I had no idea it would take this long. Most of our coworkers probably spent <1 month acquiring their rings mostly from B&M stores. They think we are being unconventional with the way we are doing things with me searching for my own stone, designing my own setting instead of buying one from a store, and him just involved in the financials and planning the proposal. One of my girlfriends gasped in shock when I told her I paid a downpayment on my stone to reserve it since FF and I live in different cities so I could get the money faster to the jeweler than he could. She exclaimed "OMG you paid for your own diamond?" I had to explain that if I hadn't gave the jeweler a downpayment that day, there was a good chance I would have lost the diamond because I had already lost one to another customer a few weeks earlier due to the busy holiday season.

 

[CNYHopeful]

Thank you, ladies! This is all helpful.

I''ve told him two e-ring preferences. Either

1) a Round Brilliant center-cut diamond with two small pear-shaped sapphire side stones in a classic white gold setting (not too particular about the setting, prolly a 6 prong).

2) Ideal cut RB solitaire in a classic white-gold setting

He is opposed to purchasing the stone online, but he seemed interested in comparing online stones with the ones he looks at in the B&M store. He isn''t doing the mall-store thing, that''s why he''ll ask his mom and sister to go with him (they''re much more knowledgeable about diamonds than I am and have a few jewler friends that they do business with often, so i guess they trust them). I showed him PS once and he was fascinated with the Ideal Scope info, but that''s about the extent of my knowledge of his research. That''s what gets me nervous, that 1) he''ll start researching and get overwhelmed by the info and postpone his timeframe for proposing or 2) he''ll rush in and out and get jipped by a dealer who just wanted to close the deal.

To his credit, he is a perfectionist and he''s bringing two people along with him who have a great sense of quality & style and are actually pretty good at haggling. I know since we''ve decided that I wouldn''t pick out the ring with him that it''s ultimately out of my hands and I trust he''s going to put his heart into it anyhow - that is what matters most

.

 

[sammyj]

I just wanted to pop in and say that of the 2 things that make you nervous, I would much rather #1 happened than #2! Being the perfectionist that you''ve described your BF to be, it sounds like he wouldn''t let #2 happen anyway. If the proposal is postponed, just feel good about the fact that your BF has taken the time to find you the most amazing e-ring possible!!!

In terms of buying online, my BF was also very VERY skeptical about this...especially because we''re in Canada. He''s come to realize that you can get much more bang for your buck online in comparison to the jewellers with whom we''ve been dealing. PS has been a great resource for us both (although my BF does find it very overwhelming)!!!

 

[Pandora II]

Mine took 5 months (but then I chose the centre stone and designed the setting).

My brother''s took about 10 weeks and a friends I managed to sort out in 6 weeks.

All depends on if you are going custom, how picky you are, if you have a diamond or a coloured stone (finding the right coloured stone can take a LONG time).

 

[LoveRoundBrillants]

i want a RB solitaire for now...i would rather have SO spend all the money on the diamond because i dont want to (atleast thats what i think right now) upgrade my diamond. So finding the right diamond is our search right now. Setting it should be quite easy. I have a few friends that are now engaged and their FI said that from searching to actually purchasing took them about a month. None of my friends have custom designs or anything really complicated.

 

[Rhea]

We didn''t buy a stone and setting separately. We took about 6-8 weeks to chose a ring. It took us a bit of time to find something in our budget with a suitable style in the antique stores we were looking in.

 

[audball]

It''ll just depend on how he proceeds. Sounds like he''s in good hands though, I''d try not to worry too much about it. Good luck!

 

[brendaman]

As others have said, it depends. We''re looking for a sapphire e-ring, so it''s taking longer, although we almost walked out of one B&M with one. I think we both would have been happy with it, but it wasn''t the original style I had in my mind. Perhaps, we''ll have one like it made later on for an anniversary present. Therefore, it is possible to purchase an e-ring in a short period of time.

 

[LaurenThePartier]

Date: 12/23/2008 12:04:53 AM
Author: katamari
I am not sure if this is a question that can be answered easily because there are so many variables. For us, the biggest hang up was finding a stone. I wanted an asscher, and since less asschers are cut than most other shapes and because the cut can be so highly variable and is so important, it took us several months of intense searching to find a stone we wanted. I think, though, given that I wanted a simple solitaire setting, had I wanted a RB we could have gotten that one in a week for our budget and search criteria. If he(your FF) is willing to buy from a BM, if could only take one trip.

Ditto this.

My husband and I casually looked around for Asschers for a few months, but happily, when we were effectively put on a 3 month deadline, he found one pretty quickly.

 

[musey]

Date: 12/28/2008 2:16:25 PM
Author: LaurenThePartier

Date: 12/23/2008 12:04:53 AM
Author: katamari
I am not sure if this is a question that can be answered easily because there are so many variables. For us, the biggest hang up was finding a stone. I wanted an asscher, and since less asschers are cut than most other shapes and because the cut can be so highly variable and is so important, it took us several months of intense searching to find a stone we wanted. I think, though, given that I wanted a simple solitaire setting, had I wanted a RB we could have gotten that one in a week for our budget and search criteria. If he(your FF) is willing to buy from a BM, if could only take one trip.

Ditto this.

My husband and I casually looked around for Asschers for a few months, but happily, when we were effectively put on a 3 month deadline, he found one pretty quickly.

Thritto.

For what it''s worth, it took us about 3.5 months from decision-to-buy-a-ring to proposal day. We casually shopped for about a month, got serious about it for about two weeks and chose something. It took 1.5 months to be made and shipped (semi-custom, meaning a stock setting that had been discontinued and had to be recommissioned and fit to my asscher, when it was originally designed for a princess), and about 5 days for him to propose after receiving it.