It is impossible to live in the DMV without hearing about Mervis Diamond Importers. I must admit I was a wee bit leery at my first visit to their showroom in Tysons corner. My partner and I decided to visit after we attended a wedding expo in... VA were we were treated a little like a curious oddity. So many vendors seemed excited to work with a gay couple. It all rang a bit hollow to me, so I think I was a little angsty when we approached the Mervis store with "1-800-her love" running through my head. My partner and I drew in a deep breath and waited to be buzzed into the showroom. We were greeted warmly by their receptionist and were were asked if we would like a refreshment. We told the receptionist that we were interested in speaking with someone about diamond wedding bands for men. She introduced us to Fazken Krikorian, who walked us to his office. He offered us a seat and began asking us questions. No pressure, no pushiness, just honest interest in hearing what we were thinking about. We showed him some photos and he gave us feedback on what he thought the pros and cons were of each ring. He encouraged us to think about two custom rings. He explained that from how he understood our interest and extrapolating from the photos, custom was the way to go. Fazken walked us through each stage of the design of the rings. He guided us with visual aids, specifically, he brought several bands along with more loose diamonds than I have ever seen in my life. He explained to us that as you select bigger diamonds the height of the ring must also grow. As we were both clear that we did not want one of those lollipop diamond rings on our finger or a big solitar, he began to sketch out a ring design that we both fell in love with. Now we just needed to find two identical diamonds, easy right? Not quite. Apparently, finding two stones of the same carat, cut, clarity and color is not easy. Fazken, though, was undaunted. It took a bit of time to locate the twin of the original diamond we selected but patience paid off. We even received several phone calls from Mr. Mervis letting us know how the search was proceeding. When the second diamond was located Fazken invited us into the showroom to check it out and compare it to our original diamond. With each stone we received GIA reports (which was so helpful in providing information that the naked eye could not see). Since we had already approved the CAD that Fazken generated for the ring, we were able to move immediately to manufacture of the ring. In less than two weeks we received a call from Fazken that our rings were ready. Our excitement was matched only by Fazken's and Mr. Mervis (who stopped in to say hi and ask how we liked the finished product). In sum, our experience was effortless. We wholeheartedly recommend Fazken Krikorian and Mervis Diamond to anyone interested in diamond jewelry.