Helo! Introduction and of Course Questions :)

[Rodeo]

Hello all, I've been lurking for a couple weeks and thought I'd introduce myself. I'm a ... AHEM ... middle age guy very much in love with my gf, who is the most amazing woman I've ever met Never thought I'd ever - EVER - get married again, but I'm going to ask her to marry me and I really want to get her a beautiful ring. My budget? $10 to $20k.

First, a personal question. I'm torn between asking her what she likes, going shopping for rings, etc., or surprising her with a beautiful ring. I want to be romantic, which is not necessarily furthered by analytical decisions and financial discussions as we shop together. Plus she's so sweet she will steer me to less expensive rings. On the other hand, well, I want her to love her ring, which may or may not happen if I surprise her. I know there's not one simple answer, but there are a lot of ladies on this form and I would be interested to hear your thoughts.

Secondly, maybe this will get me in trouble, but after trying to learn about diamonds for the past few weeks, I realize that I am neither smart enough nor interested enough to make an informed decision on my own. Is there such a thing as a diamond consultant, someone that is an expert and will for a fee give me the benefit of that expertise? Not someone that wants to sell me a diamond, someone that sells their knowledge, experience and expertise.

I have a hundred other questions, but I'll leave it that for now

Thanks in advance!

 

[Just_Starting]

Hi, welcome to PS. I had a similar issue to you when proposing to my now fiancée. I took this approach: I took her to look for rings so I knew what she liked 'if' I ever decided to propose (as I put it to her). Then after she picked out a ring she liked, I bought it. Now, you may have noticed I am on here looking for a new diamond. Well, there's a good reason for that. My approach was a failure, I bought a dud diamond and found out about it in time to take it back (thanks to PS help). So, since then I took the time to learn a lot about the diamonds. This was for my own interest though really. I proposed on April 1st, I plan to buy my partner's ring next June. People on here may think that's crazy, but my partner is very patient and she too wants to get the best stone, so we're getting it from the US on holiday there next year. I would rather have got it sooner, it's just how it worked out. I know I could order it over here, but we like the idea of going to GOG's store and actually buying it there.

So, what I suggest you do differently is get an idea for the style your partner likes, which could be done by visiting any local B&M store. Then, since you don't feel you're up to learning about diamonds, cheat. Buy an AGS 000 'super ideal' that is confirmed eye-clean by a PS vendor that has the colour and carat weight you want. You are then guaranteed an amazing diamond, that is eye clean and the size/colour you want. It's that easy. You can order from the sites, most of them have great returns policies. So, WhiteFlash, Brian Gavin Diamonds and Good old Gold are the vendors that I would recommend. Also, if you are concerned about durability, get a VS2 without a feather and you don't have to worry about that either. Plus it will almost certainly be 100% eye clean, but any of those vendors would confirm that anyway and I doubt they would keep a VS2 that wasn't eye clean in their stock.

I hope this makes things easy for you. Good luck.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Hello all,

Secondly, maybe this will get me in trouble, but after trying to learn about diamonds for the past few weeks, I realize that I am neither smart enough nor interested enough to make an informed decision on my own. Is there such a thing as a diamond consultant, someone that is an expert and will for a fee give me the benefit of that expertise? Not someone that wants to sell me a diamond, someone that sells their knowledge, experience and expertise.

I have a hundred other questions, but I'll leave it that for now

Thanks in advance!

Welcome to PS... .. now send me $1,000 bucks..

 

[dk168]

Welcome to PS.

I am no expert, just a consumer who love jewellery. I was a lurker on PS for a long time and remembered reading up on this thread about diamond shapes and personality, and thought it was rather accurate for me as I love emerald and heart cuts:

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/shape-and-personality.23291/

I would read it with a pinch of salt, as a guide perhaps for ideas and inspirations.

It would help to know the following about your intended, as it should provide some ideas of her likes and dislikes.

Occupation type: professional, manual, administrative, creative, etc...

Level of responsibility and the number of reportees etc...

Her normal attire for work: smart suits with sensible shoes, or frivolous dresses with FMS etc...

Her attire when off duty: jeans and baggy Ts, or smart casual etc...

Her colour preferences: does she wear a lot of bright colours or prefer more neutral tones etc...

Her hands: does she have regular manicures, are the nails painted or unpainted etc...

Her hobbies and leisure activities: is she an outdoor type of person who go riding for instance, or likes to cook and entertain at home etc...

Her likes and dislikes for home decor: is she a chintzy flowery person or a minimalist who likes open-plan clean line living etc...

I have been helping a colleague to source a ring for his g/f, and these were the kind of questions I asked him in order to find out more about her.

A modern round brilliant will be a safe choice IMHO. How about gifting her just the diamond and let her choose her own setting?

Good luck with your search!

DK

 

[Rodeo]

Thank you for your replies, much appreciated!

 

[Gypsy]

We are free diamond consultants. That's our purpose on this board.

Figure out what she likes and come back with a style an a shape and what color stones she likes and we'll help you find a great ring she'll love.