recordaras
Shiny_Rock
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2013
- Messages
- 376
A little back story: when we started planning our engagement I really wanted my boyfriend to be in charge of choosing the ring. Oh, and I knew absolutely nothing about diamonds. I thought it would be romantic to have it be a complete surprise and to know that it was something that he chose on his own.
Then I started reading about diamonds. And realized that if he just walks in to a b&m jeweler, he will end up paying a lot of money for a sub-par product. And if there's one thing I hate, that would be getting a bad deal. So I sent him a cheat sheet with specs, info and a link to JA and BGD, but specified that since we were on a budget the BGD premium was probably not something we would be going for. He then started doing his own research, and I could tell he was getting more and more confused since there were so many things to take into consideration - at dinner he would ask stuff like "Do you prefer SI1 or VS2?".
And then one day I was browsing the BGD website and suddenly I saw a 0.64ct J VS2 stone that I fell in LOVE with. It was a little smaller than we had planned, and came in way under budget, but I just felt that it was *the one*. I called BGD and put it on hold, showed it to my future fiance who loved it as well (and was ecstatic to not have to look anymore) - we wired the funds the same evening and that was that!
Here's the original ring:
However, I always loved the 3 stone style. We considered adding two stones right away, but that pushed us over budget, so we agreed to put the stone in a simple stock solitaire for the time being and to eventually switch to a 3 stone.
6 months later a combination of two factors came into play: first of all I HATED the setting with a passion. I loved the look of thin shanks and had BGD order a Stuller SH50 that was 2mm at the top tapering to 1.5mm at the bottom. It looked nice face up, but was incredibly uncomfortable, and the side view just made me sad, not to mention I felt like the 6 prongs were a mistake. Secondly, I had started a new job, received an unexpected bonus and decided that it was time to solve this issue and get a ring that would make me happy instead of sad!
There was quite a bit of going back and forth between options - I thought about switching to a better solitaire, then about doing a 3 stone with pear sides, but finally realized that the only thing that would make me truly happy would be the setting I initially fell in love with - the Crossed Trellis with round sides.
Jamie was able to find me a pair of J SI1s (.27 and .28) for the sides - they were a little larger than I had initially wanted, but came to $400 less than a pair of .20 Signature Melee (!), so I went for it.
I chose the Crossed Trellis setting in platinum - I loved the three prongs on the side stones! I also asked Jamie to angle the sides slightly - this took them a bit of time (production ended up being almost twice as long as the initially quoted 14 business days). The wait was not an easy one, but I was happy to know that they are taking their time to get everything perfect instead of sending out anything less.
And today I FINALLY got my glamour shots!!! The ring should be here tomorrow, and I honestly have no idea how I will sleep tonight. I think it looks absolutely lovely, but just can't wait to see it in person.
Then I started reading about diamonds. And realized that if he just walks in to a b&m jeweler, he will end up paying a lot of money for a sub-par product. And if there's one thing I hate, that would be getting a bad deal. So I sent him a cheat sheet with specs, info and a link to JA and BGD, but specified that since we were on a budget the BGD premium was probably not something we would be going for. He then started doing his own research, and I could tell he was getting more and more confused since there were so many things to take into consideration - at dinner he would ask stuff like "Do you prefer SI1 or VS2?".
And then one day I was browsing the BGD website and suddenly I saw a 0.64ct J VS2 stone that I fell in LOVE with. It was a little smaller than we had planned, and came in way under budget, but I just felt that it was *the one*. I called BGD and put it on hold, showed it to my future fiance who loved it as well (and was ecstatic to not have to look anymore) - we wired the funds the same evening and that was that!
Here's the original ring:
However, I always loved the 3 stone style. We considered adding two stones right away, but that pushed us over budget, so we agreed to put the stone in a simple stock solitaire for the time being and to eventually switch to a 3 stone.
6 months later a combination of two factors came into play: first of all I HATED the setting with a passion. I loved the look of thin shanks and had BGD order a Stuller SH50 that was 2mm at the top tapering to 1.5mm at the bottom. It looked nice face up, but was incredibly uncomfortable, and the side view just made me sad, not to mention I felt like the 6 prongs were a mistake. Secondly, I had started a new job, received an unexpected bonus and decided that it was time to solve this issue and get a ring that would make me happy instead of sad!
There was quite a bit of going back and forth between options - I thought about switching to a better solitaire, then about doing a 3 stone with pear sides, but finally realized that the only thing that would make me truly happy would be the setting I initially fell in love with - the Crossed Trellis with round sides.
Jamie was able to find me a pair of J SI1s (.27 and .28) for the sides - they were a little larger than I had initially wanted, but came to $400 less than a pair of .20 Signature Melee (!), so I went for it.
I chose the Crossed Trellis setting in platinum - I loved the three prongs on the side stones! I also asked Jamie to angle the sides slightly - this took them a bit of time (production ended up being almost twice as long as the initially quoted 14 business days). The wait was not an easy one, but I was happy to know that they are taking their time to get everything perfect instead of sending out anything less.
And today I FINALLY got my glamour shots!!! The ring should be here tomorrow, and I honestly have no idea how I will sleep tonight. I think it looks absolutely lovely, but just can't wait to see it in person.