Trying on rings?

[Still_Waiting]

So, BF and I have not yet looked at rings together. When we had our serious talk last August he said, "I''ve been wondering about rings, but realized I have no idea what kind of ring you''d even like!" And I answered him by saying I''ve always been a solitaire fan, but, honestly, I''ve never really looked at erings. So, that conversation prompted me to start looking around on my own. Mainly, I''ve searched online, which is how I found this site (thank goodness!), but I have walked into a couple of B&Ms to try and see what the carat sizes really look like in person. Okay, I must admit, I felt guilty the WHOLE TIME! I felt like it''s totally something we should be doing together. When one salesguy tried to have me try some on, I quickly shoved my hands into my pockets and shook my head, completely embarrassed I was looking without my bf! (I haven''t been back to that store! LOL)

So, my question to you gals...did you try on rings before you and your SO had begun searching together? I''m going to try to do a poll, but not sure if it''ll work.

 

[Bia]

Haven't tried anything on...other than my SIL's beautiful 1.1ct solitaire.

BUT I did do it in front of my BF...

does that count???

 

[gwendolyn]

Well, I've been window-shopping for my engagement ring since I was, what, 17? 18? I'm 30 now. So, yeah, not only did I try on engagement rings without James, but I tried on engagement rings before I even met him.

 

[cbs102]

my Fi actually took me to look at rings...and i was also with him when he bought it.. we were visiting my home state when he bought it so he didn''t have much choice with me not being there... he and i were both fine with it because i am the one that has to wear it and i am very particular when it comes to jewelry...

 

[tessari]

He asked me to try on rigns without him because he thought doing it together was not romantic. At some point he realized that he needs to see the stones on me in person and we''ve gone to a few stores together now to try them on.

 

[*Danielle*]

I haven''t tried any on (except my granny''s ring) but I have looked. ALOT

 

[Clairitek]

I tried some on in Cartier with one of my close girlfriends just for fun and then went back to there, Tiffany, and an independent jeweler with FI once he was ready to look around. I''ve always been a browser but it was fun to actually try stuff on.

 

[trillionaire]

I tried on rings after looking at them for years online, because I realized that rings look and feel very different in person than they do in pictures. I found that I hated thick rings, like ones with a love of pave in the band (a la tacori, verragio, etc...) I think that they are gorgeous, but they feel so awkward to me. I like really thin bands, 1.5-2.5mm. I am not a fan of RBs, like I thought. It was kind of fun trying things on, but it did feel a little naughty, like I was sneaking around or something. However, I really don''t see SO as the type to want to go ring shopping. I think it would have overwhelmed him, and I think he wanted to feel like the guy that was surprising me. So, I went to the store in order to figure out what I liked, so that I could tell him. I gave him a quick ring tutorial, and we haven''t talked about it since. Now it''s his show. I know I will be getting a trillion center stone (and would be thrilled with a solitaire!), but I have no idea what else he will come up with. He''s had it since July, and I swear he is keeping it for himself or something...

 

[mrscushion]

I looked at rings by myself a couple times, but I''ve always felt a bit awkward going into B&M stores without him. I think it''s much nicer when we look together. I will say that I was amazed at how looking at things in person is different from looking at stones, settings, etc. online, which I did a LOT of in the last few months. I feel like going to look at stuff in person to make sure it looks good on your finger, is the right size, etc., is pretty essential. I totally underestimated that at first, thinking I could figure out all my preferences online, but I''m glad I went to local B&Ms a few times in the end.

 

[lala2332]

we looked together at first. Then I went with my mom to get a real opinion...BF was not a lot of help. and then once I was 95% sure I found one that I loved, BF, his mom, and I went to look at it.

 

[Dreamgirl]

I''m guilty of having to try them on by myself the first few times around. It makes such a HUGE difference.....trying rings on vs. looking at them. I have a whole thread about how I changed my mind about a specific ring...

Years ago I tried on the Tiffany Lucida and some other rings. (alone)
Last year the Tiffany Novo. (alone)
This year- (with FF!!) the Novo again along with the Tiffany Setting, RB with Tapered Baguettes, RB with Channel Set...
Then alone again this year I tried on the Tiffany Setting, RB with Tapered Baguettes, some Ritani''s, Scott Kay''s and Tacori''s.

I am also really anxious to try on the two Tiffany rings FF and I are interested in once again. (I love them both but I think I like one more than the other, only I''m second guessing myself once again. I need to compare

) I''m making a trip out to the mall this week (I have a plan to look at them again!! hehe) FF probably wont look but that''s ok for now. It also depends on how busy they are because its the holiday season. I might not get a chance...

 

[kittybean]

I tried on rings alone a couple times, but it was just for fun because FI absolutely refused to let me in on the e-ring selection process (a huge trial for me as a LIW). He knew I liked ECs and white metal, but that was it. Now that I think about it, I don''t think we''ve ever looked at jewelry at a B&M together--I mostly just show him pictures online.

Although FI did a great job picking my ring, I really envy you ladies that get/got to pick your ring with your SO. It seems so romantic and fun!

 

[Bia]

Date: 12/8/2008 3:34:31 PM
Author: kittybean
I tried on rings alone a couple times, but it was just for fun because FI absolutely refused to let me in on the e-ring selection process (a huge trial for me as a LIW). He knew I liked ECs and white metal, but that was it. Now that I think about it, I don''t think we''ve ever looked at jewelry at a B&M together--I mostly just show him pictures online.

Although FI did a great job picking my ring, I really envy you ladies that get/got to pick your ring with your SO. It seems so romantic and fun!

A huge trial...that EXACTLY what this has become for me

 

[tabu]

I did not try on rings w/o my FF, but I did look. I looked online, window-shopped... ya know? But I think I just felt I was going too far ahead of myself to actually go into a store and try them on.

So, when the time came and we did end up going together, it was a wonderful experience and we both had so much fun because it was the first time for both of us!

 

[musey]

Date: 12/8/2008 2:05:51 PM
Author: tessari
He asked me to try on rigns without him because he thought doing it together was not romantic. At some point he realized that he needs to see the stones on me in person and we''ve gone to a few stores together now to try them on.

Oh gosh, the time my husband and I spent ring shopping was some of the most romantic of my life!

I had clipped magazine ads since high school, of things that I liked. I went shopping with my then-roommate about 6 months before hubby and I started talking seriously about engagement (by seriously I mean "let''s pick a ring now"). He and I went shopping together, and if I was out alone and in the mood I''d pop in places and try things.

 

[laughwithme]

I really couldn''t decide if I liked solitaires or three-stones more... and I wasn''t sure what carat size would look best on me. So, my best girl friend and I walked into a B&M store and tried on some. I also tried on one alone in NY at Tiffany''s once. I told B about both times that I went, and he just laughed. We looked once together over the summer but less for setting/carat, and more at color/clarity.

 

[princess_natalie]

I selected No, but its not a self-conscious thing its more a - I just don''t think its right thing. That, and I find it A LOT of stress LOL.

I am all for looking.. I love looking online and sometimes, I''ll save the pictures and show my bf next time he''s over. Or if we''re on msn together, I''ll send him the link then we''ll both start looking. We went looking together once, and I tried a few on and almost cried haha. But I must add that I don''t want to be too involved in the process. I just like looking, and talking about it. However, every one I see - I find something wrong with - I know it is not THE ring. THE ring will be the one he picks out on his own or gets made or whatever.

It depends on how much you want to be involved. I''ve had close girls in my life who pick out 2 or 3 on their own and tell their FF and then he goes and picks one of them as THE ring. If you are interested in something like that - then sure - go ahead and look and try as much as you want!

As long as you don''t want it to be a complete surprise.

Another thing to consider is how you feel about him not knowing what you like?... To be honest, I am not even 100% sure what I like. But my bf seems to have it all figured out And when I do reach a conclusion and tell him - Oh, I really like the rings that have _________ - he smiles and says, I know

. At the end of the day - I think its cute to look together, and if you want input, that''s great, but I personally think its their responsibility to find one you like! That shows a lot from them...

P.S. Your display pictures is hilarious

 

[Haven]

The most accurate answer for me is:

"YES! I''ve been trying on rings since I first learned that they existed!"

 

[vita*dolce]

i''ve never been ring shopping without my boyfriend. it''s not that i was too "self-conscious" to go without him, it''s just that i didn''t really care about that stuff before i fell in love with him. the first time i ever went ring shopping was the day he took me on a little date downtown and said "i have to tell you something, i want to marry you!" and brought me to tiffany''s to look at engagement rings. it was by far one of the cutest things he''s ever done! ^_^

 

[sammyj]

YES!!! I tried on the Tiffany Legacy in February. I fell in love.... That was my only ''trying on'' experience.

My BF and I didn''t start e-ring hunting until October but since then I''ve tried on everything and anything. Just to figure out what my dream ring was, you know?

 

[Still_Waiting]

Date: 12/8/2008 4:10:26 PM
Author: tabu
I did not try on rings w/o my FF, but I did look. I looked online, window-shopped... ya know? But I think I just felt I was going too far ahead of myself to actually go into a store and try them on.

So, when the time came and we did end up going together, it was a wonderful experience and we both had so much fun because it was the first time for both of us!

Maybe that''s why I''m so hesitant...because I have this blissful scenario in my head that it will be SO much fun and so romantic. In all reality, he hates shopping and I''m pretty sure that he''s not going to be very into it. He told me that he always figured when he came to that point in his life, he''d take his SO to a store and say, "Okay, now go pick something out." Hardly the romantic scenario I have in my head! LOL I can also see it become a very stressful thing. It''s a lot of money and an important decision. I know there are tons of women who upgrade or change their setting later on, but he''s so sentimental I don''t think I''d ever do it. Well, I suppose I''m pretty sentimental too.

I suppose my biggest reason for trying them on, would be so that I could say to him, "Hey, you know I really don''t want anything bigger than .5" or whatever so that he doesn''t feel so pressured. I think right now he feels like he needs to get something much more than he can afford. Of course, if he''d just start putting a little away a month if wouldn''t be such a big deal, but that''s another story! lol I''ve told him that I don''t really care about the size of the diamond. That it''s what it symbolizes that is so important to me. His response was, "Well, I want to get you something nice." Whatever that means. That''s not nearly a descriptive enough word!

Thanks for all the responses. This has been on my mind for awhile. I was talking to friend about it recently and she seemed to think that although neither of us had, that it''s pretty common for girls to go with their friends to try e-rings on...mainly for entertainment value. So, I was just curious.

 

[MissDimity]

I never thought of trying on rings until SO suggest it and I am glad he did, because I was so certain that I wanted a princess cut solitaire and then when I tried it on it didn''t look as good on my finger as a RBC. Now I am thinking towards getting a RBC, however we are going to a diamond dealer this week and am keen to see what a cushion cut diamond looks like IRL as I have yet to see one in the jewelry stores.

 

[JR320]

Still Waiting - I feel the same way when browsing through jewelry stores... guilty almost! Even though my SO brings up engagement more than I do, I still feel like I have no business shopping for real!

He actually encouraged me to go try some on... He wants to do the shopping himself because he wants it to be a surprise, but he asked about what I like and I had no idea (which brought me to pricescope), but it''s still hard to tell about carat size, etc. without trying them on in person. So I finally went. In one store I went to, the sales woman asked me if I was just out looking or if he asked me to go look. I was kind of embarrassed that she said that even though, he totally didn''t mind! In fact he was interested in what I found out.

Today, I was at Tiffany shopping for a Christmas gift for my sister. The woman who was waiting on me there was really fun... they weren''t busy at all, so she talked me into trying on some different pieces for fun and eventually we ended up in the e-ring section, and I tried on several. I was pleasantly surprised to see how lovely a 0.5ct. looked on my hand compared to a 0.75ct which I thought I wanted. So I''m really glad she talked me into trying them on. It was really fun, and the classic tiffany setting is just gorgeous!

SO and I will probably never go look together, but now I can give him enough information to make a beautiful selection that I will love!

 

[CNYHopeful]

In a moment of weakness, while waiting to meet up with a friend at the mall, I decided to try on a diamond ring for size.

Although FF and I have agreed to not look at e-rings together, we''re perusing other jewlery this Saturday and he''s hinted at getting my ring finger sized while at the jewlers. I''m looking forward to this expedition, and trust him (with his mom & sister''s aid) to pick out a great e-ring for me when the time comes. I''m curious if he''s changed his mind about looking at e-rings together. We''ll see if he wanders over to the diamond section, I won''t be able to contain my excitement then.

 

[Still_Waiting]

Date: 12/8/2008 10:56:44 PM
Author: JR320
Still Waiting - I feel the same way when browsing through jewelry stores... guilty almost! Even though my SO brings up engagement more than I do, I still feel like I have no business shopping for real!

He actually encouraged me to go try some on... He wants to do the shopping himself because he wants it to be a surprise, but he asked about what I like and I had no idea (which brought me to pricescope), but it''s still hard to tell about carat size, etc. without trying them on in person. So I finally went. In one store I went to, the sales woman asked me if I was just out looking or if he asked me to go look. I was kind of embarrassed that she said that even though, he totally didn''t mind! In fact he was interested in what I found out.

Today, I was at Tiffany shopping for a Christmas gift for my sister. The woman who was waiting on me there was really fun... they weren''t busy at all, so she talked me into trying on some different pieces for fun and eventually we ended up in the e-ring section, and I tried on several. I was pleasantly surprised to see how lovely a 0.5ct. looked on my hand compared to a 0.75ct which I thought I wanted. So I''m really glad she talked me into trying them on. It was really fun, and the classic tiffany setting is just gorgeous!

SO and I will probably never go look together, but now I can give him enough information to make a beautiful selection that I will love!

Thanks for your post! I feel reassured that I''m not the only one who feels like that.

My SO may surprise me when he gets serious about ring buying, but I really doubt he''s going to be very into it. He''s a typical guy shopper who buys the first things that looks decent...no browsing for him! But with something so expensive and significant...I don''t know, maybe he would surprise me.

Oh, and even though I haven''t tried any on, when I look at .5 ct. it really does seem like it would be perfectly sized for me. I''m glad to hear that you liked the way they looked on you. May I ask your finger size? I''ve looked through those carat-to-finger ratio threads, but I still find SUCH a huge difference from finger-to-finger. I''m sure it isn''t like this in real life, but sometimes I just don''t see THAT big of a difference between 1.0 and .5-ish.

 

[CNOS128]

I never did get to try on rings. We talked about going shopping for them when he was ready to think about engagement, but he had a little secret - that he had his grandmother''s ring and would propose with that.
I''m a little sad that I missed out on trying on all sorts of bling, but at the same time I''m happy that I didn''t fall in love with another ring that I wouldn''t have been able to buy! And I absolutely love my ring...

Before we were engaged, I looked at a lot of rings online, and tried on my mom''s wedding set. Okay, fine, I still like to look online!

 

[kittybean]

Date: 12/8/2008 5:28:48 PM
Author: vita*dolce
i''ve never been ring shopping without my boyfriend. it''s not that i was too ''self-conscious'' to go without him, it''s just that i didn''t really care about that stuff before i fell in love with him. the first time i ever went ring shopping was the day he took me on a little date downtown and said ''i have to tell you something, i want to marry you!'' and brought me to tiffany''s to look at engagement rings. it was by far one of the cutest things he''s ever done! ^_^

That is extremely sweet!

 

[JR320]

Date: 12/9/2008 10:22:06 AM
Author: Still_Waiting

Date: 12/8/2008 10:56:44 PM

Author: JR320

Still Waiting - I feel the same way when browsing through jewelry stores... guilty almost! Even though my SO brings up engagement more than I do, I still feel like I have no business shopping for real!


He actually encouraged me to go try some on... He wants to do the shopping himself because he wants it to be a surprise, but he asked about what I like and I had no idea (which brought me to pricescope), but it''s still hard to tell about carat size, etc. without trying them on in person. So I finally went. In one store I went to, the sales woman asked me if I was just out looking or if he asked me to go look. I was kind of embarrassed that she said that even though, he totally didn''t mind! In fact he was interested in what I found out.


Today, I was at Tiffany shopping for a Christmas gift for my sister. The woman who was waiting on me there was really fun... they weren''t busy at all, so she talked me into trying on some different pieces for fun and eventually we ended up in the e-ring section, and I tried on several. I was pleasantly surprised to see how lovely a 0.5ct. looked on my hand compared to a 0.75ct which I thought I wanted. So I''m really glad she talked me into trying them on. It was really fun, and the classic tiffany setting is just gorgeous!


SO and I will probably never go look together, but now I can give him enough information to make a beautiful selection that I will love!

Thanks for your post! I feel reassured that I''m not the only one who feels like that.


My SO may surprise me when he gets serious about ring buying, but I really doubt he''s going to be very into it. He''s a typical guy shopper who buys the first things that looks decent...no browsing for him! But with something so expensive and significant...I don''t know, maybe he would surprise me.


Oh, and even though I haven''t tried any on, when I look at .5 ct. it really does seem like it would be perfectly sized for me. I''m glad to hear that you liked the way they looked on you. May I ask your finger size? I''ve looked through those carat-to-finger ratio threads, but I still find SUCH a huge difference from finger-to-finger. I''m sure it isn''t like this in real life, but sometimes I just don''t see THAT big of a difference between 1.0 and .5-ish.

I know what you mean, it''s so hard to tell from looking at the pictures. My ring size is 4.5. I don''t wear a ton of jewelry and what jewelry I do wear is all petite and delicate. The more I think about it, it just doesn''t make sense for me to have 1ct. rock on my hand, just because we could afford it. When I tried one on, I thought it just looked ridiculously huge on me. The 0.75 was doable, but 0.5 was just as pretty and felt more comfortable for me. Think about going to try some sometime.. maybe you could take a girlfriend with you

 

[LtlFirecracker]

Everytime we go into a jewelry BF always walks over to the e-ring sections and asks me some questions. But I have never tried any on when I was with him.

 

[FrekeChild]

I didn't try on rings before I went with him. The first time was with him (and that was February 10th, 2007...that's getting awfully close to 2 years for my taste.)

Well, wait. I helped my dad pick out a diamond solitaire for my mom for their 27th wedding anniversary, and had to try on a few so he could get a better idea. Does that count?