Leviclimber
Rough_Rock
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2005
- Messages
- 24
Hi Folks,
There is certainly some very interesting and educational reading on this forum. I am hoping to propose this summer and am trying to get the ring thing hammered out (well, not quite literally) before the summer is on me. Actually, I have been educating myself for months, and yet I haven''t yet had the confidence to begin the purchasing part; this is ok, as I still have time and I want to make sure that I do this right. I only get one shot, right ladies? As it turns out, diamonds (and the diamond markets) are far more intricate and complicated than a guy could ever hope...
So I have many questions:
1) Ladies: Size or Color? I am a college student (i.e. Ramen noodles still qualify as a well-balanced meal) and so size doesn''t include the 3c J stones that I have seen on the site (which are quite beautiful). It would probably mean the difference between .75c and 1c. Colors I am looking at range from G to ?. The setting will be yellow gold, so I am interested to hear some opinions on the most yellow color I should consider. I wouldn''t mind seeing some yellow gold rings with some more colored stones (i.e. I-K, or anyone else who wants to show off a beautiful ring).
2) Anyone: I am an engineering student, and I love projects, etc. I spent a little time drawing out some designs in the fall and actually started playing around with CAD to see how one of my designs might look. It is shown with a 1c ''diamond'' of ideal proportions. The ring diameter is about 1mm larger than it should be to fit my girlfriend, and if I had time to work on this design again, I would experiment with making the band a bit thicker, and making the prongs a bit more fitting (and a bit more substantial too). I envision the prongs to be platinum, and the ring in yellow gold. It is meant to have a resemblance to a flower (vaguely). My parents and sister are all in the Flower industry and so I was raised to always bring flowers for dates, a meaningful tradition that my girlfriend loves (i think) and I find rewarding! This will be the most important flower that I ever give her... Thoughts and suggestions as well as plain old reactions are welcome... Ladies, is this personally designed approach romantic, or should I give up and buy a setting elsewhere?
3) Has anyone dealt with niceice? Has anyone bought their market and pricing report? Was it helpful and specifically how? Did you take it with you to a B&M store as ‘ammunition’? I am a bit new to the negotiating thing, but I would like to give it a try, so any suggestions are welcome.
4) I am looking for suggestions for good jewelers in Pittsburgh. I am aware that the Clark building downtown is teeming with them, but I am looking for names I guess. Has anyone had a particularly good (or bad for that matter) experience with a PGH jeweler. Also, I would like a recommendation for an independent appraiser. In PGH would be nice, but anywhere else is fine as well. Just keep in mind that I am still in college, so please stick to the ones that are good (well-reputed) and cheap.
There is certainly some very interesting and educational reading on this forum. I am hoping to propose this summer and am trying to get the ring thing hammered out (well, not quite literally) before the summer is on me. Actually, I have been educating myself for months, and yet I haven''t yet had the confidence to begin the purchasing part; this is ok, as I still have time and I want to make sure that I do this right. I only get one shot, right ladies? As it turns out, diamonds (and the diamond markets) are far more intricate and complicated than a guy could ever hope...
So I have many questions:
1) Ladies: Size or Color? I am a college student (i.e. Ramen noodles still qualify as a well-balanced meal) and so size doesn''t include the 3c J stones that I have seen on the site (which are quite beautiful). It would probably mean the difference between .75c and 1c. Colors I am looking at range from G to ?. The setting will be yellow gold, so I am interested to hear some opinions on the most yellow color I should consider. I wouldn''t mind seeing some yellow gold rings with some more colored stones (i.e. I-K, or anyone else who wants to show off a beautiful ring).
2) Anyone: I am an engineering student, and I love projects, etc. I spent a little time drawing out some designs in the fall and actually started playing around with CAD to see how one of my designs might look. It is shown with a 1c ''diamond'' of ideal proportions. The ring diameter is about 1mm larger than it should be to fit my girlfriend, and if I had time to work on this design again, I would experiment with making the band a bit thicker, and making the prongs a bit more fitting (and a bit more substantial too). I envision the prongs to be platinum, and the ring in yellow gold. It is meant to have a resemblance to a flower (vaguely). My parents and sister are all in the Flower industry and so I was raised to always bring flowers for dates, a meaningful tradition that my girlfriend loves (i think) and I find rewarding! This will be the most important flower that I ever give her... Thoughts and suggestions as well as plain old reactions are welcome... Ladies, is this personally designed approach romantic, or should I give up and buy a setting elsewhere?
3) Has anyone dealt with niceice? Has anyone bought their market and pricing report? Was it helpful and specifically how? Did you take it with you to a B&M store as ‘ammunition’? I am a bit new to the negotiating thing, but I would like to give it a try, so any suggestions are welcome.
4) I am looking for suggestions for good jewelers in Pittsburgh. I am aware that the Clark building downtown is teeming with them, but I am looking for names I guess. Has anyone had a particularly good (or bad for that matter) experience with a PGH jeweler. Also, I would like a recommendation for an independent appraiser. In PGH would be nice, but anywhere else is fine as well. Just keep in mind that I am still in college, so please stick to the ones that are good (well-reputed) and cheap.