Thoughts around engagement ring boxes/packaging; Black by Brian Gavin

[pearaffair]

I appreciate the eco-friendly sentiment as much as I appreciate a good box.

Bell & Bird makes all of my box dreams come true. These are the kind you pass down generations:

Ok those are insane and I want them all!

@holeydonut I have a velvety ring box from CvB Inspired Designs that I'll happily donate to your cause. Just send me your address and I'll overnight ship it to you.

That is soooo sweet.

 

[pearaffair]

I’d get this in black, and monogrammed, if I were you: https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/612...ObQ--SPFetXUeLS9QoK639K5CyGgUk_BoCe8cQAvD_BwE

 

[JMK]

Agree on the importance of the box, particularly for an engagement ring. Mine is a vintage piece from Jewels by Grace, and it arrived in a grey and pink pouch rather than a box. It stressed out my husband a little, and he ended up borrowing a ring box from his mom for the proposal. It was a very informal proposal, not a big production, but we both would have preferred the ring had come with its own box.

I gave him a vintage Colt revolver for our engagement, and lined a wood box from Michael's with leather to present it to him. He still uses that box.

 

[KirstLWA]

Moving away from the issues that have been raised throughout the thread and going back to the original question of the box....

@pearaffair I am not sure why it is BGD's problem to find OP a box he likes?

I for one love the boxes, both of them and the sentiment of recycled materials behind it. Others clearly don't and that is fine, we all like different things. But I wouldn't expect a Vendor to find a box 'I' liked. That would be a bizarre request in my opinion.

If I didn't like the box I'd find one I did like, not complain about it. And yes, I spent more than the OP on my ring (so it shouldn't be a matter of how much you spend). The box, whilst gorgeous anyway, spent about 3 seconds in my vision once I was blinded by what was inside.

 

[holeydonut]

I can’t believe BGD has never heard that “the customer is always right”. The box, at least, seems to be a very easy thing to fix...

Sorry for the confusion... Brian does want me to be happy. Brian is going to give me a signature box as a courtesy since I asked about it.

I just thought it was weird he put me in a position to have to ask at all, and it just felt like now I’m some bad guy since I’m blowing up his vision for eco-friendly packaging. And apparently I’m the first Black by Brian Gavin customer who has ever had this accommodation since all his other customers love his standard Black box and eco philosophy.

 

[holeydonut]

Moving away from the issues that have been raised throughout the thread and going back to the original question of the box....

@pearaffair I am not sure why it is BGD's problem to find OP a box he likes?

Lol yeah I’ve been venting my frustrations in general in this thread... buying this engagement ring is probably one of the worst experiences I’ve had in a long time.

Not just this stuff with boxes and melee, but in general. Honestly, up until the crooked melee stuff, dealing with BGD was a 100% top notch experience. Learning about BGD’s super ideals and working with his team was great. But prior to BGD I had some... less than stellar experience.

Anyway, Getting to this point with being 2 crooked stones and an Etsy box away from the end is ... painful.

I think having to find a decent box (one not made out of paper) has been punctuating my overall frustration in this ordeal.

I can see why people buy from Tiffany. It’s to avoid this level of frustration in the process. Maybe the diamond is sub par, but the pave is set well, the box is pretty, and the ring is “timeless” (albeit boring).

 

[pearaffair]

Moving away from the issues that have been raised throughout the thread and going back to the original question of the box....

@pearaffair I am not sure why it is BGD's problem to find OP a box he likes?

I for one love the boxes, both of them and the sentiment of recycled materials behind it. Others clearly don't and that is fine, we all like different things. But I wouldn't expect a Vendor to find a box 'I' liked. That would be a bizarre request in my opinion.

If I didn't like the box I'd find one I did like, not complain about it. And yes, I spent more than the OP on my ring (so it shouldn't be a matter of how much you spend). The box, whilst gorgeous anyway, spent about 3 seconds in my vision once I was blinded by what was inside.

I get what you’re saying. I just feel like BGD could’ve been more sympathetic instead of defensive or whatever.

Sorry for the confusion... Brian does want me to be happy. Brian is going to give me a signature box as a courtesy since I asked about it.

I just thought it was weird he put me in a position to have to ask at all, and it just felt like now I’m some bad guy since I’m blowing up his vision for eco-friendly packaging. And apparently I’m the first Black by Brian Gavin customer who has ever had this accommodation since all his other customers love his standard Black box and eco philosophy.

I don’t think you’re weird. Also, OP, as much as you’ve had some drama through this journey, think of the symbolism: you’re willing to go through pain, annoyance, and drama to propose to the one you love. It’s always easy to do stuff that’s easy. Doing stuff that’s hard for someone you love... that’s beautiful. Good on ya! Take a breath, you’ll be ok.

 

[pearaffair]

Cool ideas: https://www.loveandlavender.com/2017/02/luxury-wedding-ring-boxes/

I especially like the last one.

 

[holeydonut]

Cool ideas: https://www.loveandlavender.com/2017/02/luxury-wedding-ring-boxes/

I especially like the last one.

Lol some of those boxes are off the hook... I’m just getting a simple wood one.

 

[sledge]

My husband told me about the same problem he had trying to hide the ring from me when he proposed

Which is why when I saw the card holder design, I thought it was genius and totally solves the problem of hiding a cube shaped box in the pocket aka pretty impossible lol.

I remember stuffing that big box (was very tall IMO) in my pocket that night and constantly turning, etc to shield the imprint. Would have LOVED a credit card holder!

Sorry for the confusion... Brian does want me to be happy. Brian is going to give me a signature box as a courtesy since I asked about it.

I just thought it was weird he put me in a position to have to ask at all, and it just felt like now I’m some bad guy since I’m blowing up his vision for eco-friendly packaging. And apparently I’m the first Black by Brian Gavin customer who has ever had this accommodation since all his other customers love his standard Black box and eco philosophy.

How could BGD, or any other vendor, possibly avoid putting you in that position? I understand you dislike the style and quality; however, if this detail wasn't discussed ahead of time I don't feel he failed or wronged you.

He simply chose different boxing for different product lines. Style is very subjective. For instance I'm torn on the wood boxes as they look like mini coffins to me.

Also I think the style of the ring has to be considered. Your ring is absolutely gorgeous and has a fancy feel to it. I can understand you wanting a more classic and substantial box to match the ring style. Someone with a classic solitaire may prefer something more simple and clean. My fiancee's ring is curvy, flowy and a more modern romantic flair so a traditional fancy box that may fit your style of ring or a vintage (or modern vintage) ring would not have the same effect.

As the vendor who supplies customers of various styles and expectations I can understand the difficulty in making everyone happy.

One solution would be to make the box selection part of the design and purchase process; however, that too would likely upset people as I'm sure some boxes are rather pricey (for what they are) and many customers may not appreciate the prices associated with them. I'm envisioning you can have these 3 for free or this one for $100 more, that one for $200 more, etc.

Lol yeah I’ve been venting my frustrations in general in this thread... buying this engagement ring is probably one of the worst experiences I’ve had in a long time.

Not just this stuff with boxes and melee, but in general. Honestly, up until the crooked melee stuff, dealing with BGD was a 100% top notch experience. Learning about BGD’s super ideals and working with his team was great. But prior to BGD I had some... less than stellar experience.

Anyway, Getting to this point with being 2 crooked stones and an Etsy box away from the end is ... painful.

I think having to find a decent box (one not made out of paper) has been punctuating my overall frustration in this ordeal.

I can see why people buy from Tiffany. It’s to avoid this level of frustration in the process. Maybe the diamond is sub par, but the pave is set well, the box is pretty, and the ring is “timeless” (albeit boring).

Your comment about Tiffany kills me. The diamond is THE show. The rest is supporting cast and less important. I understand you prefer it all and most people do but in no scenario am I ever happy with a subpar diamond to get a nice box.

I personally think you are being over critical of the box. Why didn't you ask or communicate the importance of the box to them? To me it seems they are being judged against an image Tiffany gave you and since BGD's image is different it's not good enough.

Here's a shocker for you...I'd toss a Tiffany box in the trash. I hate the color and find it repulsive. So Tiffany could never make me happy unless I communicated to them my thoughts and they did a different box for me.

The melee issue is different. There is clearly an issue and BGD needs to fix it. Period. If they are unwilling or unable ask them if you can take to WF or other mutually agreeable credible jeweler to have the repair done on their expense.

Please keep us updated. Like you, my experience with BGD was good but I did my setting elsewhere. DK bent over backwards to ensure my happiness with that aspect. BGD needs to do the same.

 

[holeydonut]

@sledge , I personally may have an issue with a meh Tiffany center “excellent cut” but the ring recipient likely wouldn’t due to the various cachet elements that Tiffany attaches to their products. After all, this isn’t supposed to be what I’d be ok with, it’s a gift for someone else.

I just think it’s funny BGD is so focused on the cut he provides a heavyweight H&A viewer that is custom engraved to show off his work, but the box is considered the eco-throwaway.

My SO couldn’t care less about the H&A viewer and that scope is going to sit in a drawer or cabinet. I would have taken a box made out of the same material (with some padding) over the scope any day of the week.

Ultimately I think it comes down to perspective and expectation. I think BGD could do better just understanding what I’m looking for and tailoring things instead of naturally assuming the center diamond cut trumps all other aspects.

It didn’t feel good having to ask him for a pretty box and then subsequently feel like I’m the eco-bashing annoying customer who does not understand his vision. It would have taken all of 5 seconds to just ask during the sales process what I wanted. A middling $5 coffiny box would be better than paper haha.

 

[icy_jade]

To be fair to BDG, if you had communicated about your packaging concern from the start, they would have shipped a nicer box to you I’m sure.

As I understand, they will be shipping a nicer box to you now so I’m not understanding the continued box bashing. As you can tell, a fair number of folks really don’t give a d*** about the box so it’s quite unrealistic (IMO) to expect BGD to anticipate everyone’s expectations re: the box design.

Or are you also using the box issue to vent your frustration re: the melees (which there are now multiple threads on)?

I can sympathize with your angst re: the melees but unless and until you get a crooked ring back, I think you should first give BGD a chance to make things right instead of venting in multiple threads.

As mentioned, I do love your ring design (and hence my initial interest) but I’m tuning out of your threads from now on.

 

[holeydonut]

Yeah, I said earlier that this thread was more of a vent over the melees. I was already feeling like crap after being told by BG himself about my high standards to not see crooked melee and I should lower my fiancé’s expectation of not seeing that “gap tooth.”

I literally told him I was confident he and his team could fix the appearance of the darkish melee since the rest of the ring looked so good, and he responded by saying it was hard to make a ring.

So yeah, he cherry on topped by saying I was being the only Black customer to ever ask about a different box (from BGD’s signature line) and how this was against the vision he had of the brand. So that’s why I made this thread.

Btw, I don’t personally like Tiffany. I’ve always asserted that the problem I’m having is that I’m now in a position of playing up BGD and convincing her the notion of “Tiffany excellence is inflated” to my fiancé.

But that means she’ll be more critical for BGD to deliver something in place of Tiffany... and it’s a rough sell if the box is made of paper and a melee looks like it had fallen out. She doesn’t need BGD to get a $100 box... but a paper box? Argh. Anyway I bought a decent box from Etsy. Problem solved.

 

[ac117]

Btw, I don’t personally like Tiffany. I’ve always asserted that the problem I’m having is that I’m now in a position of playing up BGD and convincing her the notion of “Tiffany excellence is inflated” to my fiancé.

But that means she’ll be more critical for BGD to deliver something in place of Tiffany... and it’s a rough sell if the box is made of paper and a melee looks like it had fallen out. She doesn’t need BGD to get a $100 box... but a paper box? Argh. Anyway I bought a decent box from Etsy. Problem solved.

But this quoted part isn't BGD's problem - it's your own. You had to convince your fiance of BGD's PRODUCT being superior to Tiffany's - and that it is bc it's a super ideal cut diamond for a fraction of Tiffany's over-inflated pricing. But 'expecting' them to have a different box for every customer's needs is just absurd in my opinion. You didn't like their box so you should get your own box you deem 'worthy'. You can't please everyone...clearly you like a wooden box? Well maybe I don't. You like the black velet box, maybe I want pink, maybe someone else hates pink, maybe someone doesn't need a box at all bc they want to stick the ring in their pants pocket or stuff it in their girl's dessert. Like it's just ridiculous to just keep bashing BG's box just because you think you're above everyone else and should get something different.

 

[nala]

OP, thanks for this thread. This forum is all about first world problems—and about the insight to providing a better diamond purchase and experience. Boxes are part of the experience. So is customer service. Frustration and angst over such a trinket should not be a part of the equation. If we can laud vendors here, then we can certainly scrutinize them. Thanks again.

 

[pearaffair]

OP, thanks for this thread. This forum is all about first world problems—and about the insight to providing a better diamond purchase and experience. Boxes are part of the experience. So is customer service. Frustration and angst over such a trinket should not be a part of the equation. If we can laud vendors here, then we can certainly scrutinize them. Thanks again.

Well said! I think PS is great but sometimes a difficult place to voice discontent with any aspect of a vendor’s customer experience.

 

[msop04]

Yeah, I said earlier that this thread was more of a vent over the melees. I was already feeling like crap after being told by BG himself about my high standards to not see crooked melee and I should lower my fiancé’s expectation of not seeing that “gap tooth.”

I literally told him I was confident he and his team could fix the appearance of the darkish melee since the rest of the ring looked so good, and he responded by saying it was hard to make a ring.

So yeah, he cherry on topped by saying I was being the only Black customer to ever ask about a different box (from BGD’s signature line) and how this was against the vision he had of the brand. So that’s why I made this thread.

Btw, I don’t personally like Tiffany. I’ve always asserted that the problem I’m having is that I’m now in a position of playing up BGD and convincing her the notion of “Tiffany excellence is inflated” to my fiancé.

But that means she’ll be more critical for BGD to deliver something in place of Tiffany... and it’s a rough sell if the box is made of paper and a melee looks like it had fallen out. She doesn’t need BGD to get a $100 box... but a paper box? Argh. Anyway I bought a decent box from Etsy. Problem solved.

So throw away the BG box, and find a box that you think your FF will love. It's really that simple. Seriously, OP, this is getting ridiculous about the box. We all know you spent $30K on the ring, so what's another $50-100 or so for a great box? I understand your frustration from the two crooked melees, but damn... let his bench fix the ring and find a box you deem worthy of your proposal. Easy-peasy.

There are many on this forum who've spend much more than $30K on a ring and some of us may not even care a lot about the vendor's box. It really doesn't matter how much you spent - vendors can't please everyone's taste in a BOX. Think about this... what happens if you spend $130K on an amazing Cartier 1895, but hate the red box it comes in?? Do you find another box to put that bad boy in, or do you bash the brand for not making sure they have packaging you'll approve of, much less that you'll like? I mean... seriously. LOL

 

[holeydonut]

But this quoted part isn't BGD's problem - it's your own. You had to convince your fiance of BGD's PRODUCT being superior to Tiffany's - and that it is bc it's a super ideal cut diamond for a fraction of Tiffany's over-inflated pricing. But 'expecting' them to have a different box for every customer's needs is just absurd in my opinion. You didn't like their box so you should get your own box you deem 'worthy'. You can't please everyone...clearly you like a wooden box? Well maybe I don't. You like the black velet box, maybe I want pink, maybe someone else hates pink, maybe someone doesn't need a box at all bc they want to stick the ring in their pants pocket or stuff it in their girl's dessert. Like it's just ridiculous to just keep bashing BG's box just because you think you're above everyone else and should get something different.

I’m actually bashing the sanctimony of the concept behind the box being lorded over my specific expectations.

BGD knew I was cross shopping them and Tiffany/HW from the onset. I told them the reason I initially wanted BGD was because Pricescope and Online folks described his shop and diamonds as a level that could deliver a center stone that blew Tiffany away and his 810 setting was the ideal design.

If they were game in providing a product that would meet (or beat) expectations, then let’s play ball. This was for a proposal... not some loose stone I was then mounting elsewhere.

I was not expecting a paper box, I was expecting something more like what he has on his site for his normal signature collection. I got a paper box.

I asked them politely what it would take to get a Signature Edition box or a Wooden one.

I was not expecting to get a story about how boxes aren’t eco friendly and how I’m making a one of a kind request. I was not expecting to subsequently come away feeling like I’m the only picky person who has ever had a desire for a Signature Box.

The amount of eye rolling you throw is because you personally don’t care about the box. Your box expectations would have been met by Brian Gavin.

All he would have had to do to learn my expectation was ask a simple question during the sale and not judge me for my response. If he told me I was getting a paper box I can assure you I would have told him to leave the H&A scope out and just hook up the normal box on his website.

Anyway, his center stone is amazing. I don’t want to distract from that. His 810 collection halo is amazing. And 99% of the polish and finish (melee and bead and bright) is amazing.

The few people who have seen this ring in person have all said “wow, this ring is absolutely stunning... where did you get it.” The one appraiser I had to look at it said it was one of the best cuts he’s ever seen.

My response has been that Brian Gavin has to be the best diamond cutter available to the masses and has a helluva bench. Lots of gushing and praise.

I know this thing is stunning, and I know BGD can get the melee fixed. I’m going to pretend like I never spoke with Brian Gavin on Friday... You never want to meet your heroes right? Haha.

As I said in the original Bling thread I made about this... up until I was asked about a missing melee, I was absolutely floored by how great the ring looked. BGD’s work does blow away the T, HW, and C.

You guys are getting a bit hyperbolic in your description of how nice a box I want. I just don’t want a paper one. $5 wooden like the Whiteflash one or the standard BGD signature is fine.

 

[skypie]

@holeydonut I can't help but think that you should have just gotten a Tiffany ring, despite how much more it would have cost or if it would have been subpar quality. I get you don't like Tiffany (I don't either) but it seems your fiancee likes it and frankly doesn't care about all the things Pricescopers care about. I feel sad that you feel that you have to "sell" her on the BG diamond you got. Seems like a lot of wasted time and effort when you could have just gotten her the Tiffany she wanted.

 

[SimoneDi]

OP I debated for a while if I should to post on this thread or not. I don’t think that anyone else who has a different opinion about a box can say anything to change your mind or feelings about the box that you received. I pay a lot of attention to packaging. I love packaging and presentation, but at the same time packaging or presentation is not something that can sway me to go with one vendor vs another. I have a few of the signature boxes from BGD and find them pleasing. At the same time, I once received an expensive ring in a ripped box and uncoordinated packaging that other people seem to love. I have also received a ring in a ziplock and an envelop, which clearly wasn’t great, but also not something I have complained about. I made my own conclusions about that vendor and moved on. The simple truth is that a vendor simply cannot please everyone and unless they receive an overwhelmingly negative feedback regarding their packaging & presentation, they likely won’t change it. That doesn’t just apply to BGD, but all vendors alike.

What I think is your real issue is the fact that Brian Gavin himself dared to disagree with you and voice a different opinion and with that you have a problem.
I don’t know what the best advice is here. I guess a question for you is what would you like to happen after all these threads and negative talk that will make you feel better and move past this imperfect experience? Usually, we all want something, I wonder what is it that you desire in this case?

 

[ac117]

Well said! I think PS is great but sometimes a difficult place to voice discontent with any aspect of a vendor’s customer experience.

@pearaffair @nala Just to be clear, I'm 100% behind OP's melee problem and getting it fixed to his level of satisfaction. My post isn't about that, and this thread wasn't started for that. It was about his dissatisfaction over a box, which I personally feel is being blown out of proportion because of his other issues (and which he has already admitted to).

 

[ac117]

The amount of eye rolling you throw is because you personally don’t care about the box. Your box expectations would have been met by Brian Gavin.

All he would have had to do to learn my expectation was ask a simple question during the sale and not judge me for my response. If he told me I was getting a paper box I can assure you I would have told him to leave the H&A scope out and just hook up the normal box on his website.

You are incorrect and clearly didn't understand the meaning behind my post - I actually love boxes and keep every single one I've ever gotten, the paper ones included!! The point is that you can't please everyone and no vendor will stock every different kind of box just to please everyone. Did you ask beforehand what kind of box you would be getting? It's an expectation you had that you didn't even make him aware of until after the fact.

 

[holeydonut]

@holeydonut I can't help but think that you should have just gotten a Tiffany ring, despite how much more it would have cost or if it would have been subpar quality. I get you don't like Tiffany (I don't either) but it seems your fiancee likes it and frankly doesn't care about all the things Pricescopers care about. I feel sad that you feel that you have to "sell" her on the BG diamond you got. Seems like a lot of wasted time and effort when you could have just gotten her the Tiffany she wanted.

I agree, I’ve expressed this in another thread. Is the result better than Tiffany? Yes, I feel she’s getting a better ring, and it took some work to get her on board as well.

I’m stubborn, I think BGD was the better choice (ignoring my spiteful post about his box). Was the experience worth it? I have no clue haha.

When she first saw the finished 810, she definitely knew she got something better than T. But then she saw a dark gap tooth thing on the shoulder melee. My heart sank...

I emailed BGD and wasn’t every enthusiastic that they saw the dark stone the same. But they offered to fix the ring and issued a RMA. My heart rose and I was excited to get a fix.

Then the FedEx guy asked about the cheap jewelry that was clearly trying to “over pack” in front of him. I was floored. Maybe my fiancé thought the box was crap too and never told me.

Then I talked to Brian Gavin... and I was not in a happy place when he told me a lot of stuff that i took away to mean I should lower her and my expectations. So yes, I made this thread out of frustration that maybe I should have made a different choice.

 

[holeydonut]

You are incorrect and clearly didn't understand the meaning behind my post - I actually love boxes and keep every single one I've ever gotten, the paper ones included!! The point is that you can't please everyone and no vendor will stock every different kind of box just to please everyone. Did you ask beforehand what kind of box you would be getting? It's an expectation you had that you didn't even make him aware of until after the fact.

I didn’t ask specifically about the box since I assumed “I know, my bad on this for making an ass out of u and me” it was the ones I had seen on their site and in the blog posts by Todd Gray and others.

 

[holeydonut]

OP I debated for a while if I should to post on this thread or not. I don’t think that anyone else who has a different opinion about a box can say anything to change your mind or feelings about the box that you received. I pay a lot of attention to packaging. I love packaging and presentation, but at the same time packaging or presentation is not something that can sway me to go with one vendor vs another. I have a few of the signature boxes from BGD and find them pleasing. At the same time, I once received an expensive ring in a ripped box and uncoordinated packaging that other people seem to love. I have also received a ring in a ziplock and an envelop, which clearly wasn’t great, but also not something I have complained about. I made my own conclusions about that vendor and moved on. The simple truth is that a vendor simply cannot please everyone and unless they receive an overwhelmingly negative feedback regarding their packaging & presentation, they likely won’t change it. That doesn’t just apply to BGD, but all vendors alike.

What I think is your real issue is the fact that Brian Gavin himself dared to disagree with you and voice a different opinion and with that you have a problem.
I don’t know what the best advice is here. I guess a question for you is what would you like to happen after all these threads and negative talk that will make you feel better and move past this imperfect experience? Usually, we all want something, I wonder what is it that you desire in this case?

I’m fine with Brian Gavin having a different opinion. I’m fine with you having a different opinion.

I’m not fine with feeling like I’m being judged by Brian Gavin being a picky wanting his Signature box and hurting the environment.

I just don’t want a paper box... yeah?

 

[SimoneDi]

I’m fine with Brian Gavin having a different opinion. I’m fine with you having a different opinion.

I’m not fine with feeling like I’m being judged by Brian Gavin being a picky wanting his Signature box and hurting the environment.

K...it’s hard to keep track, but I understood that you are getting a new box, so what’s the issue, you don’t like feeling judged for having a different opinion?

 

[LinSF]

I think that this would have been solved by asking for a box from one of the other lines, which I am sure that BGD would have been willing to accommodate. Holeydonut, did you inquire on this?

The separate discussion of quality/presentation of boxes is another issue, and personal preference. BGD makes stellar products (let's put the melee issue aside for a moment) and personally, I don't care what the packaging is like- it's all about the piece of jewelry. I would rather the time and energy of sorting through boxes go into their work product.

Holeydonut - glad to hear you are sending it back and getting it fixed! I don't blame you for your frustration, but I think you are still getting a gorgeous ring and a fantastic experience. You will look at this ring everyday and never regret this post, nor the time it took to send it back and forth to get it done perfectly. All minor in the grand scheme of things, and BGD still delivers!

 

[peacechick]

I agree, I’ve expressed this in another thread. I feel she’s getting a better ring, and it took some work to get her on board as well.

I’m stubborn, I think BGD was the better choice (ignoring my spiteful post about his box).

When she first saw the finished 810, she definitely knew she got something better than T. But then she saw a dark gap tooth thing on the shoulder melee. My heart sank...

I emailed BGD and wasn’t every enthusiastic that they saw the dark stone the same. But they offered to fix the ring and issued a RMA. My heart rose and I was excited to get a fix.

Then the FedEx guy asked about the cheap jewelry that was clearly trying to “over pack” in front of him. I was floored. Maybe my fiancé thought the box was crap too and never told me.

Then I talked to Brian Gavin... and I was not in a happy place when he told me a lot of stuff that i took away to mean I should lower her and my expectations. So yes, I made this thread out of frustration that maybe I should have made a different choice.

I think you are feeling understandably emotional and frustrated over what should have been an amazing experience becoming tainted and imperfect, and that’s after investing a lot of time, energy and money into choosing the right stone, design and vendor. I hope the melee is resolved and the ring becomes perfect in your eyes once more.

About the FedEx guy, you must remember most people don’t know fine jewelry if it slaps them in the face. I watched Crazy Rich Asians with my mum and she thought Michelle Yeoh’s ring was “inexpensive”. I mildly corrected her but not too much as I didn’t want her to know how much my own emeralds cost . My husband was shocked that the vintage 70s-looking Rolex cost $500,000. Ultimately the value of the ring is in itself, not the packaging, and I’m sure over time your wife will appreciate what a superior ring she has to what she originally wanted.

 

[holeydonut]

K...it’s hard to keep track, but I understood that you are getting a new box, so what’s the issue, you don’t like feeling judged for having a different opinion?

Judged by Brian Gavin yes. I mean... the guy frets over the smallest of green light zone on an ASET... that’s why I felt he was going to cut the best diamond ever.

But he thinks I’m being kind of picky over the box. Haha first world problems!

 

[holeydonut]

@LinSF yep, BG is going to send me a signature box. And I bought a simple wood one from Etsy just in case.

@peacechick the Fedex guy behind the counter never saw the diamond. He only saw me putting the inner Black by Brian Gavin ring box (the one in the first post of this thread) into packing material per the precise instructions of BGD’s RMA.

The fedex guy thought I was wasting his materials and overpacking what looked like a cheap jewelry. But he made that assessment looking at the box, not the ring.

For practical purposes of not wanting him to even think about taking the ring, I didn’t correct him. But it cast doubt that’s my finance could think the same about the box. Or maybe she is going to throw the box in the trash... who knows.