Seven Hundred Dollars Top-of-the-line Diamond Ring Deals in New York City

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Alissa

Living in the Big Apple has its perks. I get to see Broadway shows, eat at some of the finest restaurants in the country and experience the many cultural spots and events that New York City has to offer. And then there is the diamond district. What can I say about a place dedicated solely to jewelry? It is a woman’s dream come true. Of course, it is not a place where you can shop at often since you can quickly go broke if you bought every piece of jewelry that caught your eye, but when an occasion arises and I need something very special for someone, I usually gravitate towards that part of the city. And more often than not, I am not disappointed with what I find.

My niece is graduating from medical school next month and I decided to get her a ring. I noticed that every time I see her she wears some type of ring so I know it will be something she will appreciate. I had seen a bezel set diamond ring surrounded by six garnets in a magazine ad a few weeks back. And since she was born in January and garnet is the birthstone for January this would be the perfect gift. I am trying to stay within a certain budget although since she is my one and only niece, if I find something I really fall in love with, I will probably buy it regardless of price. But for now I am going to try and find seven hundred dollars top-of-the-line diamond ring deals in New York City. Hopefully, I will have success.

The good news is that I know exactly where to look, the bad news will be if I cannot find what I am looking for—and in my price range. But I keep positive thoughts that my mission will be successful. I stop first at Diamond Dave’s which is a diamond district hotspot. He always has really unique pieces that you cannot find anywhere else. I walk in and take a look around. The store is so bright from all the jewelry. There is so much to look at it so I had to ask the owner where I could find the diamond rings. He showed me the case that seemed to go on forever. There were diamonds of every size, shape and color. I did not realize that pink is the new color of diamond, but when I saw how many he had on display, I had to ask.

“What is with all the pink diamonds?” I asked.

“Oh, that’s the latest in engagement rings,” he answered back. “The celebrities started doing this and now everyone wants a pink diamond. It keeps me in business, so I can’t complain,” he chuckled.

“They are beautiful, but I guess I am still more of a traditionalist when it comes to engagement rings,” I explained.

I continued looking at the rings and, unfortunately, did not find what I wanted. I thanked the man kindly and moved on to the next store—A Diamond in the Rough.

I am not too familiar with this place as I have only passed by it and only know the name. I have no idea what their merchandise looks like. But since I was looking for something specific, I had to try every store I possibly could.

The store was just as bright as the last with all the lit cases of jewelry. A man behind one of the cases greeted me and asked if I needed any help. To save time on having to look through all the cases for the rings, I asked him where I could find them.

“Rings are over here,” he said. “Is there something in particular you are interested in?” he asked.

“Yes. I had seen this beautiful bezel set diamond with garnets around it. It’s for my niece who is graduating medical school so I want it to be special. Garnet is her birthstone which is why I prefer it,” I explained in great detail.

“Hmm,” he said as he moved his mouth to one side. “I’m not sure if I have anything with garnet, but let me check.”

He looked through all the ring cases and began to pull out a few of them. I was starting to get excited. Could I have possibly found $700 top-of-the-line diamond ring deals in New York City? He called me over and I went to see which rings he had selected for me to see.

“Okay,” he began to say. “This is what I have and I don’t know how committed you are to the type of ring you want. This one here is diamonds with garnets, but the diamond is not bezel set. It is an emerald cut with two small garnets on either side,” he showed me.

It was beautiful, but not quite what I was looking for. I could also see the price tag was well over $1000 so it was easy to pass on that one. He continued to show me the others while explaining to me what they were.

I was examining each one carefully and did not find one that really clicked with me. He saw that I was getting a bit frustrated and then called me over to show me something else he had.

“Okay, I know you have your heart set on garnet, but I have some rings over here that just came in and they really are spectacular if you want to take a look,” he said.

At that point I was there so I figured why not. He took out four different rings and placed them on the black velvet he had on the top of the case. I have to say, he was right. These rings really were spectacular even though they were not what I was looking for.

One ring in particular stood out from the rest—it was a bezel set diamond but rather than garnets, it had these deep blue sapphires surrounding it. It was quite breathtaking. It was something I would actually buy for myself. The sapphires were this rich blue color. It was almost difficult to tell they were blue. Their deep color actually made the diamond look even brighter than it already was. My only problem was that I wanted garnet for my niece’s birthstone. Now I was not sure what to do. The man asked me why it had to be garnet since I was not getting it for her birthday. He had a point.

I mulled it over for a while as I continued to look around. But I kept gravitating back to that ring for further inspection. I even tried it on and it looked great. I decided to get it, but now had to see what the price was—this could be the deal breaker for me.

“Okay,” I said, “you convinced me. So how much is it?” I asked.

He put on his glasses, held the ring up close to his face and inspected it. He then went to his calculator for what seemed like an eternity of calculations. He explained they were so new that he did not have time to price them yet.

“Well, it looks like this ring is about $800,” he said.

My heart sank. Seven hundred dollars was the top of my budget—more than my budget, really. I asked if he could work out a better price for me as it was just too much for me to pay.

“Well, you seem like a nice lady and you have been pretty patient with me going through all these cases,” he replied to me. “How about $700 even?” he asked.

Even though it was at the top of my budget, I agreed to take it. He cleaned the ring for me, put it in a blue velvet box that was nearly the same color as the sapphires themselves, and shook my hand.

“You are going to be her favorite aunt after giving her this ring,” he laughed.

“What makes you think I’m not the favorite aunt already?” I replied. He laughed again.

I took the ring and went on my way.

I guess sometimes you need to be open minded when it comes to certain things. It’s funny how sometimes you learn that lesson from people you least expect. I was happy I attempted to get the ring in my price range or else I would have walked out of another store empty-handed (or spent way more than I should have). Now I cannot wait to give my niece her ring and am super excited I was actually able to find $700 top-of-the-line diamond ring deals in New York City—even if it did take a bit of haggling on my part.

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Cheap Diamond Bracelets Under $600 in San Jose California

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Alissa

Lately, my wife has been hinting to me that she wants a diamond bracelet for her birthday. However, her hints are far from subtle. She sends me links to websites of pretty bracelets asking me what I think or she leaves the jewelry store’s catalogue strategically located on my nightstand. I guess if her birthday comes and goes without a diamond bracelet she is going to be very disappointed. Of course, on my teaching salary, finding a diamond bracelet in my price range is going to be tricky. Almost all of the ones she showed me have been upwards of $1000. So now I need to find cheap diamond bracelets under $600 in San Jose, California. This will be no easy task, I am sure.

My first stop is not going to be any of the places my wife sent me links to stores she told me about. I will have to conduct my own research. The Internet is definitely the first place to start. However, I have to be very specific when it comes to what I am looking for—hence, adding the word “cheap” to my search. As soon as I do that, I actually get a long list of possible places to visit. I also check with my local paper to see what I can find. Good thing I did because there it was—someone was having an estate sale and jewelry was listed as some of the items being sold. Since the location was on my way to downtown San Jose, I figured it was worth a look.

I knew I had gotten there by the mile-long line of cars parked near the house. It was this larger than life Victorian mansion with a detached garage. The grounds were professionally maintained and the flowers were just starting to bloom. I parked a few blocks away and walked over to the house.

There were people running all over the place going room to room trying to see what was for sale. It seemed as if everything in the house was up for grabs including light fixtures, appliances, furniture, clothing and anything else that you could find. I browsed around looking at everything. I nice young lady asked me if I was looking for something in particular. I told her I was interested in seeing the jewelry. She led me to the den where there was a table displayed with every type of jewelry imaginable—necklaces, earrings, rings, cufflinks, watches, broaches and bracelets.

“Is there a certain piece or style you are looking for,” she asked me.

“I am interested in a diamond bracelet,” I explained.

“Well, I think there are a few here that you can look at,” she said as she showed me to the end of the long table of jewelry.

I was starting to get very excited about what I was seeing. First of all, everything was beautiful. You can tell whoever lived here had exquisite taste in everything—including the jewelry. Even though it was a much older style, it was all superbly kept and just epitomized beauty and sophistication.

When I got to the part of the display with the bracelets, there must have been at least three dozen to choose from including pearls, gemstones and diamonds. Of course, my eyes immediately wandered to the diamond bracelets.

There were about six of them there. Some were in yellow gold, some were in white gold and some were mixed with different stones. The one that grabbed my attention the most, though, was a diamond and pearl bracelet. It was unlike anything I had seen. The pearls were pure white and they alternated with round bezel set diamonds that were nearly the same size of the pearls. The bracelet screamed style, class and sophistication. I realized my wife never hinted to me that she wanted pearls, but I also know she has a pearl necklace that was handed down to her from her grandmother that she loves to wear on special occasions. Maybe a bracelet to go with it would be the perfect gift—it still had diamonds in it so why not.

I asked the lady how much the bracelet was and I admit I was worried about what her response would be.

“Hmm. Let me see that one,” she said as she examined it closely. “Oh, I remember this bracelet,” she proclaimed in an excited voice, “my mom used to wear it to church all the time. She called it her ‘divine’ bracelet because it was on her wrist just about every Sunday morning,” she further explained.

At that point I realized that this nice young woman who had been helping me was the daughter of the people who used to live in the house.

“This was your parent’s house?” I asked.

“Yes,” she answered, “my mother passed away several years ago and my father died a few months back and I just do not have the means for the upkeep of this house even though it is paid for. Plus, I don’t need to live in a house this big.”

“It is some house,” I told her, “I assume you are selling it too aside from the contents.”

“Eventually it will go on the market once I get all the stuff out. Right now I have dozens of rooms with things in them that I need to get rid of before I can even think about selling the house. I took out the items that I wanted for myself before I arranged this sale. I wish I could keep a lot more, but I can’t,” she explained.

“So how long is the sale going on for since you have so much you want to get rid of?” I asked.

“I have it scheduled for the next few weekends and then I will see what I have left,” she said. “What I don’t sell will be donated to charity. Actually, all the money I make on the sale here is going to charity. My parents were very philanthropic throughout their lives and I want to carry on that tradition. I do not need to make money off of their possessions. They have given me so much already and I am fortunate for that. The best way to honor them is to continue their tradition of giving. That is what they would have wanted.”

The more I spoke to her, the more I wanted the bracelet especially since I knew the money would be going to charity. At this point, I was not sure how to ask how much the bracelet was again, but she took me off the hook.

“It’s $300,” she suddenly said.

Wow, I thought. That was certainly a lot less than I expected for such a magnificent piece of jewelry. I told her I would take it.

“Well, I don’t know who the recipient of this bracelet is going to be,” she said, “but I hope she gets as much enjoyment out of it as my mom did.”

I told her it was for my wife’s birthday and that I know she will love it. I paid for the bracelet, shook the woman’s hand, wished her a lot of good luck with everything and went on my way.

On the drive home, I kept thinking to myself how lucky I was to find cheap diamond bracelets under $600 in San Jose, California and how much my wife was going to be surprised by what I got her.

The morning of her birthday fell on a Saturday which meant no work for either of us. I got up early and made her breakfast. I brought it up to her on a tray along with the wrapped bracelet. She was surprised by my gesture of breakfast in bed, but even more surprised when she saw the wrapped box (not that she should have been surprised since she had been leaving me hints for weeks). Before she took one bite of the eggs and pancakes I made her, she grabbed the box and quickly opened it. All she was able to muster was a “wow” after seeing what it was.

“What did you do?” she asked. I was now nervous as I was not sure what kind of reaction that was.

“What do you mean?” I asked innocently.

“Okay, I was showing you these pictures of regular diamond bracelets that were simple and you got me the most beautiful piece of jewelry I have ever seen. Not to mention, you know I love pearls. Where did you find this? I’ve never seen anything like this before,” she said in disbelief and excitement.

I explained it was from an estate sale and continued to tell her the story about the woman and her parents. My wife began to cry tears, but explained they were happy tears. She loved the bracelet, the story behind it, where the money went that paid for it and, of course, her breakfast in bed. She said this was the best birthday ever.

I was feeling good that day knowing I got my wife something she was not completely expecting. I also felt proud because I was able to find cheap diamond bracelets under $600 in San Jose, California.

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In Search of $1000 Inexpensive Necklace Deals in Reno Nevada

Posted on May 5, 2012 by Alissa

With Mother’s Day fast approaching, I want to find something perfect for my mom this year. She has had a rough year. Her health had not been good, my father’s unpredictable job situation and my sister’s recent divorce has had her in near tears more times than I like. I have tried to do my best to be supportive, nurturing and understanding, but sometimes it does not seem to work despite my best efforts. The good news is that things have begun to settle down. Her health is back on track, my father’s job seems to have stabilized and my sister’s divorce is final (although now there are custody issues involved).

So now my mission is to find something perfect for my mother for her special day. I have already been browsing some catalogues and the Internet to get a few ideas. My sister already gives her all these great gifts with pictures of the kids like crystal picture frames and fancy professional photographs along with mugs, shirts and keychains that all say “World’s Greatest Grandm”. What my mother could really use is a nice necklace. I noticed over the past few months that she wears the same one all the time. One day I rummaged through her jewelry box trying to find some earrings and noticed she only had about three necklaces—and they all looked pretty much the same. I decided a necklace would be the perfect gift for her and something that she would not expect. Now I have to find something in my budget which is less than $1000. And since we live in Nevada, I am on a desperate search of $1000 inexpensive necklace deals in Reno, Nevada.

My search begins like most people these days—on the Internet. I look for necklaces in my area and see a wide variety of styles, stones and prices. My first decision had to be based on price. No sense in falling in love with something that was out of my range. Luckily, my budget allowed me some really nice necklaces to choose from which gave me hope that I would be able to find something wonderful.

Now that I had many options, I wanted to see them in person. Sometimes what you see on the computer screen is not as nice when you are up close and personal. I wrote down where some of the necklaces could be found so I can see them. My first stop was a little jewelry store I was familiar with since it was right in the center of downtown Reno and I had been there several months back to get my watch fixed. I was hoping this would lead me to $1000 inexpensive necklace deals in Reno, Nevada.

When I walked in, I knew where to go since I had been in this particular store. The woman behind the jewelry cases remembered me. I told her what I was interested in looking at and she directed me to where I needed to go.

As soon as I saw it, my eyes lit up. It was a white gold chain that had an emerald cut amethyst hanging from it. There were two small bezel set diamonds on either side of the chain leading towards where the amethyst was hanging down. The amethyst was three carats and shone brilliantly—especially when the light hit it. What I loved most about this necklace was that my mother’s birthstone is amethyst and she adores white gold. This was exactly what I was looking for.

“Can you tell me how much this necklace is,” I asked the lady.

She came over, put on her glasses and looked at it closely. She was unable to find a price on the tag. It seemed to have every other bit of information on it except the price. I knew it had to be fairly inexpensive since it was one of the few I looked at on the Internet.

“Ah, here it is,” she said. “It’s $1100,” she told me.

My jaw dropped. How could it be that much? I did not pick out anything that was over $1000. I inquired about the price.

“Why is it so much when on your website it said it was $920?” I asked.

I am not sure if she believed me or not so I offered to show her on my smart phone what was listed on the store’s site. When I brought it up on the screen, she pointed out a major difference between the one I saw on the computer and the one in the store.

“You see,” she said, “the one you are looking at here is platinum and the diamonds are larger. The one here on our website is white gold and the diamonds are smaller,” she explained.

She brought me over to the one I had first found on the computer. I admit, there was a slight difference in the way it looked since the diamonds were smaller. But white gold and platinum did not make a difference to me. And since I knew my mom loved white gold, I did not worry about that.

The lady showed me the price on this one and it clearly said $920. I looked at it closely examining every inch of it to make sure it was exactly what I wanted. I decided after a long inspection to take it.

“Will that be all?” the saleswoman asked.

“Yes, I think so,” I replied back.

She then asked me who I was giving this beautiful necklace to and I told her it was for my mom for Mother’s Day.

“Wow, that’s quite a gift for your mom. She is going to absolutely love it!” she said.

I thanked her for her help as she handed me the necklace which was beautifully wrapped in a white velvet necklace box.

The next day was Mother’s Day and I could not wait to give my mother her gift. I prepared a special Mother’s Day brunch with her, my sister and her kids, my father and myself. I had everything set that morning—eggs, toast, breakfast potatoes, pancakes, fruit salad, coffee, tea and juice. All her favorites were there. Everyone arrived around ten o’clock that morning and we ate, laughed and celebrated my mom.

As we retired to the living room to rest off our meal, I gave my mother her gift. Before even opening it, she gave me a big hug and kiss and told me I did not have to get her anything. She said brunch with her family was the perfect present and she did not need anything more. I told her that I knew this past year had been exceptionally difficult for her so I wanted to give her something special in addition to brunch.

She sat down and began to unwrap the box. As soon as she saw it was a velvet jewelry box, she looked up at me with that look—you know, the one that moms give their kids as if to say “what in the world did you do?” She opened it up and gasped.

“Oh my God!” she exclaimed. “What are you doing getting me such an expensive gift?” she asked in a rather loud voice.

It is always like mom to worry about the price of things more than anything else.

“Mom, who cares how much it cost,” I said, “Do you like it?”

“What is not to like? It’s absolutely the most beautiful thing I have ever seen, but you didn’t have to get me something so extravagant. This must have cost you a fortune. You should save your money and not spend it on me,” she said.

“Well, mom, I thought you could use a new necklace. You wear the same one all the time and there is not much selection in your jewelry box. Now you have something brand new that you can wear and it’s perfect because it is your birthstone and white gold—your favorite,” I explained.

My sister chimed in at this point and told my mother to stop harping on the price and just enjoy the beautiful gift that was given to her (leave it to my sister to cut to the chase). She walked over to my mom and helped her put it on. I must admit, I did good. It looked even better on her than it did sitting in the box. I was quite pleased with myself.

I teased my father and told him he now has to take my mom somewhere special so she can show off her brand new necklace. He smirked at me while my mom, my sister and I laughed (we know dad and how much he hates going out some place fancy).

This Mother’s Day turned out to be great. My family spent time together and I was able to find $1000 inexpensive necklace deals in Reno, Nevada.

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The Best Prices on Diamond Rings Under $900 in Salt Lake City, Utah

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Alissa

When my wife and I got married ten years ago, I did not have enough money to buy her a real diamond engagement ring. So I (and she) had to settle for a well-set cubic zirconia. I admit I was embarrassed but since we were both right out of college when we got engaged and had no jobs between the both of us, this was the best I could do.

 

Now we are celebrating our ten-year anniversary and I would love to place that fake stone for something real. But our budget is limited. With two kids and a third on the way, affording something exquisite is going to be a challenge. Actually, affording something half way decent is going to be a challenge. We live in a suburb in Salt Lake City, Utah which means everything is twice the price regardless of quality or size. So my mission impossible is to find the best prices on diamond rings under $900 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

 

I began my search, where else, but on the Internet. A lot of places popped up which gave me some hope, but after careful inspection of their sites, there was not one that offered anything close to what I was looking for in terms of price. I realized I had to be more specific in my search. Instead of just using words like “diamond rings” and “Salt Lake City”, I decided to throw in the word “cheap” to the mix. To my surprise, I still got an awful lot of results to choose from. I was both excited and skeptical. Could there possibly be places that sold diamond rings within my really low budget? I decided to investigate further.

 

The first thing I did was get into my car and go to the first of the five places on my list. First stop—Salt Lake Jewelers. As soon as I walked in I wanted to turn around and walk right out. The store was beautifully lit with cases beyond cases of jewelry. Everything was beautiful and completely unaffordable. But since I had already stepped through the front door, there was no turning back.

 

The man behind the first glass case looked up at me from pricing some jewelry and asked if he could help me. I told him I was just looking. He said if I needed help to let him know. I looked around until I came across the diamond rings. Each one was bigger and shinier than the next. I tried to read the price tags and when I saw this small ring priced at over $3000, I knew this was not the place for me. I quickly made my exit not before thanking the man on my way out.

 

I was beginning to think this was going to be hopeless, but I pressed on to the next store. This one was located in a part of the city that I was not all that familiar with as it was well off the beaten path. That could be a good thing or it could be a bad thing. I was about to find out.

 

Unlike the first store, this one lacked that pizzazz and shine that the first store had. I was starting to feel a bit more optimistic, but I did not want to get my hopes up too high. I started to look around and spotted the diamond rings in a glass case in the back. There were a lot to choose from despite the store’s small and understated look. My eyes wandered upon a small round diamond that seemed to be set in white gold—my wife’s favorite. I took a deep breath and kindly asked the lady behind the case if I could see the ring.

 

She took it out for me and I examined it closely.

“Can I ask what size this ring is and if this is white gold?” I asked the lady.

“Well,” she said, “it is a quarter of a carat and it is actually set in sterling silver. It’s not gold at all,” she explained.

 

I was a bit disappointed to learn that the diamond was set in silver rather than gold, but then I looked at it closely and saw the price. It was $850. Well, now I was thinking maybe this would work. My budget was really low and having researched the best prices on diamond rings under $900 in Salt Lake City, Utah, this is where my search led me.

 

I kept looking at it and admit, it was difficult to tell it was not white gold which made me like it more. It was very shiny and the diamond as well.

 

“You must know that the quality of the diamond is not perfect,” the lady explained.

I told her that on my budget I was not expecting perfect—really, really nice would do. She laughed at me.

 

After careful inspection and re-inspection, I decided to take it. The lady was kind enough to put it in a beautiful pink velvet box for me with a white satin ribbon tied around it. She congratulated me on my purchase. I think she thought I was going to propose and I did not have the heart (or the patience) to explain the real story.

 

When I got home, I ran upstairs and hid it away before my wife could see it. I wanted it to be special when I gave it to her. We had planned a nice dinner for just the two of us tomorrow night so that is when I would give it to her.

 

The next night we were enjoying our romantic ten-year anniversary dinner. My wife excused herself at one point to use the ladies room and I quickly took the ring out of my pocket and placed it on the empty plate in front of her seat. When she came back, she looked at the plate and then looked at me with a confused smile.

 

“What’s this?” she asked.

“Open it and see,” I answered.

 

She sat down and opened it up. Her jaw dropped open and she alternated staring at the ring and then at me. She took it out and I put it on her finger. She started to cry. I explained that I know it is not much, but at least it was a real diamond this time. I also told her that it was sterling silver and not white gold.

 

“I don’t care,” she said. “It’s absolutely beautiful. I love it. You didn’t have to get me anything,” she told me.

“Well, I think after ten years it was time to replace that cubic zirconia with something a little better. I’m just sorry it could not be bigger,” I said.

“The size of my ring doesn’t bother me one bit. I love it because it came from you and I can tell you picked out something special and went through a lot of trouble to get it,” she replied.

 

I did indeed pick out something special and my wife reminded me that the size and cost of a diamond ring is insignificant compared with the wonderful life we have had for the past ten years. Just when I thought all was lost and my dreams of getting my wife a ring she deserves was never going to happen, I was able to find the best prices on diamond rings under $900 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

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Low Prices on Diamond Brooches under $500 in Boise Idaho

Posted on April 20, 2012 by Alissa

My grandmother and I have a very special relationship. After my grandpa passed away, she came to live with me and my parents. My mom did not want her living by herself in that big old house her and my grandpa lived in their whole lives. We were lucky enough to have a spare bedroom in our house that she was able to move into with no problem. I admit, I thought it would be weird having my grandma live with us, but I did not want her to be by herself—grandpa dying was extra hard on her since they had been together for nearly sixty years.

It has now been six years since grandma moved in and she and I have the greatest relationship a grandmother and granddaughter could ever have. She is my biggest fan at my track meets at school, she comes with me sometimes when I go to the mall and she helps me study for my exams. Since both my parents work full-time, it is nice to have someone to talk to when I get home from school. My grandma always has a snack waiting for me. In the winter time she makes me hot chocolate and gives me a freshly baked cookie. In the spring, she makes her special chocolate milk (she will not reveal her secret—even to me) and some fresh fruit. We talk about our day, the news or what will be on television that night. We are never at a loss for words.

In one week it will be my grandmother’s birthday. She is going to be seventy-eight years old. I want to get her something very special and I have been trying to figure out what it should be. I asked my mom if she had any ideas and all I got was “your grandmother doesn’t need anything, dear, she is just happy to be with us.”

That was not quite the answer I was looking for. I have tried to ask my grandma herself if there is anything she would like and I pretty much got the same answer as my mom—everything she needs she already has here with all of us.

Okay, so I have given up asking and now I must figure something out myself. One day when my grandma was out with my mom running some errands, I went into her room to put her scarf away. I noticed a brooch on her dresser in a box that I had never seen. It was very old, but you could see that it was also very beautiful. I confess I snooped around some more and found a few other brooches in her jewelry box. I could not understand why I never saw her wear any of these in the six years she has been living with us. It seemed a bit strange to me.

When my grandmother returned home, I asked her about the brooches I found.

“Oh, those were all gifts from your grandfather. I love brooches and every anniversary, he would get me a new one to add to my collection,” she told me.

“So how come I never see you wearing any of them?” I asked.

She took a deep breath and sighed before telling me that she could not bring herself to wear them since my grandpa had died. She said it makes her sad looking at them so she just keeps them in her jewelry box for safe keeping. It was at that moment I realized that I wanted to get her a new brooch for her birthday—one that would bring happy memories. She obviously loved wearing brooches and it was making me sad that she could not enjoy wearing them any more.

So now I had a gift idea for her and I was very excited. Now my only problem was my budget. I only had $200 to spend. I have been socking away all my babysitting money for the past few months. I have $400 so far, but I need at least half of it for a prom dress (mom said I am responsible for buying it since she doesn’t like what I picked out). So where do I go to find low prices on diamond brooches under $500 in Boise, Idaho? I see this was not going to be as easy as I thought.

My first stop was the Internet. Of course, everything I found that had the word diamonds in it was from some very expensive jewelry store. But then something stood out. It was a listing for a consignment shop. I always thought there were only clothes there, but it seems like they also had jewelry as well. It was worth a shot.

I borrowed my dad’s car one Saturday and went to the consignment shop in downtown Boise. I was greeted by a middle-aged woman who directed me to the jewelry. As I glanced over all the beautiful rings, bracelets, necklaces and earrings, I got to the end of the line where there was a collection of brooches. I could not believe how many there were. I asked the woman why people give these valuable items to them.

“Well, sometimes people just don’t wear them anymore or they inherit them and have no interest in wearing them so they bring them to us to sell,” she explained. “Are you looking for something in particular?” she asked me.

I explained all about my grandmother to her and how I wanted to get her something special. I also had to explain how I was in search of low prices on diamond brooches under $500 in Boise Idaho. She told me I came to the right place.

She brought me over to a few brooches that had diamonds in them. I could tell some were out of my price range, but there was one that grabbed my attention. It was a sterling silver butterfly with a few small diamonds along the outer tips of the wings. It was very delicate looking, but also elegant and understated. I thought it was perfect. Even better was the price–$195. I told the woman I would take it and she wrapped it up in a red box for me.

I could not wait to give it to my grandma. I thought about it the whole way home. When I got home, I raced in the house and ran upstairs to wrap it and fill out the birthday card I had gotten. When I was all done, I went downstairs and gave it to my grandma.

She gave me a big smile and told me I did not have to get her anything, but she thanked me and opened it. As soon as she saw the brooch, her eyes started to well up with tears. She shook her head a few times and looked up at me with tears. I was not sure if what I did made her happy or sad.

“What’s wrong, grandma. Don’t you like it?” I asked.

“I absolutely love it,” she said. “I just cannot believe you went through all this trouble to get me a brooch. It must have cost a fortune,” she continued.

“Well, grandma, you are worth every penny I spent and then some,” I told her. “I know you don’t like wearing your other brooches because they remind you of grandpa since he got you one every year, but I figured maybe I could pick up where he left off and continue the tradition. Every year I can get you a brand new brooch to add to your collection,” I explained.

She smiled at me with the biggest smile she had ever given me.

“I think that is the best idea I ever heard,” she said. “I would be honored to wear any brooch my wonderful granddaughter gives me. You have excellent taste, by the way. I can’t wait until next year.” We both laughed.

She put the brooch on and admired it in the mirror. I have to admit, it looked even better on her than it did in the box or in the glass case in the store. She gave me a kiss and a big hug and we decided to go out for a nice dinner—just the two of us.

I am so grateful to have my grandma play such a big part of my life. We get to share so much together and my gift to her is just one of those many things. I am also grateful that I was able to find low prices on diamond brooches under $500 in Boise, Idaho—something I thought was near impossible. I guess nothing is impossible.

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The Best Diamond Rings Under $1000 in Los Angeles, California

Posted on April 16, 2012 by Alissa

I finally decided to do it—propose to my girlfriend, Leanne, of three years. She has been hinting about settling down and getting married for the past year and I admit I was a bit scared of actually taking that next big step. But after some soul searching and realizing that I truly love her and cannot picture myself spending my life with anyone else, I made the decision that now is as good a time as any to pop the question.

The only problem I am facing, however, is how to afford a ring. I am still in law school and only interning at a local law firm. Then, of course, I have expenses like the rent on my apartment, my credit card bills, utilities and law school loans that just keep adding up. I want to get Leanne something nice, but I know anything she would pick out would be way out of my budget. Plus the fact that we live in California where nothing is cheap. So now I keep asking myself where are the best diamond rings under $1000 in Los Angeles, California. This is going to prove to be challenging.

My first stop was my friend, Matt’s house. He has been married for two years now so he must know a little something about diamond rings and where I can find one that is budget-friendly. Well, when I got there and told him about my plans to propose to Leanne, he hugged me and laughed all at the same time.

“So, you are finally going to join the rest of us and spend the rest of your life in marriage prison,” he said. I really hoped he was kidding. After all, how bad could it be after only two years? He does not even have any kids yet.

“Prison? Is that what you call it now? I thought you could not wait to marry Joanna. Did I miss something?” I asked.

“Yes. You did miss something—my sarcasm,” he said while chuckling. “I am just messing with you. You know I could not be happier that you found someone you want to spend the rest of your life with. Now we can both be happy together.”

This would have made me feel better had he not done the little air quote thing with his fingers when he said the word “happy”. I am not sure if he was still being sarcastic or not. God, I hope so.

“Well, as far as me being happy, goes,“ I said, “I really need your help in finding a ring that won’t break my bank. Do you know where I can go for something nice, but affordable?” I asked.

He laughed at me after I inquired about a ring. Actually, come to think of it, he was nearly rolling on the floor when I asked.

“Nice AND affordable? There is no such thing,” he informed me. “If you want affordability, a diamond is not the way to go, my friend.”

Great, I thought. He is going to be of no help to me whatsoever. After a brief lecture on the relationship between women and the size of their engagement rings, I left feeling even more stressed than before I got there.

Okay, so now it was up to me. Well, I am in law school and the first thing I learned was how to conduct research. That is what I will do—research.

I got on my computer as fast as I could and typed in “the best diamond rings under $1000 in Los Angeles, California.” Well, I got quite a list of sites to visit. Now I was starting to feel better. Maybe Matt should have done his homework before purchasing that oversized, boulder of an engagement ring. Show off!

I looked at the list carefully and noticed that many of them were not jewelry stores, but rather pawn shops. It never even occurred to me to go there as opposed to a traditional jewelry store. But since these pawn shops kept getting listed one after the other, I figured I would try one first and see how it goes.

Unfortunately, many of these shops were in less than stellar neighborhoods, but I guess that is to be expected. I finally found the shop I was looking for and pulled into the lot. I was the only car there which made me feel a bit uneasy, but there was no turning back now.

I walked in and saw nothing but shelves filled with appliances, knick knacks, furniture, stereo equipment, televisions and computers. There was even a deer head hanging over the door when you walk in. Then I spotted a glass counter which I could tell had jewelry in it so I walked over and was greeted by the man standing there.

“What can I do for you today?” he asked.

“I am looking for a diamond ring to propose to my girlfriend, but my budget is really low,” I answered back.

“How low?” he asked.

“Uh, $1000 low,” I replied back.

He then took a deep breath and looked down into the counter to see what he had. All of a sudden he spotted something. He unlocked the glass and took it out to show me.

Well, it was no giant sparkler like Matt’s ring for his wife, but it was a diamond and it was real (I asked). It was a very simple half carat emerald cut diamond set in 14K gold. There was nothing else on it—just a gold band and the diamond. Was it plain? Yes. But it was real and the man told me that it was a very good quality diamond. I think he said it was a G for color and SI for clarity. I honestly had no idea what that meant, but he assured me it was a good thing.

The ring was actually priced at $975. I still thought there had to be something wrong with it for such a “good quality” ring to be priced that low. I was a bit hesitant in purchasing it. After all, this was my first stop and I had several other shops I wanted to visit. But as I kept looking at it, I saw how the light was hitting the four points on the emerald cut. In fact, I liked that it was not a common round diamond like I usually see. The more I looked at it, the more I was starting to feel like this was the one.

I bit the bullet and got it. The shop owner was kind enough to give me a nice box for it for when I wanted to present it to Leanne. I paid him, thanked him very much and was on my way back home.

I admit I stared at it a lot as I was driving home. I kept thinking how unbelievable it was that this tiny little ring was going to mean so very much and change my life. But what I was thinking about even more was how I was actually able to find one of the best diamond rings under $1000 in Los Angeles, California. Kudos to me!

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$500 Cheap Diamond Necklace Deals in Albuquerque, New Mexico

Posted on April 7, 2012 by Alissa

I shut the door and shouted, “Honey, I’m home!”

“I’m in the kitchen,” Diane called back.

From the inner recesses of the house, Helen, our 16 year old daughter, and Matt, our 10 year old son, shouted vague, unintelligible words of greeting. I went into the kitchen where Diane was sporadically stirring a boiling pot of water with something in it while she was trying to watch the news.

“What’s for supper?” I asked, in what I hoped was a nonchalant manner.

Diane looked up from the pot, and smiled. “Spaghetti. Helen’s term paper is due Friday, so I took her turn at supper.”

“Sounds good.”

She turned around and looked at me then. “You want spaghetti?”

I realized my mistake too late – I tolerate spaghetti versus endorsing it enthusiastically. Still, I tried to recover.

“Today I do. It just sounds kind of good to me.”

Diane turned around full from the pot, faced me with her hands on her hips and with the slight Irish lilt she still retained after being in the United States for 30 years, demanded, “All right, Colonel Bill McKinton, out with it. I can tell you’ve got bad news; let’s get it over with before supper.”

“Diane, I don’t really have any b….”

“Don’t lie to me, Bill. What is it?”

I sighed. “I’m being deployed again, this time to a medical unit based in Afghanistan.”

Her eyes grew wide for a split second, then she turned back to the spaghetti to stir it. Still with her back to me, she stood very still for a minute.

I went up to her, turned her around gently, and held her close. After a minute or two, I lifted her chin up from my chest to bring her deep blue eyes to meet mine.

“Diane?”

Even though her eyes were full of tears she wouldn’t let fall, she spoke steadily. “When will you leave?”

“In about two weeks.”

She blinked, and cleared her throat. “And for how long?”

“They told me that hopefully it would be only about six months; you know they try to keep the doctors there on a regular rotation.”

One more deep sigh, then Diane briskly turned to practicalities. It always amazes me how, even after 20 years of being an Air Force wife, she rolls with most of the punches almost effortlessly – or at least she makes it look effortless. A long deployment is hard on everyone, and this deployment would be pretty hard to take for her, since it was my third long deployment in two years and on top of that, I was being sent to what she had to think of as a highly dangerous area. To top everything off, since we were stationed in Albuquerque, our nearest family was an 8 hour plane ride away.

I winked at her, trying to tease her into a more hopeful frame of mind. “Hey, don’t worry; you know the insurance is paid up.”

She shot back her normal reply. “Faith, and what wouldn’t I find to spend it on!”

She pushed her shiny, curly black hair back off of her face, more from habit than need, and added fiercely, “Don’t you dare let me find out!”

“I won’t.”

I gave her one more hug to let her know how much she meant to me, and added, “Well, supper’s about ready anyhow, so we’ll talk to the kids about it over supper, and then start planning. At least it doesn’t take as much planning as it used to. Remember the deployment to Germany when Matt was 2 and Helen 8?”

Diane dismissed that deployment with a wave. “Oh, that wasn’t really anything, especially since Mom was available to help.”

The kids, not knowing any other kind of life, took it pretty well. Helen raised her eyebrows and said cuttingly, “Three deployments – tell them not to make a habit of it, okay Dad?” at the same time that Matt yelled (at 10, Matt only has one volume), “Hey! That means we get to use the web cam again, right?”

Since we had been through this before twice recently, both the planning and packing were easier than they normally would have been. In some ways this was fortunate; in others, it wasn’t. In particular, I could tell that Diane was having a harder time than normal since there wasn’t quite as much to do to help keep her mind off things.

Somewhere in those two weeks, I decided it was time buy Diane a very special gift. I didn’t want anything too expensive, but I wanted a gift beyond the ordinary, so decided that something around $500 would do.

Helen finally gave me an idea. She and I had the chance to have several talks before I left – among other things, I would be missing her junior prom – and while we were talking, she told me that Diane wore a bracelet and earring set I had bought her years ago almost constantly while I was gone. I asked Helen why she thought Diane did that, and Helen shrugged.

“I asked her once about that during your last deployment, and she told me that she just felt closer to you with them on while you were away.”

That settled it; I knew that I had to find Diane a necklace, somewhere around five hundred dollars, to match that set. The set was unusual in that it contained diamonds set in rose gold with a heart knot motif throughout, but I knew that I could find something if I set my mind to it. On my way to the base each day, I normally passed three jewelry stores, so I decided to start with them. Although they had some striking necklaces, none of them were exactly what I wanted. I was amazed at how helpful the sales clerks at each store were; each of them gave me the names of several other places to try. One store, a chain store located closer to downtown, made all three lists, so that was the next place I tried, and there, sitting in the window, was the perfect gift – a diamond pendant necklace, with the diamond set in the middle of an intricate intertwined heart made out of rose gold.

The day after I bought it, I told Diane and the kids that we would go to the movies the Saturday before I deployed, then, with their eager help on the appointed day, sent them off to the movies by themselves with Helen driving while Diane was upstairs getting ready to leave.

As Diane came back down the stairs, I was stunned again by her beauty and amazed that this woman had picked me out from all the men available to her. Every part of her called to me – her petite frame, her smiling face, the laugh lines that were beginning to filter into her face and the grace with which she accepted them, the blue eyes that never quite lost the fire and the humor of her Irish family and which were always full of love for me and for the children. She laughed at me.

“Wake up, Colonel McKinton. We have places to go, and things to do! Where are the kids?”

“I sent them on ahead to the movies. I thought you and I might skip the movies and stay here for some time alone.”

She started to smile. “And what do you think we’ll find to do without them?”

“I have a few ideas,” I answered.

“I bet you do.”

“First, though, Mrs. McKinton, I have something for you.”

I handed her the small box wrapped in blue paper for her to open. As soon as she did, her eyes grew wide and she asked, “How did you know?”

“How did I know what?”

“This is perfect! It matches that set you gave me…”

I interrupted her. “Yes, that set I gave you when Matt was born. I thought it could use a little sprucing up now after ten years. Besides, I wanted to be sure you were thinking about me while I’m gone.”

As she rushed up to hug me, I added, “I do love you, Diane, more than anything.”

She said softly, her head tucked against my chest, “And I love you, too.”

“Now, I think it’s time we go upstairs so that you can model that necklace for me properly.”

That night was the only night in the history of our family that the kids didn’t get in trouble when they showed up back home an hour after curfew, milkshakes in tow, and arguing full force about their movie. For the record, Diane and the necklace fit together perfectly!

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Top Of The Line Diamond Brooch Deals Under $600 in St. Louis Missouri

Posted on March 31, 2012 by Alissa

Catherine stepped up to the last of my paintings, waiting for me to whisk off the cover. When I did so, she gasped.

“Anna! It’s just as stunning as the rest of them.”

I smiled shyly. “I was in kind of a spring mood when I started, so I tried to keep the spring theme going in as many ways as possible.”

Catherine said, “Well you certainly succeeded with that. What I can’t get over is the many different mediums that you were able to use – pastel, acrylics, latex and oil – in so many separate pieces, yet still somehow make them seem like a single integrated package.”

“Do you think it will be okay for the show?”

Catherine looked thoughtful for a minute, then nodded. “Definitely. One of the unique things about your works, especially when you prepare them for a show, is how they all seem to fit together for the show, yet at the same time, the viewer somehow sees each piece as its own work of art. That was how your first show worked.”

“I’m still amazed that it sold out!”

“I’m not,” Catherine said firmly, “I just can’t wait for the day, though, when a collector comes in and buys your entire collection together.”

“Oh, Catherine, that’s hardly possible, especially with a new artist like me.”

“I disagree, dear, but that’s why we live in a free country.”

I looked down at my watch. “I had no idea that we were that close to three! Catherine, take as long as you want looking through these, and I will welcome any suggestions that you have, but I need to go downstairs to get ready for my students.”

Catherine frowned, then asked, “Caroline, now that your works are being purchased by collectors and you can make a living just by painting and pastels, why on earth do you still bother with teaching?”

“Because I love it. You have no idea how much it means to the children I teach to have the chance to do art, nor how much it keeps me seeing things in new and fresh ways. The whole idea for this particular series came from a comment one of my second grade students made!”

“Well, then, I guess I’m going to have to be grateful to one of your little darlings, after all.”

Catherine is a good friend, and a respected gallery owner, but children don’t really fit into the world she has built for herself – and she likes it that way.

I laughed. “I won’t make you go that far. Just remember that teaching is as important to my art work inspiration and hard work is.”
I slipped downstairs just as the door downstairs rang with the first of my afternoon students. Wednesday, however, is a pretty short afternoon for lessons, so I was back upstairs in an hour. I was a little surprised to see Catherine still standing there. She had rearranged the order of several of my paintings and was standing back to review the results of her work.

Without turning around, she said, “Anna, I think I’m beginning to see the best way this show should be displayed. Do you have any more work to do on any of these?”

I shook my head “no,” then remembering that she couldn’t see me with her back to me, cleared my throat and said it. “No, not unless you have any suggestions.”

“I never do, darling,” Catherine answered, “Is it okay to send the truck by tomorrow about 10?”

“No, that would be fine. What night specifically do you want to have the opening?”

“I think we’ll do it on Friday the 21st. A spring show as spring begins – isn’t that a great theme?”

“I guess, “I said, “I’ll let you handle that end of things.”

“I’m glad you said that, “Catherine answered,” Because one of the things I am going to have to coordinate is you.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“You need to look your best the night of the show, and I think you need your look to coordinate with your works.” She saw me stiffen. “Oh, for heaven’s sake, Anna, I’m not telling you to go out and buy a butterfly costume fit for a Vegas show girl, just a nice, pastel outfit that goes with some of the colors you used in your works.”

“Catherine, you know I loathe pink.”

“I do. However, a pretty green or yellow would work just as well on you. You even can choose an elegant pantsuit if you prefer, just keep the colors matching.”

I shrugged. “I’ll do my best.”

“I know dear. When you finish picking out your yellow or green pantsuit with your standard blouse, you’re going to need a brooch for your jacket.”

“Catherine, you don’t know that’s what I will pick out!”

In her maddeningly calm way, Catherine continued. “Yes, I do. I think a diamond brooch, in some kind of unique spring shape would be appropriate. Call me if you need the name of a dealer.”

I stood there almost speechless as she pecked me on the cheek and said good-bye. I do love Catherine, but sometimes she can be aggravating beyond belief.

I was even more aggravated with myself the next day, when I arrived home after a 10 hour shopping day the weary bearer of the only thing I found that I thought would work for me for the show – a solid, pastel yellow pantsuit and a white, short-sleeve shell to go with it. After looking at it, I decided to go ahead and buy a brooch as Catherine suggested. I’m not a fan of much jewelry, but Catherine is a fantastic marketer for artists, and if she thought I needed a diamond brooch for this show, then a diamond brooch I would have.

I was a little nervous setting out, though, since I only had about $600 to spend, and I knew that Catherine wouldn’t tolerate anything other than the best quality of brooch. I was relieved after my first jeweler’s visit when I realized there was a wide range of quality diamond brooches out there in my price range. I was not, however, thrilled with the selection, and over the next three days, as the show’s opening began looming nearer and nearer, I started to get desperate. I even had nightmares where large yellow diamonds chased me around a mall while Catherine chased them. However, on the fourth day, when I was brave enough to explain to a sales clerk the trouble I was having, she had an instant solution.

“Have you ever thought about having a custom jewelry piece done?”

“What do you mean?”

“Here in St. Louis, we have some stores that will design a piece especially for you. Since you’re an artist, they might even let you sketch out the basic outline you are looking for.”

“That sounds great, but isn’t it too expensive.”

The sales clerk shrugged. “Not really; you might pay a little extra for the craftsmanship and unique design in the work, but I do believe that they will be able to find you what you need.”

About 10 minutes later, I was talking to a jewelry designer at one of the stores the sales clerk had suggested. The custom jewelry piece was exactly what I needed. I sketched an asymmetrical butterfly outline for the jeweler to base his design upon, selected the stones I wanted and left him to his work. Although it took a week or two, the day before the show I picked up my brooch, and it was breathtaking – the butterfly frame was in 14K yellow gold, while the inside of the wings were adorned with small emeralds and the outside of the wings were edged in diamonds. I couldn’t wait for Catherine to see it! To this day, we both call it my spring show brooch.

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The Most Inexpensive Diamond Necklaces Under $800 in Little Rock Arkansas

Posted on March 24, 2012 by Alissa

Have you ever heard of a bucket list? I hadn’t, until I started dating Deidre. A bucket list is simply a list of all the special things you want to do before you die. I thought the concept was a little morbid until Deidre was comfortable enough to share hers with me. After looking at a list that included skydiving, walking the length of Hadrian’s Wall in England, snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef, keeping a flower garden alive and well for at least four years and making a quilt by hand to give to her mother, the idea went from morbid to fun. With Deidre’s encouragement, I started making my own.

Deidre’s family had emigrated from Ireland when she was 7, and although she was now a full fledged American citizen, she had never quite lost the Irish lilt in her voice. I could listen to her for hours. I also could watch her happily for hours. With her long, silky black her and deep blue eyes, she is what is commonly considered to be an “Irish Colleen.”

One of the things on my list was to go on a spending spree on a whim, and buy something expensive for someone I love. Because it was supposed to be spontaneous, I couldn’t plan on what I would be buying, when I would be buying or for whom I would be buying. After careful thought, though, I did decide it was okay to start saving for it – or perhaps it is more correct to say I started a “bucket list” savings account, which amounted to the same thing.

One evening in the early fall, Deidre and I had dinner at my house. I love to cook, and Deidre doesn’t mind cleaning up afterwards, so it usually was a win-win for both of us.

Deidre looked out the window as she started to clear the table and sighed.

“It would be so lovely to have a chance to get outdoors sometime soon before it gets too cold.”

“Why don’t we see if we can get tickets to the next Arkansas home game?”

(We had met while we were both in school at the University of Arkansas, and had a tradition of going to as many games as we could together.)

She said, “That would be great, but there is no game this weekend.”

I frowned for a minute, than I had it. “What about a hike up to Mount Pinnacle, and then a picnic lunch? The trees have started turning, so it ought to be beautiful this time of year.”

Her face lit up with the look I always loved to see. “Jake, that’s perfect!”

I smiled and added, “And it would be a great way to celebrate your birthday, too.”

“Jacob McKendrick, you know how I feel about that!”

I nodded and answered, “Yes, I do, and you know how I feel about it, too.”

“A picnic lunch and a hike are perfect. You know I don’t want any presents.”

“I’m aware of that, “I said stiffly.

She bristled. “Don’t you dare buy me a present! I’ve told you about this before. You spend too much on me as it is.”

“You’ve made your point clearly, as always,“ I said, with a pleasant smile that Deidre made the mistake of counting as acquiescence.

One of the things Deidre loves about me is my independence. Besides, I can’t bear to be told what I can and can’t do, so my mind was made up. One of my bucket list items was about to be completed.

The only element of planning I initially allowed was to check my relatively new bucket list bank account to see what funds were available. I was pleasantly surprised to see that I had about $800 available for Deidre’s gift.

Then I went out to shop. Contrary to the stereotype of Arkansas, there are a lot of good places to shop in Little Rock. Normally, I avoid shopping as much as I can, but in this case, since I was involved in a secret mission of great personal importance, I enjoyed it. The first night was a matter of deciding what I did, and did not, want to buy Deidre. Appliances seemed a little too practical, and besides, she had all that she wanted. Electronics wouldn’t be really useful, either, since I had everything we needed for home electronics, and I didn’t want to give her any reason to stay away from my place more than necessary. I looked around at the clothing, but just didn’t see anything nice enough, or that Deidre would particularly like. Couture suits and ball gowns aren’t exactly her thing, although she looks stunning in whatever she chooses to wear.

I was still mulling it over, when I walked by a jewelry store, and then it hit me – a diamond necklace would be just perfect! I went in to the store, and talked to one of the sales clerks, since jewelry was fairly new to me.

The clerk explained that there were at least two types of diamond necklaces that I could get – a necklace with diamonds integrated into the chain itself, or a diamond pendant with a simple chain to hang it from. He also wanted to go into details about the value and clarity of diamonds, but I respectfully cut him short and asked him to show me what he had that was $800 or less. I figured that wasn’t a bad range when the sales clerk failed to throw that look at me that usually means the clerk feels like you are being too cheap. I wasn’t really impressed with what he had to show me, so I thanked him for my time, and decided to begin the next day both during my lunch hour and then, if necessary, that night.

A second night of shopping wasn’t necessary. I found the perfect pendant and chain at a little jewelry store in downtown Arkansas just a block or two away from my office. It was diamond shaped, made out of 14 K white gold with a diamond shaped hole on the inside of the pendant. The outside and the inside edges of the diamond were set with 68 brilliant round diamonds on both the outside and the inside edges of the pendant, while the area between the edges was set with 72 rough diamonds. It gave the pendant a unique look that I believed would appeal to Deidre, even if it was a birthday gift.

I carefully wrapped the present, and tucked it away into the picnic basket when Saturday arrived before I arrived at Deidre’s to pick her up. It was a perfect fall day, with temperatures moseying up into the low 70’s before noon, and the hardwoods speckled between the pines exploding with oranges, browns and reds. Although the 2 mile trip to the top of Mount Pinnacle can be a little rough, we made it up in plenty of time, and I managed to squeeze in a kiss or two while we were up there.

Once we came back down to earth, both mentally and physically, I spread out the picnic fare on a table we commandeered.

I made sure I sat down before Deidre, then announced, “Hey, Deidre, I forgot one other thing in the picnic basket. Can you get it for me?”

She sighed quietly, since she had been about to sit down herself, then brightened up and said, “Sure.”

She went over to the picnic basket, and pulled out the brightly wrapped package. She stared at it blankly, then looked for me, starting to say, “Jacob McKendrick, I thought I told you….”

I wasn’t at the table anymore, but standing behind her, kissing her neck. Then I whispered, “Before you start scolding, why don’t you open it, so you will know exactly what you’re fussing about.”

Once she had the package open, she just stared at the necklace inside, frozen. I laughed, and gently pulled it out of the box for her.

“Let me put it on for you,” I said quietly, pulling her ponytail to the side, and taking the opportunity to kiss her neck once more. Then I turned her around.

She looked at me wonderingly. “Jake, it’s beautiful. Where did you find it?”

“Does it really matter?”

“No,” she said, and then reality broke in on her, “But it was way too expen….”

“Hush,” I said, “It’s your fault, anyhow.”

“Come again?” she asked.

“You’re the one that made me make my bucket list.”

She sighed. “I should have known you’d find a way to get around me.”

Then she threw her arms around me and kissed me. “Thank you so much; I love it.”

I grinned, and resolved to amend my bucket list to include the purchase of a diamond ring in the near future.

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The Best Diamond Earrings Under $900 in Dallas Texas

Posted on March 17, 2012 by Alissa

I stared, dumbfounded, at the senior partner at our CPA firm.

“What do you mean, Marjorie’s retiring?”

James shrugged his shoulders.

“She told me today. In five weeks, she’s retiring.”

I shook my head.

“But the office without Marjorie….”

“I know,” James said, “But don’t you think she’s earned it?”

As much as I was going to miss her, I had to admit that she had. Maggie was a fixture Braddock, Baynes & Smithson, having worked there ever since she was 25. At age 75, she had more than earned her retirement. I had never heard of another person who worked for 50 years at one place, but ever since the first long departed James Braddock I, whose picture serenely rested on the first floor hallway’s wall, hired her, Marjorie had been indispensable. By her own count, Marjorie had “raised” at least 16 CPA’s, eight of which eventually were made partners. The other eight, after a stay of four or five years, had decided to try their luck in a bigger city than Smithson, Texas. Marjorie was proud of all of them, and prouder still of the staff that made our jobs possible. She had “raised” at least thirty or so of them, also. It was a mark of her gracious humor and loving kindness that every single accountant or staff member who had ever worked there still stayed in touch with her.

I wandered by her desk later that day. She looked up.

“Hi Helen, “she said, then, with her eyes twinkling added,” Yes, it’s true; I’ve finally decided to call it quits.”

Before I could ask how she knew that was what I was coming to ask her, she added, “There’s been a steady parade through here all day. I didn’t realize James III would feel the need to spread the news quite this fast.”

“Why did you decide to do it now?”

“Oh, this and that. I want to travel a little bit more before my health declines, as it will one day, and I want to have time to spend with the new great grandbaby out in Texas. Besides, I’ll still come by and visit occasionally.”

“Well, you know I’ll miss you, but I hope everything goes well.”

“Oh, I’m sure it will, dear. Did you know, I think you’re one of the best partners I’ve ever raised?”

I laughed, “Marjorie, you say that to all the partners you raise.”

“No, not really. But I better get back to work, and you, Helen, need to see Mr. Ames. Remember, he’s coming by at 10.”

None of us could really imagine the firm without Marjorie, so it took a couple of weeks for the reality of her upcoming retirement to sink in. Once it did for me, I asked James if he was planning to do anything for Marjorie on her last day.

“I think we should, but I can’t figure out what. Helen, why don’t you plan it?”

I sighed. I should have seen that one coming. “Okay. Do I have a budget?”

“There’s no limit. Just make it a good shindig.”

After a day or two of thought, I had the party planned, but I wasn’t satisfied. There was something too impersonal about it. After a great deal more thought, I waited until Marjorie was at lunch one day, and slipped into her office and took a minute to photocopy her address book, where she had the current addresses of anyone who had ever worked for the firm. Then I began to solicit contributions from everyone at our office, and everyone who had ever worked for us. With one week to go, I had $900 to spend on Marjorie’s retirement gift.

There was no way I was going to get Marjorie a gold watch. That was too much of a cliché, and she was too much in love with the watch her husband had given her on her 70th birthday anyhow. The same was true for a necklace; she had a strand of pearls, as well as a gold cross, that were the only two necklaces I had ever seen her wear. The strand of pearls was also a gift from Jerry; this gift had been when the first of her three children got married. The gold cross came about 15 years later, and was a very high quality necklace, with beautiful workmanship on the cross, that her three children had given her this past year when she turned 75.

It was the cross that gave me the idea. I felt certain that with $900 to spend, I should be able to find some diamond earrings that would complement the cross necklace, and give her something she could treasure from us, her second family. I also knew that our little jewelry store in Smithson wouldn’t have anything at all like I wanted, so I resigned myself to making the 2 hour trek into Dallas, the nearest city of any size to us.

I had a list of stores to try, but the sales clerk at the first store listened as I explained what I wanted, and then asked me to show him the list of stores. His brown eyes scanned the list, which gave me time to admire the way they perfectly matched his tan face and dark brown hair. He looked up quickly and caught me watching him. I blushed, and he grinned as he explained that he was the owner of this particular store, and knew many of the other jewelers in Dallas, and could quickly narrow my list down, if I would let him. I nodded, and he took the list, which I had scribbled down on an old piece of letterhead to the back, presumably so he could find a pen. In just a few minutes, he was back, and had my list down to three stores, which he had ranked in the order he thought would be most helpful. I hated to leave, but duty called, so I thanked him profusely and went to the first store he suggested, where I hit pay dirt.

This store had the perfect set of diamond earrings for $850. The designer had used both white gold and yellow gold along with pave set white and yellow diamonds to form an intricate cross on each earring. The earrings even had lever back findings. Lever back findings make it much harder to lose the earrings than do stud findings.

I bought the earrings, and headed back to Smithson with the retirement party only three days away. I used the extra $50 to order flowers for Marjorie as well.

Not much was accomplished the Monday and Tuesday before the party by anyone at Braddock, Baynes & Smithson, not even by the distinguished James Braddock the III. (He was the third Braddock CPA Marjorie had “raised,” with the young 18 year old Jamesina Braddock who would have been Braddock Number IV if she had been male, in training at the moment as a clerk for the summer before starting at Baylor.) Basically, we had a giant three day family reunion as people we hadn’t seen for years showed up to be part of Marjorie’s retirement party. It had been impossible to hide the event from Marjorie, but when the big bash finally came around on Wednesday, I could tell I had managed to hide her gift from her. After everyone was seated at the restaurant banquet table reserved for us, I stood up before we ate and offered a toast to Marjorie, to which she listened, smiling. I was pleased to see that she had worn the cross today, not the pearls. Then, just when she was expecting me to sit down so we could be served, I produced the wrapped box, explaining that the gift was from everyone at the party. She opened it wonderingly, then for the first time during the three days, her eyes sparkled not just with happiness, but with tears, also. Nothing would do then for her except that she be allowed to go ahead and hug each of us.

She’s been gone now three weeks, and we are managing without her, although we all miss her terribly. She’s called in twice each week to see how we are doing and fill us in on the latest news with the great-grandbaby. It’s said, though, that God never closes a door without opening a window. Our small firm acquired a new client all the way from Dallas last week – a brown haired, brown eyed jeweler that specifically asked for me to handle his account. I think it’s only fair that I ask him out to dinner the next time he comes to town – if Marjorie were here, she would accept nothing less.

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