The Search Continues
This is the story of how Kevin and I found my perfect engagement ring at Tiffany and Co. Now let me start off by saying that everyone has a unique story when it comes to their engagement ring. Please keep in mind that this is my own unique story of how Kevin and I came to find my perfect ring. That does not mean that I have anything against any of the other jewelers. This is just a reflection of my own personal specifications of what I was looking for in a ring.
Exploring Our Options
This is when we explored other jewelers besides Tiffany’s. While I had always dreamed of having a Tiffany and Co. engagement ring, I also wanted to explore other options because Tiffany’s engagement rings can be pretty limiting in terms of the selection. So then we went to a commercialized jeweler. An engagement ring is a big purchase and everyone’s is unique. We simply wanted to know what other options we had for purchasing such a special and meaningful ring.
After looking at the options given to us by the sales representative, we sat down to consult with her regarding what we had envisioned our ring to look like. We explained that we wanted the emerald cut with a halo, as well as diamonds along the band. The coolest thing about this experience was how easy it was for them to create what we wanted. They were able to take a center stone diamond that we picked out, and add it to a band that already had diamonds and a halo. How cool is that?! While we were impressed with their efforts, as well as the affordability aspect, we both agreed that we wanted to keep looking.
The second store that we went into was a family owned jewelry store. Blue Diamond Jewelers was amazing to work with! They were able to customize the ring we wanted, and were willing to work with us on the price. The service we received went beyond our expectations. I can’t say enough great things about their team. But both Kevin and I wanted to keep looking.
Our third store that we visited was ROUGH to say the least. We went to the Diamond District. It was an unpleasant experience to say the least. Would not recommend going here to get an engagement ring. We were disrespected, talked down to, and their selection of ring options was less than optimal.
Why We Chose Tiffany’s
Ultimately, it came down to not only the ring, but the experience. Tiffany’s is an experience like no other. The staff is amazing, they know their stuff when it comes to choosing a ring and they choose quality over quantity every time. We spent countless hours working with our sales associate to ensure that we were getting exactly what we wanted. I tried on all different sizes, cuts, and styles until I found the style we wanted to go with.
See how I didn’t say “the one”? That’s because while I was involved with the ring process, once we found which style we both liked, I wanted Kevin to take it from there and ultimately choose and pick out the ring he wanted to give to me.
Needless to say, Kevin did amazing! The ring he chose was perfect. I have small fingers, so I didn’t want an overly large ring because it would look gaudy on my finger. He chose a beautiful emerald cut with a halo band around the center diamond. The band has diamonds about half way down as well.
The quality of not only my diamond, but the entire ring is impeccable. It’s a platinum band which means it’s the most durable material a band can be made of. Tiffany sets the standard as far as engagement rings go, by exemplifying the brilliance of the diamond by how it sits on top of the band. My engagement ring from Tiffany and Co. is exceptional quality, and Tiffany’s standards of what they sell for their diamonds is extremely rare. I also loved how on both the halo and band, they are individual diamonds, instead of crushed diamond excess which most other engagement ring halos are made from.
The Tiffany’s Experience
The Tiffany’s experience was so memorable for both of us, it deserves its own section. When Kevin went back to the store to work with the sales associate to purchase my engagement ring, they gave him champagne and ushered him back to a private room to allow for a more luxurious buying experience. This was also what occurred when we went back to Tiffany’s to purchase both of our wedding bands as well.
Fast forward to a few months after our wedding, we were in New York City and I needed a different size wedding band and needed my engagement ring smaller, and we had a similar experience. We were given champagne, a private room, and they were able to swap out my wedding band with a smaller size that day. They were also able to do a quick turnaround (less than a few hours) to reduce the size of my engagement ring – which is unheard of! This was such an incredible experience that had such a profound impact on us that we will continue to give Tiffany’s our business.
You can read all about our New York City Tiffany’s experience here.
All photos are by Karen Schanely Photography. You can see more photos of our engagement shoot here, and our wedding here. Highly recommend hiring Karen for your engagement shoot or wedding photography, she’s amazing if you are local to Charleston, SC!
XoXi,
