How many of you bought your e-ring settings without trying it on? What about other rings?

[TravelingGal]

Maisie''s thread got me thinking...

How many of you bought a ring based on a PS (or any other) photo. Could be e-ring or not. How did you feel about the results? Would you buy a ring without a try-on again?

 

[Maisie]

*Puts hand up sheepishly*

I did with my split shank. I regret getting such a bling-dingy ring. I love my solitaire so much more.

 

[elrohwen]

I had my ering custom made based on photos of similar styles, so no opportunity to try on. In retrospect I would have asked to see the wax, but they never offered and I didn''t know enough to ask. The first ring had channel set sides and I decided they just weren''t for me. The store remade it with bead set and I love it. I just wish I had tried on more rings and really knew what width band I wanted; I didn''t think to specify so they did what they thought was right and I think it''s a smidge too wide.

So overall I''m happy, but I still wish I had tried more on so I could explain the details better to the jeweler.

 

[MonkeyPie]

I haven''t yet, but I would only if I could see pictures of it on someone''s finger that was close to the same size as mine.

 

[Linda W]

deleted

 

[Mara]

I tried my setting on but it was not 'exact' (larger stones, and gold rather than platinum) and I thought it was sooo great. It looked great on HER hand. But in hindsight, I think that people should be able to like 'rent a setting' or something and wear it for a while to see. Because after a few weeks with it I was like hmmmm. Not sure if it's really ME and I don't love it on MY HAND. Also with custom, you aren't totally sure what you are getting til it's done. Piecemealing a few things may result in an amazing looking ring but then on your hand? I have seen it a lot on here where people are like oh it looks different than I thought.

But at that point ...what do you really do? In hindsight I should have gone for simpler but went with the 'more bling is better' thing. My center stone is not SHOWCASED in my opinion. And that is where the real beauty is for me. So anyway, no don't think I would buy it without being able to try it on first or having tried it on first multiple times and thinking about it in a realistic manner. It's easy to get all emotional when buying jewelry but now I try to be far more rational than impulsive. This stuff ain't cheap.

Funny thing is peeps love my rings as in LOVE them. So I like em and others love em and they see them just as much as I do so at least they are bringing smiles.

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 4/13/2009 1:26:09 PM
Author: Mara
I tried my setting on but it was not ''exact'' (larger stones, and gold rather than platinum) and I thought it was sooo great. It looked great on HER hand. But in hindsight, I think that people should be able to like ''rent a setting'' or something and wear it for a while to see. Because after a few weeks with it I was like hmmmm. Not sure if it''s really ME and I don''t love it on MY HAND. Also with custom, you aren''t totally sure what you are getting til it''s done. Piecemealing a few things may result in an amazing looking ring but then on your hand? I have seen it a lot on here where people are like oh it looks different than I thought.

But at that point ...what do you really do? In hindsight I should have gone for simpler but went with the ''more bling is better'' thing. My center stone is not SHOWCASED in my opinion. And that is where the real beauty is for me. So anyway, no don''t think I would buy it without being able to try it on first or having tried it on first multiple times and thinking about it in a realistic manner. It''s easy to get all emotional when buying jewelry but now I try to be far more rational than impulsive. This stuff ain''t cheap.

Funny thing is peeps love my rings as in LOVE them. So I like em and others love em and they see them just as much as I do so at least they are bringing smiles.

Mara, I love your rings, and don''t think the settings take away from the center in any way, but can see what you mean about the "showcased" aspect.

I love the James Meyer rings and they are reasonably priced, but it would still be a costly mistake if I didn''t like it. I like the "rent a setting" idea.

It''s not even just the LOOK of the ring. A ring might look OK on my hand but FEEL ridiculous!!!

 

[CNOS128]

I bought my wedding band without trying it on.

I tried on the ring on which it''s based, and hopefully this will be a wider version of the one I tried, with slightly larger stones. I''ll keep you posted on the outcome...

 

[upgrade]

My first e-ring was bought by dh with no input from me, so I obviously didn''t get to try it on first. I didn''t like it, but was too afraid to tell him for many years. I loved that he had tried so hard and I didn''t want to hurt his feeings. I had hoped it would grow on me with time but it didn''t.

It was very heavy and masculine- not me at all.

When I finally came clean (10 years later... and I only grew to dislike it more) and he agreed to the reset and 2 more diamonds to make it a 3 stone, I tried on every 3 stone I could get my hands on and a ton of solitaires too, just be be sure! I was amazed at how different things looked on my hand. I don''t think I''d buy another ring without trying it (or something very, very close) on first.

 

[FrekeChild]

Date: 4/13/2009 1:00:46 PM
Author:TravelingGal
Maisie''s thread got me thinking...
How many of you bought a ring based on a PS (or any other) photo. Could be e-ring or not. How did you feel about the results? Would you buy a ring without a try-on again?

I didn''t, but he did. He always liked the Vatche Royal Crown.
Not thrilled to be honest with you.
I would. But I''ve tried on a lot of styles and I know what I like...

I don''t really get to try on my reset! Now you''ve got me freaking out TGal!!!!

 

[Rhea]

I didn''t try on rings. I hated going to jewellery stores because of the hard sales, being young, not having anyone to go with since DH lived in another country, I didn''t feel the selection was good, and I was embarrassed by our budget. I had previously tried on solitaire pears and ovals in the .75 - 1 carat range with a previous boyfriend. Other than those and my mother''s engagement ring I''d never had on an engagement style ring.

I''d never tried on a round or a non-solitaire ring. I choose my ring purely by trying to get the largest thing for our budget. I have a .47 round with tapered baguettes. I''ve always been unhappy with the poor quality of the setting and how little finger estate it takes up. I wear a vintage heirloom which holds a smaller stone but has a lot of filigree and doesn''t look as delicate on my finger.

 

[MissGotRocks]

There is nothing like a trying a ring on your own hand. That''s why I have never really considered going custom. Trying to parlay what is in my head into someone else''s head is a very interesting proposition with lots of room for error on both parts. I have seen so many rings that I thought were very pretty - both on other people and in jewelry cases - and then tried them on me. Ugh! Just doesn''t always work. I was in Tiffany''s recently and asked to try on a 2.5 diamond in their classic mounting. I''ve always thought it was so pretty. Another big surprise - it looked terrible on me! The knife edge shank was really thin and the six prongs in their orientation had a prong at 12 o''clock and another at 6 o''clock and they looked big and out of place on me. The good news for that experience was that although my stone is a 2.2, their 2.5 didn''t look any bigger. Could have been a deeper stone than mine - I didn''t see the cert. For all the romance that surrounds a Tiffany mounting, it was sort of good to know that their solitaire mounting wouldn''t be my choice! I tried on lots of three stone mountings before choosing the one I did. The trellis mountings are beautiful but there again, not so much on my hand.

I don''t think I would take a chance on choosing a ring that I couldn''t try on first. As others have said, it could be a very costly mistake!

 

[elrohwen]

I think not trying on the setting can be more than a costly mistake; it can hurt someone''s feelings and make them resentful. In my case, when I wanted to change my first setting, FI was very resistant because *that* was the ring he proposed with. There were definitely some hurt feelings there, but the ring just wasn''t right.
Now that my ring is 95% of the way to what I want, there is no way he would agree to changing it again and he would probably resent me if I pushed it. I think for many people, the sentimentality is huge and changing a setting can hurt someone''s feelings. Not hurting his feelings is much more important to me than the money. I''ll put the money towards future rings and continue to love my 95% perfect ering.

 

[musey]

I bought my e-ring setting sight-unseen... and I''d only seen a princess pictured in it!

Coulda backfired, but it didn''t. I loved it 100000% more in person, and love it more and more every day.

I''d tried my wedding band on before purchasing, but not before I''d practically settled on it.

 

[Irishgrrrl]

DH and I bought my e-ring sight unseen, and I love it! I guess I got lucky!

 

[Burk]

We bought both my e-ring settings without seeing in person or trying on. I think that was part of the problem with my first setting. It wasn''t as delicate as I had imagined. I wore it for a while, but didn''t love it. My new setting, though, was even better than I could have imagined when it arrived. I am so happy with it.

 

[Abril]

Right here!

 

[Maisie]

Date: 4/13/2009 2:22:41 PM
Author: musey
I bought my e-ring setting sight-unseen... and I''d only seen a princess pictured in it!

Coulda backfired, but it didn''t. I loved it 100000% more in person, and love it more and more every day.

I''d tried my wedding band on before purchasing, but not before I''d practically settled on it.

Your ering is beauuuutiiiful!!

 

[plethora23]

My original e-ring was the Vatche Royal Crown and it was bought without ever trying it on. I would never do that again. It turned out fine and I wore it for 5 years but it just wasn''t me. We were just in such a rush to get it done since it took sooo much longer than expected to find the diamond and the vendor we bought it from was able to get it set and sent out to us quickly.

 

[zoebartlett]

We got my engagement ring (and wedding band) from WF, and we asked them to do something similar to a ring that Knox has on their site (the "Leah"). I had never tried on a three stone ring with pear sides, but that's what we wanted. I also knew that I wanted swoopy prongs since they're my favorite, but I'd never seen swoopy prongs in real life before.

It's funny, we were originally thinking of getting a diamond and sapphire ring, but in the end, we decided on all diamonds. Someday I'd like to get one with sapphires too.

 

[Elmorton]

My setting had a (large) round cz set in it, and the stone was purchased at the same place - so I had not seen them truly together until DH proposed (though I did photo shop/ hold the diamond over the setting, etc). I''ll never forget staring at my ring for the first time - it looked AMAZING to me.

Also, at a size 8, nothing really "fits" so you can''t tell until something is sized. So, when I got my w-band, I knew what it looked like above my knuckle with my ring resting on top, but not on my finger.

So neither my e-ring or wband were truly sight-unseen (I did see everything separately in person), but there was enough of an imaginative leap there to make the process unnerving.

 

[vetrik]

We ordered my semi-custom e-ring sight unseen. DH and I only went ring shopping in person once, and at the time I thought I wanted princess cut with baguettes, so that''s all I tried on. We ordered my ring based on a few pictures of a stock setting that we requested certain changes to. I had never even tried on a round stone, let alone a setting like it, and I never saw what the finished ring ended up looking like until he proposed. Fortunately, I love it and I think it''s perfect for me. I''ve been wearing it for 6 1/2 years, and although I''ve seen lots of beautiful rings, I haven''t seen another one I would rather have.

I did try wedding bands before I purchased - it was a little difficult to find a band that matched the way I wanted it to, and I wanted to see them together before we bought.

 

[Selkie]

I first saw my setting in a magazine ad, and then on the company''s website, but never in person before we ordered it. In fact, I don''t think I''d even seen or tried on a setting even vaguely similar to it (it''s an antique style with triple "fishtail" prongs) before taking the plunge. I''m very glad it met my expectations after all the stress of choosing and then waiting two months to receive it!

 

[iheartscience]

I went custom so I didn''t try on my exact setting before I got it. However, I went to many, many jewelry stores and tried on TONS of rings, including similar styles to what I ended up with.

I''m definitely not intimidated by jewelry stores or jewelry store salespeople-the way I see it, they''re getting paid to help customers! During my massive try on period, a few salespeople were a little bit snobby at first, but once I chatted with them a little bit they warmed up.

 

[onedrop]

I didn''t try on any rings before getting engaged. We went custom so I resorted to scouring PS all the time trying to get a feel for what my ring would look like. Luckily I was really happy with the results. However, I ordered another ring sight unseen and wasn''t really happy with the result. So I''ve kinds changed my tune about buying sight unseen. In the past, I felt uncomfortable about trying on rings knowing I wasn''t buying from that particular B&M jeweler, because I thought they''d have issues with me about browsing and not buying. However I now realize that it''s better to grit my teeth and deal with any negative consequence rather than shell out $$$ for something that might not be right for me.

 

[basil]

I think we looked at rings in person at like 2-3 stores before he bought me this ring, sight unseen. I had seen pictures of it other people''s hands, and that gave me a sense of the scale.

I guess it looked just as I thought it would look. I confess that I never really felt that anything (costume rings or whatnot) looked any different on my finger than I would expect it to.

 

[mrscushion]

I tried on the designer setting I loved multiple times and then had my ring custom-made accordingly, with modifications. FI knew exactly what I wanted, paid close attention to the design process, and had several back-and-forths re: the wax.

I would do the same again. I would always try the setting or one very similar on before buying.

 

[kama_s]

Didn''t try on my e-ring style before getting it, or even anything remotely similar to it. I love my e-ring, although had I been more involved in the decision i probably would''ve gotten something more vintage-y. Also just ordered my Bev K w-ring without ever trying it. We''ll see if lucks sides me again!

 

[musey]

Date: 4/13/2009 3:27:36 PM
Author: Maisie

Date: 4/13/2009 2:22:41 PM
Author: musey
I bought my e-ring setting sight-unseen... and I''d only seen a princess pictured in it!

Coulda backfired, but it didn''t. I loved it 100000% more in person, and love it more and more every day.

I''d tried my wedding band on before purchasing, but not before I''d practically settled on it.

Your ering is beauuuutiiiful!!

Thanks, Maisie!

 

[icekid]

well, being custom I definitely did not try my ring on previously. But I did try on similar rings. And I do love my e-ring! So no problems for me.

Honestly though, even trying on stock settings is difficult for me because my hands are so small! Trying on a ring 3 sizes too big is not the same as trying on one that fits.