Decisions on anniversary upgrade

[Janis]

Hi, I have been enjoying reading these forums recently and finally decided to join! I have certainly seen many beautiful rings looking through this site!

Next December will be our 30th anniversary, and I am considering an upgrade of my original wedding rings. I have been hesitant about it, because my husband is sort of sentimental about the original rings and I am, too. But the two things that bother me is that they are set in yellow gold and my e-ring diamond is 1.0 ct, F, SI1 and has a little flourescence and who knows about the cut! I am lucky the stone is as good as it is since we knew next to nothing about diamonds when we were 21! I know yg will come back, but I have dark hair and wg really looks better on me. My tennis bracelet and diamond earrings are set in wg, too.

But I have decided not to have these stones/rings reset or rhodium plated. I really, really would love a little bigger diamond (1.25-1.5) and one in the VS clarity range with an excellent cut. Maybe I could go to a G color to offset the price of the better clarity? I think that could last me for the next 30 years (if I can stay off this forum after the purchase)!

I am undecided about a few choices. I currently wear my original 3mm wedding ring with little pave diamonds on the bottom (had this long before it was common), the e-ring in 2mm tiffany setting, and a third plain gold 3mm band above that. I am considering a single 3 stone ring (RB), or a RB solitaire with plain band flanked by two thin eternity bands, or the solitaire with diamonds in the band and a plain band on either side. Okay, one more... maybe a solitaire in sleek 3-4mm band and one channel set eternity ring about the same width!

I don't want to make the anniversary ring a RHR because it will be bigger than my original wedding set, and I often do not wear a RHR.

I am totally sold on buying the diamond from one of the companies frequently mentioned on this site, but I do not think there is any way I can choose settings without trying them on, particularly when trying to fit a solitaire and two *eternity bands together. I pretty much like classic styles for me, except I do like the antique style of Tacori, too (but wouldn't buy Tacori based on the information posted here). Unfortunately it would require a trip to any of these places because I live in NC.

Oh, one more thing. My YG 14K rings are as shiny as they were 29 years ago and they are not scratched up. Platinum gets SO dull judging from my mother's rings and 18k WG is soft and can get scratched easily. Is there something wrong with 14K white gold that I should know?

I appreciate your patience if you read all this, and I'd be glad to have some "expert" advice!

Thanks!
Janis

 

[Kaleigh]

Congratulations on your upcoming 30th anniversary. WG can turn yellow over time. It will have to be rhodium plated as this happens.

 

[Janis]

Thanks! Thirty years is an accompishment these days...and warrants a big rock to commemmorate it (IMO). Haha!

Are your rings set in platinum? Can they be kept shiny at home or do you have to have them polished at the jewelers?

Janis

 

[Kaleigh]

Mine are set in platinum. They were an upgrade. They can be easily polished by your jeweler. My ering is 6 years old and still very shiny. We are celebrating 20 years this September.

 

[widget]

Welcome, Janis (great name, by the way

) and congratulations on your upcoming thirtieth!

I''m glad you don''t plan to remount the old ring...I''m sentimental too. And I certainly understand your needing to try on mountings in real life before making any final decisions..

I hope an expert will chime in here, or perhaps you can do a search for "white gold" to see if 14K has been discussed before. I suspect there must be something ''less desirable'' about it because one sees it less frequently than other choices. I do know that some designers refuse to work in WG of any karat for technical reasons I don''t understand..

I personally prefer the weight, look and opulent "feel" of platinum...but that''s just me. If it''s the patina that concerns you, I do think it''s fairly easy and not very costly to have rings occasional repolished.

I''m no expert, of course...mainly I just wanted to say welcome!

widget

 

[Janis]

Thanks for the welcome and reply, Widget! Well, that''s two votes for platinum...I''m sure I''d love it as long as it is not hard to keep them polished. My mother has probably never had hers polished!

Janis

 

[Rod]

Platinun is extremely easy to keep looking new. Whereas white gold required being rhodium plated to keep it''s white luster. All that is need to keep platinum looking new is an occasional buff from your jeweler. White gold wears out too and platinum rarely does. In fact, if you scratch platinum, you are moving the metal around, not losing it, whereas with gold you actually lose metal. Finally, platinum is heavier and has a higher quality feel, IMHO. Good luck and congratulations on your anniversary!

 

[Sundial]

We upgraded my wedding ring in 2005 for our 28th anniversary. My old diamond was a G SI2 1.0 carat and I had it remounted in a simple platinum setting to wear as a right hand ring. My new wedding ring is a three stone with a 1.25 F SI1 ideal cut center stone with matching .50 carat sidestones set in 18 kt. white gold with tiny pave diamonds on the shank. I have had no trouble with my white gold yellowing or being scratched. The platinum ring is also still quite shiny. Both metals have their pluses and minuses and I see no real problems with either. You may want to go to a jeweler in your area to look at some different styles, sizes, and metals to help you decide what you like. Have fun shopping!!!

 

[Janis]

Hi, Sundial, we seem to have a few things in common! We just had our 29th anniversary and I am already shopping for the ring for the 30th! Our original stones were similar and I am strongly looking at 3 stone rings for my new ring. The more I think about it, the more I want something different but classic...not just a remake of the same thing I have now. And your new ring has the EXACT sizes I am considering for the three stone! Do you have any bigger pictures than the one next to your message (my eyes aren''t that good!). Did you buy the setting and choose the diamonds or did it come already set? I really don''t want a completely plain setting, but some of the designer settings I was looking at cost a fortune. I wouldn''t mind an antique engraved setting as another possibility.

 

[Kaleigh]

For antique settings check out www.faycullen.com they have a nice selection Janis. If you want more PM me, I have a ton of them.

 

[Sundial]

Janis I too thought we shared much in common with our upgrades so I wanted to be sure and respond to your post. Here are some close up shots of my three stone upgrade ring. The diamonds are semi-bezel set. My husband found the setting and chose the diamonds for it at a local jewelers. They are all Hearts on Fire.

 

[Sundial]

This view from the top gives you an idea of the size ratio of the 1.25 center stone with the .50 sidestones. My ring size is a 5.

 

[Janis]

Magnificent, Sundial! Wow, your husband did very well! I LOVE it! I wear 5 1/4 now...just resized my old rings which were 4 3/4. Thanks so much for sharing the beautiful pictures!


Kaleigh, thank you for the Fay Cullen site! How will I EVER choose! Incidentally, I absolutely love your rings as well! All this time I thought your center stone was oval because it is distorted on the avatar picture! But I was searching for 3 stone rings and saw another picture of your beautiful ring! I''ll be sending you a PM..probably tomorrow because it is getting late and I have to go back to work tomorrow!

I am glad to be looking ahead of time, because it may take me the whole year to decide on a setting!!!

Thanks!!!

 

[pebbles]

Hi Janis! Welcome!

I just got a new stone this summer (celebrated 6 years of marriage), a 1.04ct, up from a .38ct. I just had it put in a 3 stone Scott Kay setting and I absolutely love it!

I debated between white gold and platinum. My original set is WG and I thought about getting it again, but there was only about a $200 price difference so I decided to go with the platinum. I am so glad I did. I love the heft of it and it just feels more *expensive*

For a major upgrade such as yours, I would get platinum.

Congrats on your upcoming anniversary! We would love to see what you choose!

 

[Janis]

Thanks, Pebbles! I''d love to see your ring, too, if you have pictures. Or if not, is the setting on a Scott Kay website? Figuring out a setting is going to drive me crazy! But I will definitely post pictures if I ever decide!