I have been meaning for some time to thank this community and post about my experience. I lurked for quite some time and read countless posts and it was absolutely invaluable.
I decided to involve my girlfriend (now fiance) in the ring search and I am so glad that I did. When she told me that she really liked rings with halos like the Tiffany Legacy, I was quite surprised as it was very different from what I had pictured in my mind to get her.
Anyway, we spent some time in the local mall shops as well as a Jared’s pretty close to us. I really like the idea of being able to pick out the center stone separate from the setting, but we didn’t find anything quite like what she was picturing in her mind. We found some settings that we felt could be altered a bit to be pretty close, but she was able to point out the things that weren’t ideal. Maybe I shouldn’t have offered, but we drove a bit over an hour to the nearest Tiffany store. I could tell as soon as she saw and put on those rings that we couldn’t compromise on the features she loved. Mainly she loved the lack of prongs protruding above the center stone as well as the hidden diamonds under the center stone and down the struts.
The people at Tiffany were very helpful and brought in a few different options of rings for us to see and compare. What I didn’t like, though, was that we were stuck choosing from the pre-made rings that were currently within inventory. Yes, they would bring in rings from other stores but usually the size stone we thought we wanted wasn’t the right quality or vice versa. Nonetheless, I was actually very close to buying one to take for a vacation proposal when they told me it wouldn’t be able to be sized in time. I couldn’t believe that a brand with otherwise such good service wouldn’t have an onsite jeweler. Turns out, that was a blessing.
When we got back from that trip, I spent a bunch of time doing some more research online. Somehow, I stumbled onto Pricescope and this site was up on my computer constantly for at least 2 weeks. I gleaned a ton of information from everyone’s comments on other people’s situations and, most importantly, came to find alternatives which would allow me to get exactly what I/she wanted.
One of the those alternatives was EngagementRingsDirect. I browsed their site for a while and finally emailed some questions about cushion cut diamonds specifically. I received a quick reply back from Mark that addressed all my questions and more and invited further inquiry while never being pushy. A short time later, I called to talk price about different settings and was very surprised that it was actually Mark who answered the phone. He spent all the time I needed to get my questions answered and to figure out what I was looking for, budget, etc.
Over the coming weeks, I communicated back and forth with Mark on multiple occasions via email and phone. He even gave me his cell phone number so we could talk while he was out of the office for his daughter’s wedding! Mark listened to my thoughts, made his own recommendations, provided me with many CAD mockups of different drafts and sent me certs for different stone options. Ultimately, we decided on a ring very similar to the Tiffany Legacy.
I remember when my bank called me for confirmation after I sent the wire transfer request... “Is this someone you know personally and/or have done business with before?” they asked. It’s a lot of money to be sending off to someone you’ve never met for a product you haven’t held, but I felt pretty reassured based on my interactions with Mark and seeing the good reviews on this site. The night before the Fedex arrived, I had a horrible nightmare that the ring was nothing like what I was envisioning and what I knew she wanted. Luckily, once I opened the package it was perfect.
Anyway, obviously she said yes and absolutely loves the ring. She couldn’t tell that it wasn’t a Tiffany ring and I think it actually looks nicer in some ways. She gets compliments about it probably every single day.
As I said before, one of my problems with Tiffany was that you had to pick from their pre-made inventory, so maybe the size I wanted wasn’t the right quality, etc, so making a direct comparison is difficult, but looking back at the prices I was quoted, I ended up getting over an additional half carat center stone than a similar quality Tiffany ring for about $2500 less (actually more since I didn’t have to pay sales tax). And, like I said, I think it looks even nicer. I couldn’t be happier with the outcome and my experience with Mark and ERD. I referred one of my buddies who purchased from him as well and had an equally awesome experience.
So, here are the specs and some pics:
Cushion cut 1.51 carat, H, VS2
Let me know what you think.
I decided to involve my girlfriend (now fiance) in the ring search and I am so glad that I did. When she told me that she really liked rings with halos like the Tiffany Legacy, I was quite surprised as it was very different from what I had pictured in my mind to get her.
Anyway, we spent some time in the local mall shops as well as a Jared’s pretty close to us. I really like the idea of being able to pick out the center stone separate from the setting, but we didn’t find anything quite like what she was picturing in her mind. We found some settings that we felt could be altered a bit to be pretty close, but she was able to point out the things that weren’t ideal. Maybe I shouldn’t have offered, but we drove a bit over an hour to the nearest Tiffany store. I could tell as soon as she saw and put on those rings that we couldn’t compromise on the features she loved. Mainly she loved the lack of prongs protruding above the center stone as well as the hidden diamonds under the center stone and down the struts.
The people at Tiffany were very helpful and brought in a few different options of rings for us to see and compare. What I didn’t like, though, was that we were stuck choosing from the pre-made rings that were currently within inventory. Yes, they would bring in rings from other stores but usually the size stone we thought we wanted wasn’t the right quality or vice versa. Nonetheless, I was actually very close to buying one to take for a vacation proposal when they told me it wouldn’t be able to be sized in time. I couldn’t believe that a brand with otherwise such good service wouldn’t have an onsite jeweler. Turns out, that was a blessing.
When we got back from that trip, I spent a bunch of time doing some more research online. Somehow, I stumbled onto Pricescope and this site was up on my computer constantly for at least 2 weeks. I gleaned a ton of information from everyone’s comments on other people’s situations and, most importantly, came to find alternatives which would allow me to get exactly what I/she wanted.
One of the those alternatives was EngagementRingsDirect. I browsed their site for a while and finally emailed some questions about cushion cut diamonds specifically. I received a quick reply back from Mark that addressed all my questions and more and invited further inquiry while never being pushy. A short time later, I called to talk price about different settings and was very surprised that it was actually Mark who answered the phone. He spent all the time I needed to get my questions answered and to figure out what I was looking for, budget, etc.
Over the coming weeks, I communicated back and forth with Mark on multiple occasions via email and phone. He even gave me his cell phone number so we could talk while he was out of the office for his daughter’s wedding! Mark listened to my thoughts, made his own recommendations, provided me with many CAD mockups of different drafts and sent me certs for different stone options. Ultimately, we decided on a ring very similar to the Tiffany Legacy.
I remember when my bank called me for confirmation after I sent the wire transfer request... “Is this someone you know personally and/or have done business with before?” they asked. It’s a lot of money to be sending off to someone you’ve never met for a product you haven’t held, but I felt pretty reassured based on my interactions with Mark and seeing the good reviews on this site. The night before the Fedex arrived, I had a horrible nightmare that the ring was nothing like what I was envisioning and what I knew she wanted. Luckily, once I opened the package it was perfect.
Anyway, obviously she said yes and absolutely loves the ring. She couldn’t tell that it wasn’t a Tiffany ring and I think it actually looks nicer in some ways. She gets compliments about it probably every single day.
As I said before, one of my problems with Tiffany was that you had to pick from their pre-made inventory, so maybe the size I wanted wasn’t the right quality, etc, so making a direct comparison is difficult, but looking back at the prices I was quoted, I ended up getting over an additional half carat center stone than a similar quality Tiffany ring for about $2500 less (actually more since I didn’t have to pay sales tax). And, like I said, I think it looks even nicer. I couldn’t be happier with the outcome and my experience with Mark and ERD. I referred one of my buddies who purchased from him as well and had an equally awesome experience.
So, here are the specs and some pics:
Cushion cut 1.51 carat, H, VS2
Let me know what you think.
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