Choosing an engagement ring - please help!

[Trekkie]

I''ve been lurking on Pricescope for aaaaaaaaages, drooling over everyone''s beautiful rings and listening to the good advice given.

My soon-to-be fiancé knows how incredibly fussy I can be and has given me carte blanche to choose my own ring - he wants to make the final decision from a shortlist of three.

The tricky part is that we live in South Africa and will be converting Rands to Dollars - not a favourable conversion. The maximum budget is $1 500 - minuscule by Pricescope standards, I know.

Thanks to my lurking here, I''m almost convinced that I want to put most of the money into the diamond - a simple setting will do. I''ve decided to go with Brian Gavin Diamonds as I''m absolutely obsessed with his Hearts & Arrows!

Can any Pricescopers offer any advice on stones and settings?

 

[stone-cold11]

This is the biggest BGD stone I can find within your budget.

Ask if it is eye-clean and get the Hearts image if you are interested.

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamond/diamond-detail/?product_id=AGS-10250201

 

[Shadowplay]

If you''re set on BGD, then there''s no sense in shopping online.

Give them a call and tell them your budget and range of color/clarity and ask them for the biggest signature stone you can get. They''ll have you look up a few of the stones on the website and you can go from there. They know their inventory!

 

[winternight]

Trekkie,

I really want to visit South Africa! We went to Tanzania for our honeymoon and almost went to South Africa, hopefully we''ll get to go someday soon!! Such a beautiful country.

Back to diamonds. I think a 1/2 carat solitaire is a great size and will make a lovely ring! My mother had a 1/2 ct. diamond and I remember thinking as a little girl how beautiful elegant and big it looked! But another option might be to get a 3 stone ring. A friend of mine has one and it is a very beautiful look and doesn''t cost as much. Just throwing ideas out there!!

Congratulations!!

 

[Trekkie]

Oh but shopping online has helped me sooooo much - I had no idea BGD even existed before I discovered Pricescope!

Until a few weeks ago, I was convinced "the bigger the better" and would have been quite content with a large-ish diamond in an elaborate setting to mask the rock''s defects. Now, I know I''ll be ecstatically happy with a smaller but sparkly diamond in a simple setting showing off the diamond''s beauty... We won''t be upgrading this, so I want to be happy with my "forever" ring.

Winternight, you''ll love South Africa, it''s beautiful. This, and other wonderful aspects of South Africa, more than make up for the fact that no one will ship here. I''m glad you enjoyed Tanzania! Did you manage to pick up any tanzanite while you were there?

I love the look of the 3 stone ring, but it is quite a bit outside my budget - after paying for the setting, I wouldn''t have much money left over for sparklies.

So I''ve contacted the lovely people at BGD and have started the hunt for the perfect solitaire!

 

[PumpkinPie]

Good luck Trekkie - I have a pair of BGD studs and they''re so sparkly! You''ll love what they come up with for you Please come back with photos when you decide!