Rings and Tings!

Hey, 

Following last weekends hopeful plans of spending our weekend making the "Save The Dates" we needed for our wedding, we have yet to make a start. Instead, we chose to do what all twenty-somethings do when they have responsibilities (well at least most of them) my Fiance and I went drinking.

But first things first and top of my priorities was to go and collect my new engagement ring. Now back at the beginning of June I was sat in a meeting and noticed a small spec of dust on the desk and so swiped it onto the floor, thinking nothing more of it. A little while later I ended up looking down and playing with my engagement ring. However, on closer inspection, I realised a stone was missing. Panicked I realised that the "speck of dust" was actually one of my stones! One all fours in this bloody meeting I picked up the crystal and wrapped it in a piece of paper, stuffing it into my bra for safekeeping. Calling the store Mr Warehouse (and I) bought it from, I explained what had happened and asked if I could bring it in with a photo of the receipt that I had on my phone to be repaired. They said it would be fine and I brought it in that evening once I had finished. Since then I had been ringless and was itching to get it back. 

Several weeks later I was days away from mine and Mr Warehouse's holiday and I was desperate to get it back to go on holiday with. It would be the first time it had been on holiday and would be the one and only time it would be seen on a beach, fore next time it would be accompanied by my wedding ring! Eeeek! But after calling several times I was told that the ring was not back yet and they would be in touch soon. And so I skipped off on holiday without my ring. 

I had ordered a lab-created diamond ring from eBay and it had not arrived in time for my holiday which was disappointing. However, when I say this to people, about the lab-created diamond ring, the number one question I got is “Are lab-created diamonds real diamonds?” but the only thing that makes a lab-created diamond different from a natural diamond is its origin. A lab-created diamond is “grown” inside a lab using cutting-edge technology that replicates the natural diamond growing process. The result is a man-made diamond that is chemically, physically, and optically the same as those grown beneath the Earth’s surface. People sometimes, lab-created diamonds are referred to as synthetic diamonds, and while not technically inaccurate the term “synthetic” may be the reason people believe lab-created diamonds are “fake” and that was something I thought once it had (eventually) arrived was not quite for me. 

However as Mr Warehouse and I waited in the airport, ready to board our flight home, swollen and in pain with blisters and sores, I had a phone call from the store we sent the ring back to get repaired. Unfortunately, it would have happened that when the repairers went to fix the ring, it bowed and warped so much so that whilst they had been able to fix it, the repair was not guaranteed and that if any more stone fell out I would have to go through the whole six-eight week process again. I decided not to accept the repair and instead opted to have the ring returned and have a replacement. 

In the meantime between my trips to the hospital for my sunburn, I had fallen in love with a 9ct White Gold Cluster Ring. The claw set cushion design is a real beauty. Handset with DiamonFlash Cubic Zirconia it creates a ring of perfect proportions with lots of sparkle and style. A fabulous accessory for any outfit - Including my wedding dress (which I have yet to find I might add). 

Lusting after it for a while I was still waiting to hear about my ring being returned, I couldn't help myself and after calling a local branch in Milton Keynes and being told that my exact size was in and was on sale, I dropped what I was doing and headed over. However, on making the half-hour round trip and paying for premium parking, I was more than annoyed to try on the ring and for it to barely get past my knuckle. 

"This is not the correct ring size," I said to the sales assistant. She disagreed saying that of course, it is. 
"I can assure you that this is not my ring size," I said again asking her this time to size it on her ring chart and, sure enough, it was wrong, coming up nearly three sizes too small. Fuming I tried to control myself in a shop busy with people, but explaining politely to the sales girl that I have come in especially for this and what it is simply not really acceptable to just say sorry and make an excuse that someone had labelled it incorrectly, especially when I had called in advance too. Nevertheless, the young girl helped by ordering the ring in, although not before trying to charge me more because I was ordering a "bigger size". I paid in full and left, sitting in my car before I left and typing out an angry tweet. 

Venting through the interwebs seems to help as I had a response within a few hours and was told that because of my troubles I would have my ring especially shipped in from the manufacturers directly and that I could collect on Friday. And that is exactly what I did. What happened to the other original engagement ring? Well, whilst I loved it, I love this one although I did have to ask myself if this new ring will have all the same significance and special feels as the OG. But I put those thoughts on ice whilst I got the lady in store to process a refund. I mean of course it will look a little odd in photos and I will have t explain every time someone asks what happened to my old engagement ring, but this one is soooo sparkly and soooo beautiful it won't be hard for them to see why I fell in love with it. 

'Til next time, Love A.Lou xx