Best place to buy an engagement ring in Denver area?

[sic_semper_tyrannis]

Thanks for everyone's feedback. After checking out different stores and websites, I ended up going with Shane Co, which was a pretty common recommendation in this thread. The customer service was fantastic, and the warranty they provide seems like a huge benefit should anything ever go wrong. They aren't the cheapest, but they aren't the most expensive either. Timeliness was an issue in my specific situation, so buying online would not have worked for what I have planned. Shane was able to get the whole ring put together in 48 hours, and that wasn't even with a rush put on it. Frankly, for the quality of the final piece, I am actually paying a little less than I had expected. In the end I started focusing less on cost and more on quality, and I am happy with the final product and happy that I didn't cheap-out on such an important purchase.

[sic_semper_tyrannis]

The little lady and I have been using the Shane Co exclusively for all of our expensive jewelry purchases. Their warranty is awesome and the customer service has been great. There was only one instance where a sales associate was an idiot. In that situation I simply told him to get someone else to help me and that is exactly what was done no questions asked.

If you are buying a ring for someone else you need their input on the size, style and design for it to be something that they really want. How would you feel if your girlfriend bought you a car that you had zero opportunity to provide any input on selecting? Especially when the primary purchasing requirement was to make it as cheap as possible. How likely would it be that the car would be something you really wanted?

You also need to be an educated buyer and know the value of the different metals for the settings, durability of the metal, and clarity / quality of the stones. Metals have different levels of durability and show wear differently. For example, platinum is fairly soft and can bend and scratch very easily compared to Gold.

Buying an engagement ring or wedding set can be a significant investment but it still needs to be within your reasonable budget. The quality of what you are buying is a very important factor that will dramatically sway the price. Us "Dudes" don't understand the importance "Chicks" place on a high dollar wedding set as there is always something else more practical that the same amount of $$$ could be used for. But we have our expensive vices as well. Tally up how much you have spent on ammo, safes, guns, motorized toys, tools, or whatever else. Once you do that an expensive wedding ring will probably be chump change in comparison. The only difference is that you are taking the big punch to the wallet all at once with a wedding set.

I understand everything you said and even agree on many points. I took all of those into consideration before I even made my original post. In my specific case, I actually have a very good idea of what she likes, and I was able to custom design a ring with personal touches that I think will knock her socks off (well I hope so anyway). If I totally screwed the pooch, then at least we can go back to Shane and change it up, but I don't foresee that happening. As for buying a car as a gift without input, I completely understand the analogy, but it is a risk I'm willing to take. She in particular will value the sentimental nature of the ring I selected, and she would never dare (or know how) to do anything car related without my knowledge.

And yeah, the ring < my ammo supply. But I'm a dude, so I appreciate the utility and practicality of one much more than the other.

[sic_semper_tyrannis]

Personally, I would completely ignore the whole value of ring should equal x amount of salary. Total nonsense.

I agree completely. The cliche is utter horse shit and needs to die. That being said, it's about right for what I ended up paying. But not because of the cliche...

[Irving]

It's not a cliche so much as rooted in tradition. If you left your wife, she'd ideally have two months worth of your salary in the value of the ring to help her back on her feet. Modern relationships often have two incomes, and most women hardly consider the history of that social norm.

[GilpinGuy]

Good call on Shane Co. I'm late in this thread but this is who I went with 7 years ago and couldn't have been happier since. Warranty included, which we had to use when one of my wife's smaller diamonds came loose. No hassle and quick turn around. Had my ring polished a few times too.

Funny story: My wife and I stopped into a jewelry store near Colorado Mills (forget the name - right across from Target) to look at stuff. We're looking at these "chocolate diamonds" and I say something like "I don't like those at all...." to my wife. The sales beeotch interjects and says smugly, "Those are very popular right now". Me: "Not with me". Snotty beeotch walks away.

Later, my wife is looking at something and she's bs-ing with the same beeotch. I just walk up and stand there when they're talking warranty and the sales bitch says something about how Shane's warranty is bullshit and they don't stand by their guarantee, etc. I say, "We just had my wife's wedding ring repaired under warranty and had no problems." Sales beeotch says, "But you had to pay for it, right?". Me, "No....let's go babe."

Congrats man!

[TheGrey]

Late to the game, but I agree that you should talk with her and get her input. I did NOT want a diamond, and didn't want a ton of money sunk into a ring- I just don't see that as practical at all. We ended up going to a goldsmith and he listened to my input and I got exactly what I wanted in an engagement ring, for under $400.

And it's still beautiful, many years later.