Best Costco for an Engagement Ring (Honolulu, Waipahu: house, buying, living in)

[pee-cee]

I'm now living in Oahu and I'm originally from Phoenix. We had several Costco's in the Metropolitan Phoenix area. Every Costco had a jewelry section, but by far, the best jewelry section was at the Scottsdale, Frank Lloyd Wright location. We saw a 1-carat solitaire platinum setting, est. $4,999.00, brilliance cut. This was last month, we should have just bought it! But we're now in Hawaii.

So, my question is- of the 5 Hawaii locations, which does everyone think would have the best selection for an engagement ring? Or what does everyone think of the jewelry selection of each location?

1. Waipio (Oahu), 94-1231 Ka Uka Blvd, Waipahu (Oahu) HI 96797
2. Kapolei (Oahu), 4589 Kapolei Parkway, Kapolei (Oahu) HI 96707
3. Iwilei (Oahu), 525 Alakawa Street, Iwilei (Oahu) HI 96817
4. Hawaii Kai (Oahu), 333A Keahole Street, Honolulu (Oahu) HI 96825
5. Kauai - 4300 Nuhou St, Lihue HI 96766

Thank you!

[OpenD]

You know, this may be the most unromantic post I've read in forever.

Lots of couples today are skipping the seriously outdated ritual of tying up money forever in a diamond ring and putting the money instead in a house fund.

But if you're committed to doing things the same way your parents did, why not check out some of the very fine jewelers that Oahu is known for? If you shop carefully, you should be able to match the Costco deal, and have a much better memory than that you bought a troth of your love at a discount store.

Personally I'd go for the house fund. I think diamond engagement rings are a silly cliche driven by a very effective marketing campaign by DeBeers.

Your mileage may vary.

[eksotia]

Diamond/jewelry doesn't hold its value, you can go to pawn shop and get a one carat diamond ring for the fraction of the price and then custom order the setting. My friend got an authentic Tiffany ring with certificate, one carat princess cut for $3k (the last time I check it runs more than 10k at Tiffany Co.). He spent another 1k for the setting because there were visible scratches and he also wants it to be customized for his bride with pink baguettes. Nevertheless the diamond itself is near perfect (clarity, color, cut), that you won't get anything like that under 6-7k even at 'discount' jewelry stores.

[OpenD]

I'll tell you what we did... we wanted to put most of the bucks into the house fund, but still wanted her to have a ring she would treasure. So we went to a very talented designer, and had a custom gold ring made that was far more personal and meaningful than some stock design. And she picked out a semi-precious stone she loved... a stunning black opal. In the end we spent maybe 20% of what a traditional diamond solitaire set would have cost, and she got a ring that not only was incredibly special to her, but that was a gorgeous ring that everyone noticed and asked about.

[hotzcatz]

We had a family heirloom ring resized to fit but since I don't want to damage or lose the stone, for everyday wear I have a carved Hawaiian gold band. It wasn't very expensive for either the gold band or the ring resizing. Spending a lot of money to get married can make your first few years much more difficult (paying back what you owe) than they need to be.

[survivorqt]

of the four on oahu,i'd say iwilei

[kukuicake]

This so amused me.. the first time I went to a Costco was with my MIL, she shops there all the time but we just had one open here. She always visits the jewelery section and there were so many huge diamond rings, one for 54,000. All I could think was, who would buy an engagement ring in Costco, so tacky. But hey, maybe if you are into spending that much and there is a serious savings there..

Make sure you educate yourself on diamond clarity etc.. and ask the right questions. A lot of the big ones at cheaper prices are very cloudy, not that you can see that under the super bright lights as easily as you will when it is on your finger.

And yes your ring will be worth very little once you buy it. Don't be fooled into thinking this is an investment!

If it was me I would check out individual stores, there are many jewelers who love their craft and you will be buying something more personal that way. Also possibly helping out a small business.

[hothulamaui]

I would not marry a man that bought me a ring from the same store you can get a 20 pound jar of mayo at if he did take that puppy out of the cost co box and never ever admit to it. set a budget, then as someone suggested go to some jewelery stores or a custom degin jeweler and get something with a little thought behind it other than a bargin...oh and pick me up a case of TP please

[pee-cee]

Originally Posted by survivorqt

of the four on oahu,i'd say iwilei

Thanks, we'll look into it.

[newUHprof]

Originally Posted by hothulamaui

I would not marry a man that bought me a ring from the same store you can get a 20 pound jar of mayo at if he did take that puppy out of the cost co box and never ever admit to it. set a budget, then as someone suggested go to some jewelery stores or a custom degin jeweler and get something with a little thought behind it other than a bargin...oh and pick me up a case of TP please

Well, I wouldn't (didn't) marry a man who would get me a ring at all... big fat waste of money, and I'm not a jewelry kind of chick. And I think anyone who cares where the ring comes from rather than the emotion behind it is kind of a shallow jerk.

But both of those facts are pretty irrelevant to the post at hand, no? I don't think the OP is proposing to you or to me, and his question was about which store had the better jewelry department. Your judgment isn't really relevant.

So, in answer to the OP: I second the vote for Iwilei, at least based on the two I've visited (that one and Hawaii Kai). But I'll also say the island is small enough to do quick trips to all of them to shop around.