My husband and I were engaged in 1989 and we were married in 1992. In 18 months (give or take), we will be celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary.
When we got engaged, my husband was a senior in high school and I was a freshman in college (high school sweethearts). All he could afford at that time was a 1/4 carat round in a 6-prong 14K YG setting from McRae's Dept. Store. I've worn it for 26 years or so. I have no idea what it was graded although I'm sure it was not great. It has represented our relationship proudly, however, and it does have a lot of sentimental value.
My husband has given me a green light on purchasing a new *engagement* ring for our 25th and I want this to be my last hurrah with e-rings (although I do realize after reading countless threads here on PS that is easier said than done).
With about 18 months until our anniversary, when is the right time to start the process?
I *think* I would like a MRB, H/I color, VS2/SI1, ideal or XXX cut, as close to 2 carats as possible set in an ERD/BE Auden platinum setting. I absolutely love momhappy's ERD e-ring and I think the Auden setting will work well for me as they are similar to my eyes.
I can't imagine that I am color sensitive since I have been happy with my little diamond ring but I know I need to find this out for sure. My ring size is about a 6 to 6.25, which has remained the same since we first got engaged so I think I will need close to 2 carats to get good finger coverage based on the little fingers all you PSers seem to have.
I'd love to get some exposure to diamonds in the real world but I live in the panhandle of Florida and there are not a lot of big cities nearby so I'm not sure about availability on the local level to good quality diamonds. Is it okay to go look at diamonds knowing full well you might not actually purchase from a local store?
We'd like to spend about $15K on the center stone and then have the added cost of the setting and a wedding band on top of that.
I haven't contacted ERD/BE yet because I'm not sure of the right timing but I would love to see more pics than what they have available for the Auden setting. I've searched here and not found anything about that setting and a google search in general has not yielded anything for the Auden setting either.
Am I rushing things? I tend to slow play big decisions and try to research to the nth degree. I'm having a wonderful time learning about diamonds from all of you. It's a whole new world to me.
Thanks in advance for any thoughts you might have on the best way to proceed.
When we got engaged, my husband was a senior in high school and I was a freshman in college (high school sweethearts). All he could afford at that time was a 1/4 carat round in a 6-prong 14K YG setting from McRae's Dept. Store. I've worn it for 26 years or so. I have no idea what it was graded although I'm sure it was not great. It has represented our relationship proudly, however, and it does have a lot of sentimental value.
My husband has given me a green light on purchasing a new *engagement* ring for our 25th and I want this to be my last hurrah with e-rings (although I do realize after reading countless threads here on PS that is easier said than done).
With about 18 months until our anniversary, when is the right time to start the process?
I *think* I would like a MRB, H/I color, VS2/SI1, ideal or XXX cut, as close to 2 carats as possible set in an ERD/BE Auden platinum setting. I absolutely love momhappy's ERD e-ring and I think the Auden setting will work well for me as they are similar to my eyes.
I can't imagine that I am color sensitive since I have been happy with my little diamond ring but I know I need to find this out for sure. My ring size is about a 6 to 6.25, which has remained the same since we first got engaged so I think I will need close to 2 carats to get good finger coverage based on the little fingers all you PSers seem to have.
I'd love to get some exposure to diamonds in the real world but I live in the panhandle of Florida and there are not a lot of big cities nearby so I'm not sure about availability on the local level to good quality diamonds. Is it okay to go look at diamonds knowing full well you might not actually purchase from a local store?
We'd like to spend about $15K on the center stone and then have the added cost of the setting and a wedding band on top of that.
I haven't contacted ERD/BE yet because I'm not sure of the right timing but I would love to see more pics than what they have available for the Auden setting. I've searched here and not found anything about that setting and a google search in general has not yielded anything for the Auden setting either.
Am I rushing things? I tend to slow play big decisions and try to research to the nth degree. I'm having a wonderful time learning about diamonds from all of you. It's a whole new world to me.
Thanks in advance for any thoughts you might have on the best way to proceed.