mercoledi
Ideal_Rock
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2006
- Messages
- 2,822
Hi everyone 
Several years back I was pretty active around here, and recently have made my way back. It's great to see how the community has grown while retaining it family-like vibe!
I recently got a very generous bonus, and am looking for a little (self)congratualtory present to celebrate. A little background, I spent the first 28 years of my life in schools of one sort or another, eventually earning an advanced degree in a highly technical field. Having finally completed that process, I immediately took a left turn, and got a job in a different sector doing something very different from what I had trained to do. I had a great time, learned more than I thought was possible, and eventually realized that my degree was in my first love, and it was time to head back in that direction...
Flash forward slightly, and a friend mentions an open position over lunch that sounds perfect. They'd been looking to hire internally, but have just opened a nationwide search so, 1. I'm eligible to apply but 2. I'm up against the rest of the country/world! Well this time everything fell in my favor, and I landed the job which perfectly combines my technical training and all the other skills I'd amassed since. This is really the first step in my career, a fantastic opportunity, and something I truly believe in. It's also been grueling, the work has expanded 3x since I started this fall, I spend hours every week begging for money from donors or writing grants, and have a minimal support staff so far. But I love it, so it was wonderful to find out I was getting a bonus in appreciation of what I've done in the very short time I've been around.
I'm really very pragmatic not one to go out spending, my christmas and birthday money almost always goes into the pot for general finances and the most I usually do is get myself something nice for my birthday, or spend part of a check on a nice lunch or new nail polish.
But this time I feel like celebrating, and would like a little token to remind me of all I've accomplished in the last year.
Sooo, I've come up with three superfluous, somewhat overpriced, pretty sparklies to soak up some of my bonus (up to 2K) and am looking for help narrowing the field. Without further ado, the contenders are:
5 stone sapphire and diamond ring. This is lovely in the photos, and similar to one a colleague of mine has that I covet mightily.
Cons: Mel's tends to be a little over priced, and it looks like one of the diamonds is round rather than a cushion, and I don't generally wear yellow gold (but think I could make an exception).
Cartier Trinity black ceramic. I don't know why I love this so much, but I do. I like the trinity look, but don't love yellow or rose gold on my skin tone, and think the black is very chic. I haven't seen this in person, but will try to do so this weekend.
Cons: Seriously just a luxury item, and breaks my personal bais against wearing branded items.
Neither! Save up for your dream ring! I've always wanted a 3.3mmish blue sapphire french cut eternity band like this lovely from Singlestone. I have a 2.2mm carre cut one that I adore, but it just isn't quite enough oomph. 2k won't get me what I want, but I could theoretically hold out a bit longer....
So, any thoughts? Has anyone bought from Mel's Antiques before? Or seen a similar ring elsewhere? Any Cartier owners who want to share pics
I'm torn, and itchy for a new sparklie
Several years back I was pretty active around here, and recently have made my way back. It's great to see how the community has grown while retaining it family-like vibe!
I recently got a very generous bonus, and am looking for a little (self)congratualtory present to celebrate. A little background, I spent the first 28 years of my life in schools of one sort or another, eventually earning an advanced degree in a highly technical field. Having finally completed that process, I immediately took a left turn, and got a job in a different sector doing something very different from what I had trained to do. I had a great time, learned more than I thought was possible, and eventually realized that my degree was in my first love, and it was time to head back in that direction...
Flash forward slightly, and a friend mentions an open position over lunch that sounds perfect. They'd been looking to hire internally, but have just opened a nationwide search so, 1. I'm eligible to apply but 2. I'm up against the rest of the country/world! Well this time everything fell in my favor, and I landed the job which perfectly combines my technical training and all the other skills I'd amassed since. This is really the first step in my career, a fantastic opportunity, and something I truly believe in. It's also been grueling, the work has expanded 3x since I started this fall, I spend hours every week begging for money from donors or writing grants, and have a minimal support staff so far. But I love it, so it was wonderful to find out I was getting a bonus in appreciation of what I've done in the very short time I've been around.
I'm really very pragmatic not one to go out spending, my christmas and birthday money almost always goes into the pot for general finances and the most I usually do is get myself something nice for my birthday, or spend part of a check on a nice lunch or new nail polish.
But this time I feel like celebrating, and would like a little token to remind me of all I've accomplished in the last year.
Sooo, I've come up with three superfluous, somewhat overpriced, pretty sparklies to soak up some of my bonus (up to 2K) and am looking for help narrowing the field. Without further ado, the contenders are:
5 stone sapphire and diamond ring. This is lovely in the photos, and similar to one a colleague of mine has that I covet mightily.
Cons: Mel's tends to be a little over priced, and it looks like one of the diamonds is round rather than a cushion, and I don't generally wear yellow gold (but think I could make an exception).
Cartier Trinity black ceramic. I don't know why I love this so much, but I do. I like the trinity look, but don't love yellow or rose gold on my skin tone, and think the black is very chic. I haven't seen this in person, but will try to do so this weekend.
Cons: Seriously just a luxury item, and breaks my personal bais against wearing branded items.
Neither! Save up for your dream ring! I've always wanted a 3.3mmish blue sapphire french cut eternity band like this lovely from Singlestone. I have a 2.2mm carre cut one that I adore, but it just isn't quite enough oomph. 2k won't get me what I want, but I could theoretically hold out a bit longer....
So, any thoughts? Has anyone bought from Mel's Antiques before? Or seen a similar ring elsewhere? Any Cartier owners who want to share pics
I'm torn, and itchy for a new sparklie
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