I am convinced that the lady at the courthouse called the first jeweler's shop and told them to act nonchalant when the newly licensed couple entered their doors because the reception we received was pretty cool. If we were younger, I would understand, but I thought we looked like serious buyers.
I had always assumed that this shop would be where we got our rings: a locally owned store where service and quality are undoubtedly present in this longstanding shop. It was here that John bought me the birthday earrings I never take off. A great salesperson, I am convinced, would have noticed the familiar aquamarine gems perched on my lobes. Apparently not. We were treated like every other walk-in.
A cordial hello, a question quickly answered, a quote, and a send-off. It was so quick that I was convinced that we had come just moments before they closed. Nope. We left with the style numbers and approximate costs for the rings we saw online with an hour to spare before they closed their doors for the day. There was no discussion about other options we could look at or anything of the sort. It felt like they couldn't care less about our business.
We left that shop and went searching for another one we had heard about. This store's owner had sold his chain jeweler shop in town and opened up his own. He was attentive, but his enthusiasm clouded his helpfulness and he couldn't get past "lifetime warranty" when we asked about durability and the company's history. We left the second shop knowing that we probably wouldn't have matching bands but were definitely not buying from that shop. The hard sell didn't win us over. The idea of carbon fiber inlay - sporty, different, strong - was something that intrigued John.
That weekend, we went up to Sharif's Jewelers (http://www.sharifsjewelers.net/) in Folsom; a shop that was recommended to us by our friend, Mark. As soon as we walked in, we received a warm greeting. One of the salesladies offered to get us their special Turkish coffee and apologized that they didn't have someone to meet with us immediately to go over their wedding band options.
While we waited, we perused the other cases. The lights caught every facet of the gems and the sparkling items made me wonder if I truly was a jewelry person. I searched the cases for some perfect pearl item to wear on our wedding day, but I didn't find anything that wouldn't overpower the lines of the dress or my desire to buy something I could wear again. John's practicality is rubbing off on me, can you tell?!?
We soon met with Tom, who sat us down in front of the ring options and carefully explained the benefits of each metal. All of the warmness I had been looking for from the other shops and the experienced knowledge that we both desired was wrapped up in one place - Sharif's.
I felt like we had walked into the shop of a friend: completely comfortable and relaxed. A surprising feeling since we were picking a piece of jewelry that would be worn every day for the rest of our lives (no pressure!). John told Tom about the carbon fiber inlay rings he saw while Tom explained the durability of each metal type and how each should be cared for. Before pointing us to specific bands, he asked us about the type of work we did and how active we were. Softer metals would scratch, he explained, and need to be polished more often while hard metals can't be resized.
In about an hour, we ordered our rings and were all atwitter with excitement (no, seriously, this time it's not literary license). We had our rings! Well, ordered. Tom said that he would call us when they arrived and that it could take as much as six weeks to arrive. EEK! I think the concern on our faces showed, but Tom assured us that was not something that he expected. That timeline was too narrow for John's comfort, but I figured that if they didn't arrive, we could borrow something for the ceremony. I could see that didn't assuage John, but he didn't bring it up again.
About a week after our visit, the rings had arrived! I had such a busy week that I didn't know when we could go to pick them up together. John had some time, though, and brought them back to my place. A beautiful gold bag housed the black velvet boxes. I opened up each one and stared at my ring. It gleamed and looked so tempting.
"Is it wrong to play with your own ring?" I asked myself. I convinced myself that I was only trying it on to make sure it fit. I sat there and gleefully looked at the future state of my hand. John was in the living room, so there was no danger in being caught as I played dress-up (oh man! I couldn't even convince myself that I wasn't playing). I awoke from my little day dream with John's voice asking "Are you trying your ring on?"
Busted!
I sheepishly walked into the living room, still wearing my new band, and said, "I couldn't help it!" To which he replied, "Yeah, me either."
We played with our rings off and on that evening, getting more and more excited about our future state as husband and wife. As he left, we agreed he should take the bag home to keep us (well, me) from playing with the rings. Since then, I've spent my time convinced that they were at his place in a safe and well-hidden location.
The other day, I found out that they are in a safe and well-hidden location, but in my house! I haven't found them, though, but I've been assured that they're here. We'll see them again on our wedding day.
Until then, I will just dream about our bands.
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