I don't think so. Doctors won't have a tool to cut titanium.
I know this for a fact because I was talking to a guy from jewelry store called idar and he said that he actually had a customer calling crying in the midnight where ER doctor couldn't do anything to cut the titanium ring.

So he actually had to come in to the jewelry store and use titanium ring cutting tool, his finger was completely purple and swollen too.

:facepalm:

My buddy bought a cheap stainless steel ring one time.So we are driving up to Victoria from Nanaimo. Stop in Duncan to eat. He buys some soap to get it off but it's stuck. In Victoria He buys some KY but still no go. Next day jewellery store no go so I take him to the hospital and the doctors can't get it off. They send us to the maintenance department where our buddy works. They start to use a grinder but by buddy is a bitch and scared. So he want's to got to the ER in Nanaimo where is nurse. Drop him off 6 hours later the fire department gets it off with a hack saw.

^^ Moral of the story don't buy titanium ring =D

I think I owe an update here.

First of all, RevScene rocks, and this thread made the ring buying process way less confusing / painful. Thanks to all who posted advice and helpful shit.

Secondly, she said yes. Wahoo. I proposed in Maui as planned, although we didn't make the engagement public until the wedding trip was over and the bride and groom had gone home. I'd always planned to keep it a secret until the wedding was over so as not to steal their thunder. We were in Thailand a couple weeks after the wedding when we made a post on Facebook announcing it. All good.

I ended up taking a hilariously huge $5 toy ring from Wal-Mart and using that to propose with. Bringing a real ring seemed like a huge hassle, and if she didn't like it, the 30-day return window would mean we'd have to mail the ring back while we were in SE Asia. So, yeah, used this one instead:

http://markborland.com/ring1.jpg

A week before we were due to head home, we went online to BlueNile and built a nice ring that fit within my original budget (total cost was $13k). The whole process of dealing with BlueNile has been amazing... talk about a well-run company that has their shit together.

The diamond was Canadian (her choice), 1.02 carat, F color, VS1, etc. I think it's pretty nice... big, but she likes it and it's actually smaller than some of her friend's rings so I guess big rocks are cool these days. The band is platinum.. added quite a bit to the price but apparently it's more durable and easier to maintain, plus yellow gold looks bad on both of us.

http://markborland.com/ring2.jpg

http://markborland.com/ring3.jpg

http://markborland.com/ring4.jpg

Thanks again to all the peeps who posted in this thread, your advice was invaluable... special thx to jbsali who was first to inform me about how shitty the rings at People's and other local jewellers were.

(Now thanks to this thread I am a fucking certified jeweller... want that ring appraised?!)

So, yeah... anyway.... Now apparently I have to get married.......... :fulloffuck:

Thanks... to follow up on this, the ring we ordered was a bit too big, so we've had to send it back to Blue Nile for re-sizing. They ship it back to us with the new re-sized band within 10 business days or so. It's free except for the return shipping (which I had to insure for $60 - still less than having a local jeweller do it).

If she needs it re-sized again in a few years, then this may be an issue, but I'm sure for the right price some jeweller will be able to help. I'd imagine making it smaller is much easier than making it larger, so that might require a new band altogether... but for now, whatever, it's going to fit and may not ever need re-sizing.

My grandmother's ring had to be taken off at the hospital a few months ago for the first time in 52 years. Needed some lube and hard work but still got past the knuckle.

Anyway, yeah. Blue Nile re-sizing is free, and overall it's a pretty simple process, so major issue there IMO.

Going to proposal to my gf in June (woot) so I am in the market for a Engagement ring. Already know I am willing to spend 2.5k to 3.5k on it. Most likely it will be a Classic Six-Claw Solitaire Engagement Ring or Classic Four-Claw Solitaire Engagement Ring or , 0.75 to 1 carat diamond ring. For the ring itself what's the advantage and disadvantage of using white gold vs Platinum?

I am going to bring the ring oversea to proposal will I have any issue bringing the ring in to another country? Will there be duties on it? I will bring the paper work with me for sure just hoping there won't be any issue with customs. I will be buying it locally other than spence and Minichiello Jewellers is there any jewerly store that's good?

as long as you have the paperwork showing you bought the diamond and ring locally, bringing it anywhere shouldn't be a problem.

Congrats! If you can afford the extra cost, go with platinum. It's a more durable and pure metal. There is actually no such thing as white gold, it's a mix of metals, usually has nickel in it, too, which can be an issue if someone has an allergy or sensitivity. You also have to get it re-dipped in rhodium every so often, as the whiteness wears off.

I have not looked at engagement rings in a while, but for $2.5-3.5k I am not sure you will be able to get a good quality diamond in the 0.75-1 carat range.

Any others with more recent experience care to comment?

^^ honestly I am not sure about the size. I know my sister engagement is about 2.5k to 3.5k (she just got marry recently). Not sure about the size of the rock but it looks really nice. I am guessing the cut and carlity is a and color is good.

But as many have posted I rather get a smaller diamond with good quality.

your not getting anything close to .75 let alone 1 carat for that price....atleast not of good quality

Unlikely you'd be able to get any legitimate diamond of that size for less than $3500. I could be wrong on that but my ring search suggested that prices rise dramatically for decent quality diamonds above ~0.6-0.7ct.

Having now looked at many diamonds of all sizes, I think half a carat is plenty. My fiancee loves her ring (the one pictured earlier in this thread in my update post) and isn't bothered by the size of the diamond, but it would still look great at half the size.

Also -- and for God's sake, don't tell my fiancee this -- but despite the fact I ended up buying a high-quality diamond, I personally don't think the colour and cut are that important as long as any imperfections are invisible (or nearly so) to the naked eye. Who really cares if a jeweller with a 30x microscope can see imperfections? As long as you, your future fiancee, and the general public can't tell the difference, then it's all good, IMO. (Maybe it own't fetch as much at a pawn shop but I'm guessing that's not in your plans.)

Re: platinum vs. gold.... I personally think you'd be wise to pick the band based on how much of your budget is left over after choosing a diamond. Platinum may be more durable, but it's more expensive, and looks the same as white gold. You can always buy her a new platinum band in 5 years when you've got the money... that would allow you to use more of your budget for the diamond now, without anyone knowing the difference.

Good luck... and congrats in advance. :toot:

If you guys don't care where the diamond came from - you should also check out lab created diamonds. I got mine at Brilliant Earth and the lab created diamonds were about 75% of the cost of the mined diamonds.

They look the same on your hand whether it's from underground or made in a lab. It's also not a cheapo CZ.

Has anyone purchased a diamond and or a ring from DiamondDeals.ca?

I've got an appointment to visit them and was wondering if anyone has dealt with them and their past experiences

im actually dealing with diamonddeals right now. the person I was dealing with was named Sandy Choker. ( I believe she is on vacation right now though.) I visited them at their Vancouver location and by no means is the office "fancy"

im currently waiting for my band to get a wax mold made before they piece everything together. The process so far is pretty easy. I went in and told sandy how much I wanted to spend and what kind of diamond and band I was looking for. a few week later I went back in to view a couple diamonds that she brought in. now im just waiting for the wax mold. after that if I am happy with the band then they will piece it all together.

the price was cheaper then when I went to Spence. I am getting a custom band(19k) similar to a Tiffanys ring, the diamond is a round cut, 1.20 CT, D cut, VS1. price after tax was $10300

^^ Baller
Anyways this might be useful for people looking to proposal
Best Marriage Proposals and Marriage Proposal Ideas
Adorable Flip-Book Proposal | Gem106
The Flippist
The book is $500 starting so not worth it however there is a cheaper version for $25 without the space for the ring.

"Will You Marry Me?" Flipbook - no hidden ring compartment ? The Flippist
This is much cheaper.

Some of you guys are ballers. A half-carat is more than enough for an engagement ring. If you get something too expensive, chances are she'll feel self-conscious wearing it and you'll have to get separate insurance for it since most home insurance policies only cover jewelry up to 5-7K.

If you're really in the marriage for the long-haul, there's plenty of time to get nice jewelry down the road. The ring is just a symbol - and as long as it looks good and you propose to her in a way that honours your relationship, then that's all you need.

Save that extra 5-7K for your honeymoon, or new furniture.

Got an engagement ring form Blue Nile $1500 total . Very Good-cut, J-colour, SI1-clarity, Round, 0.50-carat Diamond

Decided to spend less on the ring as I want to save the money for the wedding and mortgage for the apartment. I am sure she understand this. Still thinking of how the propsal will go......

The Flippist
Order one of the flippist book they have. It was on sale for like $25 doesn't have the box to the ring but I can make one.
Going to propose to gf in our last stop. I already have the wine and music ready. Going to ask her while we in mini hot tub in our hotel. The view of the hotel is awesome!
270 degree view of the lake!
http://i.imgur.com/tJYOHGL.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/NGsMrmp.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/YFurjvI.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/qpbt8Li.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/2EXMRxt.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/gc0uB0w.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/8oyvyr8.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/0F1KVSh.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/V9PYvpB.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/AGXkkVU.jpg

Good luck!

edit: of all the things to be failed for, this?

I believe that 14K and 18K white gold rings need to be retreated with a Rhodium coating, 19K white gold doesn't need to be. (From the info that i've gathered)

Actually the cut does matter quite a bit to how the diamond appears, the cut is what determines how much light and at which angle it is reflected through the diamond. That is what gives the diamond it's "sparkle", a poorly cut diamond, regardless of size will look dull and darker.

Carat/Cut/Colour are what really matter.....unless it's super low clarity

99.9% of people see size first, cut/sparkle next, then colour (goes with the first two)

My lady has a platinum ring. I highly recommend going platinum if possible as it doesn't need to be coated every year compared to white gold. Typically, white gold would wear out within 6 months easily and you will need to do another rhodium coating. Platinum also looks a lot better and is more durable for daily use.

Another thing is, I would recommend spending more money on the ring band itself than the diamond. We got ours off of an auction, a very old english/vintage piece, for about $16k and appraised for $45k. Actual value is about $25k. I believe the diamond is even 1.5k. But remember guys, you can ALWAYS update the diamond but you can't change the band. 10 years down the road or so, we'll sell the diamond and replace it with a better one.

Any way my advice.