We (my now wife and I) started looking for engagement rings in what I would imagine is the typical fashion - by going to the big box stores and being hassled, or maybe more accurately, bullied into whatever jewelry the salesperson thought we should like. The selection of jewelry was outdated, plain, and almost always the same as the previous store we had visited. Admittedly, not all things were bad; there were some pieces that were unique and to our liking (even the occasional salesperson was okay). However, we had more or less decided at this point that the only way to get exactly what we wanted was to get a custom ring.
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