Which would you choose?

I wasn't sure exactly where to post this, but since it does concern colored stones more than anything else, I figured I'd post it here.  I just want people's opinions since BF has left the decision up to me and I keep totally waffling!

Okay, if you had your choice between an heirloom diamond ring you have no real emotional attachment to for an e-ring or a brand new colored stone e-ring, which would you choose? 

The diamond ring is an antique platinum ring with an approx. 1/4 carat center stone and small baguettes & melee surrounding it.  I inherited the ring from an old woman who was good friends with my mom and who was like a grandmother to me when I was little, but the last time I saw her was when I was like 7 (I'm now 32) and I don't really remember her much at all, unfortunately.  It's really pretty and very sparkly and the diamonds look much whiter in person than what they do in the photograph.  If I go this route, I'll have to have some work done to the ring as the band is paper thin - the woman, Mabel, had to have the ring sized and the jeweler who did it, way back when, used gold instead of platinum.  Fast forward to the mid-90's when I had it and the ring broke.  I had a jeweler fix it, but I was young (17ish) and didn't have a ton of money, so I just had him take the gold portion out and stretch the band to make it whole again.  So, I would probably have to have a new shank put on the ring.  I would also get some sort of a sapphire & diamond wedding band to go with it because I am a color girl through and through.  Probably something along the lines of a Beverly K bezel set band with alternating sapphires & diamonds because I love mis-matched wedding sets.

If I go the colored stone route it will be either an asscher or cushion sapphire.  I've contacted both Jeff White and Richard Homer because I love the stones they both cut, but I'll probably go with Jeff White just because I worry that I might grow tired of the way a concave stone looks, so going with something more traditional would probably be better for me.  If I do this, I'd probably have it set into something like the Milano setting from Knox http://www.knoxjewelers.biz/index.htm?crn=266&rn=1624&action=show_detail (I'm in MN, so we can easily go into their store to see the pieces in person) which looks a lot like the Ritani Endless Love w/o halo or the Petite Cathedral from Whiteflash http://www.whiteflash.com/Engagement-Rings/Styles/Diamond-Settings/Petite-Open-Cathedral_1211.htm.  I'd probably just have a simple pavé or half eternity band to go with it for a wedding band and maybe a stacking band in between.

So, what would you do?  I keep going back and forth...  I love the heirloom ring because it's really pretty and is an antique, but at 1/4 carat the stone doesn't have quite the presence (read: size) I'd like, but it more than makes up for it's small size in sparkle and personality.  This is would also be a more economical route since I already have the ring and the cost of the wedding band & the repairs would not come close to the cost of a new ring.  BUT... I love the idea of a colored stone ering and stacking rings AND I would still have the heirloom ring to wear as a RHR.  BF doesn't care either way and says that I shouldn't take price into consideration when making my decision (obviously we have a budget, but both options fall well within it), but I'm overly practical and keep going, "But the heirloom ring route would be cheaper..."  ARRRGGGHHHH!!! 

Anyway, please give me your thoughts, opinions, whatever.  I have a bit of time to decide as we're in the process of renovating a house (an Amish farmhouse actually) and we won't actually be making anything official til the house is done next summer since that takes up all of our spare time right now.

<P.S. - sorry so long - I tend to ramble!>

_______________________________ "Women are either goddesses or doormats." Pablo Picasso "In all matters of opinion, our adversaries are insane." Mark Twain

mr. ma re

"I don't feel enjoyment watching films that evoke passivity. If you need that kind of comfort, I don't understand why you wouldn't go to a spa." Chan-wook Park

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DFW PS GTG Planner Extraordinaire :)