Colored Stone Engagement Ring Advice

[Justcurious1999]

I’d like to start off this topic with a little disclaimer that I am completely knew to this kind of consumer shopping and would greatly value any input offered.

To keep a long story short; I am planning on proposing to my significant other soon. Over the years of us dating she has thrown in subtle hints, that she would prefer an emerald over a diamond if I ever did pop the question. My plan thus far has been to acquire a ring without any center stone in it, and to have a local jeweler set and fit a stone for me.

The dilemma I have is where to go from here. What are the best practices in this situation? Is it possible to work with a local jeweler to acquire an emerald of appropriate size, color etc? Or would it be up to me to purchase one from a 3rd party and only bring both ring and stone into the jeweler to set?

What would be your next steps or advice if you were in my situation?

 

[Pandora II]

Do you want to propose with the ring or would you like to design the ring and choose the stone together?

- do you definitely want an emerald? They are on the brittle side and need to be worn with care so not the stone to choose if your gf is a klutz with her hands and/or wants to wear her ring all the time.

- budget? Fine emeralds are expensive.

- treatments? Are you fine with fillings like opticon or other resins or are you only wanting an oiled stone? Emerald are generally pretty included and filling them improves look and stability.

My personal preference it to source the stone online and then see if the stone vendor can do the setting as well, or ship it elsewhere to have a custom setting made. Please don't find the setting first. Coloured stones are not like diamonds where you can order x size in y colour - it can take months to find the right one without trying to find the right one at the right size.

I'd be wary about getting a local jeweller to source stones - I'm sure there must be some out there that actually know what a good stone looks like but all I seem to see are overpriced stones with poor cut and poor colour. You'll get a bigger selection to look at online. Most of us have bought online very happily. I'm in the UK as is Lovingdiamonds and we buy from overseas with no issues at all. Nearly all the vendors here have long-standing relationships with PS and are not interested in buggering them up!

 

[slg47]

I definitely would not buy a loose mounting without a center stone...you want to make sure that the setting fits the center stone, not hunt for a stone with the proper dimensions.

 

[MrsTulip]

I agree with sourcing the stone first before purchasing a setting. I had purchased my ring first without knowing if I wanted a diamond or a colored stone for the center. A year later, I finally decided to go for a colored stone to switch out my CZ, and I found that finding a calibrated size for the center stone really limited my options. I got lucky finding the perfect stone from a local shop that have a great reputation on this forum and amongst my friends here who have custom work done for them.