Clueless Guy Buying an Engagement Ring

[libonatim]

I'm trying to decide a few things about the ring I will be buying...

I've attached a few pictures of the setting I am trying to emulate, as well as the diamond/emeralds a jeweler sent me a picture of after I met with him. I will be replacing the sapphires in the online picture with emeralds clearly.

Here's what I'm still debating:

How important is GIA certification?

I've heard mixed opinions on "octillion" cuts, if i'm looking at two options of similar clarity and quality... what criteria should I be using to decide between octillion v round cut?

My girlfriend is not a very flashy person.... I'm debating having hand-engravings one the side bands (would be the same as seen in the side view) in lieu of diamonds. Feel free to give your opinion on this.

I'm sorry if I'm posting this in the wrong section or anything... I just found this site and signed up today.

Any/all opinions/input are more than welcome!

Thanks!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Welcome! This is the correct part of the forum.

That is really pretty, but emeralds are really not for daily wear. They are not as hard as sapphires and rubies (which means they can be scratched or damaged more easily and I believe they can't even be cleaned in an ultrasonic (which is problematic for cleaning the diamonds). I am not sure why jewelers don't tell people this. I'd save emeralds for a special occasion wear right hand ring and either use all diamonds or rubies and sapphires for the accent pieces on this ring. Has she shown you rings like this and indicated it is what she prefers?

GIA certification is essential.You have no idea what you are getting otherwise. Looks like the stone in the center has some color to it. If it doesn't have GIA, I'd have them send it before buying. But actually, I strongly recommend going with a round in that setting. I see nothing to gain from having octillion cut. I think the round will work better and be much easier to find an excellent cut stone and compare prices.

 

[flyingpig]

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/zales-octillion-cut.3827/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/zales-octillion-cut.3827/[/URL]
It sounds like a modified octagon shaped diamond from Zales.
Is that the picture of octillion diamond with those emeralds? That contrast pattern looks very chaotic too me.

I would skip..

 

[libonatim]

Diamondseeker -

The jeweler did inform me of the emeralds potentially breaking, but with the diamond being higher set and with the emeralds being set in channels, he felt like they would be protected enough. He also ensured me that if/when one breaks he will replace one for $30. He used to own an emerald site and had hundreds of these baguettes of much better quality than other pieces I had seen... Where as all the other jewelers I went to in a few jewelry exchange buildings in Boston cautioned me it would be hard to find any emeralds in Boston, let alone one to match exactly.

My girlfriend has said for a while now that she does want emeralds, we even went mining for them in NC but what we found was not usable for jewelry. She wants them to help with her heart chakra... I don't necessarily believe in these things but farbeit from me to deny her of that.

As for GIA certification, I guess i'm just curious if i'm looking at 2 "identical" diamonds side by side and one has it's paper and the other doesn't... would I be able to tell if the clarity/color a jeweler says it is, is way off?

Flyingpig-

Yes this is the zales diamond, that link is actually how i found this site while i was trying to look into the octagon cut. From the few threads i saw on it here, there are a lot of mixed feelings and that's what has made me hesitate.

Yes that's the octillion in the picture, he thought it would help compliment the hexagonal outer "halo" but i tend to agree that it looks a little chaotic.



Thank you both!

 

[flyingpig]

As for GIA certification, I guess i'm just curious if i'm looking at 2 "identical" diamonds side by side and one has it's paper and the other doesn't... would I be able to tell if the clarity/color a jeweler says it is, is way off?

From the few threads i saw on it here, there are a lot of mixed feelings and that's what has made me hesitate.

If you are buying a house, would you skip home inspector/lawyer/realtor to save a few thousand dollars?
It is possible to buy a house without help of those professionals. The house may be ok. The entire process can be ok. Would you risk it?

It is possible to find a good looking diamond without GIA/AGS grade report. Would you risk it when you pay $5000/carat or 0.2g?
Even if the diamond turns out to be a good diamond, how would you prove and support that it is a good diamond, other than your visual inspection and the jeweller's claim. The problem gets worse, when you try to sell or upgrade the diamond. You are hesitant as a buyer now, and your future buyers will be hesitant as well.

My recommendation. Don't buy any diamond without a GIA/AGS grade report.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Buy a GIA excellent cut round for that setting. I don't see the halo of emeralds and diamonds working nearly as well with an octillion as a round, plus you don't have any idea of light return on those. Here are some parameters to help you find one of the better GIA Excellent cut diamonds.

table: 54-58

depth: 60-62.3

crown angle: 34-35.0

pavilion angle: 40.6-40.9

I understand about the emeralds. I am going to highly recommend that you go ahead and purchase a full extra set of them for you to keep since they are not expensive. This jeweler may eventually retire, move, or die, and you do not want to have the problem of getting emeralds custom cut for this ring.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Oh, and just make sure she reads about care of emeralds:

http://www.gia.edu/emerald-care-cleaning

http://www.multicolour.com/emerald/caring-for-emerald.html

That second link says not to clean emeralds often, but diamonds need to be cleaned often. So that is really another dilemma of having emeralds in an engagement ring. Just be sure you have the extras!