I was one of those lucky girls who had a say in my engagement ring...
After walking through several chain stores in a shopping mall and being disappointed with the quality to price ratio, I decided to focus my search on smaller boutique and custom jewelry shops. Custom jewelry shops do not rely on mall traffic and customer impulse buys; nor do they hold/finance a lot of display inventory and for that reason, they carry a smaller selection but of higher caliber. Also, I wanted to pick out and compare loose diamonds in person as opposed to filtering stats on Blue Nile/Brilliant Earth (but they are very good resource websites for education and comparison).
Initially I visited Debearj because of their Kirk Kara collection but no luck, the settings did not fit my hands. The staff were very professional and did not pressure me to buy anything. I went home and browsed through countless online stores and bridal magazines and finally found a setting that I liked. I brought it in and inquired if they can make the same model but in a smaller proportion for my tiny hands. No problem. I selected a beautiful Canadian diamond and they made the most beautiful ring. Exquisite craftsmanship!
I am very proud to support my own country's mining industry by selected a Canadian mined and processed diamond and engaging a local business to create my jewelry instead of purchasing an import from south of the border.