Buying pre-set ring or designing our own????

[almostengaged]

We don''t have much money to spend on an engagement ring, and we''re trying to figure out whether it''s better to buy a pre-set diamond ring, or design our own (either through a website or a local jeweler). We''re just looking for a very basic Tiffany-style 6 prong solitaire ring - does anybody have any advice or ideas???

 

[codex57]

If you just want the Tiffany classic solitaire, buy it pre-made. It''s been copied so much, you''ll find tons of versions, both very close to the original or with differences.

Not sure what you mean by pre-set? You mean a diamond and setting combo. Kidna like how Tiffanys sells their rings? I like getting the stone separately and then set in the setting I like. Lets you check out the stone more thoroughly.

 

[valeria101]

Just IMO... the setting will be just a small fraction of the total cost and there is no room for surprises from misinterpreted design or anything. It seems worth paying more attention to the diamond and buy it separately.

Besides, there's hardly a "bargain" out there as much as I know - if a ring is pre-made that is nut just for your convenience

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Your best bet money and quality wise it to buy a loose diamond and have this diamond set into a premade tiffany mounting. The mounting will cost between 100-300 depending upon whether you choose gold or platinum and then you can direct the rest of your budget toward the diamond.

Purchasing a well-cut diamond should be your focus. With any size diamond, it will look much bigger, brighter and whiter if it''s well cut. Read the tutorial under the "knowledge" portion of the menu options listed across the top of the screen for the basics.

Whether or not you have $500 or $5000 to spend you can end up with a fabulous stone if you make sure its dimensions are ideal and the stone is "eye clean." I honestly think you can find your best deal by shopping online. One of my diamonds was $2700 at a B&M store, but if I purchased it online it would have been $1000

Good luck!

 

[codex57]

Don''t give up all hope on B&M stores though. B/c of the internet and Pricescope, my B&M store stayed quite comparitive. There''s a stone right now on BlueNile that''s almost identical to the one I got. Mine is .01 ct bigger, the symmetry is 2 grades higher, and it''s far more evenly round. Price is identical, however I had to pay tax. Considering I have better stats in 3 areas, I''m sure that negates much, if not all of the price advantage the internet vendor had by not having to charge sales tax.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

You definetly can get good deals at B&Ms, but I''ve never seen a good deal at the mall (lol), so these types of jewelers probably should be avoided if you want to get the most bang for your buck.

Either way, whether one shops internet vendors or locally, you want to be armed with knowledge. Read the tutorial here and also the one at www.goodoldgold.com and learn as much as you can. Also another tool that''s beneficial is an idealscope because looking at a diamond under one of these will help you determine (under the trick lighting of local jewelers) how much light return a prospective diamond has.

https://www.pricescope.com/idealscope_indx.asp

 

[codex57]

I second that Ideal-Scope recommendation. I highly suggest it. Thing was invaluable to me in my search.

MichelleCarmen is totally right about jeweler lighting. That stuff is HIGHLY deceptive. My mall jeweler was kind enough to show me a poorly cut stone and a very well cut stone (he''s a former HOF dealer). There''s a noticeable difference and it''s pretty dramatic. However, under his showroom lighting, even the bad diamond had some amazing sparkle to it while the good diamond was literally blinding (took me 30 seconds to recover my eyesight). Once I got to see the things under the flourescent lighting in his back room, I could see instantly that the bad one was lifeless while the good one still sparkled a ton.

Not all jewelers are kind enough to let you take their stones and see them in different lighting. Plus, after a while, they all start to look pretty similar. That''s where the I-S comes in. It allows you to quickly and efficiently figure out which stone is good or bad, or even slightly better than another.