heart shape ring(do you like it)

[sroblee]

hi, i certainly appreciate your answers. everyone had very good advices. i looked at a lot of rings online, but i have to say that for some reason.....i have to see what they look like on my finger. is there one of the bigger retailers you would suggets? i went to reeds, and kay after zales. i know you guys said they were more expensive....but i went to those because they have a lifetime warranty on the diamonds, if one falls out ...they fix it. ( i guess its a little bit of a concern since my first ring lost a couple diamonds on the band, but it was also from waltmart

as for the solitary, its a good idea but i am on a budget and i cant seem to build one thats looks close ( the price and the look) of the first one i saw. i am still looking online... the ring on the picture has 3/4 ctw I1 -I2 clarity and I color. The price is $1850 on there website and when i went to the store the manager will let me have it for $1300. (after ive been there 3 days in a row) thats about i want to pay for a ring. i do not wear jewelry, and i dont want to put to much $ in a ring but i do want a pretty ring . ( i loose things i would be nervous to wear very $$ ring.) i am taking my time..

i would like to have a few more inputs from you guys about the design,....i know its my decision but i saw another ring and i cant decide between the two. to me it is pretty( even though i am not a heart person) but of course i will want to show it off but if its a ring that will end up on the ugly ring page i might pick a different one. my sister thought it was tacky,..but .. what do you guys think. i

thank you

 

[MaryAlaina]

Date: 8/1/2007 10:13:24 PM
Author:sroblee
reeds, and kay after zales.

I think you should stay away from those stores! Seriously, your budget isn''t huge, but you will get something SO much nicer if you buy online.

You could get this
heart diamond mounted in an inexpensive solitaire, have a great guarantee, AND the possibility to upgrade someday.

You should also look at Whiteflash. You can get a stone for $1000-1200 and put it in the least expensive solitaire setting and again, get great guarantee and upgrading capability.

 

[Kaleigh]

First I worry about the I1, I2 clarity. Heart shapes are not my cup of tea. But again, they can be beautiful when well cut. Honestly, I'd search for a well cut round within your budget from a PS vendor , many offer the option of upgrading. The stores you mentioned are not known for CUT. Cut is key to buying a beautiful diamond. I'd rather have a smaller well cut stone, any day. HTH, and good luck!!

 

[MaryAlaina]

If you''d consider a round instead, take a look at this: round .51 ct

You''d be getting an excellent stone, and mounted could still be under $1300. Excellent cut, clarity and decent color. You generally want to stay away from I1 and I2 clarity stones, because at mall stores, they won''t come with GIA certificates, which means they are more like I3 and below (probably some industrial grade!).

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 8/1/2007 10:45:07 PM
Author: MaryAlaina
If you''d consider a round instead, take a look at this: round .51 ct

You''d be getting an excellent stone, and mounted could still be under $1300. Excellent cut, clarity and decent color. You generally want to stay away from I1 and I2 clarity stones, because at mall stores, they won''t come with GIA certificates, which means they are more like I3 and below (probably some industrial grade!).

Yep, honestly, if the stone is I1-I2 from Zales, it is very poor quality! Really consider your options before purchasing that ring. For your budget, you can get a gorgeous 1/2 ct. amazing cut diamond solitaire that will DAZZLE you!

 

[marcy]

I have a 1/2 ct. heart solitaire from a mall jewelers and ended up making it a RHR after a few months because I just wasn't happy with it's quality. I would honestly not buy an ering from Z because I think their diamonds are not well cut, cloudy and included. Also their stores have low, yellow lights which make their diamonds really sparkle but they don't look that good in everyday light. I agree with everyone else that getting the best quality diamond your budget will allow is the best way to get a very pretty ring. Good luck and have fun shopping.

 

[marcy]

If you are really set on having a heart shape diamond, I think you can find one you''ll love. I liked mine well enough to keep it instead of returning it or exchanging it for something else. I''ll look forward to seeing what you get.

 

[fleur-de-lis]

Hi Sroblee-- I read your other post and I can almost hear both how you like the ring and that perhaps there''s a little voice telling you that you might not be making the best decision for your money. The feedback from others-- your family, several of the posters here-- has been somewhat negative about this individual piece from what I''m reading, which has to be disappointing to hear. Though mine is just one more opinion, is it alright if I share my feedback if I give a bit of a tutorial?

(For those who haven''t seen the ring on the other thread, at a glance the ring looks like a heart-shape that is surrounded by a heart-shaped halo with a single band of small melee running down the sides. The "main diamond" isn''t a heart-shaped cut, but rather a heart shape that is made by taking a princess cut, turning it 45 degrees, and placing two half-moons on two adjoining sides of the princess-- correct Sroblee?)

(1) The value. With the additional information you provided on this thread (major chain like Zales which either in-house grades or uses an off-brand easy grading company) about the diamonds being I color and clarity I1-I2 and totaling .75 carats, it''s somewhat easy to work backwards. To come up with .75 carat total weight for that piece, the elements used are (approximately) a .25 carat princess cut, 2- .12 half moons, and 26 or so 1/100th of a carat single-cut diamond chips in the melee. But before one can use comparative data, the "grading" on self-graded diamonds at the mall is often VERY loose-- thus, if a GIA grader looked at them, they''d probably come back J or K in color, and heavily included (either I2 or industrial grade). With that data, we could calculate that the .25 J colored I2 princess is worth about $100-150, the half moons maybe $40, and the melee of uncut, industrial-grade chips are valued so low that they can only be purchased in bulk because they have no real value as individual pieces. Sroblee, in my opinion-- and all these figures are approximations-- but the diamonds in that ring are worth perhaps $200, give or take. For me, that would be a pretty important piece of information, and might help explain why so many people have been raising the red flags.

Now, does that mean the ring is worth $200? Well, no. There''s the cost in materials to make the ring, the person who designed it should be compensated, there was the cost to the benchman who made the ring or the cost of the machine that assembled it, the store''s overhead, the salaries of all parties involved, et cetera. A business has to be profitable, and the business needs to charge for those costs in the ring too. But the Zales/Kay jewelers have a business model which is predicated on consumers not having the information/data to discern between so-so, good and great... and thus, they can get $1800 from the shy who won''t negotiate. $1300 might seem good compared to $1800, but it''s not that good compared to say $200 (the worth of the diamonds) or $500 (the cost at which you might be able to get a similar ring elsewhere).

(2) The piece itself. Now, I don''t know why your sister proclaimed it "tacky", but I can share my opinion why some might. IMO, when you get an item that is supposed to look MUCH more expensive than it really is (such as three little diamonds arranged to approximate a heart-shaped diamond of 1.5 carats that would be worth $10,000 but if you take the time to look closely, it''s really only $200 worth of little diamonds), well, you might look like you''re fakin'' it. But as a diamond lover, that''s not why I''m taking the time to write out this overlong response.

A well-cut diamond is playful; the little prisms of light, throwing off little rainbow displays, flashes of fire, and just dancing scintillation can distract you any time you step into an elevator with overhead lighting or swing in a hammock under a cover of leaves on a sunny day. A beautiful diamond can catch peoples'' eyes from across the room even if they are tiny, because the light bouncing from one facet to another and setting off a little light show in a tiny little rock... it''s amazing. But when you buy something like you describe from Zales with single-cut melee, that means that it''s a raw, unpolished rock but for the table-- so there will NEVER be a spectrum of the rainbow flashing back from that tiny melee. The best you could ever hope for is that the one lonely little cut will occasionally be at the right angle to a light source to reflect back white light-- like a wall mirror.

When you look at it like that, it''s almost unfair to the diamond to be sold as a single-cut... it''s like it can''t fulfill its diamond destiny!

- - - - - - - -
Now, assuming I haven''t put you to sleep with the background information, LOL, I will point out the good news that the budget you''re working with will lend itself to some very beautiful pieces. You do NOT have to be stuck with single-cut melee that''s heavily included and off-color to boot! Since you''ve mentioned that you want to take your time before making your decision, have fun with it! Go through some of the old threads here, and when you see a link to a jeweler someone else is using, click it and take a look around. Before you buy, post and see if anyone has feedback. And if you ever feel like you''re in over your head... ask! There are plenty of very kind people here who both know diamonds and want to help. Good luck!

 

[fleur-de-lis]

Just a quick "for instance" about having fun and following links to things which are on your budget (even if the style is very different), recently several folks on here were looking at Knox Jewelers: http://www.knoxjewelers.biz/index.htm?crn=203&rn=1041&action=show_detail or even http://www.knoxjewelers.biz/index.htm?crn=203&rn=942&action=show_detail

Take a look at a site that shows that even the tiniest of diamonds can be fully cut and assembled to exacting standards-- compare the photos of these tiny diamonds to the photos of Zales diamonds: http://www.signedpieces.com/item.cfm?item_id=3992

Just to mix it up, a fun site to look around for edwardian and other pieces: http://www.faycullen.com/rings/800/d1021r4a.html

Lastly, did you ever think that you could upgrade your e-ring from Wal-Mart... to TIFFANY?

http://www.signedpieces.com/item.cfm?item_id=6073

 

[chrono]

You have been given very good advice by many. I just wanted to point out the reason for your diamond(s) falling out of the setting: low cost ring = poor setting and workmanship = diamonds fall out. If you get a sturdy setting with the diamond set by a good and well qualifed benchperson, the diamond will stay put unless you bang the ring against a hard object.

 

[decodelighted]

I''m with your sister. The fakey cluster "heart" halo *is* tacky IMO. I''m sorry. You want to get the most bling for you buck don''t you??

What about a gorgeous eternity band of small ideal cut rounds (like the Signed Pieces one posted). My gal pal wears JUST a wedding band like that and so did an old boss of mine. I think it''s a VERY CLASSY look though even saying the word "classy" sounds kind of "tacky" HA!

That Tiffany solitare was nice too -- and looked sturdy! You wouldn''t have to worry about bumping that stone or it falling out. I think you could take it into Tiffany for polishing & checks even though you''d be buying it 2nd hand.

If you love the halo look -- I recommend you get an inexpensive Right Hand Ring -- even from WalMart or Costco or something ... just for fun. But don''t make a bad choice on your W-band/E-ring with yr. hard earned $$$!!!!!!!!

 

[decodelighted]

This Cartier rolling ring might be an unexpected choice ... but it''s in budget too!