Getting engaged, but need advice on a ring

[KentState]

I have decided that now is the right time to propose, but need some help with ring shopping. Basically, she will be happy with anything I give her, but I don't want to cheap out either.

I spoke to her sister and she is trying to get me some information. The only intel that I have so far is that she wants a thinner band, in white gold or platinum and preferably a cushion cut.

Where is the best place to shop?
What quality should I be looking for?
What is the typical size of diamond people are going for?
How much should I expect to pay?

Any recent experience would be appreciated.

 

[MichaelD]

Cut, color, clarity, carat. Those are the 4C's of diamondeering. Yes, I just invented that word...but the 4Cs are all true.

A 1/4 carat, high quality stone can cost 10x what a 1 carat, cloudy, crappy stone can cost. "How much to spend" depends entirely on your budget. That "rule" that the ring should cost you 2 months salary is a load of crap invented by the same people that bring you Valentine's Day every year.

 

[RearAdmiral]

Doesn't everyone either buy from bluenile or have a "friend" at a jewelry place these days. Look at estate stones. You'll get at least 2x the stone(not just quantity) and a setting you can get later.

If you are into that whole "corrupted" diamond thing from estate sales...I feel the band is more corrupted anyhow.

 

[edro]

SCAM! Get her a cubic zirconia and don't tell her.

Want to know how big of a scam diamonds are? Try to resell one.

 

[Anonemous]

http://www.pricescope.com/

for any tutorials, questions, quotes, etc... I just use them for any questions I had and they were pretty good at answering them. Pick the biggest diamond you can afford.

 

[KaOTiK]

pics of potential fiance?

 

[Spikesoldier]

i cheaped out on the setting and spent almost all the budget on the stone itself.

get a GIA or AGS certified diamond to make sure you really get what you're paying for.

 

[GotIssues]

SCAM! Get her a cubic zirconia and don't tell her.

Want to know how big of a scam diamonds are? Try to resell one.

Scam indeed. Diamonds are quite plentiful.

Step 1) Convince the woman that love can be measured in Carats
Step 2) ???
Step 3) Profit



But that aside, just make sure to have the band and diamond size look decent. You don't want the diamond to look large and gaudy, and you don't want it to look tiny and insignificant, either.

Go in with a hardline budget.

Remember, if you can't tell a difference without it magnified 400x, then she can't either. The only way she'll be THAT concerned about it is if she's looking to sell it, in which case, you'd rather she be mad.

 

[Baked]

Just get a platinum or white gold band.

 

[TwiceOver]

Make sure she's going to say yes first. The restocking fees are ridiculous.

But seriously, does it look nice? Good enough. Get a man made diamond to save some cash.

 

[chin311]

Oh lord, here comes another thread full of diamond debating....

 

[MichaelD]

Oh lord, here comes another thread full of diamond debating....

I like your sig, chin311. You must be talking about marriage. LOL! So true.

 

[Gibson486]

1. never sacrifice cut. It's best to get AT LEAST a VG cut.

2. Go GIA or AGS. Yeah, you may be able to get a good EGL, but misrepresented cuts are more common than rare and they will most certainly over grade them. that said, I do not think cushion cuts are graded the same way as round.

3. Color...Ever person is different. Some can tell the difference between a H and F, some can't see the difference between an G and J.

4. The clarity. If you go online, ask for an SI1 that is "eye clean". This means you cannot see the little birth marks or defects of the diamond from a certain number of inches from the diamond. VS2 is pretty much insurance to ensure the stone is eye clean (in the GIA and AGS standard).

5. Carat. That is the weight, not the size. You can get a diamond that is less carats than another, but it may look bigger. It's all in the cut. Cuts of at least VG ensure that you do not get a cut that has a diamond look bigger than it really needs to be. That will cause it to have poor light return.

As someone mentioned, hit up pricescope.com. Unlike ATOT, they actually agree on pretty much everything.

PM me if you want some more advice w/o all the ATOT attitudes.

<---got engaged in August.

 

[JS80]

If you have the time, I would go with either a lab-grown real diamond (such as Gemesis) or another rare diamond like rock such as Moissanite.

 

[chin311]

I like your sig, chin311. You must be talking about marriage. LOL! So true.

LOL i suppose you could apply it to that, but i'm HAPPILY married!

 

[Pantoot]

http://www.pricescope.com/

for any tutorials, questions, quotes, etc... I just use them for any questions I had and they were pretty good at answering them. Pick the biggest diamond you can afford.

How trustworthy are the sellers on that site?
I just looked at two, and I understand that G is better than H, so why the huge price discrepancy? EGL vs GIA certification? Blue Nile just that much more expensive?

1.85 G VS1 60.6&#37; 57% EGL Excellent X X N 7.99x7.94x4.83 N
$7428 $13743

1.85 H VS1 61.2% 56% GIA Excellent X X N 7.94x7.90x4.85 N
$14962 $27681

 

[fjmeat]

let her pick it out, talk budget. sneak outta work and go pick it up when they call and say it's ready. Tell her it's not ready yet yet yet.... and surprise her one random evening when your ready.

win win

 

[Jaepheth]

I plan on going with one of these when my time comes:

http://www.mokume-gane-metals.com/

Because f#@k De Beers

 

[Gibson486]

How trustworthy are the sellers on that site?
I just looked at two, and I understand that G is better than H, but why the huge price discrepancy? EGL vs GIA certification? Blue Nile just that much more expensive?

1.85 G VS1 60.6% 57% EGL Excellent X X N 7.99x7.94x4.83 N
$7428 $13743

1.85 H VS1 61.2% 56% GIA Excellent X X N 7.94x7.90x4.85 N
$14962 $27681

Some sellers are good, some are bad. For teh most part, they are good if they do it from pricescope.

BlueNile is usually more, but that is the price you pay from buying it from the biggest online diamond retailer. It's usually on par with the lowest B&M prices, which are higher than lots of the online prices. However, that is changing.

EGL has a reputation of being more liberal with their diamond grading. So, a VS2 G on EGL could be a SI1 I on GIA. Essentially, you get what you pay for.

Also, lots of the diamonds you see online are sold from one seller. The online places simply resells it. So, if you see a diamond you like, you better get it right away because chances are 12 other stores are advertising it. most online places will get the diamond, look at it and some will even send you pictures. Some do have a good return policy, but keep in mind that shipping that thing will cost a lot because of the insurance.

 

[thegimp03]

I bought my wife's ring at Tiffany a year and a half ago and she loves it. I'd rather give her something that she loves wearing for the rest of her life than something she begs to be upgraded later. I looked at other places local to the area, but I got great service at Tiffany, all the engagement rings come in the same "Tiffany setting" (so you don't have to figure out if you want diamonds on the band, etc.), all you have to figure out is the 4C's and how much you want to spend. Ended up buying our wedding bands there as well. Adding up everything, it was expensive, but worth it.

 

[Gibson486]

I bought my wife's ring at Tiffany a year and a half ago and she loves it. I'd rather give her something that she loves wearing for the rest of her life than something she begs to be upgraded later. I looked at other places local to the area, but I got great service at Tiffany, all the engagement rings come in the same "Tiffany setting" (so you don't have to figure out if you want diamonds on the band, etc.), all you have to figure out is the 4C's and how much you want to spend. Ended up buying our wedding bands there as well. Adding up everything, it was expensive, but worth it.

yeah, as much as I do not like Tiffanys, you will definitely not end up with a crappy product from them. They even have their own grading system, which is on par with GIA (although all diamonds above 1 ct get both certs either way).

 

[chin311]

I bought a stone from a family member that's a jeweler and went with a Verragio setting she was in love with, when we were looking I told her to be realistic and it was way too much $$ but then I bought it and surprised her and Viola she loves it.

her "DREAM" ring.

 

[Gibson486]

I bought a stone from a family member that's a jeweler and went with a Verragio setting she was in love with, when we were looking I told her to be realistic and it was way too much $$ but then I bought it and surprised her and Viola she loves it.

her "DREAM" ring.

or you could find some guy who copies designs... it is sort of looked down upon, but it does not stop lots of people from doing it...

 

[DrPizza]

If you bring it up in conversation, you could hint that you're thinking about popping the question, and even take her out looking at engagement rings to see what would look nicest on her hand. As far as where/how to buy the diamond, you could always ask Alky (seriously) - apparently, he knows something in that area. (Of course, he's had more experience than me in purchasing engagement rings. )

 

[alkemyst]

Doesn't everyone either buy from bluenile or have a "friend" at a jewelry place these days. Look at estate stones. You'll get at least 2x the stone(not just quantity) and a setting you can get later.

If you are into that whole "corrupted" diamond thing from estate sales...I feel the band is more corrupted anyhow.

diamondtalk.com for advice

pricescope.com for buying

The 4C's are only a ballpark 'figure' there is much more to a good diamond than that.

OP the first thing is to set a realistic budget. Everyone has one especially when buying diamonds.

Gold being so inflated makes platinum a good choice esp if you are looking at white gold.

If you are looking at yellow gold getting perfect color is a waste usually but many times not so much a premium.

I know quite a bit about diamonds. Neither time did I use BlueNile. Not that they are bad, just that they now carry a premium price due to name. I used James Allen on my last (.775 carat AGS hearts and arrows round) and MidwestGems on another (.71 carat, but I think they are no longer in business) and my first was a little .42 carat while I was a college student, that was probably the best deal as the local jeweler was losing his business and simply liquidating items to stop his bleeding.

I spent a lot of time learning about the business and marketing and actually met with "RockDoc" from diamondtalk forums to review on of my purchases plus learn about appraising/evaluation.