Bridget Kavanagh
Editor of RingBureau
About
I'm a 32-year-old marketing manager in Charleston, South Carolina. About a year before my partner proposed, I became genuinely obsessive about engagement rings, and I have not really stopped since.
The original research started with three stores: the Kay Jewelers on the main commercial strip, a lab-grown online specialist I'd been emailing back and forth, and a local independent jeweler in Charleston a coworker recommended. I visited all three, took notes at all three, and came away with strong feelings about why the experiences were so different. My partner found the comparison binder. He's still processing it.
Since we got engaged, I've been pulled into at least a dozen friends' ring searches. Usually I'm the one reading Yelp reviews aloud in the parking lot before we go in, or asking the awkward question about what the warranty actually covers and what it conspicuously doesn't. The friends find it useful. The salespeople do not.
I'm not a gemologist, not a certified diamond grader, not anyone with professional jewelry credentials. What I have is a habit of taking notes, a tolerance for return-policy fine print, and a deep suspicion of anyone who starts a sentence with "trust me, you can barely see the difference."
RingBureau is where the notes live now. Mostly for the person who's about to walk into their first showroom and wants to know what the pitch sounds like before they go.
Written by Bridget Kavanagh
- Is Ross-Simons Jewelry Good Quality for Your Engagement Ring?
- Diamond 4Cs Glossary: Cut, Color, Clarity, and Carat Explained
- Is Kay Jewelers Financing Worth It for Your Engagement Ring?
- Is the GOODSTONE Engagement Ring Review Hype Actually Worth It?
- Is Zales a Good Place to Buy Engagement Rings for Beginners?
- Comparing Zales vs Kay Jewelers Policies Before You Buy a Ring
- What to Expect When Buying Custom Engagement Rings at Reeds
- Best Places to Buy Affordable Engagement Rings for Budget Shoppers
- Moissanite vs Lab Diamond: Which Stone Looks Best in Person?
- Hidden Jewelry Return Policy Secrets I Found While Ring Shopping
- Lab Grown vs Natural Diamonds: What I Noticed After Months of Research
- How to Measure Ring Size at Home Without Him Knowing
- Understanding the GIA Diamond Grading Scale Before You Shop
- Jared vs. Kay: Why I Sent My Best Friend to the 'Galleria' After My Own Spreadsheet Obsession
Disclosure
Some links on this site are affiliate links, meaning if you click through and make a purchase, I earn a commission at no extra cost to you. That doesn't change which jewelers I recommend. If a store's return policy is designed to protect the jeweler rather than you, I'll say so, paid link or not.