Am I being unrealistic?

[Somethingelse]

Hello all, just wanted some opinions after reading a bit of the boards over a few weeks

I'm currently looking an engagement ring and came across this one at Jared's which really caught my eye
http://design.jared-diamonds.com/engagement-rings/hearts-desire-settings/ring/item_473-8965.asp

It has exactly what I was looking for in a ring 1. Square halo with round center stone 2. Split shank 3. Pave on the band
To top it off it looked amazing in person. It glittered more than any other there I'm assuming because of the ideal cut stones.

however it comes with a price of $3600, which leaves me with a budget of $6500-$7000 max for the center stone.

This leads me to a few questions.
1. Is it foolish to spend that much on the ring with a stone in that price range?
2. Are there any alternative rings that have those 3 qualities with ideal diamonds that may be cheaper that you are aware of?

She is a size 3.5 and i'm sure i'll have to special order whatever one it is as well.

- Now for the center stone -

Ideally I'd like a round
color: D-F (even G) I had an I placed in there just to see and it looked like it had too much color to me, G looked fine.
cut: ideal hearts and arrow preferably
clarity: eye clean so playing it safe id think VS2
carat: to fit that setting it says .95-1.11

unfortunately closest i've come up with my budget is

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2231005.htm
0.834 ct F VS2 A CUT ABOVE® Hearts and Arrows Super Ideal Round Cut Loose Diamond

which just won't fit the ring and I was hoping to get as close to 1 carat as possible. Any suggestions? is my budget just too low for this? I could go cheaper on the band and spend the extra on the stone if I can find one similar.

 

[SweetAsscher]

The setting you posted does have split shank but it also has a tapered cathedral in between the split. Is that something you wanted specifically?
I'm sure we can help you find something gorgeous within your budget that meets all your favorite elements. Let me look around for a minute and I'll post some links.
I'll let the diamond experts chime in about the center stone.

 

[SweetAsscher]

Here is what I found form Gabriel Co
I selected halo, and this was only from the first 10 pages, but there are 44 pages under halo and I only selected ones with split shank, though they have many many lovely styles without it too.
Pricing for these range from about $2k to $2500, but you can also get a quote from a Gabriel dealer like GOG : http://www.goodoldgold.com/Home/

http://www.gabrielengaged.com/style/ER7786W44JJ

http://www.gabrielengaged.com/style/ER7493W44JJ

http://www.gabrielengaged.com/style/ER7487W44JJ

http://www.gabrielengaged.com/style/ER7479W44JJ

http://www.gabrielengaged.com/style/ER7272W44JJ


and if the setting is $2500, then these stones would be in your budget:

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/8703/

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/9193/

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/8388/

Plus there's a discount for paying with bank wire transfer and if you buy a hearts and arrows diamond and a designer setting you get an additional 3% off the stone.

 

[rubybeth]

Great finds, SweetAsscher! I bet all of the Gabriel settings would blow the Jared setting out of the water, too.

 

[mandasand]

I love the first Gabriel setting posted - it's pretty much identical to the Jared setting and then you don't have to shop at Jared!! I have seen Gabriel settings in person and they are lovely. I can't wait to get mine!

 

[Sparkle524]

I really do like the settings that Sweetasscher posted over the Jared's setting.

 

[decodelighted]

Have you considered how that ring will look with a wedding band? BEFORE you buy it -- please, for goodness sake, have a woman in the jewelry store try it on her hand WITH different wedding bands & see what you think THEN.

 

[Amys Bling]

Have you considered how that ring will look with a wedding band? BEFORE you buy it -- please, for goodness sake, have a woman in the jewelry store try it on her hand WITH different wedding bands & see what you think THEN.

great suggestion. Many times once someone starts looking for weddings Banda they start to think of "if only a band would sit flush" "I wish I went with...." so definitely take wedding band options into consideration

 

[decodelighted]

I'll also say that I REALLY dislike halos that have the center stone sitting up out of them in prongs like that. They don't look "integrated" -- and it's a style that's mostly done on cheaper fashion rings - not fine jewelry. You don't have to bezel set the centerstone for it to look more integrated -- BETTER (imho) designs have the center stone raised just *slightly* higher than the surrounding halo stones. Just enough for the girdle to be slightly visible.

My other preference is split-shanks that curve gently toward the centerstone -- rather than ones that are splayed open where they'll rest directly against a wedding band.

I'll try to find examples of what I'm talking about ...

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Yes, that stone in the Jared's ring is set too high.

I much prefer the Gabriel rings. And I totally agree that they will allow a wedding band to work better.

 

[Amys Bling]

Yes, that stone in the Jared's ring is set too high.

I much prefer the Gabriel rings. And I totally agree that they will allow a wedding band to work better.

agree on all fronts! I also do not like when halo rings with a high set diamond

 

[Somethingelse]

Appreciate all the feedback, I will be definitely looking at some wedding bands as well in person to see how they fit. I like the first and third gabriel & co that were linked, they look amazing. Personally I'm not sure yet how I feel about the center stone being set higher/lower. Does it not also have to do with the size of the stone going in the particular setting? How is the quality typically in the halos from gabriel & co?

out of the 3 stones listed, overall it seems that this could be the best buy out of them if i'm correct, colorless eye clean with great light performance

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/9193/

The combo with any of those diamonds listed would fall perfectly in my budget. Thanks for all the help! I'd still love to hear from anyone else that has any suggestions/feedback.

 

[farmer gal]

I would reserve the diamond while you think about it so someone else doesn't snatch it up

 

[Amys Bling]

I would reserve the diamond while you think about it so someone else doesn't snatch it up

yes, I would definitely do that- lurkers tend to snatch up stones

 

[Somethingelse]

will do, any suggestions out of those 3?
the one i linked again seemed a good fit for what i was looking for as i said before, and it scores well on HCA 1.2 if i did it correctly. Hearts seem a bit off from what i can tell but overall a quality stone.

Again any other settings/stones appreciated before i take the leap.