Find your diamond
Find your jewelry
shape
carat
color
clarity

3 stone e-ring on a budget, advise requested

T

Twoloud

Rough_Rock
Joined
Sep 3, 2012
Messages
3
Hello, I'm planning on popping the question to my girlfriend in about 6 weeks. I've been looking at settings and diamonds for a couple of weeks now and I know exactly what she wants, the problem is finding it and affording it.

I'm looking for a 3 stone platinum or white gold setting and I've found I like the crossed trellis setting designs. I'm targeting a c tw of about 1.0, I can be a little flexible on this. She wants the band to be as narrow as possible and doesn't want the diamonds to lift very high. Looking online, its hard to tell if the setting I'm looking at will be this way or not.

Obviously I'd like the diamonds to be the highest grade I can get, but I'm having trouble finding the setting and I'm afraid it will severely limit what quality of diamonds I'll be able to get due to budget. I'm looking for round cut stones for all 3. I know about blue nile and I can probably find and pick out the diamonds on my own after I've found a setting.

I'm working with a budget of $3500 total, and if 'the perfect ring' lies above that range I can make $4000 work, but I'd like to keep it under that.

Any advise you can provide on where to look for settings would be awesome. I could go with a custom setting design but that'd likely eat into my budget pretty fast.

Thanks for the help!
 
Just wondering if there was anything on Diamondbistro or loupetroop, so thought I'd link:
http://www.diamondbistro.com/category/216/Natural-Diamond-Center/listings/30968/154-CTW-3-Stone-Leo-Diamond-Ring.html (IGI cert, not GIA /AGS) $3000

http://loupetroop.com/listings/rings-natural-diamond-center/antique-5-stone-trellis-ring-2-cttw $3000 as well - its a 5 stone, not a 3 but they are gorgeous OMC's w 1 OEC in a vintage setting being sold by a PSer

If you want new, try IDjewelryonline.com or goodoldgold.com or jamesallen.com, as a few suggestions for well regarded PS vendors and outline your budget. Fire off an email or give them all a call on Tuesday (they have toll free lines) or, if you are local, *lucky you!* then head over and check them out.
 
Hi! Well, we will need to knock out platinum off the bat. Your best bet of getting a three stone is to get a setting that already has the two small sidestones. This is a nice one at $1440 and you may get a discount on the setting if you buy a diamond from the same place. This particular setting needs a .75 ct. diamond. An excellent cut .73-.75 I SI1 will cost around $2500 or maybe less.

I advise you to call ID Jewelry since they carry the Gabriel settings and can come up with a stone for you that will keep you close to your budget. Tell them your budget is $3500 and that you like this setting (if you do like it). And very important...tell them you are a PriceScope member! They know we are particular about diamond quality and will find you a nice one!

http://www.gabrielny.com/engaged/style/ER7472W44JJ

Different one on their site, but they can get any Gabriel setting. There are many possibilities.

http://idjewelryonline.com/product_info.php?cPath=42_133&products_id=14849&cType=ER

One with a center halo:

http://idjewelryonline.com/product_info.php?cPath=42_133&products_id=14699&cType=ER
 
I also wanted a trellis 3-stone setting with a thin band and a low profile, and was not happy with the setting I got. (It was from a catalog - likely the Unique Settings of NY trellis based on pictures.) The setting was too high and bulky and I hit the stones at least weekly, it hurt my fingers, the baskets were too thick, and the band on the top of the ring was as thick as the sidestones - 4 mm. So that is one I would stay away from.

To help narrow the search: When you say your gf wants as thin a band as possible, what should the band look like in proportion to the sidestones? Many of the examples posted so far have bands that are as thick as the sidestones - is this the look your gf wants?
 
Wow, thanks for all the quick responses! Unfortunately I don't have much time today to look through a lot of this, Labor Day festivities. I'll look at it as soon as I can.

As far as the one used link to ebay goes, Diamonds in that ring are certainly impressive! I have a few concerns about it though, there is no photo from the side so I can't see the profile, the ring is a size 8, I need a 5.5 and it's my understanding that rings can only be resized so much, and used white gold tends to tarnish to a yellowish color, my girlfriend hates any jewelry metal color other than silver ish. How yellow does white gold get?

To answer the above question about band size, I think she wants something no wider than the side stones, possibly even smaller. I'll send her a wide variety of setting photos (just to keep things vague) and have her pick her favorites and I'll see if I can figure out how narrow she wants the band.

Browsing through used rings on the uk ebay site, I came across this. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Brand-New...Jewellery_Rings_SR&hash=item3f14062a3d&_uhb=1 I love the setting as far as the trellis goes and it is platinum which is a plus. The major concern with this one is the diamond cut quality. It's listed as "cut brilliant" which is rather vague. Thoughts?
 
E B|1346680798|3261736 said:
This setting isn't a trellis, but the band is nice and thin (as you can see in the photo on the hand), the diamonds sit fairly low and with two .25 ct sides, it's $1995 in white gold.

http://www.whiteflash.com/engagemen...ois-brillant-diamond-engagement-ring-1426.htm

With this center, it'd be $3614, or just over $3500 if you can pay by wire.

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2829769.htm
Click to expand...

I like this suggestion. The Trois Brilliant setting is really nice.
 
Twoloud|1346680070|3261729 said:
As far as the one used link to ebay goes, Diamonds in that ring are certainly impressive! I have a few concerns about it though, there is no photo from the side so I can't see the profile, the ring is a size 8, I need a 5.5 and it's my understanding that rings can only be resized so much, and used white gold tends to tarnish to a yellowish color, my girlfriend hates any jewelry metal color other than silver ish. How yellow does white gold get?

To answer the above question about band size, I think she wants something no wider than the side stones, possibly even smaller. I'll send her a wide variety of setting photos (just to keep things vague) and have her pick her favorites and I'll see if I can figure out how narrow she wants the band.

Browsing through used rings on the uk ebay site, I came across this. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Brand-New...Jewellery_Rings_SR&hash=item3f14062a3d&_uhb=1 I love the setting as far as the trellis goes and it is platinum which is a plus. The major concern with this one is the diamond cut quality. It's listed as "cut brilliant" which is rather vague. Thoughts?
Click to expand...

Avoid that eBay one, those are not real photos of the ring.

White gold is usually rhodium plated, and the rhodium wears off at different rates for different people. I have worn 3 white gold rings on my finger together for a while, and I can tell there is a slight (very slight) difference in color between my e-ring (worn since feb 2008), wedding band (worn since aug 2008), and the band I got for a birthday present last year (April 2011). It doesn't matter if the gold is 'used' so much as it matters what your own personal chemistry is.

And, I recently had a ring sized from an 8 to a 5.75 with no issues, but I used a trusted jeweler and there were no pave diamonds in the ring.
 
Whiteflash does carry a trellis 3-stone ring. why not call them and see what they can do for you within your budget.
 
This one hits all the marks except it's over budget... platinum, three-stone with killer WF ideal cuts, trellis, size 5.75 already! If you can stretch your budget at all, maybe you can make an offer. Can't hurt to try!

http://diamondbistro.com/index.php?a=2&b=31344

ETA: pre-loved link [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/forum/preloved-ps-jewels/relisted-price-reduction-whiteflash-trellis-3-stone-ring-t179429.html']https://www.pricescope.com/forum/preloved-ps-jewels/relisted-price-reduction-whiteflash-trellis-3-stone-ring-t179429.html[/URL]
 
Oh, that is my lovely ring! Thanks for thinking of it Pricescopers!! :appl: Wow, it's even the right size. I am open to offers, but can't go down too low. It really is a beautiful ring and it looks brand new, as I just had it all checked out, cleaned and high polished at Whiteflash, no patina...just shiny platinum. :lickout: I have the AGS cert. that would come with the ring. With the same diamond specs. that same ring would cost approximately $7000 if it were purchased today from WF. Let me know if you have any questions!!
 
raspberrybliss...I saw your beautiful ring but didn't post it since he said his budget was $3500 preferably but up to $4000 if absolutely necessary. Even if it is too high for him, it is good for it to be posted for lurkers looking, though!
 
Oh, no worries diamondseeker. Pricescopers are always so conscience about helping people find bling within their budgets which is awesome! :)) Hopefully a Pricescoper will end up with her!
 
RaspberryBliss|1346726969|3262025 said:
Oh, no worries diamondseeker. Pricescopers are always so conscience about helping people find bling within their budgets which is awesome! :)) Hopefully a Pricescoper will end up with her!
Click to expand...

This ring will easily sell, I believe! It is beautiful and great quality and someone will be very lucky to get it at a reduced price!
 
Oh that ps ring is beautiful! It is beyond my reach however and a little bigger than I'm looking for.

I like the trois brilliant, but I still like the trellis settings better.
After digging up some info I'd written down from when I took my girlfriend to Kays, the ring she liked best was actually 3/4 ct tw. That should give me a little more room in my budget by bringing the center stone to .4ish and I should be able to get what I want. Thanks for all the help! I'm currently deciding between Gabriel, whiteflash, and blueNile.
 
GET 3 FREE HCA RESULTS JOIN THE FORUM. ASK FOR HELP
Jewelry Blog
PriceScope-Concierge-Ad
Find prime cuts.
Top