The Stig
Rough_Rock
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2018
- Messages
- 100
Dear PS family,
For those not following my previous thread, I am already far along in the process of designing my girlfriend’s eRing. I have purchased the center stone from IDJ and they are now casting the setting. The plan is to propose to her when we visit South Africa in Oct. I haven’t said a word to her. I engaged her best friend to help. The best friend had previously asked my gf for her ring parameters in the event I reached out to her, so she was able to show me exactly what she wanted. Basically a cushion cut center stone approximately 0.75 carats and a halo setting similar to the Waverly setting from Brilliant Earth. She did add in the caveart that she wanted the center stone set as low as possible for day to day practical purposes. I went for a 1.94 center stone instead and have for the most part stuck to the Waverley Brilliant Earth setting design with added side stones on the sides of the halo. IDJ have set the stone as low as it can go in the wax design. It could potentially go lower if we change the design, however then the wedding band then won’t sit flush which was also important to her. Bottom line is that I feel we have hit the right balance, but I have also been wondering if I shouldn’t at this point just engage her in the final stages of the project before IDJ start setting the center and other Halo and band stones. Reason being is that she has to wear the ring for the rest of her life, and therefore it would make sense for her to ensure the setting is to her liking. She still would have no say in the center stone btw.
The dilemma is that I really do want this to be a surprise to her. She is a smart lady, and I know that she knows that I’m going to propose to her in SA. I already have a plan in place with her friend’s help to make her believe that I am only planning to propose on a “fake” Caribbean trip that I am “fake” planning for early December. I’ve already planted the seeds that I want to take for a romantic trip to the Caribbean in Dec, and a week before we leave for SA, her best friend will “by mistake” let it slip that I just reached out to her now regarding the eRing and that I want to go ring shopping with the BFF when I get back from the SA trip. That should keep her guessing at the least, even though she’ll see right through it - lol.
So the big question is do I proceed as planned and try keep this a surprise, or do I engage her to review and approve the wax model, or change as she fits? Obviously seeing that IDJ are far along in the casting process, of course I would pay them for the work incurred to date if my GF changes the design. I did also consider just getting the diamond set in a plain temp solitaire setting, but if this is a surprise, then I want to propose with the actual setting to complete the surprise factor. Thoughts?
For those not following my previous thread, I am already far along in the process of designing my girlfriend’s eRing. I have purchased the center stone from IDJ and they are now casting the setting. The plan is to propose to her when we visit South Africa in Oct. I haven’t said a word to her. I engaged her best friend to help. The best friend had previously asked my gf for her ring parameters in the event I reached out to her, so she was able to show me exactly what she wanted. Basically a cushion cut center stone approximately 0.75 carats and a halo setting similar to the Waverly setting from Brilliant Earth. She did add in the caveart that she wanted the center stone set as low as possible for day to day practical purposes. I went for a 1.94 center stone instead and have for the most part stuck to the Waverley Brilliant Earth setting design with added side stones on the sides of the halo. IDJ have set the stone as low as it can go in the wax design. It could potentially go lower if we change the design, however then the wedding band then won’t sit flush which was also important to her. Bottom line is that I feel we have hit the right balance, but I have also been wondering if I shouldn’t at this point just engage her in the final stages of the project before IDJ start setting the center and other Halo and band stones. Reason being is that she has to wear the ring for the rest of her life, and therefore it would make sense for her to ensure the setting is to her liking. She still would have no say in the center stone btw.
The dilemma is that I really do want this to be a surprise to her. She is a smart lady, and I know that she knows that I’m going to propose to her in SA. I already have a plan in place with her friend’s help to make her believe that I am only planning to propose on a “fake” Caribbean trip that I am “fake” planning for early December. I’ve already planted the seeds that I want to take for a romantic trip to the Caribbean in Dec, and a week before we leave for SA, her best friend will “by mistake” let it slip that I just reached out to her now regarding the eRing and that I want to go ring shopping with the BFF when I get back from the SA trip. That should keep her guessing at the least, even though she’ll see right through it - lol.
So the big question is do I proceed as planned and try keep this a surprise, or do I engage her to review and approve the wax model, or change as she fits? Obviously seeing that IDJ are far along in the casting process, of course I would pay them for the work incurred to date if my GF changes the design. I did also consider just getting the diamond set in a plain temp solitaire setting, but if this is a surprise, then I want to propose with the actual setting to complete the surprise factor. Thoughts?