First Time in a hold in the wall town

[MacKenzieiii]

Okay first let me say this website has been very helpful to me and my better half but I am finding myself with a few questions that I don’t seem to have good answers for yet.

Basically we live in a town that’s about 200 miles north of Los Angeles but not much in the way of jewlers/apraisers in my home town.

Looking online I think we have come up with the ring and diamond (not a specific diamond but an idea of the stats we think we want). So how can we get a look at it before we take the plunge? I think we are almost as worried about how the setting will look on her finger as we are about the diamond. And while I know we can have the diamond sent to an appraiser that doesn''t help us see the diamond or see the setting.

So I guess the first question is just how crazy would it be to buy a setting before she could try it on? We do have a couple of jewelry stores in town, is it out of line to have the unset diamond sent there just so we can look at it? Is it possible to do the same with the setting?

I do understand the importance of seeing with your own eyes, but there is a part of me that would just like to think that if we follow the advice I see here with respect to cut, clarity etc that maybe there is enough info just online to make the choice.

Would love to hear comments.

Currently we are leaning towards a : Vatche X prong with a .75-.99c round cut diamond.

 

[oldminer]

You can absolutely pick a super fine round diamond sight unseen via Pricescope. The mounting is another story. What you want, the Vatche, is quite popular and for good reason. It is a reasonably timeless and elegant design. It would difficult to imagine someone hating it. One might choose a different style, but it is an elegant one regardless.

Buy the diamond first or along with the mounting. I think you could just about be blind and do well with the size diamond you want and the nearly Designer Standard mounting you believe will be liked. Five years from now, if the mounting is just not quite the right one, then get a new one. It isn't all that big a deal to change a mounting. The whole purchase is symbolic and romantic unless you turn it into an engineering project. This depends on your background and personalities.

Possibly, one of the vendors here will make a further suggestion.

 

[MacKenzieiii]

Date: 4/29/2005 2:37:49 PM
Author: oldminer
You can absolutely pick a super fine round diamond sigth unseen via Pricescope. The mounting is another story. What you want, the Vatche, is quite popular and for good reason. It is a reasonably timeless and elegant design. It would difficult to imagine someone hating it. One might choose a different style, but it is an elegant one regardless.

Buy the diamond first or along with the mounting. I think you could just about be blind and do well with the size diamond you want and the nearly Designer Standard mounting you believe will be liked. Five years from now, if the mounting is just not quite the right one, then get a new one. It isn''t all that big a deal to change a mounting. The whole purchase is symbolic and romantic unless you turn it into an engineering project. This depends on your background and personalities.

Possibly, one of the vendors here will make a further suggestion.

Thanks for the comment, we are both engineers so maybe we should step back and not make it such an engineering project.

 

[oldminer]

My guesswork is improving. Love those engineers!

 

[belle]

hey mackenzieiii (cool name!!

) welcome to ps!

i understand your dilemma and just wanted to offer my input.
as dave stated, the vatche x-prong is a timeless classic. you really can''t go wrong with it. if there were any mounting i would buy blind, that would be one of them for sure.
as far as purchasing the diamond, if you are in the market for a round, i would not hesitate buying from one of the vendors here site unseen. there are many helpful tools you can use in making an informative decision.
and of course, we''re all here to help if you need some reassurance! bset of luck in your search!

 

[AmberGretchen]

Hi - I wouldn''t worry so much about the diamond buying from the vendors here, although one thing that I found I did need to see in person was color and clarity to compare and see whether lower colors bothered me (they did) or whether lower clarities did (they didn''t down to SI1). Another word of caution regarding the Vatche X-prong - it would really be worthwhile to try to have your significant other try on something similar in person. I say this because I loved that setting online, but when I tried it on in person, the width of the band looked wrong on my hand. I really recommend going togethere and trying on as many different ring styles as you can find to make sure you like the look of the setting you want on her hand. Hope that helps!

 

[michela002]

I think buying the diamond sight-unseen is the safer part, I would worry less about that than the setting. You can get an idea from a local jeweler of what colour/clarity etc is unacceptable for you, and work from there up. Just learn what specs to look for and you should be fine for the stone.

As for the setting, I echo what AmberGretchen says. If you don''t have the option of her trying on the exact setting in a nearby jeweler then at least see that she tries on the most similar setting you can find. She might love it in a photo but hate it on her hand (there are a number of settings I feel that way about!) and it would be disappointing to get the ring only to go, "Oh ... I guess it''s okay ... I like the look of it sitting on the coffee table better than on my finger, actually ..."

Also, try to buy from a vendor with a great return policy. I think Whiteflash give you 100% return on standard settings and 80% on designer settings within 10 days. That would give you the option of switching the setting for something else if she doesn''t like it on her after you get it.

Alternatively, perhaps you could drive to LA for a weekend, stay in a nice hotel, have some "couple" time, and while you''re there, take the opportunity to try on every possible ring she might like?

I think it is pretty safe to buy "sight unseen" - you''ll probably be thrilled with the result - but what I''ve recommended are just a few things you could do to convince yourselves you''re doing the right thing and calm any lingering doubts.

 

[valeria101]

Isn''t there a return policy for settings as there is for diamonds ?

If there is (or the seller agrees to this anyway) you could have the diamond and the unset ring sent to you for inspection.