[Misky1951]

I'm going to propose to a wonderful woman in the near future. Never thought this would happen at this stage of life. But that's another story.

It's been a very long time since I shopped for rings. Not sure I'm comfortable going online.

Any suggestions on local jewelers?

[dewilson58]

Congrats!!!


Coast to Coast...............hands down.

Coast To Coast | Your Leader in Jewelry and Coins in Central Florida.

[retiredguy123]

The only store that I would ever buy expensive jewelry from is Costco. Not that you would return a ring, but Costco will refund your money at any time, even years later. Local jewelers will never refund your money for any reason. They may offer "store credit" if you make a return within 2 or 3 weeks. Also, I would trust Costco for honesty. A few years ago, I helped a friend buy an expensive ring, and I learned how dishonest some local jewelers are. Some of them will try to cheat the State and Federal governments by arranging the sale to avoid paying sales tax and income tax. One "reputable" jeweler asked my friend to pay cash, and to provide an out-of-state address so they could send an empty box to it to trick Florida into thinking it was an out-of-state sale. Costco sells a lot of high end jewelry, they are honest, and their return policy provides peace of mind.

[LuvtheVillages]

A huge topic in the jewelry industry right now is lab grown diamonds vs mined diamonds.

Lab grown are cheaper to buy, but the question is whether they will hold resale value.

Others say it is impossible, even for a jeweler, to tell the difference.

Do some research!

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by LuvtheVillages

A huge topic in the jewelry industry right now is lab grown diamonds vs mined diamonds.

Lab grown are cheaper to buy, but the question is whether they will hold resale value.

Others say it is impossible, even for a jeweler, to tell the difference.

Do some research!

I don't think any jewelry will hold resale value.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

I don't think any jewelry will hold resale value.

My engagement ring and my mother's engagement ring have both increased in value. Mom's increased significantly. Mom's cost dad around $800 (eight hundred), in the 1950's. I just inherited it and had to have it appraised for the insurer. It's now valued at $12,500 (twelve thousand five hundred).

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

My engagement ring and my mother's engagement ring have both increased in value. Mom's increased significantly. Mom's cost dad around $800 (eight hundred), in the 1950's. I just inherited it and had to have it appraised for the insurer. It's now valued at $12,500 (twelve thousand five hundred).

Comparing an insurance appraisal to resale value is apples and oranges. Some "appraisers" will guarantee to appraise for at least double the actual value. Resale value is what a buyer will actually pay. Also, a dollar in the 1950's has inflated to 12 dollars today.

[Rango]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

I don't think any jewelry will hold resale value.

You are correct

[Angelhug52]

"At this stage of life", much joy. Now if it is not her first ring... might want to have a conversation with her as to what she would like? Young girls might like surprises. You certainly can surprise her with something special when you ask for her commitment. But might be best to shop together? Much joy wished to you both. Agree Costco is great.

[Sandy and Ed]

Originally Posted by Angelhug52

"At this stage of life", much joy. Now if it is not her first ring... might want to have a conversation with her as to what she would like? Young girls might like surprises. You certainly can surprise her with something special when you ask for her commitment. But might be best to shop together? Much joy wished to you both. Agree Costco is great.

…..and you may find that your young miss may find a more practical way to spend that money and decide she would be more satisfied by a simple, elegant but less expensive ring. A new bedroom suite perhaps?

[Sandancer]

Gold In Art-Not cheap, but excellent quality.. They will design anything you want plus they have tons of in-stock pieces. Good Luck-Have a Happy Life!:

[jacksonla]

Originally Posted by Misky1951

I'm going to propose to a wonderful woman in the near future. Never thought this would happen at this stage of life. But that's another story.

It's been a very long time since I shopped for rings. Not sure I'm comfortable going online.

Any suggestions on local jewelers?

First off Congratulations! Last month I went to Bob's Coin and Jewelry and was extremely happy with their service. My diamond engagement ring was stolen by TSA Orlando International, and I wanted to replicate it. Merideth took extra time to help me select the perfect natural stone and a setting that looked much like my original ring. They gave me the GIA rating for the stone which I highly recommend you also get. I'm sure that if you purchase a ring and your future wife is not perfectly happy they would exchange it.

[lawgolfer]

Originally Posted by Misky1951

I'm going to propose to a wonderful woman in the near future. Never thought this would happen at this stage of life. But that's another story.

It's been a very long time since I shopped for rings. Not sure I'm comfortable going online.

Any suggestions on local jewelers?

The price of diamonds, both man-made and natural has crashed. There is no difference between man-made and natural and there is no test at any level below a top-drawer physics lab that can tell the difference, and, perhaps, not even then.

What broke the floodgates is that the diamond "grading" companies agreed to examine and grade man-made stones as to color, clarity, and karat. The last hold-out of the grading services was GIA, which is considered the gold standard in the industry.

With the certainty of quality grading, the mass retailers, Zales etc., began carrying products with man-made stones. Prices tumbled. You can now buy an unset, quality, 1 karat diamond, online, for $1200. Retail jewelers, who are used to markups of 300% (the reason they can have 50% off sales) are in serious trouble as, while the %'s remain the same, their total revenue has crashed.

Check out websites such as Brilliance to learn what you can buy. If you don't know your ring size, buy a set of ring gauges from Amazon for $15 or less. If you insist on buying from a "bricks and sticks" store, go to Blue Nile at the large mall in Orlando. You'll pay, roughly, 40-50% more than an online store, but will have the comfort of dealing face-to-face with the retailer. Likewise, you can't go wrong with Costco, although the style of the rings from which you can select will be very limited.

[Nell57]

Do talk to your love and choose the ring together. She’s the one wearing it.
At my age I have beautiful rings that were gifts from my husband, I inherited , or I bought myself. If I were ever to be gifted with another ring, I wouldn’t want a diamond. There are some other stones I don’t have.
Talk to her. Find out what is important to her.

[MandoMan]

Originally Posted by Misky1951

I'm going to propose to a wonderful woman in the near future. Never thought this would happen at this stage of life. But that's another story.

It's been a very long time since I shopped for rings. Not sure I'm comfortable going online.

Any suggestions on local jewelers?

Get her ring size, then buy her a ring with a high quality zirconium stone and spend the rest of the money on a nice European river cruise. That’s a much better waste of money than an engagement ring.

Also, I hesitate to say this, but have you met her? I visited with an old friend yesterday, and she told me about scammers she has met on Match. One she researched and turned in was expelled from Match as a scammer even as we talked. I’ve heard that a lot of these fake people are handled from a shop in Ghana. If you are dating online in The Villages, bear in mind that those of us who are real people tend to look our age. The beautiful women and handsome men who claim to live here are in many cases fake. One tip off is a profile where English isn’t used correctly. Look in the mirror. Be honest. If the person is much better looking than you, and you send a message, and the person starts trying to develop a conversation with you or asks to switch to emails, you may be being scammed. If the person doesn’t respond, that might be because the person doesn’t think you are a good target for a scam.

My friend had been messaging and talking with a supposed businessman and philanthropist from Gainesville for two months! They hadn’t met yet. Then he sent her an ad for a charity he runs to make donations to UNICEF. He suggested she might want to make a donation. She knows a lot about fund-raising, and she actually called UNIFEF and confirmed that the supposed charity had never contributed anything at all. Then she researched the company that made the web site for this charity and discovered that making these fake web sites is what it does, all the time. There ARE lots of Villagers on these sites, but be careful.