Searching for Wedding Rings and a Bad Day in Binondo Chinatown

My Beloved Wife and I roamed Binondo Chinatown few weeks before our wedding day to search for essential items: our wedding rings.

Binondo Chinatown is known as the center of Chinese culture in the country. Chinese restaurants, lucky charms, and Buddhist temples are few of the things that draw tourists to this place. And since the Chinese are known traders of gold and precious stones way back in the time when ships are wooden and sailed by the wind, it’s no wonder that Binondo Chinatown also has plenty of jewelry shops.

We started our search at the stores located at the east end of Ongpin Street, where plenty of jewelry store booths are located.

Chinatown Gold Center in Binondo Chinatown

We inquired at these booth stores to gauge the prices of wedding rings but we were wary. We’re not sure if what they’re selling is genuine or not. We continued walking through Ongpin Street but we didn’t know where to go. That is until we saw Eng Bee.

Eng Bee in Ongpin Street, Binondo Chinatown
It's closed because I took the photo weeks later.

My Beloved Wife saw a pair of wedding rings that she liked. The ring for the bride is a simple gold band with very small (point size) diamond for 10,000 pesos. The ring for the groom is also a simple gold band but without any stone. It costs 8,000 pesos.

The ring from Eng Bee was our best choice. But our search didn’t end there. We went to another shop that is highly recommended in wedding forums.

Entering that shop was my biggest mistake that day. I immediately noticed the stares, the sort that made me feel that I was being looked down upon. I asked about their wedding rings and their only answer is that they only offer “made to order rings”. We couldn’t take the atmosphere so we left the shop immediately.

My day was ruined after visiting that shop. I know that I don’t have plenty of money in my bank account. I don’t have my own car. And I know that I can never afford their made-to-order rings. But it is wrong that they look down upon me because of that. There are many courteous ways to treat poor customers like me.

We spent almost a whole day in Binondo Chinatown but in the end bought our rings in other place, which I will talk about in the next blog post.

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Wedding Prep blog series chronicles our adventures as we prepared for the Big Day. I hope that these blog posts help those who are preparing for their wedding day.

Do you have questions about our wedding preparation? Or do you want to know the name of the wedding ring supplier that ruined our day? Place your questions and comments at the comment section below or you may send a private message to my Facebook page.
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14 comments:

  1. That's a horrible feeling of being looked down upon. Shame on them!

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    1. Horrible indeed. The incident ruined my day. :-(

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  2. If people are not friendly, not nice...or they track me all over the shop like a wolf, I would just walk out. I want to browse around slowly, take my time and choose well. It's my money - I have the final word.

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    1. Correct! It's your money and you're their customer so you should be treated with courtesy.

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  3. Kainis naman nun! Bad customer service! =(

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  4. You were there with the intention of buying and you made the best choice to leave. I will do the same. There are many shops and it means many choices. Mahal pala ang singsing.

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    Replies
    1. Correct. I am the customer and I can to any shop I please. Kaya sa kanila na ang singsing nila. Akin ang pera ko.

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  5. Was the shop Mayfair?

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    Replies
    1. Good day Liquid Druid.

      The shop is not Mayfair.

      I checked your blog and I read that you're engaged. Congrats! :-)

      Delete
  6. Wow all commented horrible

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  7. Can I ask the name of the shop so that we can avoid that one when we visit Binondo next month? Thanks

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  8. you stated plenty of things but failed to mention the name of the shop. be transparent.

    ReplyDelete

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