Diamond Shopping

Whoopee! Picked up the ring last night (Sunday, January 5, 2003) and got to do it together. It was so much nicer than me driving there alone and waiting for Dan to get home to see it. We finished chores and errands and left the house at about 3:30. Dan blew up a coffee in the espresso machine because I was blabbing to him in the other room, so we stopped and bought a coffee for the ride.

It was so nice to be out on such a beautiful day. The mountains are all snowy and the sky just had some wispy clouds here and there. Mount Rainier was beautiful and the sky started getting all different shades of pink and orange and purple as we got closer to Renton. By the time we were driving into the neighborhood around the mall, Mt. Rainier was all pink with alpen-glow. It was gorgeous! Almost worth the trip even if we weren't picking up diamonds!

We went into the shop and Aimee, the woman who helped us pick the setting, and Michelle, the woman who helped Dan on his first visits were both there and excited to see us. They both made us promise to stop and let them see before we left. We went into the back and waited our turn at the counter.

The jeweler was just finishing up with that day's work, and he passed my ring with some other envelopes through the window to the clerk. I commented that I wished that someone would pass a big wad of envelopes full of diamonds through a hole in a wall to me. Dan said I should apply for a job, but I'm afraid that 1 hour commute would be too much for me. :)

They pulled all my stuff out of the envelope and handed me my rings. I didn't make the noise, but I got all tingly and has this total girl-feeling that can't be described in words through my whole body. It's so beautiful! I asked for a box and slipped the wedding band.. er.. wedding sliver, into the box and handed it to Dan. He signed for the ring and we were off.

Michelle was waiting for us just around the corner. She said a bunch of stuff to me that I didn't even hear. :) I recall her saying Congratulations and I think I muttered "Thanks!" Then over to Aimee who was just finishing up with someone. I put my left hand on my right arm and said "Ta Da!" or something equally silly. She asked if I liked it and I said yes and thanked her for all her help. Dan told me in the car that he was watching the couple next to me when I was showing the ring to Aimee. The woman craned around to get a peek at what I was getting. Yeah, we're all alike. I've been looking at rings for the last week or so everywhere I go. I look at the grocery clerk, the woman at the bank, the lady who cut my hair, strangers on the street, people in other cars... Yeah, we're all alike. I know every one of you did it too. :)

Back in the car Dan and I had a little talk.. some private mushy stuff. I took off the ring and handed it to Dan and let him put it on my hand. Then we were off for our hour long ride home. Only cried once as we drove home. :)

We talked about the ring and wedding stuff on the way home. So much to think about and so many options. It's almost too overwhelming. Dan and I are both such slowpokes about making any kind of decisions that I'm sure the wedding won't happen for another 7.5 years. :) Just kidding, mom!! Don't freak out! :)

Stopped and got some dinner and then showed the ring to the cats. Cobweb wasn't really interested at all, she was more interested in the smell of dinner. Frankie liked the sparkle but we kept having to tell him not to eat the main diamond, so I decided maybe it was a bad idea to let him look too closely at it. :) I managed to only scratch myself once with it last night and I don't think I put anyone's eye out while sleeping, though I haven't talked to Dan yet today. :)

Here are some pictures we took last night of the ring on my hand. Someone really should have got a manicure. :) I'll keep all the diamond and setting shopping info at the bottom of this page.

Dan bought me a diamond for Christmas. Very exciting but very scary too! I had no idea how little I knew about diamonds until I started looking at settings and stones, etc.

The stone is .41ct I SI2. I can upgrade the stone if I want, but I want to keep the price reasonable so it will depend on the setting as to what stone I put in it.

Time passes... :) Monday, December 30th, Dan and I drove over to Tukwilla or Renton or SeaTac or wherever that big mall is and picked out a setting. That's it pictured to the left. We upgraded the stone slightly to .51ct. It wasn't a big difference when you looked at the stones side by side, but it made a big difference in the setting.

The setting is white gold, but I might decide to tell everyone it's platinum so they'll let me onto Mercer Island and into the "finer" communities east of Seattle. :) It's got 6 round diamonds, 3 on each side of the main stone. That skinny silver band underneath is the wedding ring part of the set.

I was in love with it when I saw it on the website, but I still wasn't sure. I couldn't believe it when I actually made "the noise" when the lady helping us dropped the stone into the setting on my finger. It's every stereotype I can't stand about women, but I let out that little gasp when I saw it. It was just screaming at me.... I had to have it. Dan said that when I made "the noise" he knew that one was the one too. :) Silly, huh?

We looked at a couple of different stones, including one that was .55 carats. I was tempted but it had a really big inclusion right in the center and it just wasn't making either of us happy after the smaller stone with such a small one. Then she brought out the other stone and it was perfect. The color is a little cooler, but still beautiful and sparkly.

I pick up the ring after it's set and sized on Monday, January 6th. Dan and I still need to work out the logistics of who's going to Tukwilla and when, but I'm sure that by Monday night it will be on my finger. Can't wait!

Update: I called and they said that Dan and I can pick up the ring at closing on Sunday instead. I'd much rather go with Dan to pick it up than go alone. I just would love it if we were together for that as it seems so important and something we've both waited so long for.