Engagement Ring Question

[polynesianbride]

Along with most others I say quality over size. I hear a lot of brides have success on Blue Nile but I would atleast go to a store and look first so you can see in person the differences in the C's. Avoid any chain and look for a place that will show you individual diamonds. deally they should be shown on a white background. The store we went to spent a long time showing us different diamonds and going over cut, color, and clarity with us. Some people notice the difference in color more than others or are more particular about inclusions... so the owner made notes about what I seemed to notice in diamonds so he could help DF pick later when I wasn't there (I really wanted DF to pick the stone so it was what he wanted to give me and didn't feel pressured). I didn't really notice the inclusions but was fairly sensitive to the color. I really started noticing a difference around H. DF was super sensitive to color and thought they all looked yellow compared to the D! In the end he bought me a 1 carat D color, I think it's an SI2. All I know is I LOVE it and I'm glad I made him pick the diamond (he insisted on help with the setting)... plus after looking at so many diamonds I got a little cross eyed.

As for the ring and the wedding band I have a very simple solitaire. It's made by Vatche who actually makes one of the settings for Tiffany... I think it's the Lucida. Vatche's website is www.dvatche.com- check it out I love them all. I have style #100, x-prong with round center. Vatche's known for the crossover prongs at the base of the ring, some places call it a trelis design. I thought I also wanted a plain band but when I started putting rings next to it I like the channel set diamonds which really surprised me because I'm pretty plain! Good luck, let us know what you decide.

 

[polynesianbride]

Oh yes... hand size does matter too. I am very petite ~5 ft tall and I think my ring is a 4. Like I said above it's a 1 carat and it's more than big enough for my hand. I had a patient (I'm a nurse) just last week ask me if my ring was 2 carats ... I don't think it looks that big but he said his wife's is 2 carats and it looks the same as mine... maybe he'd had too much morphine

As for the other site I don't know. I'm a visual person so don't think I could make such a big purchase without seeing it. The only certificates I know are AGS and GIA.

 

[Ember]

Great advice so far! I found the best thing to do (once you're armed with information) was to go actually look at diamonds. Some women really do want size over quality, and that doesn't make you a bad person! I thought I might be one of those people... However, when I looked I found I could see the difference between an ideal cut and a stones with lesser graded cuts (note - ideal cut is only for round/brilliant diamonds). Ideal cut glittered and sparkled so much more! In the end I chose a colorless, ideal cut and compromised a little on inclusions, I believe it's an VS 2 or an SI 1. I have a .8 carat ring instead of the 1.3 carat (or somewhere around that, it's been a while now!) I could have gotten for the same price with for less quality. I think mine actually looks bigger because of how much light it reflects.

Have fun choosing your diamond!

 

[Tink_Kel]

Just FYI, my DF bought my diamond (not setting) from goodoldgold.com. They provide pics (including magnified pics) of the actual diamond you are purchasing. They also use different scopes and provide reports on the brilliance of the diamond.

 

[Lynn5700]

Thanks everyone for all of the advice so far! It is tempting to want the biggest diamond possible, but I am seeing that the quality is important too. We have mostly looked online so far, so I think going to a store and actually seeing the differences in quality will help. Good tip about hand size too! I have tiny hands and wrists too, I have a promise ring already on my left ring finger and it is a size 4.25 so I guess I should consider that too. Perhaps the 1 ct would be more proportional on me?

Yeah I have a 4.75 ring size and when I tried on a 1 ct it looked so fake and tacky on my hand. Try them on first and see what works best for you. Mine is .60 ct and it's the perfect size..for me. not too small and not too big.

 

[DisneyBuff27]

My boyfriend and I have been looking at rings lately, and I pretty much know what I want: a round solitaire in a white gold Tiffany style setting (probably 6 prong). However, I am unsure about the diamond itself, I never realized how complicated diamonds are! Anyways, I would like the diamond to be the focus of the ring and thus as big as possible within a reasonable budget of course! So my dilema is, I can get a 1 and 3/4 carat diamond that is of a lower color and clarity (I-J and I2-I3) for the same price as a 1 carat diamond that is G in color and SI1 in clarity and ideal cut. So I dont know what to do, Ive never noticed these type of things on a diamond but I want it to sparkle of course too. What do you think or what would you do? Thanks!

I would so go quality over size! i could have gottn a cart and i didnt because the one i got sparkles so much more. I dont know where you live but we always have jewery shows around here that is were we got mine. A ton of a lot cheaper and they did all the work w/ no cost.

 

[torsie24]

One more question... I really like the Chanel style wedding band with the small diamonds in them, but prefer the plain Tiffany style silver band for the engagement ring itself so the solitiare stands out. Would these look nice together on my finger after I get married (really looking ahead now!) or would it look funny if the two bands dont match in style?

Best way to find out is to go to a jewellers and try some on!

When we bought my engagement ring, I tried a few wedding bands on, just to see how they fitted next to each other and how the different styles match.

The jeweller was more than happy to help. And I wanted to be 100% sure my engagment ring wouln't need altering once I got a wedding ring, or that I didn't have to get a specially made wedding band to fit.