Been with my girlfriend for almost five years and ready to take the plunge. I have a ring that my dad made that was my mothers wedding ring, in which he turned into a ring for me, its a lot of gold and some diamonds, so I'm hoping it will off set some of the cost. Also I have some gold and lose diamonds I would like to add. Willing to purchase the "big rock" for the centerpiece. Just looking for anyone's experiences of jewerly makers around Houston. Thanks. And to those who know me in real life don't ruin it...
bought my wifes engagement ring from Karat 22 off of Hilcroft. Bought the diamond from them and showed them from a picture of what I wanted as far as a setting. Very happy with what they did and appraised for over double what I paid. Got an intial price from Kliens, but decided to go with Karat 22, as they seemed a lot more pleasant to deal with.
Congrats and good luck. My wife and I had decent luck with Diamond Cutters International (on San Felipe). http://www.diamondcuttersintl.com/ She drew up the exact ring she wanted and we took it to those guys. They made exactly what she wanted. A few years ago, we upgraded her center-stone...and used Blue Nile to order the diamond online...and a local Vegas jeweler to set the stone.