Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler what to look for in an engagement ring?

Well I had a last minute change of mind (not about the engagement, about the diamond).

For about the same price there is a slightly smaller diamond (1.28 carats) that may be available that is a VS1 in clarity (2 steps higher) and a F in color (one step higher). The diamond was on their "list", but it is in New York so they were closed when she tried to confirm availability. She is going to call me first thing in the morning and let me know if it is available. IF so they will fly the diamond in from NY and I will have to wait about a week for them to get it set. (of course I will look at it first).

Heres to hoping that the diamond is available. Wish me luck!

The lady said that I must be in the 1% of pickiest diamond shoppers.

And be sure to follow whatever rules go along with the insurance... in our case, it involved bringing in the ring not less than every 6 months to be sure the diamond was seated correctly and a host of other nearly-impossible-to-meet demands.

Although with our new insurer, they didn't require a separate rider for anything smaller than pretty much the Hope diamond (or our home office equipment, or the firearms, or any of the collections, or...) I was impressed.

Bren R.

Interesting. So is you insurance with "The Rock Machine" or "The Bandidos" ?

FWIW...I like the sound of your new choice better. I'd rather have the better quality and not quite as big of a diamond.

As far as insurance goes, there are no special requirements for my wife's ring. We just have to send them the check every year.

Good news, got a call from the diamond store and the stone from NY is available. I will have it by mon/tue of next week. I am soooo excited!

I agree with you zarak- for only a couple huundred more bucks I am getting a much better (but slightly smaller) stone. I will never think "man I should have gotten a bigger stone (than a 1.28 carat)", but I would have always thought " I should have gotten a higher clarity" if I went with the other one. The lady at the store told me I was nuts for thinking that I saw anything in the other diamond.. but I say I have better eyes than her!

CBIA now. The Canadian Bar Insurance Association - group insurance for members of the legal profession.

Bren R.

Same thing....

well that wait seems to be taking for ever... I should get the ring in the next few days though.

In the mean time we are discussing having a small destination wedding at a resort in mexico (The Azul Fives in Playa del carmen)

It just so happens that my parents are inviting me and my GF, and my sister and her BF to a vacation to the above resort in june. My mom loved the idea of us having a small wedding while we are there.

Does anyone in the US have any experience with marriages outside of the US?

I don't qualify for your question because I was a Canadian who got married outside of Canada so I'll just think of this as yet another thread hijack and continue. heh heh.

We got married in the Dominican Republic and it is ABSOLUTELY the way to go. They took care of every last detail from meals to photos. All we had to do is show up and for that they sent a decorated golf cart (OK, maybe that drew a bit more attention than I preferred.)

It totally removed all the stressful planning and just allowed us to enjoy our day. Local wedding planning can be a real test of your pending marital skills. It also makes sense financially as your wedding cost and honeymoon is combined.

Both our families were only concerned that we have a big party upon our return, which we did.

One lesson learned though. Not all embassies are rich looking building surrounded by gates and armed guards like you see on TV. The only task we had to do ourselves was visit the Canadian Embassy and get a document stating that we were not previously married back home. Taxi driver dropped us off in front of an apartment building and pointed to a Canadian flag draped in a window on the second floor like a college dorm. He escorted us inside and up the stairs and waited outside (for our safety and I assume a big tip.) The "Embassy" consisted of a one bedroom apartment and our conversation ouround our fancy paperwork went something like this.
"Mr. Murphy are you currently married in Canada?"
"Miss Garrett, are you currently married in Canada?"
"Very well then, it will take about 20 minutes for this old Macintosh printer to print out the form. Coffee?"

The year was 1997, for those wondering.

update:

Just got back in town from a trip for work and picked up the ring. it is AMAZING!

now I must decide how to propose...