I will never purchase another piece of jewelry from anyone other than Tony and Enzo at Ancona Jewelers and here's why:
Everyone thinks that the engagement ring is for your lady. But any guy out there looking to propose, knows how I felt a few months ago. Lost, clueless with no idea where to start, and a sense that I'm only doing this once and I have to do it right. Guys, we know the girl is the one that's going to wear the ring but no matter what we say or think, we want to do a good job. We want her to show it off. We want other girls to say 'Wow, lemme see that!' But just like having to get a gift for your sister when we were just little boys, we have no idea what they want or what they'll like.
I had done my homework, learning about the basics online, the 4 c's etc, but still felt a little intimidated by having to go out and actually pick a ring and buy it. I hate the process of having to buy a car for example, where you know the dealer's out to get you. I felt as if this was going to be the same way. Painful and dreadful. I knew that going to just anybody at the mall was going to treat me exactly like a car dealer. And I didn't have a 'my guy'.
One night, my friends and I went out for dinner for my birthday. My best friend Antonio and his fiancée joined us that night who recently got engaged. I couldn't take my eyes off her ring. Every chance I got I would sneak a peak at her hand. All I could think was 'Wow'. Not 5 minutes went by before one of the girls at the table said, "Lemme see that". Yeah, she was proud of her ring, but no one was prouder than Antonio. He knew that he did a good job and you could tell by the look on his face. The kinda look you had in school when the teacher was passing back the exams and she would tell the entire class, "the best grade in class was by... You!"
I had to ask him afterwards, where and how? He told me after I made him promise to keep it a secret that I wanted to propose, "You have to go to Ancona, they are the BEST! They will take care of you!" He settled my nerves on all the questions I had.
The immediate Saturday after that, I took the leap and went to Ancona. That was the last time I called it Ancona. From then on, it was Tony and Enzo. Right off the bat, you know you're dealing with people who know what they're talking about and more importantly, are there to take care of you. They brought me a capuccino and sat down with me and asked my story, asked about my girl, talked to me like a friend not like a client. I cannot explain how comfortable they made me feel, as if I knew them forever.
Tony sat there patiently answering all my dumb questions and a few good ones, taking the time to make sure I was confident about my decision. He walked me through everything. Showed me my options and taught me alot, making me extremely confident that I was in good hands.
After our first meeting and some investigating on what my girlfriend wanted, Tony had prepared for me a selection of diamonds, laying out all of my options, never pressuring me or taking our minds off the budget.
Immediately I bonded with one stone that guys, if you've never noticed how amazing diamonds are, you're missing out. I knew that this was the one. I gave them some ideas on how I wanted the setting, and they took care of the rest. They gave me more than I could ever imagine. They custom made a ring that absolutely blew me away. I left that day so excited and couldn't wait to see the final product.
Let me just say that I hadn't felt giddy like this since I got my Nintendo in fourth grade and wanted to skip school just to play Super Mario.
Once I saw the final product, I was in awe. It was amazing. If I was this giddy, I could only imagine what my girlfriend would think when she'd see it. I couldn't thank Tony and Enzo enough. They made the process so easy, so smooth that I actually was a little sad that it was all over. Heck, they even gave me ideas on how and where to pop the question.
The hardest thing after that was keeping it a secret and not showing it to her for almost a week. The drive home with it was next to impossible because all I was doing was staring at it and the disco ball effect going on in my car from the sun hitting it.
Fast forward a week, once I got down on one knee and she said yes, (phew) the only thing she could say was, "Is this mine??" She couldn't believe it. She sat there and stared at her hand forever. At that point, I felt like I got the best grade in the class.
To this day, girls and guys ask to see her hand in amazement, and i feel proud. I know i did a good job. And I owe it to Tony and Enzo. They made the process so enjoyable for the guy and even more incredible for the girl, the one that gets to wear the piece of art. They literally are artists. They are so professional. They know what they're doing.
And now I can confidently pass on to you what I was told:
"You have to go to Ancona, they are the BEST! They will take care of you! " read more