Diamonds are a girls (my) best friend.

Peter's salary is about $8k a month. We have a shit load of bills but I still for the life of me could not figure out why he did not want me to go higher than $3000 for an engagement ring. Our savings has dwindled down to nothing thanks to our own spending habits, and the contributions we have made to his son and his girlfriend for $200 here and $200 there and his brother that lost his job too. So yesterday I went to a different jeweler and it was a much larger and family owned oeperation out of Marysville. She came up with a 1.14 carat for $200 more that the .90 that I was really interested in. I couldn't believe my own ears. It was less than $4000 but near to it. I told Peter and explained what a huge freakin deal this was really as chain jewelers want more than that for 3/4 diamonds for equal or lesser of the 4 C's. It is a round brilliant cut which hides any inclusions to the naked eye. It was a lower color but the lady explained that color is determined from the bottom when labeled and doesn't necessarily mean that the top will reflect the same. So She showed me two diamonds with out telling me anything about them I told her which diamond I thought was less yellow. She then told me that they were both labeled the same but the diamond I picked did appear to have less of a yellow hugh. This was coming from a woman who wore her own diamond ring. It was a 3 stone the center stone was 3 carats and the side stones were 1 carats each. I literally wanted to scream out a string of swear words starting with wholy shit but refrained but did let my surprise be known. I told her I had never seen any one wearing a ring of that magnitude except on pictures of movies stars. She let me try it on and I didn't even ask, she offered. I declined but she insisted. I wear a size 4 1/2 so it looked enormous on my finger. The woman was from New York but was as down to earth as can be. She obviously was the owner from the size of the ring which she confirmed on her own later in our conversation which ranged from our own relationships, to step children to, to houses and then on to diamonds. Anyways back to Peter. He explained that he wanted to get me the ring I wanted with the diamond (s) I wanted but if he goes over $4000 on credit it puts his credit score into a negative status and we are trying to refinance our home again. He said he is will to bump up the budget now to no more than $4000 but that leaves us with no emergency credit if something were to happen.

What do I do? I know I should ask about the possibility of returning a diamond for a larger stone with each of the jewelers. I pretty much know already that the one from yesterday would since she clearly and repeatedly stated she wants our business and our returning business and my sons business when I need a class ring for him and when he eventully needs his engagement ring. I didn't think the lady looked like she would be alive by the time he wanted an engagement ring but hey who knows. She has no kids of her own. The actual mount itself would cost about $200 and then there is tax and the mounting fee and tax on that thanks to some political butt head since June of this year and all of that would be above the $4000 and would have to be paid for by cash. Gah what to do. I did find a really pretty ring with a much much smaller center stone and and several other diamonds that cost around $2,580 but I have a feeling after buying the set I would wish that I had bought the carat or close to since the entire time I was married before I wished that I had a carat instead of a 3/4. Hmmm.