Although the current designs for the wedding bands were pretty standard across the different jewelry dealers, there were still a few unique designs that caught our attention (Lee Hwa's crisscrossed, white- and rose-gold wedding bands [left] vs Soo Kee's white gold and rose gold digitalised wedding bands).
They looked something like this:
So we thought it would probably be good for us to start doing some serious comparison work and probably make our purchase on 9 August 2009 (sounds auspicious).
Our day begun with the intention to make our rounds about the Orchard locale, with our first destination being the newly opened Ion Orchard and then the other jewellers around the area. Fate had nothing to do with our divergence from our original objective, as we were soon to learn (to the peril of our collective savings). The large 50% off posters at each jeweler's entrance were ominous signs of things to come...
Stop 1: Larry Jewelry
Our first stop was to visit the branch of the place where I had bought the proposal ring in hope that we could find something that suited our fancies. A mere 5 minutes of looking was enough to convince the both of us that Larry's was not going to be our choice du jour.
The designs were relatively dated and quite forgettable, which certainly highlighted the fact that they were a specialty diamond shop.
Stop 2: Lee Hwa @ Ion Orchard
Armed with 2 x birthday vouchers courtesy of her mum and Auntie Irene, we stalked out the largest Lee Hwa in the area, inside the spanking new Ion Orchard. It was no easy feat navigating around the mall though as the jewelry street was located away from the main mall itself. We made a few fruitless trips around the complex before finding the outlet.
However, we spent the better part of the next 6 hours in this shop agonizing over the bands. And more [signed an NDA therefore no elaboration will be made on this part].
We were initially quite disappointed to learn that they did not have the crisscrossed rings in stock, as they were our bands of choice from the onset. However, a pair of Destinee rings caught our eyes. They were similar in design and looked more solid (the crisscrossed ones looked as though they were welded together. Unfortunately the 50% off did not apply to wedding bands. Smartasses.
We looked at them for a while before heading over to Goldheart. Unbeknownst to me, she was stealing glances at the diamond sets (which she had always dreamed of having).
Stop 3: Goldheart @ Ion Orchard
The Goldheart designs were nondescript, nothing fancy and pretty safe.
NEXT!
Stop 4: Soo Kee @ Ion Orchard
At Soo Kee, we rediscovered our liking for the digital / checkered wedding bands. But her mind was on something else altogether...
Stop 5: Lee Hwa @ Wisma Atria
Although the service we had received at Lee Hwa @ Ion Orchard was excellent, Sheena had specifically requested that we spend our money at Wisma if we could (she had some rewards points to be earned). Unfortunately, the store did not have the bands that we wanted in stock.
The retail executive was pretty persistent, and kept presenting us with bands that we did not quite like. We then adjourned to Starbucks for a Green Tea Frappe and to contend over our findings and observations.
We then decided to wait for her mum (who, like most women) are BFFs with their jewelry. I even had the time to pick out 3 shirts at the G2000 nearby.
Final Stop: Lee Hwa @ Orchard Ion
I suppose it was apparent that we would settle for the pickings at the Ion Orchard Lee Hwa store by now, and unsurprisingly, the selection of the bands took a back seat to the diamond jewelry which took up most of our time.
We chose the Destinee wedding bands without much hassle, and I was thankful for not having to settle for the initial pair of keychain-ish bands.
And so, proudly presenting the fruit(s) of our labour (the male counterpart is a mere peripheral of the female):
I wonder what has religion got to do with Gross Sales though. The Merchant of Venice harks to mind. Of Jews, Shylock and Usury :)Ryan Bob
