Have my stone, chose my setting... now help !

[Kryssa]

Hello Everyone! I have been lurking here for weeks since my DF proposed on 7/4!!!!

I have an antique stone- it's a 1.13c European Cut. I've had people look at it, no formal appriasal done, but they tell me they cannot see any major inclusions (I cannot see any at all myself) but it is a little yellow (although I can't tell, they say it's a J-L, and that is fine with me.)

I'm having it set in to Ritani's half bezel ring from the classic collection. Here is a pic I took of the setting at the jewelry store (mine is a little bit bigger than this
http://asunder.ods.org/neoqbacca/ring.jpg
and from the Ritani website: http://www.ritani.com/products/view/547/in_collection/5

There are 2 independent jewelry stores near me that they can get the ring.
Store A- This store ordered one from Ritani so I could see what it looks like in person (that's where I took the above pic) and includes all the sizing, rebuffing (?) of the platinum for life and checking the setting, resizing, ect. It will take 3-4 weeks for them to get the ring done (I assume they need to send my stone to Ritani, but am not sure...)
Store B- Going to this store today to just see what it is like. They do not have the ring in stock but can get one for me to look at, then my ring will also take 3-4 weeks from this place.

There is also Baily Banks and Biddle... has anyone bought a setting from them? DF likes this idea because no matter where we move across the country we'll have a store to take the ring to. Does anyone know if they do resizing, ect, free for life?

And of course, we've considered online vendors. It seems like a big purchase to make online, but maybe we can get a better deal? What about resizing, rebuffing of the platinum, ect?


And I guess I should also mention I am still not sure whether to get white gold or platinum... i'm leaning toward platinum, but its double the price, and then my wedding band would be double the price as well (or more!)


Thanks for any help you can give!

 

[vintagelover229]

Baily Banks and Biddle is a very good store (high end) but I have never worked with them personally. I''m sure you can get a life time policy from them that includes sizing, polishing, etc. If you want to go with an online vendor I''d try goodoldgold.com (they can get that setting for you as well) and Whiteflash.

I personally used goodoldgold and I love them! I''m going there in a few weeks to hopefully source a band. As for whiteflash, they are located here in houston, and I have personally met them. They were going to do my custom piece, but I changed my mind last minute and went with a plain WG ring. You can''t go wrong with either of them in my opinion.

As for the WG vs. platinum is all a matter of personal choice and budget. I personally don''t like the weight of it so I opted out. I also didn''t like the fact I could get the same thing for way less $$$$. If you do a seach you can see the two compared and decide for yourself. Both have their own pros/cons and upkeep. Hope this helps!