Should I Find A Jeweler To Exchange The Jewelry?

Q: Should I buy the engagement ring on my own or should I let her pick it out? What do you think? I wanted to suprise her with it but that would mean I would have to get it myself, and I would like to be able to get something that she would enjoy the rest of her life. Should I find a jeweler to exchange the jewelry? Any advice???

A: I can think of a few ideas: 1) You may be able to find a jeweler who'll let you exchange the ring you select initially if your (hopeful) fiancee prefers a different style. In this case, you can surprise her with the ring, but tell her you'd like to go back to the jeweler's together to find one you both like. (The only problem I can imagine here is if she picks one that's considerably more than you'd budgeted ... but I'd hope that if you're considering marriage, you should be able to resolve this between the 2 of you.) 2) Find an inexpensive costume-jewelry type ring ($5-15) (or even

a dollar store, gum machine ring, depending on your senses of humor!) and use that for the proposal ... again, telling her that this is just a placeholder for the real ring, which the 2 of you will pick out together. 3) If you really want to surprise her with The Perfect Ring, do some sleuthing to figure out what kind of jewelry she likes. Look at the jewelry she has and wears now -- does she prefer relatively plain bands, or ones with some sort of weave/ lattice pattern, or engraved ones? Does she like smaller, simpler pieces, or more elaborate ones? Does she seem to prefer round stones, or squares, or ovals? Are there particular rings you've seen her admire?