My engagement ring

[MyFirstDeuce]

Hello,

Congratulations on your ring. It is nothing short of amazing.

I just found out about this site/forum and am impressed at the wealth of knowledge here. I am currently in the market to purchase an engagement ring and have an idea of what I want.

I was hoping you Pricescope members could answer a question for me. Where/who does the custom rendering of the bands and settings? So far I have been communicating my ideas verbally and via pictures but would really like to get a rendering made. That way I can ensure it is exactly what I want.

Can somebody please give me the run down on renderings and provide me w/ some additional information and/or resources. I am located in NJ and work in NYC. Any recommendations?

Thanks.

-al

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 7/11/2007 9:29:32 AM
Author: MyFirstDeuce
Hello,


Congratulations on your ring. It is nothing short of amazing.


I just found out about this site/forum and am impressed at the wealth of knowledge here. I am currently in the market to purchase an engagement ring and have an idea of what I want.


I was hoping you Pricescope members could answer a question for me. Where/who does the custom rendering of the bands and settings? So far I have been communicating my ideas verbally and via pictures but would really like to get a rendering made. That way I can ensure it is exactly what I want.


Can somebody please give me the run down on renderings and provide me w/ some additional information and/or resources. I am located in NJ and work in NYC. Any recommendations?


Thanks.


-al

Al, you should expect to get these kind of CAD images from any vendor who is custom making a ring for you. Almost any PS vendor will provide these for you if they''re designing something. These particular ones were done by Mark at Engagement Rings Direct. He would actually be a great choice for you because he is in the NYC diamond district.

 

[sunshine14]

Congrats on the stunning ring! I think you''ve received some really great advice on the size issue (not that I think it is an issue!) and I agree...wear it with pride! When people say something, just say thank you. It looks beautiful on your hand, and it is very elegant looking.

Congratulations again! And of course...MORE PICS PLEASE

 

[Heishman]

Alison- your ring is gorgeous. I love the size of the stone and the halo.

Can you please post more detailed pictures?

 

[Alison P]

Your advice is really doing the trick. Thank you everyone to replied!! I promise I will try to take more pictures today at work with one of our cameras, and hopefully that will turn out clear. Are there any tricks to getting those great close ups, or is it really just the camera you use?

 

[lumpkin]

It''s beautiful!

Size is so relative to where you live. If you are in LA you should be seeing some huge bling, so I doubt the size of your diamond is out of place. It sure does look lovely. Wear it and enjoy it! And enjoy your sweet FI!

 

[MustangGal]

I lived in Palm Desert up until a few years ago, and I remember seeing much bigger, but usually on the snowbirds. I remember working at a Country Club in Indian Wells, and one of the members was showing off her 10ct with a halo, it was huge!

Wear that baby with pride, but maybe get a plain band for when you''re more active or going to Indio or something.

 

[mela lu]

It''s spectacular! As many have said, wear it with pride and love

I''m looking forward to the close-ups!!

 

[Heishman]

Turn the macro on when you are using your camera. That helps with the blurriness. The icon for the macro button is usually a flower. Can''t wait to see more close up pictures.

 

[happilyeverafter]

What a STUNNING ring! I love the detail with the lacey band. But I would LOVE to see it closer - where are those pics girl?! And please share your story of how he proposed!

If I had that size of ring, I think I would be flashing it at everyone, saying "look how big it is!" haha, just jokes. It really is amazing - you and Mark did a great job!

 

[SuLi]

I normally lurk and don''t post very much, but I felt compelled to write since I experienced something very similar to you. First of all, your ring is absolutely GORGEOUS - the craftsmanship is impeccable! You should definitely wear it proudly. When I got engaged a few months ago, the overwhelming response was "Wow! That''s HUGE!". My ring is a 1.19 carat cushion halo, and I wear a 4.5 ring - so, not as large as yours, but large enough that I felt embarassed showing my officemates (I work in a non-profit) and friends/family. I work and live in the DC area where there are definitely much larger rings, but I don''t come across them very often. I take the Metro to work everyday and feel like I have to hide my ring since I rarely ever see anything that "looks" larger. The ring was a complete surprise - I was not involved in the process at all, in fact, I was blindsided by it. My FI told me that he was actually considering both a 1.57 carat and 2.0 carat cushion, but decided to go with quality over size. As much as I love my ring to death, I am SO happy that he choose the "smaller" cut diamond. I''ve learned to get over it a bit...and hopefully, you will too.

 

[AndyRosse]

Gosh, it''s GORGEOUS!!!!!

 

[surfgirl]

Alison, I know what you mean..first let me say your ring is beautiful! Yes it''s large but so what?!? You got a great deal as you say and as long as your FI could afford it, dont worry what others think. I live in SoCal and while LA definitely has a larger stone quota, down here, I notice that sometimes I get women staring at my ring. Yesterday this woman was coming at me in the supermarket and I saw she was literally STARING at my finger and it made me so uncomfortable that I made sure I didn''t run into her again in the market. And my stone looks way smaller on my large finger than yours does on your small finger (damn you small skinny-finger girls!!!)...I think whether or not you want to wear your ring to work depends on you. But for now, I''d try to enjoy it and the attention. You may want to wear only a wband for work but I wouldn''t worry about that right now. Enjoy your gorgeous ring! And please give us more close ups of the stone! I dont see many radiants around here and would love to see the faceting close up!

 

[poshpepper]

Wow, its stunning!!!!! And I would have to agree with the others who say that it is NOT too big!!!! (is there such a thing??? -- kidding

)

I am anxious to see the better pictures because I am sure that the rendering does it no justice.
Enjoy your new pet rock and congrats on your engagement!!!!

 

[DMBsGirl]

Wow, another Mark T masterpiece!! You did a wonderful job designing it, it is definitely unique!
As far as the size, I understand what you mean. I have a size 4.25 finger and when i tried a 2 ct solitaire on I thought it looked huge! Like others said that is probably also due to the fact that before getting an engagement ring, you aren''t used to having any diamond on that finger and any size will probably take some getting used to. From being on these boards for a while, I have learned that DSS is definitely real, so just give yourself time to get used to this beauty and ENJOY it!!!
(oh, and we definitely need more pics. Put the camera on macro mode, take the flash off and stand in the sunlight.)

 

[inlove8]

OMG..your ring is gorgeous!!!!! It''s not too big at all (it is huge tho!) =P
Just enjoy it, love it and show it off!
I can''t really tell from the pics...what kinda cut is it? Radiant?

 

[iwannaprettyone]

Date: 7/10/2007 11:36:39 PM
Author: Alison P
Thanks for the input. I hope I don''t come off as ungrateful.

The good news is, I do live in the LA area. (Palm Desert)

And wow!!! Does that halo ever change the size of the center stone!!!! I think I''m just stunned a little right now about all the factors you mentioned NeatFreak... you hit the nail on the head. I guess I feel a little bad because I designed it and picked the size and everything and so I should have realized these factors. Enough of my belly aching as this is supposed to be a happy time!

At the end of the day - I am really really lucky, not just about the ring, but mostly because I get to marry my very best friend in the whole world. Thanks everyone, for the nice comments on the ring.

And that is what it is all about..... your ring is a huge bonus though hahaha bellisimo!

 

[LittleRock]

WOW!!! What a beauty!

Congrats and wear that bling with pride!

Oh,....we need many more pictures. The more the better!!!

 

[Jenn5504]

Wow that ring is stunning! So gorgeous! I hardly think there is such a thing as too big. Your ring is so pretty! I''d LOVE that much coverage!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Gypsy]

Hi Allison, Congrats hon!

Can you take a few close ups of the shank? I''d love to see how close to the Michael B Lace design Mark was able to get!

 

[crown1]

that is a great looking ring! i really like it.

 

[kcoursolle]

Date: 7/11/2007 10:22:48 AM
Author: Alison P
Your advice is really doing the trick. Thank you everyone to replied!! I promise I will try to take more pictures today at work with one of our cameras, and hopefully that will turn out clear. Are there any tricks to getting those great close ups, or is it really just the camera you use?

use the macro (flower) button, natural lighting that is diffused, and no flash. Hold the camera really still and shoot. Backlighting the stone is also really pretty.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

We need much bigger pictures of that beautiful ring!!!

I know exactly how you feel, though. I had worn a 1 ct. stone for years and last year my husband got me a 1.6 ct. round diamond for our anniversary. It is in a solitaire and not a halo. There are times that I am a little embarrassed because it is bigger than most of the diamonds around me in my daily life. There have been a couple of times that I have thought of trading it in for a smaller stone, but I am afraid I might regret it later. Diamonds will only go up in price!

But I very much agree with having an alternate wedding band that you''d feel comfortable wearing when you don''t want to wear the diamond e-ring. You could always get two plain or pave thin bands to go on either side of your wedding band, assuming you are having a wedding band made to match your e-ring. I think that would be a great solution for the times the e-ring is not appropriate.

 

[cutes814]

congrats on the engagement alison!

your ring looks awesome! i love how it matches your dainty fingers. don''t feel ackward wearing the ring, you should be super proud of it! most people can only dream of having such a beauty! you''ll get use to it in no time and then DSS will sink in and you''ll soon be saying, "is it just me or does the ring seem like it''s shrinking?"

 

[Alison P]

I''ll take more with the "flower" icon outside tomorrow. I took a couple of pics today that turned out ok.

 

[Gypsy]

Good pic! Do you know the melee size in the head and the shank? Are they the same?

 

[phoenixgirl]

Your ring is really gorgeous, and I think you shouldn''t worry about other people''s reactions. One female friend of my husband''s said, "Wow, I didn''t know he made that much money" when she saw my ring. (The funny thing is that he really didn''t -- it was an heirloom diamond, but now he does and I''m glad my e-ring matches our situation now). So I guess that''s what a lot of people are secretly thinking about when they look at a ring.

When you get married you''ll probably want to wear just your band sometimes but I wouldn''t get one in the interim unless you''ll wear it later too.

 

[Haven]

Your ring is gorgeous. And as for the worry about it looking too big--don''t be crazy! It is beautiful, and even though people may have certain expectations regarding how large/blingy/well-crafted a "regular girl''s" ring should be, you should stop worrying about all that nonsense right now and start viewing this beauty as what it really is--a gift from your FI to you to symbolize your intentions to wed. And from the looks of things, you two have a very beautiful thing going.

Wear it in good health and with pride, it is absolutely stunning.

 

[cara]

I have a 1.1 ct round in a lace setting with NO halo on size 6+ fingers, and even I was a little overwhelmed/embarrassed with the comments I got on my ring.

You have a 2 ct, a halo, and teeny fingers.

Your ring looks awesome! But small it is not. It looks big and blingy - probably some people (who are not used to doing the finger-math in their heads and only know what trashy mags tell them about celebrity rings) are thinking it is 3-5 ct.

But even if they "only" think it is 2 ct, that is still a generously sized ring! So... embrace it. Give yourself some time to adapt, or for DSS to set in. Hold off on band requests until the wedding.

Just curious, what are you thinking of for a wedding band? That ring really calls for standing alone. If its the right choice for you, a separate nice wedding band on the right hand might be perfect.

 

[dianne]

Date: 7/10/2007 11:14:12 PM
Author: Alison P
This may sound silly, but 2 carats on my little size 4 finger WITH the halo seems to appear so much bigger than I anticipated. I feel like it is quite possibly overkill on my hand.

Overkill? Hmmm....overkill...seems I have heard that word before....possibly pre-Pricescope....but I don''t think that word exists in this world and has possibly been erased from my memory....


Seriously, I think your ring is big and in the most drop-dead-gorgeous-put-on-your-shades kind of way. It is super-stunning and I think you should wear it whenever and wherever you like. It''s just too beautiful to leave at home in the jewely box. Congrats on the engagement and find a way to fully enjoy that beauty!!!