William Travis Jewelry at 201 South Estes Drive 400 D, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

I've always known I wanted a green stone, but assumed my only option was an emerald. I had a friend with a sapphire who informed me that sapphires come in most colors and are only slightly less hard than diamonds. BOOM! Months of searching began.

I looked at so many websites trying to find a green sapphire I wanted. They were too blue, too yellow, too small, too everything but right.

On a whim, when meeting a friend for lunch at University Place, I thought, let me check William Travis! I wonder if they have any green sapphires. I walked in and asked and low and behold a TRAY of green sapphires came out.

Green sapphires are rare and not a hugely popular stone, so I was in shock. Not only did they have the exact stone I wanted, they had a few different cuts for me to choose from. I found the PERFECT stone, exactly what I wanted there after searching for months.

We had discussed designing our own ring and were able to sit down and discuss what that process would look like. We're not going to be doing that part until January, but we were able to get my beautiful stone set in a solitaire setting until we do the design.

I am so happy with my gorgeous ring and perfect stone. The selection of colored stones at William Travis is incredible. I went multiple places and got the same response "I'm having trouble finding a green sapphire." "I can't find a green sapphire that color/shape/size." This was not a problem at WT.

The people there are incredibly helpful and nice as well. If you want good customer service, an incredible selection of gems, and a smile, I recommend WT.