If you happened to have seen the Wordless Wednesday post for this week, you’ll have noticed a certain man proposed to me this weekend, after a fun filled, crazy toddler chasing weekend, he sent her out to me wearing her princess Elsa dress to give me the most beautiful ring I have ever seen. I gasped (who wouldn’t!?) and beamed, all the crazy girl crushing stuff any woman receiving an engagement ring would do but the frugal side of me was having heart palpitations. We never spend large sums of money on ourselves – ever. I was stunned, humbled, in shock. I still am in fact!
Then he let me in on a little secret, and one that makes me love him even more!
You see, my ring didn’t come from a mall, or a big fancy jewelry store with high pressure sales people. He didn’t apply for a new credit card or take out a loan, he hadn’t been saving for the past 4 years. He had his heart set on a ring and he went looking for it. He found it at Royal City Jewellers in New Westminster, B.C. They are both a jeweller and a pawn shop.
Yep, my beautiful engagement ring came from a pawn shop. And I am so freaking excited about that!
Okay, I know you are probably wondering how I could be okay with this… but hear me out!
Any store you purchase from has a mark up, it’s how any business stays afloat and in the black. Mall locations have an insane rent and the stores have to compensate for that, include staff costs, advertising, products, etc and you are paying an arm and a leg for something that likely cost them 10% of what they are charging you.
Diamonds aren’t any different. De Beers owns 80% of the worlds diamond mines, they OWN the industry. Diamonds are the only mineral in the world that does not have a set price in place so De Beers can charge the distributors whatever they want. Someone has already paid the inflated price to originally own the ring and then it made it’s way to the pawn shop, who can charge a much lower rate since they skipped the original purchase!
Kind of crazy if you ask me.
He shared with me that he wanted me to have something beautiful but he couldn’t justify putting us in debt for it, with a little one at home, 2 cars on the road and saving for a house there was just no way! So he found a solution, he found a $2500 ring, for less than 1/3 of the price (he obviously won’t give me a total! lol). He was able to find the dream ring HE wanted to propose with and not go into the red!
Some tips…
- IF you are okay with a second hand ring, let your significant other KNOW. There’s definitely a  stigma around it, so if it’s a-okay in your book, let them know!
- Do your research, don’t walk into just any store and trust everything you are told. If you are looking for a specific ring with a specific cut, don’t accept anything less
- Most reputable places have a return policy, mine was 7 days. Plenty of time to have the ring appraised if you are unsure about the purchase.
- Find a reputable business; Royal City has been in New West since 1955! With plenty of recommendations this is the store he chose but ask around your local area, do some searching and find your spot.
- Don’t be afraid to ask questions and walk away if need be.
Pawn shops, love them or leave them? Tell me in the comments!
