Guy seeking advice on engagement ring

[Dizzbear]

What do you guys think about The Jewelry Exchange? My mother recommended it to me. She is very picky about her jewelry.

The prices look strangely reasonable, even the "build your owns"

Anyone have any experience with this place or opinions?

http://www.jewelryexchange.com/productlist.aspx?catID=156

 

[stellablue]

What do you guys think about The Jewelry Exchange? My mother recommended it to me. She is very picky about her jewelry.

The prices look strangely reasonable, even the "build your owns"

Anyone have any experience with this place or opinions?

http://www.jewelryexchange.com/productlist.aspx?catID=156

I love this place! You can get great deals on good quality rings there. For less than $1000, you can get a 1ct round stone ring in a white gold setting! I believe shipping is free as well.

 

[rie'smom]

No advice, just want to offer my best wishes to you and your almost fiancee.

 

[Octoberbride03]

Gotta go with those who say simple is better. In fact it's the best IMO. My own engagement ring is 1/4 carat solitaire diamond on 14kt. yellow gold. It is beautiful. The diamond is a circle and sparkles so well most ppl don't realize that it is small as far as carats go. Only me, Dh and a jeweler would know.

And after seeing the ring on Overstock, please don't bother with that 1. Too flashy.

 

[Skatermom23]

Do you have a BJ's wholesale near you? They tend to have nice diamonds that are affordably priced.

 

[lspst8]

My engagement ring is from bluenile.com, and it is absolutely great. My husband and I picked it out together (I did not want to be surprised ). My sister's engagement ring is also from bluenile.com.

I have a 1/2 carat princess cut solitaire with a white gold band it was under $1000. I remember that it is G clarity and VS1 clarity. You won't find anything at the mall for that price. My sister's ring is a princess cut 1/2 carat and was a little more expensive because there are some very small diamonds on the band.

I HIGHLY recommend bluenile.com. If you use them, sign up for their mailing list. We got a $100 off of a $1000 dollar purchase coupon code, so we made sure to design a ring that cost just over $1000!

 

[Muushka]

No advice, just want to offer my best wishes to you and your almost fiancee.

Me too

Do you have a BJ's wholesale near you? They tend to have nice diamonds that are affordably priced.

And Sam's Club has some great rings also.

As romantic as it is to present your fiance-to-be a box with a beautiful ring in it, personally I was grateful that my husband took me with him so that I could pick it out myself. We discussed price before we went so that I had an idea of what he planned on spending. After we bought it, he took the ring with him. About a week later, he got down on his knee and asked me to marry him. My kind of romantic!

We chose a beautiful oval diamond, I think it is around .90 carat.

About 10 years later we bought a beautiful wrap that has a small baguettes and marquis on either side and makes the oval even more beautiful.

I always get compliments on my oval and wrap. After all these years, I still look at those rings and love them.

Best wishes!

 

[dakcp2001]

My ring also came from bluenile.com and I love it! I had not realized it but my DF had some of our mutual friends seek out clues as to what kind of diamonds I liked well before he bought it. I really had no idea. This may be a good idea, but only if you can trust them not to tell.

 

[Laura]

If you're not scared of buying a ring online, I would look at bluenile.com. You can custom build the ring, and it lays out everything for you in regards to the quality of the diamond. It tells you the ratings, what the ratings mean, and the diamonds are all graded and certified. My DFi spent about $1200 on my ring from there, it's 1/2 carat on a 4 prong white gold solitaire setting and it's beautiful.

I have no experience with jewelryexchange.

Thank you for all of your advice

To answer some questions...

-I know that she likes round cut & princess cut
-I definitely want to present a ring when I ask (& I know that is important to her)
-She does like simple. I just came across that one & thought it might be a good deal & a good idea. Now that I've heard your reviews, I'm wondering if she would think that ring was gaudy. All of her regular rings are very simple-stone & ring that's it.
-She HATES yellow gold jewelry & I know she likes white gold.

I was thinking 1 ct because 1/2 ct seems so small in the stores...though I didn't see it on a finger and I'm sure that makes a difference. She does have relatively small hands though (5.5 ring size).

Could I find something tasteful & good quality for 1/2 or 3/4 ct for $1500?

Anyone have any pics of their "smaller than 1ct" ring on their finger so I can get an idea of what it looks like?

We are NOT flashy people. I just want to give her a ring she deserves & loves She doesn't really own much nice jewelry so I wanted to get her something special.

Maybe I will check out Blue Nile....

As naive as this sounds, I didn't realize that the mall jewelers were such a rip off!!

Mall jewelers are a rip off! We bought our rings from an independent jeweler.

1 carat is a large stone, much larger than an average woman gets. A round (brilliant) diamond that is 1ct will look larger than a 1ct princess cut. Yes, you can get a 1/2 or 3/4 ct for $1500. Remember, the dimensions of a 1ct diamond aren't that much bigger than a 1/2ct. The diameter of a round 1ct diamond is about 6.5mm, of a 1/2ct it is 5mm.

Here's some info on diamonds: http://www.bluenile.com/diamonds/diamond-education My issue with the ring you initially posted is that the diamonds aren't very good quality; I have no problem with the style if you think that's what she'd like (it's a matter of personal taste). H-I color and I1 clarity means the diamonds look more yellow and have flaws you can see with the naked eye; that's why the ring is so cheap. SI ("small inclusion") diamonds have flaws, but you need a magnifying glass to see them.

My advice: choose a diamond, then choose a setting. If your fiancee wants a different style, you can change the setting later, so I would probably go with the simple Tiffany-style solitaire.

BEWARE: Pre-set engagement rings often do not have very good quality stones. Know the the color, the clarity, etc. Make sure it's certified. Do not buy a diamond that is simply advertised as "white" or "clear". You could wind up with a diamond that looks like cloudy quartz.

 

[java]

Please Please be careful if buying online. Diamonds are qualified mainly by color and quality. In quality to be EYE CLEAN- meaning when you look at the ring you don't SEE any defects*black carbon spots. You want a ring at or above SI1 (An I1 is going to have imperfections
Personally anything over an I in color appears yellow to me. G being a great color but expensive. Many of my friends bought H-I color stones for their girlfriends (price) and they were fine!

I wouldn't be buying an engagement ring online. Where do you live? If you pm me I might be able to suggest a good place to go. Surprisingly COSTCO! is one of the PICKIEST in buying diamonds. They buy the best qualitity diamonds. Which shocked me! So if you are looking to save some $$ it might not be a bad place to shop.

One TIP GO To the stores that are near you! Look at the stones ask for the clarity and color of the stones WRITE IT DOWN. Look at the stones that you think are nice. THEN you can go look online. Everything looks white online. You need the letters and numbers that are good to your eye to make a qualified decision. You can look in stores and ask ?'s you don't have to buy there.

 

[karibritt01]

I have a 1/3 carat round solitaire in gold setting. The diamond is wide around the top, but shallow, so it looks a little larger than 1/2 carat. Only myself, DH, and the jeweler know otherwise. Setting also makes a difference in how the stone looks. Mine was originally in a very low setting. I had to have it replaced a few years back, and went with a taller setting... the diamond looks bigger and shines more in the high setting.

I agree that a diamond is something you need to pick out in person. If you are working with a knowledgable dealer, they will listen to what you do/don't like about each diamond/setting and help you build the ring that is right for you. And I think an engagement ring is something you really need to see in person to know if it is the "right" ring.

Good luck!

 

[Scurvy]

Me too



As romantic as it is to present your fiance-to-be a box with a beautiful ring in it, personally I was grateful that my husband took me with him so that I could pick it out myself. We discussed price before we went so that I had an idea of what he planned on spending. After we bought it, he took the ring with him. About a week later, he got down on his knee and asked me to marry him. My kind of romantic!

It's so funny to me how differently people can feel about this. Many of my friends feel like Muushka about this - they wanted to help pick out their ring. I was very much the opposite. My husband knew what sort of rings I tended to like and chose the ring himself. It was a complete surprise to me when he proposed. He chose the perfect ring, but even if he hadn't I think I would have preferred it to be a surprise rather than going with him to choose the ring.

1 carat is a large stone, much larger than an average woman gets. A round (brilliant) diamond that is 1ct will look larger than a 1ct princess cut. Yes, you can get a 1/2 or 3/4 ct for $1500. Remember, the dimensions of a 1ct diamond aren't that much bigger than a 1/2ct. The diameter of a round 1ct diamond is about 6.5mm, of a 1/2ct it is 5mm.

Here's some info on diamonds: http://www.bluenile.com/diamonds/diamond-education My issue with the ring you initially posted is that the diamonds aren't very good quality; I have no problem with the style if you think that's what she'd like (it's a matter of personal taste). H-I color and I1 clarity means the diamonds look more yellow and have flaws you can see with the naked eye; that's why the ring is so cheap. SI ("small inclusion") diamonds have flaws, but you need a magnifying glass to see them.

My advice: choose a diamond, then choose a setting. If your fiancee wants a different style, you can change the setting later, so I would probably go with the simple Tiffany-style solitaire.

BEWARE: Pre-set engagement rings often do not have very good quality stones. Know the the color, the clarity, etc. Make sure it's certified. Do not buy a diamond that is simply advertised as "white" or "clear". You could wind up with a diamond that looks like cloudy quartz.

I agree with Laura's post. The quality of the diamond is the most important factor of the ring to many people. You can always change the setting or add a wrap later, but many women don't want to "upgrade" the actual stone from the ring later. I'd go with a high quality stone that is between .5 and .75 ct if I was choosing. Unless her hands are significantly larger than average, the stone would not look too small. If her hands are fairly small 1 ct might look overpoweringly large. And if she likes simple, go with simple. You don't want her wondering who the ring is supposed to be for because it doesn't look like her at all - you want it to look like something chosen just for her.

Best wishes and good luck! I am sure she will love whatever you choose.

 

[ZephyrHawk]

When I received my tiny little engagement ring from DH my first words to him were "You can't afford this! It was true. He was broke and we were both starving college students. He borrowed from two friends to buy it, and though he spent more than your budget, it's certainly nowhere near 1 ct. He promised me that someday when we had money he'd get me a bigger stone, but I've never asked him to, and I wouldn't.

Here's a hint for you, it's not the ring, it's the guy. She loves you boy, she'll say yes if you got her a plastic doodad out of one of those quarter machines outside the supermarket. Save your money and take her to Disney.

 

[Pooh_Friend#1]

My DH proposed to me with a 1/2 carat solitaire. I loved it. He saved his money and a few months later he dragged me into the jewellery store and surprised me and upgraded the diamond to 3/4 and I got to choose the wrap. At first I was sad because it wasn't the original diamond he proposed to me with, but I got over that pretty quickly! He spent a lot of time talking with different jewellers and becoming an expert in diamonds and got me a brilliant cut. My diamond sparkles and is absolutely beautiful and stunning, with only 1 flaw that you have to see with a microscope. I get so many compliments on my ring. He paid $1500 for the solitaire, about 2 1/2 years ago. Yes, he did buy it from one of those mall jewellery stores (Helzberg Diamonds). He bought it from them because he was being thoughtful to me. I have a lot of different jewellery from them so he thought it would be a lot easier to take everything in to one spot every six months for the check-ups and cleaning.

 

[Serena]

I like that you have a good idea of what she wants. I agree, a full carat would be too big. Get a smaller, prettier diamond.

I used to have a diamond with a high profile, and I was constantly knocking it around doing chores and such. But I am not the most graceful person. If and when there is a next time, it needs to be lower, because I never take it off.

 

[monorailsilver]

-She HATES yellow gold jewelry & I know she likes white gold.

Make sure the prongs are platinum if you chose to use white gold. I wish I did my ring in platinum but I didn't know any better. Mine is gold. I had to change the setting before we got married since 2 of my 3 diamonds were twirling. That was 10 years ago. I had to change the setting since I was getting platinum prongs but I needed a different grade of gold.

My main diamond is about .74 & the sides ones are smaller, .37 each. Total weight of all 3 is1.48 carats.

My dh told me I could of had a bigger diamond but it wouldn't be as good. I have had people tell me how white it is & there are minimal flaws (these are old wealthy ladies telling me this) & that it is brilliant. And the ring is a SI 1, G-H color so it isn't the top of the line.

I would not want a 'cheap' diamond. Cheap meaning lots of carbon & not as white. I would be happy with a smaller more perfect stone too. I was able to go to the mall one day & see the black in some stones with my eye & not with the loop. Oh & this is my only piece of jewelry that I wear other then my diamond earrings (1/4 carat each). So I am not flashy either in the bling department but I do want something nice if I am going to wear it.

Oh & my wedding band, I saw the exact one in a jeweler, a reputable one & it was $200 more then we paid for it by going to an independent jeweler.

I think my ring size is a 5-6. I can't remember the exact one but I don't have large fingers/hands (I wish the rest of my body took after my hands!).

Good luck & as a female waiting to get engaged for a number of years I know she will love whatever you give her.

 

[raysnkaysmom]

Here's a hint for you, it's not the ring, it's the guy. She loves you boy, she'll say yes if you got her a plastic doodad out of one of those quarter machines outside the supermarket. Save your money and take her to Disney.

I agree about the ring though... give her something from the heart...

 

[NeverlandClub23]

After searching through your previous posts to see if you may be my bf , I see that you're not . So, I agree with some of the PP to get a nice ring (whatever you can afford) and get some nice diamond anniversary bands later on in life. As someone who's been engaged twice (both times with huge, expensive rings) I can honestly say the ring doesn't matter. Finding the right person does .

 

[lil mermaid]

If you're not scared of buying a ring online, I would look at bluenile.com. You can custom build the ring, and it lays out everything for you in regards to the quality of the diamond. It tells you the ratings, what the ratings mean, and the diamonds are all graded and certified. My DFi spent about $1200 on my ring from there, it's 1/2 carat on a 4 prong white gold solitaire setting and it's beautiful.

I second this - bluenile is a great source for diamonds.

 

[livie1205]

my dh got me a really nice 1 carat round sol. and I just love it...he got it from friedmans for 1400.00 and it is a very pretty and simple ring.I wear a size 4 1/2 so it looks huge on my finger lol