Agnasia
Shiny_Rock
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2014
- Messages
- 465
What an epic research journey! Not quite an idyllic fairytale, but well worth the time and effort spent.
For the longest time I have felt that my e-ring and wedding band were a mismatch, and found myself wearing my band alone more and more. I was also suffering a case of DSS! Slowly I managed to discuss this with my hubby who has struggled to understand my ring fascination. It is our twenty year anniversary this Sunday and hubby acknowledged that now might be an apt time to explore ring options, although trying to agree a budget was a challenge!
So I started by going to jewellers and just trying rings on, which I had never got to do before! I also explored prices, although they generally seem much higher here in the UK than in the US.
I had assumed I would just want a bigger solitaire, so started to figure out what carat weight would feel right. I also tried some other cuts but kept going back to rounds and specifically OECs. I found out I’m not keen on transitionals and I like old mines, but the roundness, face up size and centre facet patterns best of OECs.
It was after trying on a number of solitaires that a vendor suggested I try on a three stone. I had never been a fan so wasn’t expecting much, but he pulled out this gorgeous milgrain bezelled beauty and I couldn’t get it out of my head. It was pricey and the vendor wouldn’t confirm any specs so I decided to create my own version.
This is the antique inspo ring:

I had finally pinned hubby down to a budget of $6-7k with the option of being “flexible”!! While healthy, I knew I would have a challenge to get all three stones plus the setting within that range. While I explored a few vendor options I ended up going with Ivy and Rose Vintage. They were one of the the most responsive and also had a few centre diamond options to compare and choose from. I have nothing but good things to say about Emily, she was wonderful to work with.
I have @Cerulean to thank for actually spotting “the one”! I had been struggling to find the right balance of carat and colour, especially as I knew I was going to bezel it in platinum. I was exploring lower colours to get a bigger centre but just couldn’t quite commit to going too low, especially as I wouldn’t actually get to see the diamond until set. I&R also had two sets of side stones that were a lovely match, I went with the smaller ones and I’m glad I did. Although the bigger sides would have given me over 2ctw, the proportions were just a bit off and when comparing to the inspo antique ring, the smaller sides were just right.
The loose stones:

For the longest time I have felt that my e-ring and wedding band were a mismatch, and found myself wearing my band alone more and more. I was also suffering a case of DSS! Slowly I managed to discuss this with my hubby who has struggled to understand my ring fascination. It is our twenty year anniversary this Sunday and hubby acknowledged that now might be an apt time to explore ring options, although trying to agree a budget was a challenge!
So I started by going to jewellers and just trying rings on, which I had never got to do before! I also explored prices, although they generally seem much higher here in the UK than in the US.
I had assumed I would just want a bigger solitaire, so started to figure out what carat weight would feel right. I also tried some other cuts but kept going back to rounds and specifically OECs. I found out I’m not keen on transitionals and I like old mines, but the roundness, face up size and centre facet patterns best of OECs.
It was after trying on a number of solitaires that a vendor suggested I try on a three stone. I had never been a fan so wasn’t expecting much, but he pulled out this gorgeous milgrain bezelled beauty and I couldn’t get it out of my head. It was pricey and the vendor wouldn’t confirm any specs so I decided to create my own version.
This is the antique inspo ring:

I had finally pinned hubby down to a budget of $6-7k with the option of being “flexible”!! While healthy, I knew I would have a challenge to get all three stones plus the setting within that range. While I explored a few vendor options I ended up going with Ivy and Rose Vintage. They were one of the the most responsive and also had a few centre diamond options to compare and choose from. I have nothing but good things to say about Emily, she was wonderful to work with.
I have @Cerulean to thank for actually spotting “the one”! I had been struggling to find the right balance of carat and colour, especially as I knew I was going to bezel it in platinum. I was exploring lower colours to get a bigger centre but just couldn’t quite commit to going too low, especially as I wouldn’t actually get to see the diamond until set. I&R also had two sets of side stones that were a lovely match, I went with the smaller ones and I’m glad I did. Although the bigger sides would have given me over 2ctw, the proportions were just a bit off and when comparing to the inspo antique ring, the smaller sides were just right.
The loose stones:
