Cerulean
Ideal_Rock
- Joined
- Sep 13, 2019
- Messages
- 5,077
I have been lurking on PS for a long while. I wanted to share my story and also give thanks for all of the incredible knowledge sharing you ladies (and men) provide for clueless girls like me! The process for my e-ring has been a little atypical and if anything I am looking for moral support! I hope this isn't too long!
Background - My bf of 2+ years and I have been talking about marriage for a little while now. We are young and relatively serious people individually, with good careers but four parents to help support financially (his parents are both disabled, mine were just terrible at planning ahead). We prefer to make decisions, many times even small ones, jointly. Him surprising me with a ring was essentially against the fiber of how we operate in a relationship.
We had talked at length about a very modest engagement/wedding, with matching budgets...but he's old school, and wanted to get me a diamond for my e-ring. I happily agreed to do research (he knew he'd be well out of his league and that I was excited at the prospect by contrast) and I quickly realized that our budget was woefully low for a diamond of any substantial size (which is what we both preferred ). I am not a size queen in the traditional sense, but I am over 6ft tall with VERY large hands (size 7.5 with v long fingers) and anything under a carat looked teensy tiny, and even upwards to 1.5CTW seemed conservative for our taste (nothing wrong with it, just not for us).
I scoured the internet. I learned that I liked round vintage stones, could bend on clarity, LOVED the warmer colors of the L-O range (my heart was set on M) but was having a hard time finding anything. I was in the midst of negotiating for a 1.76CTW RB stone I saw online (not vintage) and a custom setting, but it had an inclusion in the dead center that was quite visible and it was a little dull, but I thought...this is the best deal we'd get.
On a whim, I perused a local vintage jeweler's website. And *GASP* I found my DREAM diamond ring. The color, size (2+ CARATS ), with a setting nearly identical to the custom one I wanted....so my BF and I went the next day to the store! The catch?? It was so far beyond our original budget, and outside of what I thought we could afford...I felt sick about it. Of course, it was everything I could have hoped for besides cost, so I looked around and another ring unexpectedly caught my eye. It was a smaller old miner cut, a bit wonky (never what I would have picked online) but it was charming, the M color I liked, and when I sent my mother a photo, she told me it was just like my late grandmother's engagement ring - a woman I loved dearly and miss terribly. If you can believe it, I fell in love with that ring too, and at half the price, it entered into the "ring" of contenders.
So now my friends, the decision is out of my hands - he wants to take it from here. I described what I liked about both, and why my BF in no way should feel guilted into buying the bigger stone. He's our financial planner, and assured me we could swing it, but I still wanted to give him the option and I frankly would be pleased with both, although the dream ring...UGH! I am sure you all understand. So now I am agonizing and hoping the wait is over soon! He confirmed that he bought one, asked for my father's hand...it's only a matter of time! They say patience is a virtue...
The rings and pic with my giantess hand, I don't have all of the stats:
1. Midcentury RB solitaire
Setting - 14kt natural white gold (no rhodium) solitaire with lotus style prongs
2.01CTW, 8.1mm spread
M, SI1-SI2 (eye clean with a few white inclusions that are mostly covered by prongs)
Pros: Lots of fire, lovely white reflections
2. Art Deco Set Old Mine Cut
Setting - vintage platinum
1.00CTW, with 1.6CTW total (6 side diamonds, F-G color, VS clarity)
M, SI3 (eye clean)
Pros: Mined in the late 1800s, lots of history and character
Background - My bf of 2+ years and I have been talking about marriage for a little while now. We are young and relatively serious people individually, with good careers but four parents to help support financially (his parents are both disabled, mine were just terrible at planning ahead). We prefer to make decisions, many times even small ones, jointly. Him surprising me with a ring was essentially against the fiber of how we operate in a relationship.
We had talked at length about a very modest engagement/wedding, with matching budgets...but he's old school, and wanted to get me a diamond for my e-ring. I happily agreed to do research (he knew he'd be well out of his league and that I was excited at the prospect by contrast) and I quickly realized that our budget was woefully low for a diamond of any substantial size (which is what we both preferred ). I am not a size queen in the traditional sense, but I am over 6ft tall with VERY large hands (size 7.5 with v long fingers) and anything under a carat looked teensy tiny, and even upwards to 1.5CTW seemed conservative for our taste (nothing wrong with it, just not for us).
I scoured the internet. I learned that I liked round vintage stones, could bend on clarity, LOVED the warmer colors of the L-O range (my heart was set on M) but was having a hard time finding anything. I was in the midst of negotiating for a 1.76CTW RB stone I saw online (not vintage) and a custom setting, but it had an inclusion in the dead center that was quite visible and it was a little dull, but I thought...this is the best deal we'd get.
On a whim, I perused a local vintage jeweler's website. And *GASP* I found my DREAM diamond ring. The color, size (2+ CARATS ), with a setting nearly identical to the custom one I wanted....so my BF and I went the next day to the store! The catch?? It was so far beyond our original budget, and outside of what I thought we could afford...I felt sick about it. Of course, it was everything I could have hoped for besides cost, so I looked around and another ring unexpectedly caught my eye. It was a smaller old miner cut, a bit wonky (never what I would have picked online) but it was charming, the M color I liked, and when I sent my mother a photo, she told me it was just like my late grandmother's engagement ring - a woman I loved dearly and miss terribly. If you can believe it, I fell in love with that ring too, and at half the price, it entered into the "ring" of contenders.
So now my friends, the decision is out of my hands - he wants to take it from here. I described what I liked about both, and why my BF in no way should feel guilted into buying the bigger stone. He's our financial planner, and assured me we could swing it, but I still wanted to give him the option and I frankly would be pleased with both, although the dream ring...UGH! I am sure you all understand. So now I am agonizing and hoping the wait is over soon! He confirmed that he bought one, asked for my father's hand...it's only a matter of time! They say patience is a virtue...
The rings and pic with my giantess hand, I don't have all of the stats:
1. Midcentury RB solitaire
Setting - 14kt natural white gold (no rhodium) solitaire with lotus style prongs
2.01CTW, 8.1mm spread
M, SI1-SI2 (eye clean with a few white inclusions that are mostly covered by prongs)
Pros: Lots of fire, lovely white reflections
2. Art Deco Set Old Mine Cut
Setting - vintage platinum
1.00CTW, with 1.6CTW total (6 side diamonds, F-G color, VS clarity)
M, SI3 (eye clean)
Pros: Mined in the late 1800s, lots of history and character