Customer Reviews

Engagement & Wedding Rings 3ed PB

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

And get a cup of coffee. And a high-lighter. And then just let this book do your work for you. Why? Because "Typical Joe" will wander into a nice jewelry store not knowing diddly about diamonds, sporting a deer-in-the-headlights look that serves as an aphrodisiac to the store clerks. The love Typical Joe! With their lush carpets, free coffee, revolving credit and halogen lights that would make a piece of tar light up like Vegas, the stores also provide an "education" about diamonds through brochures published by their trade association. But if you want the REAL skinny -- and not some puff piece that glosses over the important info -- get this book. It holds your hand, feeds your head and keeps your wallet MUCH fatter in the long run. ( I know am I going to get negative marks at the bottom of this review from annoyed jewelers...sorry, folks). I saved thousands of dollars.

For instance,I never knew about diamond brokers until I read this book. The appendix helped me find a good one;I saved a lot of money on the ring. I should mention that the purpose of the book is to educate on diamonds, not diminish the importance of a good jeweler (although, after I saw the mark-up on loose stones, I was livid. I'm all for making a profit, but most jewelers just GOUGE you). Point is, by reading this little book, you can learn a good deal of pertinent info and translate that into an immediate savings.

Buying an engagement ring, in theory at least, should be a one-time purchase. And no guy wants to mess it up. Get this book, understand the color, clarity, blah blah blah but focus on the CUT. If you understand that, you're miles ahead of Typical Joe. This book is well-organized, well-written and provides all the info you need to get a beautiful diamond from a position of strength.

I recently purchased another book before I found this one, and quickly figured out the author was a diamond dealer trying to get my business. I was about to give up on finding a book that was written by a real expert who was NOT trying to sell me something, and then I found this one. What a treasure, written by someone who is really a consumer advocate, and tells the whole story. After reading Engagement & Wedding Rings, The Definitive Buying Guide For People in Love, I knew I wouldn't make a mistake or get ripped off. This book even told me what to ASK to be sure I was comparing "the same thing" when I went from store to store with my fiance (and even provided a place to write down information given from store to store)as well as what to get in writing. One of the things my fiance liked best, however, was the information on how to protect ourselves and how to find a reliable appraiser to verify what we were told. Personally, I loved the information on how to make our rings more personal and intimate, and the great advice on little design details that make such a difference in the appearance of the ring. We bought the diamond first, and then the ring, and even though the ring wasn't "custom made" , we knew what to ask for, so the jeweler knew what to show us and we found the perfect ring which the jeweler then ordered and engraved especially for us. So few things really affect what you do, but this book really did, and we can't thank the authors enough. I've even written a letter to the authors, to personally thank them (and that's something I've never done before). One thing was clear from the start: these authors not only know their stuff, but they really care about their readers making the best possible choice on this important decision. And without trying to sell us something!

I purchased this book along with the book Diamond Ring buying guide by Renee Newman. This book only contained B/W diagram drawings and described the 'flaw's that diamonds have. Hello? dianmonds are not B/W diagram drawings, that little dot on the drawing tells me nothing!
The book seems to ramble and drone on and on about diamonds, like a good old high school history book. Of all the 14 pages of color photos, there are 6 pages dedicated to 'designer rings' and the rest are just photos of different styles of jewelery. What does a yellow diamond look like? What about a diamond that was cut incorrectly? A simple line drawing does not help at all.
I found Newman's book much more detailed and well written than this book. Newman has many photos, practically the entire book is made up of color photos of diamonds and flawed diamonds (so you know that to look for).
If you have a lot of time on your hands and don't mind a boring book, then buy this book, other wise Newman has condensed this 300 page book into just a mere 150 pages or so into hers.

This book came highly recommended to me by a well known and respected gem testing lab and I'm so glad I bought it. I couldn't put it down until I'd finished it. It is very easy to understand! I got a ring exactly like I wanted and at the right price, too! After reading several books on the subject, I found this to be the most informative with essential information one needs before going out and making such an important purchase. The "updated" price guides were a great help, too. And I was well "armed" to avoid the many scams that I was amazed to learn REALLY do exist! This book gave me everything I needed to buy with confidence- besides the price guides, it lists questions to ask the jeweler, what should be in writing on the sales receipt (to protect ME!), how to verify what I've been told, how to get a reliable appraiser, qestions to ask when obtaining insurance...I have already recommended this book to several of my friends (I don't want to "lose" my copy!!). I think this is the BEST book I've read on the subject of buying an engagement ring. I have an interest in stones and have already ordered 2 other books by this same author!!

The better my customers are informed, the better then can recognize quality and value. I own fifteen copies to lend out to customers.... Unfortunately I keep having to buy more because I never get them back!! If you're shopping for a diamond ring, then invest $13.96 before you invest $5,000.

This is a must read for anyone looking to purchase a ring. Like many men, a wedding ring is a one time thing. It really is unlike any other product or service you will buy throughout your lifetime; such as: college, cars, a house or a dog. And like marriage, the ring is forever. So don't get caught walking into a shop not knowing anything about the product. This book, Engagement & Wedding Rings, 2nd Edition : The Definitive Buying Guide for People in Love, is key to understanding everything you'll ever need to know about the ring. From color, clarity, size and quality, this book covers it all in any easy to read format. You'll thank yourself and your soon to be wife will also thank you forever for taking the time to read this book.

I read the first edition of this book and was delighted to hear the second edition had hit the stores! What I never expected was the second edition was even BETTER than the first! A MUST READ - make sure you give your man a copy ! Engagement and Wedding Rings helped us to focus on what was really important in terms of knowing what we were really getting, and that we were paying the right price. In so doing, we were actually able to get a much larger ring than we originally thought our budget could afford.The section on avoiding rip-offs and what to watch out for were very useful! We actually encountered some of the scenarios Mrs Matlins outlines in her book. Except, this time, we knew how to handle them! It was so nice to get the WHOLE story so we could shop with confidence! I especially enjoyed its easy to read nature, as I am no expert on the subject, and wanted information in a form I could digest. My fiancee also read this book and is now getting the most marvellous engagement ring made for me. We would never have been able to design a ring of our own, with meaning and sentiments built in specifically for us, were it not for this book! I can't thank the author enough!

After reading quite a few books in this category; I found Matlins book informative but not practical in the real world. The book was in my opinion too generalized and wasn't what I needed, i.e. expert advise on how to buy a top quality diamond from a reputable jeweler at the best price. If you want to learn about the history of the diamond the book might pass but won't tell you what you need to know if your out shopping for one.

My intended and I went shopping for the engagement ring armed with the knowledge this book provides were able to buy with confidence! The information on how to select a diamond is invaluable; all the technical aspects of diamonds and colored gems -- the knowledge you need to put you on par with the jeweler -- are discussed in detail and in a clear way understandable to laypersons like me. The retail-price-guide charts on diamonds are excellent; you can know whether the price being quoted to you is reasonable. This book taught me how to how to use a jeweler's loupe properly, to evaluate all types of gemstones. Now I'm married but I still use this book -- and a jeweler's loupe -- whenever I have any jewelry purchase in mind!

I bought this book about six months before I planned to buy the ring, and it really gave me a good starting point for shopping. I found (like others have said) that when I went to jewellery stores and made it clear I had an idea about what I wanted to spend and what kind of diamond I wanted, I was given a great deal more respect by the salespeople then when I shopped without that information. This book helped prepare me for my shopping experience, but in no way was I ready to purchase after simply reading about diamonds. I needed to go out and look at different types of stones, and decide what we wanted to buy. After all, a diamond is more then just metrics and cost, it's value is in it's beauty, and beauty is judged by the eye. Each stone is unique, and so to get a feel for what diamond to buy, one needs to look at actual diamonds.

This book also helped me build a relationship with a jeweller -- something far more valuable then the raw information in the text -- because it gave me the information I needed to begin evaluating diamonds with confidence, and thus I was able to choose a dealer I felt comfortable with, and who provided me with what I knew was a good value.

One area where this book is lacking is in the insurance arena. It could provide more information about the options provided.

It should also list online links to diamond-related sites. I found a number of useful sites during my personal searches that should be in an appendix.