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HELP! Thoughts on upgrade!!

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armywife13|1326764055|3104731 said:
Christina...|1326760194|3104656 said:
diamondseeker2006 I'm thinking that the cz is 7.4mm or very close. I downloaded a sizing chart from Blue Nile and it seems to fit nicely inside the 1.5. Do you have thoughts on going with a lower color grade with a RB? I've also heard that setting a lower colored stone in rose or yellow gold will make your center look whiter, but I was reading through a thread the other day that said the opposite... :?

armywife :Up_to_something: soooo very tempting!!!

backwardsandinheels I guess I don't want to stand out, but I don't want to blend in either. :lol: I love your username btw!
I think you can totally pull off the three stone or five stone with the cushion-coming from someone with a 8.25 size finger. Plus I think it would be gorgeous!

But regardless of what I think, you need to pick what you love. This is your upgrade and dream ring. If it is the 3/5 stone with the 2.24, then go for it, be proud and rock it! If it is a larger RB, go for it!

SparklyOEC and I are both in the same boat, we are upgrading and throwing the majority of the $ into the diamond and saving for the setting. I figure, it is going to be my dream ring and my last upgrade, so I want the diamond I love and am willing to wait and save for the setting. The end result will be worth the wait!


I agree, I think that the majority of the budget should go into the main stone. I was shocked when DH and I first shopped for settings :o I couldn't get over how expensive just a traditional WG solitaire was. Which is just another of many reasons I'm hesitant to custom. I think I would love an heirloom hand forged setting, but I can neither afford it or do I think that I would notice a tremendous difference between hand forged, CAD or stock, and then I'd been crazy nervous that I would open the ring box, and cry because it wasn't at all what I had envisioned. I have a hard enough time just trying to picture a different shape or colored stone in a stock setting. :nono: :lol:

Do you have ideas for your final setting or are you still working it out?
 
diamondseeker2006|1326767073|3104792 said:
janetjoan64|1326766612|3104778 said:
You could always go with an I color stone with med fluorescence like I did. It really faces up so white and was less expensive than an H color

I was with her and it is true! the key with I color is that you have to see it. Because when I was with janetjoan, her first I was tinted yellow on the side. She had them call in another I color with med blue fluorescence. It looked as white as the H stone next to it and it had no yellow tint at all! I am sure the fluoro helped it, but also it might have been a high I color. So the bottom line with I color is that some are great and others are more tinted. The trick is to have some to choose from.


Can you come shop with me too? :naughty: Color seems so subjective, how much weight can I give an online vendors gemologists assessment of color? Or is this still going to be something that I'm going to have to see for myself to evaluate? I find it almost impossible to determine color from a picture. I've heard others claim that they can, but they must be much much more sensitive than I am!

ETA will a well cut RB show less body color than other diamond shapes?

Janetjoan: I'm jealous that you had a personal shopper with you! :mrgreen: Do you have a thread of your ring?
 
Haha! If you were close by, I would love to shop with you! Janetjoan had to trade in with a local jeweler, but you'll do better online, probably. And that makes things very tricky!

Here is her thread (she already had her setting and was unhappy with the first stone so I went with her to see the second one they brought in for her to see):

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/1-72-vs2-i-with-medium-fl.170599/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/1-72-vs2-i-with-medium-fl.170599/[/URL]

I do not believe you can tell anything about color from pictures..certainly not enough to make a decision. My ring stone came from Good Old Gold, and Jonathan did correctly compare color for me. I don't think you'll get meaningful color comparison most places. If you could find an I with fluoro, like maybe one of the BG Blue stones, you could send for it and send it back if you didn't like the color. Or maybe you can find one on a virtual list that is excellent cut. But I'd figure out whether you are keeping or trading in your current stone before really looking for a diamond.
 
Christina...|1326767166|3104795 said:
Do you have ideas for your final setting or are you still working it out?
I completely understand the way you feel about the setting. I am trying to decide, myself, though I have plenty of time to decide. The setting will not happen until Oct/Nov, unfortunately. I need a little time after paying off the diamond to save up for the setting. I inquired with Singlestone about settings, but they are just too expensive, partly because of the size of my diamond. Sooooo, now I am debating between 2-3 settings.

1st- jbeg julia and elyse wb
http://jewelsbyericagrace.smugmug.com/JbEGSignatureSettingsandSpecia/Plain-and-Pave-Solitaires/The-Julia-Solitaire/12794553_8DFVw7#!i=894342323&k=UMAXV

2-jbeg Kat with the diamond bezeled
http://jewelsbyericagrace.smugmug.com/JbEGSignatureSettingsandSpecia/Antique-Reproductions/Art-Deco-Sapphire-Halo/18630476_QcKpGj#!i=1439804689&k=rr6tkWW

3-Victor Canera Sophie bezeled
http://www.victorcanera.com/jewelry/the-sophia-french-cut-solitaire-with-bezel-round.html

Luckily all 3 pics have diamonds close to the size of my 3.62 oec, so I can get a good idea......but I'm torn.
 
Janetjoan Your ring is TDF! :love: I hadn't realized when you posted that I had been admiring your ring just a few hours before. I happy that you are thrilled with it! It's gorgeous and HUGE! :love: Conratulations!

diamondseeker I sent an email to JA asking about my tradeup policy there. I feel torn, I really do love this diamond, but then I question the need to keep it, other than wearing it as a RHR I'm not sure that it would get worn that much after the upgrade, BUT then, I worry about trading it and ending up with a diamond that I don't think is as beautiful, and do I think this one is so beautiful because of it's sentiment? I think maybe I'm impossible! :lol: If I won't wear it much after the upgrade, then I suppose it would be nice to have the extra cash for so many other things.

I did have a thought last night though....maybe keeping my existing stone and adding side traps to give myself more finger coverage, but I'm not sure that it would be enough.... :confused:

armywife WOW! :love: :love: All three of your choices are incredible! :lickout: And just under 4 cts!!! :lickout: I'm so excited for you! Fall seems so far away right now, but it will come soon enough, and those are all rings worth waiting for!! I'm starting to realize the value of going slow and being certain that you get just exactly what you want. My very first diamond from DH was before PS, and although I love it for many reasons, at the time I just wanted to marry him and felt so happy and blessed to have had anything as a symbol of that. Then last year he decided that he wanted to upgrade to something more quality (my poor first stone tired herself out trying to throw a sparkle for me :lol: ) so I decided that I would really like to have a well cut 1 ct, and although that felt big at the time and I could still stare at it all day, DSS set in and now it just feels too small for my big fingers. Damn all the slender fingered girls! :roll: So, anyway, I'm determined to do this just right! Not to flashy but with presence, and something more classic so that I don't feel that it's lost it's flavor in a few years. As much as I love to watch all the PSers go through their transformations, I find it stressful personally and I'm not sure that I want to go through setting and stone changes every few years, so it's important to me that I get it right this time. :) Thanks for all the help and encouragement. I can't wait to see your future ring as well! :appl:
 
Your fingers are similar in size and shape to mine. I love your asscher, and admired it very much when you posted it on SMTB last year.

But when you say that you are trying to get finger coverage, I can relate to that. And I can relate to being over the solitaire look. Solitaires, no matter how large the center stone -- and especially rounds -- look awful on me.

I, too, went through a horrible -- not fun at all -- series of upgrades, trying to balance what looked good on my hand and what worked with my job (I'm an academic who lives in a very casual non-blingy college town). I ended up feeling very uncomfortable with my fancy halo and one-carat stone. I got tired of people asking me if it was real -- and, yes, they do ask, and not always to be a jerk about it; they ask because it's not common to see anything but small solitaires here. Like Dreamer, I sold all my bling, and I am in the process of figuring out what looks good on me. But it's hard to get ideas when you live in a place where the jewelry stores are still selling over-priced yellow gold settings from the 1980s and 1990s. And what is popular on PS, though beautiful, is not realistic for my day-to-day life, or flattering on my hand (too dainty). It's also easy to get overwhelmed with all the choices here.

What I discovered after all the expensive upgrades is that rounds look like cr*ap on my hand. The problem wasn't the size of the stone or the style of the setting; it was the shape. I much prefer oval, emerald, and square shapes on my hands. But it's harder to find quality fancy shapes, and I was buying online, and super-ideal rounds are the easiest diamonds to buy online (in my opinion). So, long story short, I wasted a lot of time and money trying to up the carat weight of my round stone, only to find that I was just not pleased how rounds -- big or small; simple setting or fancy setting -- looked on my hand.

Think, too, of lifestyle factors that may affect how you feel about wearing a larger and more expensive ring than the people you socialize with and work with. It may not matter if you are planning to relocate to a larger city in the future, or if you customarily don't wear your rings to work. Yes, people here will tell you to wear what you want and ignore the comments of other people; and, if you can do that, then great. In my case, I felt uncomfortable. And when my husband decided to take early retirement this year and we began talking about living in Europe part of the year (another long story), my quest for the perfect "engagement ring" came to an end. I find myself agreeing more and more with Dreamer that after a certain point in married life, it's less about the engagement ring and more about the wedding ring -- that's the gist of what she said; she said it more eloquently than I did. I wear a plain band and a diamond band now (purchased on the secondary market). I'll buy other diamonds and gemstones in the future, because I love jewelry, but the quest for the perfect ring is over. It made me miserable. Just my .02!

ETA: Forgot to vote -- I think you should consider keeping your current lovely asscher and adding traps and/or calibrated French-cuts -- you could easily wear a five-stone :love:
 
Your current ring is very pretty! I think your current center stone would look nice with .5 or .6 carat half-moons. I don't think the half-moon cut would really compete with the step-cut at all. It would give more finger coverage without you having to part with or not wear your current center stone, if that's what you wanted to do.

Not that I'm arguing against a bigger center stone with sidestones... but I thought this other option might provide the look you're going for.

I also think a wider band will help - I know skinny bands are all the rage, but my ring shank is 4mm, with pave, and I think it really gives it a more substantial presence. My center stone + half moons cover a lot of the finger, but without the wider band, there would still be empty finger on either side of them.
 
Did not know Jbeg had such lovely reproduction settings? Am I not a regular lurker?? Victor and Jbeg's bezels could be great for you for durability issues as you mentioned your Mom lifestyle/jeans and tee type (me too). They are fab and safe and good for finger coverage. If they speak to you for a forever setting that is. Take your time, no rush. ::)
 
Go back and look at janetjoan's setting. You could use your current asscher for the center, use traps or something on the sides and do a triple halo. That would give you the finger coverage you want for minimal cost. Or at least even if you still wanted another stone now, you could plan to do something like that later with your asscher. I agree that it is beautiful, and if you can afford to keep it, I would!
 
I know Diamondseeker is a wonderful companion to have with you during diamond shopping. Her advice was invaluable.
 
Thanks so much. Good luck with your search. I do love the idea of keeping your original stone as its really pretty and adding side stonesI found my diamond on Blue Nile for a great price.
 
ame|1326742917|3104405 said:
Id get exactly what you want. DSS WILL set in eventually, and if not, then PERFECT!


agreed. get the forever ring now and love it and live with it. Dont get something you will wnat to change/reset/upgrade again.



Are you parting with your asscher??? :(sad
 
diamondseeker2006|1326832321|3105291 said:
Go back and look at janetjoan's setting. You could use your current asscher for the center, use traps or something on the sides and do a triple halo. That would give you the finger coverage you want for minimal cost. Or at least even if you still wanted another stone now, you could plan to do something like that later with your asscher. I agree that it is beautiful, and if you can afford to keep it, I would!

\
agreed! Can you use your current stone as a center and then get traps and halo it all- ?
 
I say go for the 2.24. My fingers are your size. At this point in my life I don't care what anyone else thinks. Go for your dream! You will grow into it!
 
AprilBaby|1326841594|3105401 said:
I say go for the 2.24. My fingers are your size. At this point in my life I don't care what anyone else thinks. Go for your dream! You will grow into it!

+1 ;))
 
Oh wow! You all have given me soo much to consider! :appl:

Lula You nailed it! Perhaps we live in the same town! :lol: When DH and I were looking at ideas, I kept pointing out halos and he said that he didn't like them. I think that he actually would if I could show him one IRL, and then I started thinking, 'Jeesh! I don't think I've ever seen one IRL, except in a pendant!' People here just aren't that blingy.

It's funny too, because I was just thinking that it was a whole lot easier shopping for a round then it was shopping for an asscher. There are just so many more tools available for RBs. Last night I picked a dozen or more with TIC range HCA's. It took months to find my diamond, and even now I still feel very fortunate to have found it.

I can also relate to your feelings about obsessing about finding THE perfect wedding set. It truly could drive you mad. I also sometimes wonder if I didn't also have a PS obsession if I wouldn't have this perfect wedding ring obsession as well. I know that in no way can a tangible object portray how I feel about my husband, my family or the life that we have built together, so why bother going through all the stress of upgrading....I just love diamonds I guess. :lol:

I do like how rounds look on me...if the proportions are right and there is something on the side. I like the idea of something classic so that a few years down the road I don't feel that styles have changed so much that I HAVE to change it. (I"m thinking of that gorgeous 14kt YG marquise that I dreamed so often about it high school :lol: ) Which is another reason I'm a bit cautious about considering a halo...they are gorgeous :love: , but seem sort of youthful to me, and well....I'm pushing it here! :shock:

Thanks so much for the words of wisdom. :)) It's refreshing to know that so many PSer feel the same as I do. It's easy to look at all the gorgeous HUGE rings here and think that I'm suppose to want to have one too. It's also easy to forget what is practical for ME. I LOVE looking at all the gorgeous erings here but frankly my life isn't that glamorous, nor is my bank account! ;)

Europe sounds dreamy!! :love: I hope that it works out exactly as you wish it will!
 
distracts hmmm! :Up_to_something: I"ve seen some gorgeous settings of LM's that would be a dream to wear, both with half moons and traps, and of course your right, it will give me a lot more coverage at a fraction of the cost. I wonder if I set it with sidestones now if a simple new head assembly would support a new larger stone down the road if I decided that I just HAD to have a bigger center stone.....hhmmmmm :?

diamondseeker I have yet ANOTHER question!! :?: If I reset my asscher like this, do you think that in the future if I wanted a larger stone or a different cut that this setting would support it? I def do not want to invest a lot of cash into a setting for my current diamond and not be able to upgrade to a larger stone down the road if I decided to go that way..
http://artofplatinum.com/vault/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=1265&category_id=1&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1


I guess it's important for me to know that if I change the setting and keep my current stone that I'm left with options in the future.
 
aprilbaby It's a monster huh? :love: And so very gorgeous. I've been holding off emailing Erica and turning the stone down. I think that espeicially with old cuts, when you find one that you really really love and miss out on it, it could take a super long time to find another. Antique cuts have become soo popular that it seems harder and harder to find a great one. :(( I think that I could be really happy with this stone if it was just .50ct smaller. I may be kicking myself in 6 months for passing on it, but something about it just isn't feeling right to me right now. :(sad

amys bling Gosh! Idk!!! :lol: What would you do?? I do like the idea of side traps and the frenchies are TDF and I think that it would be a beautiful classic design that I could wear forever. I think that if the proportions of the side traps were just right that it would give my asscher then look of a biggr ct weight, but I've seen a few with proportions that I didn't like and I think that it made the overall design look like a three stone and somehow made the center stone look smaller.

I looked through SMTB all weekend and unfortunately didn't upload pics for examples so know I'll have to go through it again (poor me :P ) and see what I can find.
 
Christina...|1326845949|3105457 said:

I really love all of these that you posted. The Leons are probably more my personal taste, but I like the cleaner looking lines of these rings, which all go great with an asscher cut.

One thing I thought when I read your post was do you want finger coverage or bling --- that is a round cut has a different sparkle factor than an asscher -- or do you want both? I'm also wondering if a diamond tennis bracelet wouldn't add some bling without the size issues? Just throwing it out there....
 
winternight I was really concerned about the differences in light performance when I first got my asscher. I had only seen AC's and EC's in pictures and then when I went shopping they were always un set so it was difficult to get a real feel for how they would perform and I was super nervous when I decided to purchase one online. When I got my ring though, I was so happy with it. I really like the slow bold flashy from the steps and it's much more firey than I had expected. I really love the different play of light that an old cut gives off too, so I've wondered more often if I would be happy with a RB. I guess each diamond has it's own personality and like people, you either clique with it or you don't. ;)) :lol:

A diamond tennis bracelet would be amazing! And I can see where that could add alot of bling too, but I've never been much of a watch or bracelet chic. I think I'd be more likely to put it on if we went to dinner or out for the evening, which isn't very often, I'm more likely to be tossing in a load of laundry of driving my son to school. :lol:

amys bling Yeah, a LM would be crazy exciting! I'm almost afraid to ask for a quote! I've heard though that others have been pleasantly surprised. :Up_to_something: When I looked at the price tag of the VC I almost choked! THAT is def out of the budget! Of course I'd be using my own center so that would keep cost down, and my proportions would be about half the size. I guess all I can do is ask for a quote and go from there.

I really thought that I had a bit of an idea of what I wanted, but now....I'm clueless. Resetting my current stone makes me feel less like a trader though, I'm just having a hard time trying to envison how much more coverage I would get from the reset and I'm not sure that if I decided to upgrade my stone that I would get an asscher again. I think that I would always compare it to this one. I guess it's something that I would defintely have to see in person and shopping online makes that so much more difficult. I hate the thought of having to order in 3, 4, or even 5 stones to find the right one. That feels like it could take forever!! :sick:

What do you think that you would do? I know that you love your gorgeous ring, but if you were thinking of switching it up though, would you keep your center and add sides or start all over?
 
WWAD??? Lol. Well, I am sentental abou my stone, my DH picked it on his own and proposed with it...so I would keep it for sure. Question is.... Coul I afford a whole other ring and would I wear my ERing and the new one as a RhR? If I couldn't afford a whole new ring I woul reset into a cushion halo or three stone with a pave band :naughty: if I could afford a whole new ring, I would go for it- and go with another cut like an emerald it asscher since I love them also and would live to be able to have two different looks :)
 
If I were you I would first try on all types of settings and styles- and if you felt like you would like a five stone with your asscher then I wouldn't a quote for the ring. I'd you go that route and say a chunk of change maybe you could get a delicious RhR eternity-- hmm Carrie cut? Pave? :naughty:
 
Christina..my very best advice to you is to NOT even consider having a ring custom made if you have any thought whatsoever of upgrading your diamond. You first priority should be to upgrade your diamond to a larger asscher or round or whatever shape you decide you love most. When you get to your final size, then is when you pay a few thousand for the custom setting. You can't have one of these made now with your current stone and then put a larger diamond in. All the proportions need to be balanced especially when you are wanting one of these beautiful multi-stone rings by Leon or Victor. Get the cheapest plain setting you can find for your upgrade...one of the $350 ones (or even see if they can put a larger head in your current ring). Make this a 3 year or 5 year plan. Do one or two upgrades to the diamond and then last have the ring of your dreams made!
 
diamondseeker2006|1326894114|3105793 said:
Christina..my very best advice to you is to NOT even consider having a ring custom made if you have any thought whatsoever of upgrading your diamond. You first priority should be to upgrade your diamond to a larger asscher or round or whatever shape you decide you love most. When you get to your final size, then is when you pay a few thousand for the custom setting. You can't have one of these made now with your current stone and then put a larger diamond in. All the proportions need to be balanced especially when you are wanting one of these beautiful multi-stone rings by Leon or Victor. Get the cheapest plain setting you can find for your upgrade...one of the $350 ones (or even see if they can put a larger head in your current ring). Make this a 3 year or 5 year plan. Do one or two upgrades to the diamond and then last have the ring of your dreams made!


Agreed- don't spend money on a custom setting unless it is your forever setting.
 
Thanks diamondseeker and amys bling and all you other wonderful PSers that offered adivce, opinions and encouragement! :wavey:

I've emailed Erica to let her know that I was definitely passing on the 2.24 and took another stone that I was considering off hold, and suddenly I feel better. :)) I suppose the pressure of feeling as though I was holding someone or something up was making feel as though I was being forced to make a quick decision. Thanks for talking me out of it! :praise: I guess I should say that neither jbEG nor the other vendor applied an ounce of pressure, it's a character flaw of my own to want to please everybody. ;)

I've checked with a jewler and they can change the head assembly on my current setting to accomodate a larger stone. :)) So that much I know. :lol: I think I'll follow DS' advice and look around for a ring with proportions that I really like. WOW! To think that just two days ago I thought that I was ready to move on this upgrade and today I have no idea even what shape center stone I want! :nono: :lol: But because of all of you I know that I won't be rushing into something that I will regret and have to learn to live with. But unfortunately for all of you there will be many more threads about upgrades, center stone choices, designers, metal colors, blah blah blah :shock: :o :lol: Seriously though, thanks for the all the help and I'll be back looking for more, hopefully sooner rather than later!
 
Christina...|1326933633|3106298 said:
Thanks diamondseeker and amys bling and all you other wonderful PSers that offered adivce, opinions and encouragement! :wavey:

I've emailed Erica to let her know that I was definitely passing on the 2.24 and took another stone that I was considering off hold, and suddenly I feel better. :)) I suppose the pressure of feeling as though I was holding someone or something up was making feel as though I was being forced to make a quick decision. Thanks for talking me out of it! :praise: I guess I should say that neither jbEG nor the other vendor applied an ounce of pressure, it's a character flaw of my own to want to please everybody. ;)

I've checked with a jewler and they can change the head assembly on my current setting to accomodate a larger stone. :)) So that much I know. :lol: I think I'll follow DS' advice and look around for a ring with proportions that I really like. WOW! To think that just two days ago I thought that I was ready to move on this upgrade and today I have no idea even what shape center stone I want! :nono: :lol: But because of all of you I know that I won't be rushing into something that I will regret and have to learn to live with. But unfortunately for all of you there will be many more threads about upgrades, center stone choices, designers, metal colors, blah blah blah :shock: :o :lol: Seriously though, thanks for the all the help and I'll be back looking for more, hopefully sooner rather than later!
Well, take your time and find out what you truly love, I can't wait to see what it is!
 
definitely take your time, that is part of all the fun!
 
Great!!! I think you are making the best decision and we will enjoy helping you through your upgrade process! It will be fun to work on in stages because you will be taking your time to get what you really want! :appl:
 
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