My last day as a commoner...

...because tomorrow, I become famous.

Ok, not really. But tomorrow I go to a studio to record my radio commercial for Shane Company Jewelers!!!!

I wrote a comment through their website's "contact us" feature. I had gotten kind of mad about all the Distinctive Diamonds commercials I heard... well, maybe I should back up and tell you my ring shopping stories first.

After a few shorts months with Mr P I already was looking at rings, since for the first time, I was with someone I could see myself marrying! For Christmas 2007, he got me a Promise Ring from Helzberg Diamonds. Whenever I was near there, I'd stop in, get it cleaned, and oogle their rings. When Mr Pug and I started talking seriously about marriage and rings, I asked questions when I was getting it cleaned (in the summer of 2008). The ring I liked was at a set price- and the stone couldn't be changed. You couldn't decide your own diamond? But what if you want a brilliant colorless stone, but don't mind inclusions? Or if you have a gold setting and can go a little more to the warm tones in the color scale? I was turned off by this and moved on.

We looked at a few more places. I was kind of naggy and annoying. After a dinner, I made him go into Distinctive Diamonds. They were very nice and had great diamonds and settings available. I put it out of my mind. Then one day - October 30, 2008 - we were driving somewhere and a Shane Company commercial came on the radio. And I was naggy, and said something like "we need to goooooo!" and Mr P said something like "not today" and I said something like "you always sayyyy thattttt!" And you know what? He turned the car in the direction of Shane Co! And boy am I glad he did - he actually bought the ring that day!

I was deciding between my setting and the setting below. I illustrated it for you with a 2 carat diamond because, why not?

The saleslady asked me which setting I wanted to try with a diamond first. I picked mine to try first and she put away this one- her trickery worked, and helped me pick out my dream setting.

Here it is, with my promise ring peeking out below!

The reason I was so glad we went to Shane Company, and why Mr Pug was happy to put money down that day (besides the great selection and service) was realizing the value we got. You see, we saved over $2,000 compared to a nearly identical setting and diamond at Distinctive Diamonds! Nearly the exact same .9 carat center diamond and halo setting... two grand saved. AND you can say nearly two grand saved if you count the price of my ring and the two bands we purchased. That made a big difference! Plus, Shane Co offers great incentives, like lifetime care, cleaning, fixing, etc., and even allow you to trade in your diamond for the amount you paid for it. So, should I ever want to upgrade in the future, I won't lose money. We were sold!

I heard the Distinctive Diamonds commercials saying they had the BEST value and would NOT be undersold, and got a little angry. I did some shouting at the radio ("LIESSS!") and sent the people at Shane Co my email. A while after I sent that comment I was contacted by a Shane Co representative. In return for taping the radio commercial (it's a "Dear Tom" letter to Tom Shane) they will be sending us a $200 gift card, which will surely help with the cost of Mr Pug's ring (which no, we have not gotten yet... so behind.)

I must be pretty jazzed about tomorrow since I forgot to wear my ring today! That hasn't happened at all since I stopped wearing it at night back in November and got my cool ring giraffe.

Also- a note about something Mr P and I learned while ring shopping. We saved a bunch by doing a .9 carat center stone. It's a big jump in price from .9 to 1 carat... that wasn't worth it for me to be able to say it was one carat. I find it to be the perfect size!

I haven't shared these stories with anyone, really. I don't usually offer the information that we shopped around together. Were you surprised by your ring, or did you shop with your soon-to-be-hubby? Did you both (or did he) shop around or find it on the first try? Any great shopping stories?

I should also add that this is not a compensated post. Yes I am getting a gift card for doing the commercial, but this post was my idea, solely to share my experience with all of you, and has not been compensated.