Merienda at Tiffany's

on my most recent weekend jaunt to singapore, marlon looked me in the eyes, took a deep breath and popped a question.

"would it be totally unromantic if i asked you to go to a jewelry store with me so i can finally find out what your ring size is?"

(bestill your beating hearts -- it's a question, not the question. but this tells me that the question will be hurtling my way very soon.)

so saturday morning before hieing off to sentosa, we dropped by one of singapore's ubiquitous lee hwa jewelry stores.

how in-your-face jewelry stores are was one of the things that first struck me as bizarre about singapore. the same two or three jewelry stores that are practically on every corner of every mall also paper the city with ads, promos and big screaming "sale" signs. they even do tv commercials, which tells me that singaporean tv is just swimming in what is probably relatively cheap airtime. but i could be wrong.

anyway, the ring size question was quickly taken care of (i'm an 8), and we proceeded to peruse the rocks. it was really quite sweet to see how marlon has transformed into something of a walking diamond encyclopedia -- he did most of the talking while the store personnel just stood there and served us tea. he could even name the color grade and carat before the salesperson turned over the little tags attached to each ring. nerds -- you gotta love them. :-)

we also stopped by the window display of larry jewelry, which sounds like it sells puwit ng baso but is actually a swanky hong kong jeweler which deals in nothing but major ice. obviously, hanggang store window lang talaga kami.

engagement ring mecca

then, after a long humid afternoon in sentosa, marlon indulged my curiosity about the mecca of engagement rings -- tiffany's. i expected to feel awed as we made our way up the plush carpeted steps of tiffany's at takashimaya, but instead i just felt very young and scruffy.

i was also subconsciously bracing for some sort of discrimination, since marlon and i obviously don't look like your typical tiffany's customer (make that young, scruffy and filipino), but i was pleasantly surprised. the young, spike-haired sales representative gave us the smiliest and most gracious service i've ever had from a singaporean as he brought out ring after ring for me to try.

i must say, them tiffany rings seem to be worth every pretty penny. one of my hugest fears is that clumsy me will knock the diamond out somehow (especially when i think of those rings where the diamond sticks out from your finger). but tiffany has these settings that are not only gorgeous but feel almost industrial in their security.

size doesn't matter

okay, i know carat size is the name of the game, but as a edsa-plying pinay urbanite trying on diamonds for the first time, i realized something important. i don't want to wear anything that will get my throat slit or my finger slashed off when i'm commuting home from work. so marlon is lucky to have a girlfriend who is literally deathly terrified of anything over 0.7 carats -- and even 0.7 is walking the edge.

but the rings were lovely. so much so that in spite of all my jewelry-related hangups (knocking out the diamond, getting mugged) i couldn't help sighing as i slipped on the tiffany legacy ring (pictured above). "ang ganda," i marveled.

our young sales rep brightened. "yes," he nodded, "maganda!" and i felt, even as i stood in my ukay-ukay top, free levi's (yes, i won them at an event) and landmark slippers in one of singapore's plushest stores, that i was young and girlish and, yes, maganda -- and on the brink of something as delicious and sparkling as tiffany's finest ice.

"bye-bye! salamat!" he called with a cheery wave as marlon and i walked out the glass doors.

i can't wait.