OT: What are you getting your wife for Christmas?
#47
12-20-2012, 01:40 PM
#48
12-20-2012, 01:45 PM
#49
12-20-2012, 02:16 PM
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#50
12-20-2012, 02:38 PM
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I've been a jewelry designer/goldsmith for 30 years, I do rhodium plating, but as a friend I'll tell you not to do it.
If it's because she wants to change the ring's color, it will not last a year before wearing thru. It's a waste of money and will end up looking terrible when it wears, and it's not reversible.
If it's a standard band, buy her a replacement in white gold or platinum, and it will last the rest of her life. Yes the price of precious metals today makes it a bit pricey, but I can help make it a whole lot less painful (retail jewelers are taking advantage of the high metal prices to add extra profit margins to make up for the slow economy), and if we got on it today or tomorrow it could still happen by Xmas. If it's a fancy band, I could duplicate it for you, just not before Xmas
(you could give her a gift certificate for the duplicate, and ship me the original to work from ASAP) I can turn around a duplicate in white gold in a week after receiving it, and 4 weeks in platinum. 
FTE friends you owe it to yourselves to talk to me before buying any jewelry and/or gemstones. If I can't save you money/give you a higher quality product, I can definitely give you an education on how/what to buy. PM me if you need help.
If it's because she wants to change the ring's color, it will not last a year before wearing thru. It's a waste of money and will end up looking terrible when it wears, and it's not reversible.
If it's a standard band, buy her a replacement in white gold or platinum, and it will last the rest of her life. Yes the price of precious metals today makes it a bit pricey, but I can help make it a whole lot less painful (retail jewelers are taking advantage of the high metal prices to add extra profit margins to make up for the slow economy), and if we got on it today or tomorrow it could still happen by Xmas. If it's a fancy band, I could duplicate it for you, just not before Xmas
(you could give her a gift certificate for the duplicate, and ship me the original to work from ASAP) I can turn around a duplicate in white gold in a week after receiving it, and 4 weeks in platinum. FTE friends you owe it to yourselves to talk to me before buying any jewelry and/or gemstones. If I can't save you money/give you a higher quality product, I can definitely give you an education on how/what to buy. PM me if you need help.
Another thing she wants but I haven't gotten around to yet is to have a big saw blade painted. It was from her grandpa's farm, its a circular blade about 27 inches across. There are some Mennonite's close that do a good job. Shoot, I have a friend that is a professional artist....probably can't afford him though....
#51
12-20-2012, 05:57 PM
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#53
12-20-2012, 08:16 PM
When I was married, I never had a problem coming up with Xmas gifts, I mostly didn't know when to stop. Jewelry she got all year round most of the time. I did manage to surprise her with a strand of very rare large black tahitian pearls that were intense fancy multi colors. The dealer collected them one pearl at a time over ten years. She saw them when the dealer brought them in and lusted over them, but he didn't want to sell them. I called the dealer later (I was his biggest customer so I convinced him to sell them to me) when she wasn't in the store and had them sent to my sister's house.
She always wanted the same thing for her Feb birthday, a fresh set of racing tires to start the season with.
She always wanted the same thing for her Feb birthday, a fresh set of racing tires to start the season with.
#55
12-21-2012, 06:25 AM
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#57
12-21-2012, 06:59 AM
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#59
12-21-2012, 07:14 AM
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#60
12-21-2012, 08:14 AM
You guys don't disappoint. There are some great ideas here and some that will have me sleeping in the garage with my truck. And, no I don't consider those the same thing. Anyway, with 4 shopping days to Christmas I still have 3 days to procrastinate pretending I am trying to think of the perfect gift.
Seriously though, some good thoughts here. I've got a couple small items but they seem miniscule when you consider the fact that she does all the Christmas shopping for us all. Unlike a lot of women she doesn't relish shopping and all the craziness that goes with it this time of year. But she doesn't particularly care for everybody swapping gift cards either. I think we are a couple of years from scaling back given the age of our kids but I like the idea of redirecting the time and effort once it's just the two of us.
Seriously though, some good thoughts here. I've got a couple small items but they seem miniscule when you consider the fact that she does all the Christmas shopping for us all. Unlike a lot of women she doesn't relish shopping and all the craziness that goes with it this time of year. But she doesn't particularly care for everybody swapping gift cards either. I think we are a couple of years from scaling back given the age of our kids but I like the idea of redirecting the time and effort once it's just the two of us.