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Help with a ring....

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tapupartforpres

Rough_Rock
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Feb 24, 2010
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New here. Thanks for having me. Hoping this is the right place to post.

Well it's been 5 years together with my girl and am looking to pop the question. I wanted some suggestions on an engagement ring. She has moved to another state looking for a job and I will be following soon. I thought it would be a great surprise for her.

I was looking online and have seen some good things about James Allen. I saw one or two bad reviews but for the most part 50+ have been positive.

I don't have much to spend. I was looking into under $500 range. I'm not cheap, I just don't have the money to spend. But she is a no frills girl, that doesn't wear jewelry at all. She is a smaller girl about 5'4 and thinner. I have read about the ring size compared to her size, etc. But under $500 I don't have to worry about that, lol.

I have no idea on where to start. I for one, would like to get her a white gold ring with a nice solitare stone, that's all. So if anyone could give me some advice on what to look for and where to look, that would be great. I just want to make sure the stone doesn't fall out in 2 weeks. I would rather have quality of the band and setting, etc, versus diamond quality (unless someone thinks otherwise). Plus, I do not know her exact size. I guess I could talk to her sister to find out, but is resizing an option?

Thank you very much for your help!
 

ma re

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Aug 10, 2008
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2,698
Are you 100% certain that you want a white diamond (that''s the impression I got from your post)? I''m asking because there are many options to choose from, and, depending on her style and taste, you might even get something nicer for your money if going the other route. White diamonds are quite expensive, and getting the whole ring with one for under 500$ is possible, but expect a diamond to be very small. Maybe browsing antique jewellery websites and stores might be a good idea, cause things like this: http://www.langantiques.com/category/10/4/item/10-1-2637/ can be found, and she might be very interested in an antique ring, cause some are quite old and have a history - some women love antique pieces.

But if you''re open to other possibilities (besides white diamonds), there are things like champagne diamonds, which are basically light brown in color, but in a nice setting can look really beautiful, and they''re generally much less expensive than white ones. If you''re OK with something other than a diamond, there are numerous species of colored gemstones that can be found for not too much money. All you need to figure out is what colors she likes and get back here for further assistance
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When it comes to the choice of metal, you can probably forget about platinum, but no reason to not go for 14 karat gold. It''s durable and cost-effective, and yellow version tends to be a bit less expensive than white (although there are no guarantees), cause metals that go into making yellow gold are less expensive than those you need to make the gold white.

About the resizing, try to avoid it if possible, and check with the vendor if that particular ring you''re considering (whatever that turns out to be) is OK when it comes to resizing, cause some styles (due to design details or some structural aspects) can''t be resized.
 

Gayletmom

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Nov 29, 2008
Messages
735
Welcome to PS! You have come to the right place to learn about diamonds and jewlery. I have a suggestion regarding your choice of a ring. A friend was recently in a similar situation with a relatively small budget for a solitaire. She decided to get a pretty diamond eternity band, which was in her budget, for now. Later, when finances improve, she plans to add a solitaire that she''ll wear with the band.

Just a thought for you. I also wanted to mention that I find the busiest forums are the Rocky Talk and Show Me The Ring.

Good luck and happy hunting!
 

whitby_2773

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jan 5, 2009
Messages
2,655
hi tapupartforpres :)

if you''re willing to consider resizing, how about you aim to get the size right the first time, and put that extra money towards her ring?

using either blue nile or james allen, i think you can put together a nice little solitaire with an ideal .35 H SI2 stone in a white gold solitaire setting for around $700. this is a small ring, but could be very pretty if she enjoys more delicate jewelry.

given that the settings on both sites start around $320 at the lowest - and that''s *without* the stone, $500 is probably not realistic if you want, as you said, ''a nice solitaire stone''. blue nile''s cheapest stone of any kind on their web site is $252. so you''re looking at around %600 if you put their very cheapest stone in their very cheapest setting.

what shaped cut would you like? round? square? rectangle? some give larger surface area than others, so some will look bigger. do you or your girl have a preference?

i''ll be interested to hear your thoughts!

:)
 
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