The year-long Duet
In June 2010, alvin and i headed down to Amara Sanctuary for our first (and last) wedding show. There, we met the passionate BryanJean team, and signed with them their pre-wedding package. As you know, we've been so pleased with their work that we've also booked them to cover our actual day.
On that same day, Ling Jewellery also had a showcase and omg I LOVE THEIR WEDDING RINGS. i really hate going into Soo Kee, Lee Hwa, Tianpo and other standard jewellery shops because MY GOODNESS their salespeople can be so pushy to sell their designs that aren't any inspiring. bleh.
DO NOT LIKE.
so when Nicole, the saleslady, offered us some time at their booth (they were crowded), immediately i sat down. after a few rings which i was quite blasé about, she thought for a bit and said, 'ok... you seem to like classic designs. i have one which i absolutely love. hold on...'
she came back with a rose gold, half eternity (2 rows of belgium diamonds on each side!) band. i was quite meh... until i put it on - IT WAS A PERFECT FIT. it slid in so comfortably and it was so pretty with the bits of glitter at the sides of the band - elegant and not garish like some bands i see with diamonds. the sides of the band where the diamonds are were slanted about 45degrees so from the top of the ring you can see a little bit of the diamond... so it looks like a thin gold band trimmed with lace.
omg i love it so much. i didn't want to take it off my finger. it was also the only gold shade that looked good with my skin tone. alvin also tried on the saint maurice band and gosh that italian gold was so elegant and simple. his hands still looked manly, which was great. he tried one on which was so metro that i guffawed. i love that Ling makes such simple and yet expensive looking rings!
but the total price was WAY over our heads. so with a depressed sigh we left. even after nicole offered us a better price, i just couldn't justify the cost. we left!!! BOOHOO!!!
fast forward to yesterday and a whole load of rejected wedding band possibilities later, we decided to go down to Ling's shop at Orchard Hotel. before that i dropped them a note saying we met at Amara and was keen on one pair we saw that time. guess what - nicole replied and she remembered us! hurray!
i do love personable service.
when we got there, lots of smiles and 'HEY IT'S YOU!!' were exchanged. we went through the shop again, picking out new designs to try on although i've already had my heart set on the Duet (yes that's its name). even after all the other rings were tried on, none of them did it for us except for the Duet and a pair of geeky rings.
truth be told, i really like the geeky rings. and alvin ADORES the male version. its finish was like tarnished metal, and the look was.. so... medieval (alvin's words). we didn't get that in the end, and i'll explain why.
i was telling alvin before we stepped into the shop, 'let's not overstep our budget' - if they can't bring it down any further we'd just take it as it's not affordable and we just have to pick simple rings at the local shops.
nicole calculated the price for us as a pair. hmm ok best price is still about $350 off. so i asked again... and in the midst of that nicole mentioned the Duet rings that they create now were flat top instead of a slightly curved top like the one i had on my finger. the difference is there but not jarring... i did prefer the curved one though. so as i sat there and considered between the Duet and the medieval rings, i thought about the fit of the Duet... its weight, its comfort fit...
WAIT, THE FIT! IT FITS!!! as in, the one i had on my finger was the perfect size for me. and how awesome is that - it's the exact same ring i tried and fell in love with in Amara S. it's like, it's just been there... and waiting for me! oh man!
i've gotta get you now!
so we asked for the showpiece (i really can't believe how well it fits) plus alvin's italian gold band. we spoke to Colleen - the awesome owner of the shop, and well, she agreed to give it to us at a certain price. which was exactly the budget i had in mind.
YAY OUR WEDDING BAND WOES ARE OVER!!! so very glad we prayed too. such peace. :D
maybe i'll get my dowry set from here too - she's got new stock for peranakan inspired pieces. beautiful lace designs, i like!! :D:D:D
---
i may go back and get those medieval rings for 'rough-wear'. hmm. after the wedding i suppose.
On that same day, Ling Jewellery also had a showcase and omg I LOVE THEIR WEDDING RINGS. i really hate going into Soo Kee, Lee Hwa, Tianpo and other standard jewellery shops because MY GOODNESS their salespeople can be so pushy to sell their designs that aren't any inspiring. bleh.
DO NOT LIKE.
so when Nicole, the saleslady, offered us some time at their booth (they were crowded), immediately i sat down. after a few rings which i was quite blasé about, she thought for a bit and said, 'ok... you seem to like classic designs. i have one which i absolutely love. hold on...'
she came back with a rose gold, half eternity (2 rows of belgium diamonds on each side!) band. i was quite meh... until i put it on - IT WAS A PERFECT FIT. it slid in so comfortably and it was so pretty with the bits of glitter at the sides of the band - elegant and not garish like some bands i see with diamonds. the sides of the band where the diamonds are were slanted about 45degrees so from the top of the ring you can see a little bit of the diamond... so it looks like a thin gold band trimmed with lace.
omg i love it so much. i didn't want to take it off my finger. it was also the only gold shade that looked good with my skin tone. alvin also tried on the saint maurice band and gosh that italian gold was so elegant and simple. his hands still looked manly, which was great. he tried one on which was so metro that i guffawed. i love that Ling makes such simple and yet expensive looking rings!
but the total price was WAY over our heads. so with a depressed sigh we left. even after nicole offered us a better price, i just couldn't justify the cost. we left!!! BOOHOO!!!
fast forward to yesterday and a whole load of rejected wedding band possibilities later, we decided to go down to Ling's shop at Orchard Hotel. before that i dropped them a note saying we met at Amara and was keen on one pair we saw that time. guess what - nicole replied and she remembered us! hurray!
i do love personable service.
when we got there, lots of smiles and 'HEY IT'S YOU!!' were exchanged. we went through the shop again, picking out new designs to try on although i've already had my heart set on the Duet (yes that's its name). even after all the other rings were tried on, none of them did it for us except for the Duet and a pair of geeky rings.
truth be told, i really like the geeky rings. and alvin ADORES the male version. its finish was like tarnished metal, and the look was.. so... medieval (alvin's words). we didn't get that in the end, and i'll explain why.
i was telling alvin before we stepped into the shop, 'let's not overstep our budget' - if they can't bring it down any further we'd just take it as it's not affordable and we just have to pick simple rings at the local shops.
nicole calculated the price for us as a pair. hmm ok best price is still about $350 off. so i asked again... and in the midst of that nicole mentioned the Duet rings that they create now were flat top instead of a slightly curved top like the one i had on my finger. the difference is there but not jarring... i did prefer the curved one though. so as i sat there and considered between the Duet and the medieval rings, i thought about the fit of the Duet... its weight, its comfort fit...
WAIT, THE FIT! IT FITS!!! as in, the one i had on my finger was the perfect size for me. and how awesome is that - it's the exact same ring i tried and fell in love with in Amara S. it's like, it's just been there... and waiting for me! oh man!
i've gotta get you now!
so we asked for the showpiece (i really can't believe how well it fits) plus alvin's italian gold band. we spoke to Colleen - the awesome owner of the shop, and well, she agreed to give it to us at a certain price. which was exactly the budget i had in mind.
YAY OUR WEDDING BAND WOES ARE OVER!!! so very glad we prayed too. such peace. :D
maybe i'll get my dowry set from here too - she's got new stock for peranakan inspired pieces. beautiful lace designs, i like!! :D:D:D
---
i may go back and get those medieval rings for 'rough-wear'. hmm. after the wedding i suppose.
posted by feline @ 1:23 PM
After reading your post, make me wanted to get my wedding ring from them. Did you post pictures of your rings? Want to take a peek.. :P