After my boyfriend and I decided to get married, we went out looking for an engagement ring together. We went to all the regular engagement ring stores in town, and I tried on some fine rings. But it didn't felt right and certainly didn't feel special. It was clear the people behind the counter were selling on commission - they didn't really care that we were newly engaged or if the ring was just perfect. They just wanted to make the sale. And the rings were nothing that special, either.
After a few hours of disappointed shopping, we headed over to Green Lake Jewelry Works to see if we could find something a little more unusual. We were not disappointed. Not only was their ring design beautiful and artistic and unique, but their staff was friendly, funny, casual and informed. The first big difference - when we walked through the door and informed the person at the front desk we were looking for an engagement ring, her response was "Congratulations!" - the first time we heard that all day. She offered us something to drink, sat us down at our own counter and introduced us to "our" ring designer, Amber. Amber worked with us for two hours - looking through catalogs of designs, sketching out our ideas, bringing out sample rings and metals and stones. By the end of our session we had a design we couldn't have been more pleased with.
Here is the process: you work with an artist to sketch out your design. They make a wax model of the ring for you to try on (this takes a couple of weeks). Once the design is right, their in-house artists make the ring. At any point in the process, up to 30 days after the ring is complete, you can change any aspect of the design. They want it to be just right.
The process takes a while (ours took about 8 weeks from design to completion) but it is most certainly worth the wait. We simply love what we ended up with.
more