What is the best place to buy an engagement ring?

I am with mma_mom, please no pawn shops and no online shopping. They are a huge investment and you want to be able to touch it and see it in person. One good thing that I love about the Shane company is that your are not limited to settings that have been put together. They will let you pick out a loose diamond that is in your price range then choose the setting that you want and it's usually LESS expensive that way. Plus it's like you've put it together yourself.

I have another friend who is very artistic and he found a jewelry maker who designed a setting for her.

Of course ever girl has to have her favorite place, and mine is John Atencio - I would take him over Tiffany any day. I just think the styles are amazing! Just be sure to get something classic and make sure you know her preferences before you go!

I strongly feel that any woman should get to choose the ring she will wear for the rest of her life. That said, my husband, knowing how I felt about this, proposed to me using a Oragami "righ" when the "ring" (made of paper) was unfolded it had an appointment time for a fitting with the jewler. He spoke with the jeweler before hand, and I was presented with a nice selection of rings in my taste and his budget range. Had I said no, obviously I wouldn't have gone to the appointment and he wouldn't be stuck with a ring.

That's a great idea! What a sweet guy.

Along those same lines, a lot of places have a dummy ring or a ring you can use (and buy) but later exchange for the one that she picks out. I'm pretty sure shane company does.

I've never been happy with the selection at a place like Shane or Kay or even Trice. It really doesn't cost a lot more to meet with a jewler and come up with a design and have it hand made. It's unique to you and you won't find someone else wearing the same style. You can certainly go to those places and look at rings to get some ideas, but at the end of the day, talk with a few designers in your area and you'll be much happier at the end of the day.

Also, in terms of cost, you can run the spectrum from 500-700 all the way up to tens of thousands. You can focus more of the cost on the gems you put into the design rather than overhead and 401k plans for the employees at big chains.

Just my thoughts. Take the oragami idea and then design a ring for her (and you) together.

I think there is alot ot be said about the guy going out and getting a ring to propose to her with. The wedding ring, yes, they should both pick out. But the surprise of having an engagement ring at the time you propose is worth it to pick it out ahead of time. If you are asking you to marry you, you should know what she likes.

Back to the question, I would do it in person at a store. The people who work at ring and jewelry stores tend to know a thing or two to help you out.

If you are concerned about being talked into something outside of your price range, find a store that only hires non-commission employees.

Normally I say online for everything. But this is a case where online may not be the best.

Looking online can help, but having that person to help can make a world of difference.

I'll pass this info along to my friend. thanks.