Most of that is true, though... I like the part where you say "My old roommate made her fiance save up for a $15K ring before she would set a date"... what kind of sick person "makes" someone else do this?
+1 on whiteflash. If you set up an appointment there I would also recommend Shaftel diamonds. It's in the same building on the first floor. My wife and I had an appointment at whiteflash and just walked into Shaftel on a whim and we actually bought from there. They're very nice people, prices are on par with whiteflash, no pressure whatsoever, and are very patient. I feel like they have more selection since it is an actual brick and mortar store which you don't have to make an appointment there.
Went to both WhiteFlash and Shaftel diamonds, don't think you can go wrong with either, but I personally would recommend Shaftel Diamonds as I got my fiance's diamond and setting there. Ask for Danny.
I got mine in Ukraine. $800 for a 1 karat nice diamond with a white gold setting. Someone at a dinner a few weeks ago said that I should get her a bigger one for our next anniversary and she said "no way this is the ring that was used when we go married so its special and its the only one she'll ever wear". Find a girl who doesn't give a damn about how much you spend on a silly diamond. For the record, for my wife, this was the first diamond she ever owned so she was blown away by it.
I went with IW Marks when I bought an engagement ring a few years ago. I'm sure I could've probably gotten more for my money somewhere else, but for me it was a bit less about getting the best value, and more about getting something I was comfortable with. Post-sale they've been great too -- we get our rings cleaned there a lot, and I've had some other jewelry repaired through them and I've been really happy. I almost went with Herfort (the Herforts are friends of a friend), but I jumped the gun and went with IW Marks. My future brother-in-law got a ring there and it's really nice.
More like both. You'll just have to do a no-money-down interest only loan on a home you can barely afford. This commercial still gives me nightmares... <iframe width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Ubsd-tWYmZw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
