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Engagement ring help

M

mawcluster

Rough_Rock
Joined
Dec 5, 2010
Messages
3
I'm just a student with hardly any income. But I'm hoping to get engaged next month. My budget is in the 1000-1500 range. I'm looking for a 3 stone ring.

I've been overwhelmed with all the information about diamonds, marketing, sales pitches I've heard online and in stores...I'm just afraid of getting ripped off. I don't think my girlfriend won't be real critical of the color or small inclusions in a ring...but she wants something classy.

Any guidance on where I should go to find a ring that will be a good value?
 
 
I also like 3-stone ring but I don't understand why the setting for 3-stone is very very expensive. I have the same budget and end up with a solitaire with 0.59 E SI2, if I went with 3-stone I think my diamond would be tiny.
 
Is the 3 stone ring idea a preference she has expressed? If not, like Chloe said, you could get a bigger solitaire.
 
Actually she didn't express that she wanted a three stone. I was going to surprise her. I thought the opposite would be true...that the solitaire would look small at that price and the three stone would distract from its size. I guess I'm wrong on that one. I did want something besides one center stone though...maybe some small diamonds along the setting. I'm still looking for the right deal and look.
 
Well, it depends how you look at it I guess. A three stone might give more finger coverage, but a solitaire diamond that is around a 1/2 carat will look significantly larger than a .3 center stone. That said, both are classic choices. I do think that a .5ctish rock is an elegant, respectable size that, while not huge, is still larger than the average ring. You'll want to prioritize cut to optimize sparkle.

I know the student budget thing very well, so I definitely sympathize. I think you can put together a beautiful ring for your budget, but if you do feel limited, would upgrading the center stone be a future option that you guys might be open to? If so, some of the online vendors have nearly 100% trade-in policies.

For James Allen, I think you might have to spend double the original price, but what do you think about something like this?:

http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/pave/18k-White-Gold-Thin-French-Cut-Engagement-Ring.html

with this:

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1344298.asp look at pricescope discount price

or this:

$25 over budget
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1338490.asp

may also be nice:
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1335106.asp

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-SI2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1338379.asp

hair under .5ct:
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1338447.asp

simpler setting if budget is too tight:
http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/solitaire-rings/?searching=setting&whitegold=1


Don't forget to ask any of the online vendors about the Pricescope discount. It makes a difference. If interested in any of these, please ask about eye-cleanliness and request an idealscope image. If really interested, please put the stone on a temporary hold. Lurkers have a tendency to pounce on good picks. ;)

Good luck!

edited to fix links
 
I think that french cut band and the first stone is a wonderful combination. Will not look cheap or small AT ALL!
 
Thanks for your help. I think I'm going to go with the french cut and that .5 carat stone. Its at the top end of my budget but I think it will be worth it.

What happens with James Allen if they center stone falls out? Is that part of their warranty?
 
Amys Bling|1291609898|2788557 said:
I wouldn't recommend buy a diamond from jared as the prices are high for what you get- but they have some settings that might work. From what I understand, you can buy a diamond from somewhere else and have jared set it in a ring you buy from them.
Click to expand...

Jared's setting cost is really high, tho, and is proportional to the carat size. Ugh.

How about one of these? (As the page numbers go higher, the rings get cheaper.) I especially like this one and this one, among the 3 stone options.
 
Would you consider a sapphire center stone?

Simply Sapphires is having 30% off through the end of today. http://www.simplysapphires.com/html/imagesjewelry2005/344spr-sm.html Would come in under budget and would knock her socks off. It's got a lovely sapphire in there and is a classic ring that will not go out of style.

Personally that's what I'd go with.. it ends up being 1155.00 plus tax and includes free shipping.
 
Oops. Saw you already found a lovely .5 carat in a pave setting. LOVELY CHOICE! Congrats.
 
glad you found a winner- antelope I was making suggestions for a 3 stone setting- jared was the only place that had small side stones included in the ring fro 800 or less. But I do agree their pricing for their setting are high.
 
Hi Mawcluster!

I'm so glad I was able to point you toward some things you like. I believe this has been a pretty popular setting from James Allen and it seems those who have posted after receiving it are really pleased. If you're able to swing the half carat range, I think that is a great choice and I'm sure she will get a kick out of knowing it hit the .5ct mark. (We women can be a little silly like that!) All in all, it looks like you're on a great path and I think it will be a heck of a ring.

As for warranty, I'm not up on all of JA's policies. You should ask them. However, I would really encourage you to get jewelry insurance on the ring in the case of theft, damage, or loss. If you're not insuring majorly expensive pieces, it is really rather cheap. I use Travelers and I think I pay 1% of my insured value per year. For regular maintenance, you'll probably want to find a good local jeweler whom you can trust. Almost any store I go in will clean my ring and check the prongs for free. They will either polish it for free or for a small charge. I try to use the same store when I can so that if I am looking to buy someting small here or there, I can give them the business. Internet diamond buying has ruined me for life, though. Once you see how far your money can go online, it is hard to stomach the B&M prices. Granted, if I didn't have to worry about budgets maybe I wouldn't care! ;)

Best of luck to you and your future fiancee! Pretty please come back with at least one picture when you get it!
 
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