Guy seeking advice on engagement ring

[Dizzbear]

Hi there,

I'm not new to the Disboards, but my GF reads these boards all the time so I had to come up with a secret username

I'm ring shopping & I'd like to buy her a simple 1 ct white gold ring, but my budget is only $1500 (& that's pushing it ). We will need to save up for the wedding & are currently saving up for a house so I'm trying to buy something inexpensive but nice.

I was looking around Overstock.com. Anyone have any experience with buying jewelry from here? I found a really nice ring for less than $1000 & I wondered what you think?

http://www.overstock.com/Jewelry-Wa...d-Engagement-Ring-H-I-I1/1856191/product.html

It got rave reviews, except for a few comments that mentioned a diamond sidestone fell out (3 posters mentioned this out of 3 pages of comments-everyone else ranted and raved about this ring!)

I want my GF's ring to last a lifetime & I know she would love the style of the ring on the link above.

If a sidestone did eventually fall out, would this be tough to get fixed?

Any other advice for places/websites with inexpensive good quality rings? I'd really like to stick with 1ct if I can swing it.

Thanks in advance!!

 

[java]

Please not from Overstocks! (Now I have no idea if they have quality diamonds or not- but it just sounds bad. And how can you buy without seeing it in person?)

My DH is a diamond wholesaler- for $1000 not much- the stone would be dead (at 1Carat) That is 1CARAT as the center stone- If you are looking for say a half carat- that is doable. (actually $1500 would be better as a decent stone is going for about $3000 a carat right now) And gold is $$$$ these days.

The ring you are looking at is 1 Carat TOTAL WEIGHT. The MIDDLE stone is only 2/5ths (which by the way my dh says nobody uses that he's assuming they mean a .20 which is a SMALL stone.

Just know what you are looking at.
And honestly the ring doesn't matter. (shh don't tell dh I said that) but don't buy it at overstocks. please.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Do you know what kind she likes? I hate my marquis ring as an FYI. It is a ring I can bring to a knife fight.

I would suggest looking with her to see what styles she likes. The ring you picked out is very square. And it is 1 ct total not a 1 ct diamond. Big difference there.

 

[georgina]

I would second the idea of not buying an engagement ring on overstock.com. I would suggest you let her pick out a ring if you want her to wear it a lifetime. Or buy a smaller, better quality ring that you can afford, and if/when you two have more money in later years, you can trade up if you and she wish.

 

[SilverL]

We used Overstock to purchase my DH's plain white gold wedding band, but I'm not sure I would use it to purchase diamonds. I suggest you visit some jewelers in your area and consider your budget and quality over carat size, esp. if you want a ring to last a lifetime.

FWIW, a lot of people can't afford a fabulous ring when they get married and instead get anniversary bands later. My parents did this. I have a small solitaire and we plan to get anniversary bands hopefully by our 10th anniversary.

Congratulations

 

[java]

Wanted to add SIMPLE is good in engagement rings.

 

[LoraJ]

I'm not a fan of rings that use several small stones to make the center stone look larger. I agree with going simple. You could get a better stone if you go simple.

 

[NotUrsula]

IME you will get the best bang for your buck at a reputable local independent jeweler. Avoid online buying and avoid the mall chains, except for browsing as a way to judge what styles she likes.

Honestly, I would suggest letting her choose her own ring AFTER she accepts, unless you have been hearing all about her taste in engagement rings for a long time. (And this should be what she's told you privately, not what you heard her say to newly-engaged girlfriends. She is automatically going to admire any ring on a friend's finger; it's just polite.) She just may surprise you by not liking large rings, or not liking diamond rings. You really don't have to have the ring in hand to propose -- consider going with the creative approach -- it isn't sacrilege to give her some other token to commemorate the moment.

FTR, I have a beautiful ring with a very large stone, but that stone is NOT a diamond. It's a high-quality 7 carat emerald-cut green tourmaline, which is a semi-precious stone that cost all of $88 when I first got it 19 years ago. It measures 1 x 2 centimeters\ across the top face. I didn't want a diamond ring, and I certainly didn't want my DH blowing the cost of a diamond ring at that point in our lives. My ring is custom-made, and it originally cost $275. As it happens, I lost it when we had been married 10 years, and the price had gone up a bit, it cost $460 to replace it at that time with a comparable stone. My ring is heavy; the larger part of the value is in the gold rather than the stone. However, I love the stone and I love the reason that DH suggested it after I said that I didn't want a diamond -- he wanted the stone to match my eyes. Naturally we first thought of emeralds, but they are not hard enough to survive everyday wear. The jeweler who was designing the ring suggested the tourmaline as a harder green stone, and it is just perfect, and really *is* the color of my eyes, which an emerald would not have been. I get compliments on it constantly from strangers.

I'm having a piece of jewelry made right now; a mother's bracelet. I'm not using diamonds in that piece, either -- the clear stones are white sapphires, and there are also moonstones. I like to think outside the box when it comes to gemstones, and I honestly don't like to have my creativity hampered by excessive cost. All of that hype about diamond rings being an investment *is* just hype. Unless you can afford to buy a REALLY outstanding and unique stone in a ring made by a master, you could never expect to recoup your investment if you had to sell it. The real value in an engagement ring is in the sentiment, and that only really matters to he who gives it and she who wears it.

You could also consider buying an antique ring from an estate jeweler. It tends to be a bit hard to find those in a full carat, though, because until fairly recently a solitaire that size would have been considered rather vulgarly large in most communities. (Popular tastes change over time. Big is in right now, but it really *is* a new development. In my mother's day in the 1930's, a quarter-carat was a normal engagement ring for a middle-class bride. By the early 1980's when I married, the most common size had crept up to 1/2 carat.
You can thank the folks at de Beers for that.)

Be honest whatever you do, and don't break the bank. If she loves you and is good partner material then she won't want to see you spend more than you can really afford on a ring and end up blowing the house fund. Remember that if she is wistful about a large diamond, then you can always upgrade the ring for an anniversary later on, when you are in a better financial position.

 

[AshleyW]

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.

 

[jwhtewolfd]

I agree with the rest of the posters. Simple is better. I, too, dislike the many tiny stones. Visit several local jewelers in your area. Do your research on what makes a quality stone. I'd rather put my money toward a smaller, better stone. Size isn't everything (in diamonds ). There's cut, color, and "fire". You can only see "fire" in person. A small diamond that "dances" is more impressive than a big rock that sits there with no shine.

And just something else to think about. Yellow gold is more traditional. White gold is the fad right now, but are you sure she likes it? And will she want to wear it for years to come? To me it looks like silver and I'll be glad when the white gold fad is over, but that's just me.

My parents started with a smaller diamond. For the 15th anniversary my dad upgraded my mom's diamond and had the original diamond turned into a matching pendant - 2 gifts in one! Way to go dad!

My fiancee got me a ridiculous rock that is GORGEOUS, but it's too big to wear to work (my godfather is a jeweler and basically gave it to him at cost, so he could afford alot more). I need him to get me a smaller one that I can wear on a daily basis!

But, like Java said, the ring doesn't matter that much. Just that she will say YES!

 

[suejai]

I would like to add my vote for going quality over quantity. For me, it was more important to have a good quality stone over having a large stone that didn't sparkle as bright.

Having said that, I didn't get an engagement ring, we just couldn't justify the cost. But I did get an anniversary ring for our 15th anniversary.

If your fiance is okay with it, maybe just consider getting a wedding band with diamonds in it.

 

[bekkiz]

Do you have a Shane Co near you? They have no comissions and have a program where you pick out the diamond, they set it in a simple setting, then you can go back with her to pick out the final setting. It would be easy to set limits that way and then you could see it in person. I've bought a few things from them and have always had great, low pressure service.

 

[raysnkaysmom]

Hi there,

I'm not new to the Disboards, but my GF reads these boards all the time so I had to come up with a secret username

I'm ring shopping & I'd like to buy her a simple 1 ct white gold ring, but my budget is only $1500 (& that's pushing it ). We will need to save up for the wedding & are currently saving up for a house so I'm trying to buy something inexpensive but nice.

I was looking around Overstock.com. Anyone have any experience with buying jewelry from here? I found a really nice ring for less than $1000 & I wondered what you think?

http://www.overstock.com/Jewelry-Wa...d-Engagement-Ring-H-I-I1/1856191/product.html

It got rave reviews, except for a few comments that mentioned a diamond sidestone fell out (3 posters mentioned this out of 3 pages of comments-everyone else ranted and raved about this ring!)

I want my GF's ring to last a lifetime & I know she would love the style of the ring on the link above.

If a sidestone did eventually fall out, would this be tough to get fixed?

Any other advice for places/websites with inexpensive good quality rings? I'd really like to stick with 1ct if I can swing it.

Thanks in advance!!

Maybe I'm the only one, but I thought it was BEAUTIFUL!! Now, I'm not much on jewelry, so I wouldnt' be as picky as the other posters

IME you will get the best bang for your buck at a reputable local independent jeweler. Avoid online buying and avoid the mall chains, except for browsing as a way to judge what styles she likes.

Honestly, I would suggest letting her choose her own ring AFTER she accepts, unless you have been hearing all about her taste in engagement rings for a long time. (And this should be what she's told you privately, not what you heard her say to newly-engaged girlfriends. She is automatically going to admire any ring on a friend's finger; it's just polite.) She just may surprise you by not liking large rings, or not liking diamond rings. You really don't have to have the ring in hand to propose -- consider going with the creative approach -- it isn't sacrilege to give her some other token to commemorate the moment.

Just MY opinion of course, I'd want the ring in hand when proposed to... it just means so much more...
Later, if ya'll want to upgrade, or go with a different style, you can, but please, don't propose ringless

 

[FormrCastMbr]

I agree...overstock is not the way to go. Go to a local jeweler and discuss with them what you want, what you can spend. I also agree that a simple setting is nice...you can always upgrade the setting or get a wedding band with some diamonds.

Wishing you all the best...what a happy time for you!

 

[Dizzbear]

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!!

 

[raysnkaysmom]

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.

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!!

If she likes simple, go for simple
All I have to say is....whatever you pick for her, she'll love it!!! (and, yes, stay away from yellow gold)

 

[FormrCastMbr]

One more thing...sometimes diamonds are less expensive when you buy an "off carat" size. A half carat may be too small for your girlfriend so you may want to try to get close to a full carat...like a .75 - .90 carat.

 

[AshleyW]

Thank you for all of your advice

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

I posted this on another thread where someone was looking for a picture of a 1/2 carat diamond, so here's the link to my post & pictures:

http://disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33106162&postcount=2

Like I said earlier, it's a 1/2 carat princess cut (actually like .56 carats or something like that) in a 4 prong silver gold setting.

 

[SilverL]

I posted this on another thread where someone was looking for a picture of a 1/2 carat diamond, so here's the link to my post & pictures:

http://disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33106162&postcount=2

Like I said earlier, it's a 1/2 carat princess cut (actually like .56 carats or something like that) in a 4 prong silver gold setting.

My ring is VERY similar to that, except the diamond is smaller. I love it. I think most women love simple solitaires. For an engagement ring that she doesn't pick out, I think that is THE way to go.

 

[AshleyW]

My ring is VERY similar to that, except the diamond is smaller. I love it. I think most women love simple solitaires. For an engagement ring that she doesn't pick out, I think that is THE way to go.

Absolutely agreed - I love mine! I've gotten a ton of compliments on it, too - plus I think solitaire settings make the stone look a little bigger, so you can get away with a smaller stone.