having had a sister that worked at tiffanys, it actually made me question whether i needed a ring with a brand name. i do believe that the craftsmanship is in a way guaranteed and maintenance is easily accessible. You can walk into any tiffanys and ask them to clean it or fix it etc for free. my aunt and uncle are actually jewelers in hong kong as well. i worked at their store in central when i was in high school as did many of my other cousins.
when we had started looking we actually wanted to go through my aunt. my sister was there at the time but communication was difficult with phone and email. in the end we opted for getting something here so that we could see it before purchasing. when stephen told me that he was going with his friend to his jeweler, i immediately wanted in! i wanted to have a say in what my ring looked like. in retrospect i think that if i had zero clue about the ring and proposal, i wouldve been shocked and surprised into tears. im not sure which i prefer but im definitely happy with the ring. i think its so pretty. we had gone into tiffanys once before to try stuff on and i was smitten with the lucida. the jeweler said that the lucida is a modified radiant cut so we looked only at a couple radiant stones. on our first or second visit we had found a stone we had really liked with a good weight, color and clarity etc. i also picked out a setting with two pears on each side. originally i thought i had wanted baguettes.
i also went through a phase where i didnt want an engagement ring and just a band. stephen wanted it for investment's sake and also as something we might be able to pass onto our children later. well i think he also thought it would make me happy.
we just got it insured so i can wear it with less worry! it went as a separate item under homeowner's insurance.
