Diamond Ring *Bling Bling

most important thing of all. The engagement ring. I want to have a ring that represents Denise. A ring that I can see Denise, a ring that represents her. Thanks to her for dropping a few hints what kind of ring she likes. Makes my job easier, especially on the shape of the main stone.

Pear-shaped diamond are hard to locate in NSW, as I found out. Out of all the jewellers, I only saw 4, and 2 are way way above budget. All others available online are either located overseas or interstate. Btw, they all look the same to me. only the numbers on the price tag.

Just a note on the places I went

Diamond Exchange: Terry - Diamonds Wholesaler - Recommended me to David Brown who make the ring from scratch - Located at Martins Place

Larsen Jewellery - Danielle - Jeweller and Diamond Seller - Great service and the store gives you a good feel overall - a bit pricey but tip top service. - Got my stone here. - Located at The Strand Arcade

David Brown Jeweller - David - Impressed with his design work and appreciate that he could get the ring to me in such a short notice - 2 weeks. - located at Dymocks Building

Ancardia - World Square - Not recommended. Enough said.

Thanks to my Brother Polar for recommending http://www.bluenile.com/ , that's where I designed the ring and get a overall look of the ring I'm after. I wanted the ring to have coloured gems and amethyst came straight to my mind - Denise's Birth Stone and Her Favourite Colour

After advice from the people above, I decided on the design. Now I need to get the stone. To get a good deal, I've gotta run around Sydney every morning while she was asleep. Great arrangements since she starts late. =) Walking to the Sydney was great as well and it helped that both Larsen (9am) and David Brown (8am) operate early during weekdays. Kinda of able to go undercover to keep the whole process from Denise.

I still remember telling Danielle while getting the main stone from her

"this is so hard, because I gotta make the decision myself. How I wish Denise and I can make the decision together as we always do". It was pretty hard but it was fun and exciting. You want it to be good, within budget and most importantly, she has to like it!

Girls - a word of advice. To get something that you will like. Hint to the future husband the approximate design you like e.g with or without sidestones, number of claws and especially the shape of the diamond.

I also remember carrying the stone in my pocket and bringing into David Brown. Was pretty nervous because that precious little stone costs a bomb and I'm glad I only gotta travel a short distance. But still, that short distance was w/o insurance. All's good in the end.

When I got the ring from David, it put a smile on my face when I opened the box. I saw Denise. I can see Denise wearing it. I made the right choice.

Below is the final ring design. It has since been resized. That's the only error I made!

Not too bad eh! Glad you like it.. =)