$4000 or less? Ring Shopping in CA?

[jessica_brooke]

Background: Mark and I have been together 5+ years, and are moving in together in September. We''ve been talking about rings lately, so my cousin suggested this site for research. We''re both pretty young, he''s 23 (almost 24) and I''m turning 23 in a few weeks.

so anyway, Mark and I had a long talk about rings last night, and we decided to go ring-shopping today after dinner so he can get an idea of what I like, since I don''t really know. Can you suggest a place that has a lot of selection? (Either a chain or a store in CA) I''ve been reading around on here and realize that most brick/morter places are overpriced for bad quality, but I''m not sure where else to look, even if we decide to buy online form a vender.

He also mentioned that his budget is probably around $4k (or less). Is that enough for a good ring? (I was originally hoping for something like 1 ct, no visible inclusions, face up white, and a very good cut?) Do you think maybe he will increase it once he sees what $4k can buy? I think cut and caret are most important, and the others arent as importent as long as they arn''t dreadfull. do brikck/morter places grade on cut? i looked on shanecos website and they dont let you search by cut, only the other 3.

any suggestons abotu ring shopping (do we tell the place we are just looking? what to be prepared for) and how to find a nice iring in that price range. ?

I don''t know how soon he''s htinking, but my birthday is the begining of May. If we ordered online how long does it take fo rthe ring to come? I don''t know what he''s plannning.. but just in case

 

[Regular Guy]

California''s pretty big.

Consider selecting your city here, and looking on the right hand column then, for a suggestion.

Or better...enter in your city, or CA, or California, in the search box here...lots have been recommended over time.

 

[:)]

What shape stone? Are you willing to put all your budget into the stone and just get a plain setting (at least for now - you can always change the setting later)? You will get your best price on the internet, and if you feel like an ''upgrade'' may be in your future, you may want to stick with places with a really good upgrade policy.

 

[plsadvise]

For about 3700 you can get a "just shy" of 1 carat, ideal or premium cut RB from a pricescope vendor with a variety of totally white and eye clean specs like F, SI1, G SI1, etc, or you can get similar cut just over a full carat in an I SI2, etc by dropping clarity and color a little but you can still likely find something that faces up white and has acceptable inclusions. And you can get a plain gold setting for just a few hundred dollars and then upgrade it later if you want!

I think you can do very well in the 1 carat solitaire range for 4K if you''re savvy!

 

[Unearthed]

It really depends on what you are looking for.

If I had 4k to buy my ring at this moment I would buy this diamond:
http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-232004.htm#
With something like this setting:
http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-232004.htm#

That''s an amazing diamond at a great price and a nice setting that could upgrade in the future if you wanted to. I had about 3k to buy my engagement ring and I purchased a 3/4ct H&A center stone and a setting with .35ct worth of channeled diamonds. I think it looks awesome, and I was able to stay within my budget thanks to this site and a jeweler friend of mine who gave me the setting cheap. There is pics in the other forum somewhere. That kind of budget is really pretty good and there is no reason to sacrifice in any areas if you don''t want to.

 

[avlis]

if you are really "just looking" so you two can get a feel for what kind of shapes/settings you like then just go to the local mall. lots of stores to see if you like round or square cuts or what kind of settings & color. just dont fall in love with any one specific setting. there are many time on here you see a guy post about trying to find some exact replica of a mall store setting because his fiance absolutely loved it and had to have that exact one. give the guy a little breathing room. have fun with it.

its ok to tell a jeweler you are just looking for a future purchase. if they start to pressure you to buy now, leave.