No luck with the internet!

[mintve]

I have just learned that he is also nervous about the maintenance and care in the future. It is my understanding that its recommended to find a good local jeweler to use for cleaning, polishing, annual inspections etc. I know several local b&m that would be willing to do this b/c they hope you will purchase from them one day. Plus, what happens if you buy from one b&m and move and that b&m is no longer close to you...you have to find a new local jeweler.

I am eager to talk to my bf this weekend. I will let you know what he says.

 

[milton333]

Eh, maintenance and care shouldn''t be an issue. I''ve had my original e-ring for 13 years. During the first 2 years or so, I brought it in religiously for its little checkups, but never did after that. I clean it myself (pretty much daily), and any time I wander into a jewelers, they''ll grab it and clean it for free. My prongs are rock-solid. For either white gold or plat (my original set is in yellow gold), you''ll either need to have the ring dipped for WG or polished for plat, have them check prongs then. You''ll pay maybe $20-30 every so often (2-4 times a year) to get your ring dipped or polished at a jeweler''s where you did not buy the ring. You''d probably have to pay to have WG redipped even if you bought the ring there. I don''t think I''ve ever paid a penny to have my ring cleaned and inspected in 13 years, no questions asked about where I got the ring. Really, though, there''s just not that much maintenance involved in owning an e-ring, certainly not worth the multiple thousand dollar premium for the "privilege" of buying from a b&m to get free maintenance. I will say that some folks who get custom work seem to have more trouble with their settings - if you''re getting a stock setting, or a fairly basic one, all the more reason not to worry about maintenance.

 

[evolve]

another idea is to tell your BF to jump on here (PS) and read all the useful information it provides. Even if you don''t buy it online, at least he will have the knowledge on what the B&M is saying... or question them on certain detail when looking.

 

[esumsea]

All I can offer is that I am an extremely festidious and anal person. I am a worry wart. At the beginning I was nervous, but VERY QUICKLY I saw that it is actually safer to buy from a pricescope vendor. Why? Because of this forum. No vendor is going to screw someone over because they would get killed on the forum and lose way more money than they would gain in screwing you. Also, any questionable vendor has been filtered away long ago. You will save tons of money and be able to scrutinize your stone alot more than using a b&M especially if you go with a vendor that will give you serin reports, IS and ASET images and videos. You can even have more than one stone shipped to an independent appraiser and check them out with your own eye. There is nothing to lose for all have money back guarantees for at least 10 days and most have trade up policies. You can even fly to NY or Houston and then they become B&Ms in a sense. Cleaning and so forth can be done with the setter or jewelery maker and you can get your own insurance for breakage, if you wish. Bottom line is that you can do all this and still save at least 20%!!! You will never get this kind of selection other than on the net. I have seen people buy $100,000 stones from online dealers with no problems. Again you will save tons of money. I got my stone for 35% of Rap price and it is an amazing stone if I do say so myself. Most dealers in B&Ms don''t get better prices, I know that my friends who worked at B&Ms told me as much.

Your boyfriend is paying though, and if he won''t budge, don''t make an issue of it. It is not THAT important to create animosity. Hopefully he will se the light.

GOOD LUCK

Regards,
Mario