Weddingbee boards

Hi ladies, 

Anyone know of any places in NYC that would be decent to go and try on rings, see what I like, test out sizes, etc? I want somewhere I won't feel completely intimidated. I work right by the diamond district and have had jewelry repaired there before, but that can be overwhelming. I realize any jeweler will want me to buy, and I'm alright standing up for myself, but anyone who has walked down 47th knows what I'm trying to avoid. 

Any suggestions welcome!

Hi- I know exactly what your talking about. I live in Long Island, but my boyfriend lives in NYC. I went to the diamond district a few weeks ago with my mom to get ideas of what I liked so that I could show my boyfriend. It is VERY intimidating, because they all want to make a sale.

I did find it helpful however to go with someone else and just browse the windows to see what I liked. If you find something you love, most of the time they know you are just looking anyway especiallly if you are not with your boyfriend, grab a card and leave. I would ask them to write the model number of the setting and the information on the back of the card so that if your boyfriend came to buy that ring it would be easy for him to know exactly where to go (plus it makes it seem like you are serious)

If you still don't feel comfortable doing that, I definitely suggest going to Michael C Fina. They have an engagement ring area downstairs and the sales people there are extraordinarily helpful--definitely not pushy. Just tell them straight up that you are looking to get an idea of the kind of ring you like so you could let your boyfriend know. Ask for a card, pretend to be interested and leave!

PS- the only reason I suggested Michael C Fina, is because I found a preowned ring online from someone who had purchased there in June. He broke up with his girlfriend but had bought the ring from them. We met at the Michael C Fina store, to do the exchange and even though they knew we weren't buying anything from them, they were VERY helpful with any questions we had and are resizing the ring right now for us for free.

Thanks ladies! I think I may try Michael C. Fina soon, their website boasts of a great deal of inventory. So I would imagine they're used to this kind of thing...

Thought about checking out high street jewelers (Tiffany's, Harry Winston), but they actually don't have that many styles...we'll see. 

@Diana R.: Awesome, thanks! I'll keep that in mind, maybe go at an off hour...

@Heartly: Let us know how it goes! Have fun!

@smiles731: Thanks! We are not planning to get engaged just yet, but after a conversation with SO this past weekend, he seems confused as to how to pick out rings, getting help, etc. Since I don't know what I want, I figured it was worth going to get an idea and let him know. 

I sort of want to take a friend for an extra eye, but I also don't really want to tip anyone off to our plans, if that makes any sense. Especially since we won't be getting engaged until at least spring if not later. I like keeping these discussions fairly private (except, with the hive, of course). Have to think this one through...

i agree with everyone else about Michael C. Fina.  we went there to look for rings and they had a ton of different designers and styles and were very nice to work with.  they let me try on a bunch of different rings, and never pressured us to buy.  we also went to the tiffany's on fifth, but they were not nearly as accomodating. 

Thanks for all the recs, Bees!! I went to Michael C. Fina at lunch yesterday and I was the only person in the entire store! It was great to take a look at all their inventory and try things on. I definitely narrowed in some things I like and don't like. I wish there was the ability to try on different size stones (even in CZ) just to get an idea of carat, though, since most of the rings I tried were set with CZ in 3+ carats. Also, the salesman was a little odd, didn't understand some of my requests (and I can only imagine they hear them all), but it was fine. Now to continue my research!