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Help a newbie select a RB and opinions on temporary settings

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Rough_Rock
Joined
Jun 16, 2011
Messages
5
I've been lurking on pricescope for the past year now trying to absorb the wealth of information and I believe I am finally ready to pull the trigger. Unfortunately I've waited too long. The custom design I had hoped for will not be ready for the proposal. As a result, WF has suggested that they can set a diamond for me in a temporary setting to ensure that I have a ring for the special day. This is where I need your assistance - I've been overwhelmed with the choices available.

Based on the few outing we have had a local B&M's, I have noticed that she leans towards halo style rings with some sort of delicate pave on the shank. I've tried to persuade away from this style due to the fact that we lead an active lifestyle and I am worried that it maybe too delicate however she has her heart set on this style of setting. With this in mind, I've settled on a modified guinevere setting from WF due to how low the center diamond sits. Hopefully this will provide a more secure setting however I still plan on having it insured due to my paranoia.

The halo for the guinevere utilizes 0.12ctw F/G VS ACA melee so I need your assistance selecting a center stone. My budget for this entire project is 6000CAD so this would leave me with approximately 4000CAD for the center stone. Due to my time constraints, I would like to select a stone from the WF in-house inventory. As much as I would be happy with a diamond with an I colour and SI clarity, I have been advised to stay closer to an F/G and VS1/VS2 due to the halo setting. The options I have found are within the .71ct range but there are a number to choose from. Here is the catch, I only have until Tuesday to finalize my selection in order to receive it before I depart for my trip. Please help a newbie with this daunting task.

As an aside, I had originally intended to propose with the custom ring in hand on a winter ski trip as we had originally met two years ago on a ski trip. As much as we both love skiing and the mountain scenery, my gf is very found of traveling. So I thought it would be more fitting to commemorate our first trip together overseas with this special moment. Due to the sudden shift in plans, I have lost 10 weeks from my original plan thus it is impossible to have the setting completed before we depart in three weeks. What is everyones opinion? Is it more meaningful to have the actual diamond for the proposal or should I purchase another stand-in ring? I'm trying to weigh the pros and cons with traveling with the ring and the potential problems with airport security spilling the beans ahead of time. So many questions, so little time. Please feel free to point out anything I may have overlooked or help calm my nerves. Plus if anyone has any suggestions of sites in Paris or London, my ears are open.
 
Re: Help a newbie select a RB and opinions on temporary sett

The problem with a temp setting is that the price of gold is really high right now. I would just go for the cheapest setting WF can get you. 4 prongs and 14K white gold and call it day with the best diamond you can afford (ask WF for a suggestion).
 
Re: Help a newbie select a RB and opinions on temporary sett

Just as an FYI. I totally get that you want to work with WF. But some of the other vendors do have some gorgeous settings in their current stock so you may not have to settle. It might just be that they have a setting that's lovely for you (like a Beverly K which both Pearlmans and GOG carry) that you an buy and have overnighted to WF. Or you can just do one stop shopping with one of them if they have something in stock for you.
 
Re: Help a newbie select a RB and opinions on temporary sett

As for F/G VS for a halo. Sorry that's just crap. A) you can request lower colored melee so you can ASK for H/I melee and B) round brilliants at H and I face up REALLY white especially in the sizes you can afford. You will be FINE with an H or even an I. As for VS versus SI??? What does clarity have to do with a halo? An eyeclean SI will save you money plus be perfect for your ring.

I don't know who advised you but... ignore them. If it was a vendor... sounds like they either knew they didn't have lower colors or clarity in stock and wanted you to stick with what they have in house. Or they wanted you to pay more. If it was a PSer... everyone has opinions. But at 70 points you won't be able to tell an H from a G when set. Even in a halo.

I know you said in house. But I'd still take a look at this one. Great size at almost exactly 6mm and a nice price too. http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2692402.htm Scores 1.3 on the HCA and if eyeclean is a nice stone at $3,111
 
Re: Help a newbie select a RB and opinions on temporary sett

I forgot to post the rings that were suggested to me. What are your opinions on the following selections?

0.71 F VS2 61.7% 55% AGS 0 Ideal ID ID N 5.75x5.76x3.55 Y 1.8-EX
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2632187.htm

0.71 G VS2 61.8% 56% AGS 0 Ideal ID ID N 5.70x5.75x3.54 Y 1.8-EX
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2632527.htm

I'm still trying to get a better understanding of reading idealscope images. I'm unclear what the grey discolouration in the centers mean
 
Re: Help a newbie select a RB and opinions on temporary sett

I would save yourself some money and go with the G color. It should still be very nice and white.
 
Re: Help a newbie select a RB and opinions on temporary sett

Gypsy said:
As for F/G VS for a halo. Sorry that's just crap. A) you can request lower colored melee so you can ASK for H/I melee and B) round brilliants at H and I face up REALLY white especially in the sizes you can afford. You will be FINE with an H or even an I. As for VS versus SI??? What does clarity have to do with a halo? An eyeclean SI will save you money plus be perfect for your ring.

I don't know who advised you but... ignore them. If it was a vendor... sounds like they either knew they didn't have lower colors or clarity in stock and wanted you to stick with what they have in house. Or they wanted you to pay more. If it was a PSer... everyone has opinions. But at 70 points you won't be able to tell an H from a G when set. Even in a halo.

I know you said in house. But I'd still take a look at this one. Great size at almost exactly 6mm and a nice price too. http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2692402.htm Scores 1.3 on the HCA and if eyeclean is a nice stone at $3,111
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice Gypsy. That is something I did not consider. I will definitely look into asking for a lower coloured melee. I did however take a look at the Beverly K settings you suggested but although there are a lot of beautiful settings, I do not believe they would match my gf's style. I noticed that my gf gravitated away from vintage style settings and preferred settings with a micropave without the cathedral style shank.

Going back to the topic of a temporary setting, if you were in my shoes, would you proceed with a temporary setting in order to have the diamond that would be used later on in hand or would you be satisfied with a temporary ring during the proposal. I am going crazy trying to decide. If I decide with to go with a stand-in ring without the diamond, I will be able to spend more time selecting the perfect diamond. If this is the case, I would be more inclined to follow your route and not limit myself to diamonds in house. I do prefer to deal with one vendor but I must decide whether it is important to have the actual diamond in hand for the proposal. Please feel free to provide your opinions on this matter.
 
Re: Help a newbie select a RB and opinions on temporary sett

If you are away from home, on a trip for example, stick it in a temp setting.

If you are going to be home... just propose with the unset stone and some printed pics of the setting you chose. Tell her you wanted to get it perfect for her... so you wanted to make sure she loved it before you set it... and that she loves the setting.

Then move forward.
 
Re: Help a newbie select a RB and opinions on temporary sett

I really think it is very important to propose with at least a temporary setting. She is going to want to wear something after you are engaged. I also would not want to carry around an unset stone over seas ... it seems very risky and dangerous to me.

I am going to throw something out here ... just get a temp setting from http://stores.ebay.ca/Lord-of-Gem-Rings.. You can possibly even get a halo for around $150 but I don't know if you have time to wait around for an auction to end. I have many settings from them in that price range including halo ones. They ship really quickly and you should be able to get it in time if the auction ends now. Heck .. if you are in Toronto .. I can even help you out ... I have so many unused settings from them.
 
Re: Help a newbie select a RB and opinions on temporary sett

I would personally go with BGD, I think their halo settings are a lot nicer. Unless you are going with WF for a reason? If so, just ignore my response.
 
Re: Help a newbie select a RB and opinions on temporary sett

OK, here's my take...

since you know the style of setting that she likes...I would not get a temporary setting. I would just get the style that she likes and be done with it!
 
Re: Help a newbie select a RB and opinions on temporary sett

slg47|1316363273|3020142 said:
OK, here's my take...

since you know the style of setting that she likes...I would not get a temporary setting. I would just get the style that she likes and be done with it!
Click to expand...

You are probably right. $2000 isn't going to get a custom pave halo ...
 
Re: Help a newbie select a RB and opinions on temporary sett

Mrs W said:
I would personally go with BGD, I think their halo settings are a lot nicer. Unless you are going with WF for a reason? If so, just ignore my response.
Click to expand...

Mrs W, BGD does have amazing halo settings such as their Sarah Halo, however it is beyond my price range. The setting alone would use up more than 2/3 of my original budget. The main reason I am leaning towards WF is their upgrade policy. Although my gf and I have agreed that we are not planning on upgrading the ring any time soon, I know better and expect her to upgrade later when we are more financially secure. WF appears to have a great buyback policy and have many positive PS reviews so I feel comfortable working with them.

CharmyPoo said:
I really think it is very important to propose with at least a temporary setting. She is going to want to wear something after you are engaged. I also would not want to carry around an unset stone over seas ... it seems very risky and dangerous to me.

I am going to throw something out here ... just get a temp setting from http://stores.ebay.ca/Lord-of-Gem-Rings.... You can possibly even get a halo for around $150 but I don't know if you have time to wait around for an auction to end. I have many settings from them in that price range including halo ones. They ship really quickly and you should be able to get it in time if the auction ends now. Heck .. if you are in Toronto .. I can even help you out ... I have so many unused settings from them.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the offer to help CharmyPoo. I have a lot of family in the GTA so I do visit quite often however I'm located in Edmonton. I agree with you that she will want to wear something after I propose so I think I will proceed with the temporary setting. As a fellow Canadian, may I ask how you deal with customs when you send your ring or diamond to the US? Have you ever had any work done by US vendors? I would like to confirm whether you are charged duty for "exporting" your ring to the US then charged "importing" fees once work is completed?

slg47 said:
OK, here's my take...

since you know the style of setting that she likes...I would not get a temporary setting. I would just get the style that she likes and be done with it!
Click to expand...

slg47, As much as I would like to get the style she likes, I won't have it in time before we leave for our London/Paris trip. My only options are to either propose with a temporary setting or to find another ring without a diamond so that she has something to wear during the trip. The second option is one I would prefer because it lets me avoid being paranoid carrying a diamond ring around Europe however I'm not sure whether that would be acceptable or not.

Thanks again to everyone for your insight. I truly appreciate everyone's opinions as I'm running out of time. Any more comments on the two suggested diamonds?
 
Re: Help a newbie select a RB and opinions on temporary sett

can you propose after the trip? I would just want her to have the perfect ring
 
Re: Help a newbie select a RB and opinions on temporary sett

BGD, GOG and HPD all have upgrade and buy back policies that match or exceed WF's upgrade policy. Just an FYI.
 
Re: Help a newbie select a RB and opinions on temporary sett

Gypsy|1316406434|3020494 said:
BGD, GOG and HPD all have upgrade and buy back policies that match or exceed WF's upgrade policy. Just an FYI.
Click to expand...

Yup, they sure do.

Added: I like the idea of a temporary setting too. Then later she can choose her own setting. Why not just get a plain solitaire setting for now?
 
Re: Help a newbie select a RB and opinions on temporary sett

Just another suggestion

diamonds:
http://www.eternitydiamonds.com/diamond_detail.php?id=555075
HCA score 1

http://www.eternitydiamonds.com/diamond_detail.php?id=585168
HCA score 0.70


Setting:

This one may be sturdier
http://www.eternitydiamonds.com/engagement-rings/diamond-engagement-ring/Diamond-Halo-Ring-394.htm

When you buy a diamond and a setting you get 10%off the setting with code SAVE10

Eternity diamonds trade in policy
http://www.eternitydiamonds.com/shop_with_confidence.php
 
Re: Help a newbie select a RB and opinions on temporary sett

Well I can't say for certain about having work down in the US and paying export fees, I did just buy a ring from the states (I live in Ontario) and customs was no issue. I just had to pay the HST as expected. There is no duty. Therefore I would assume that as long as you can prove that you already paid the HST the first time your brought the ring in, you would only have to pay for the HST on the work done and pay no duties. I would contact customs to check how you can prove that you already paid the taxes so you arent hit twice on the original ring, but there shouldn't any duties, just tax on the work work.
 
Re: Help a newbie select a RB and opinions on temporary sett

NervousBuyer|1316448107|3020666 said:
Well I can't say for certain about having work down in the US and paying export fees, I did just buy a ring from the states (I live in Ontario) and customs was no issue. I just had to pay the HST as expected. There is no duty. Therefore I would assume that as long as you can prove that you already paid the HST the first time your brought the ring in, you would only have to pay for the HST on the work done and pay no duties. I would contact customs to check how you can prove that you already paid the taxes so you arent hit twice on the original ring, but there shouldn't any duties, just tax on the work work.
Click to expand...

This is correct. I have exported and imported a number of times and it is very simple. You need to work with a vendor who can let you use their FedEx account to make it simpler and more cost effective, and one who is used to the border issues to help out and it all works fine. I have personally exported items either to return or have upgrades or resets with WF, GOG, and BGD and in each case you are a) not charged any fees to export your ring and b) will only be charged taxes on any *additions* to the goods you sent down to begin with. I have spoked with customs about proof, and basically keep the reciepts and customs documents you used to originally send the ring to prove the value of the goods you sent. Keep the original import taxations documents. Even an appraisal is proof for them. No worries.

The only issue is that you cannot personally aquire insurance for shipping expensive jewelery cross border. You can work around this by either having personal jewelery insurance that covers your ring while in trasit -- Jewelers Mutual offers insurance like this -- or you can work with a vendor who will let you insure the package using their own personal insurance company.
 
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