Hi everyone,
Newbie here!
I finally found out about the ring that my gf wants from her friends yesterday and I would love to get your advice on a few questions. I've been thinking about the ring for a while and have done probably 10-15 hours of research reading about diamonds, etc. over the past month. I have not been to the actual stores but will be doing that in the near future. Unfortunately I'm in a bit of a time crunch as I want to propose by 5/20ish (it's a surprise and her girlfriends couldn’t get me the details earlier!). Please take that into consideration. 
So what she wants is the Cartier 1895 with side baguettes in size 6.5. I know she does not care about the brand, so I have some leeway play with a few other variables like diamond size, quality, or, God forbid, cost! Now I know close to nothing about jewelry so forgive me if these questions are not very sophisticated.
Link to Cartier ring: http://www.cartier.com/show-me/jewelry/n4201000-solitaire-1895#/show-me/jewelry/n4201000-solitaire-1895
1) I have found similar settings (round stone with side baguettes) at Blue Nile and James Allen. There’s the option to have either 2 or 4 baguette stones on the ring, and the 4 will be a little wider (2mm to 4.0mm). My questions are:
a. How does the ring/setting quality compared to the Cartier piece? What are the areas I should be looking for in a Cartier level ring or is there not much difference?
b. How much should I care about the baguette diamonds quality? E.g. is there a discernible difference b/t the Cartier baguettes vs. the others?
c. Given that her ring size is 6.5 should I go with the 2 or 4 baguettes? On one hand (no pun intended) I want the center diamond to be the show, but I don’t want the ring to look too skinny on her hand and the diamond looking obnoxiously large…
d. Are there other options I should look into for a replica of the Cartier ring? I think the Bvlgari Griffe with side baguettes looks similar, but not sure if it’s any cheaper
2) On the question of the diamond – what’s a good size for a 6.5 ring? She’s not flashy at all but I also want to ward off unscrupulous individuals with a decent size diamond. :p
3) How much time do I need to set aside for the DIY version and how much for the Cartier version (e.g. Do they need a week or a month to get me something that I want?)?
Any lastly, while I’d like to get a good value and not spend every last dime I have, I could spend up to $25k, though ideally I’d like to spend in the $15-20k range.
Thank you for your help and I’m sure I will have further questions!
Newbie here!
I finally found out about the ring that my gf wants from her friends yesterday and I would love to get your advice on a few questions. I've been thinking about the ring for a while and have done probably 10-15 hours of research reading about diamonds, etc. over the past month. I have not been to the actual stores but will be doing that in the near future. Unfortunately I'm in a bit of a time crunch as I want to propose by 5/20ish (it's a surprise and her girlfriends couldn’t get me the details earlier!). Please take that into consideration. So what she wants is the Cartier 1895 with side baguettes in size 6.5. I know she does not care about the brand, so I have some leeway play with a few other variables like diamond size, quality, or, God forbid, cost! Now I know close to nothing about jewelry so forgive me if these questions are not very sophisticated.
Link to Cartier ring: http://www.cartier.com/show-me/jewelry/n4201000-solitaire-1895#/show-me/jewelry/n4201000-solitaire-1895
1) I have found similar settings (round stone with side baguettes) at Blue Nile and James Allen. There’s the option to have either 2 or 4 baguette stones on the ring, and the 4 will be a little wider (2mm to 4.0mm). My questions are:
a. How does the ring/setting quality compared to the Cartier piece? What are the areas I should be looking for in a Cartier level ring or is there not much difference?
b. How much should I care about the baguette diamonds quality? E.g. is there a discernible difference b/t the Cartier baguettes vs. the others?
c. Given that her ring size is 6.5 should I go with the 2 or 4 baguettes? On one hand (no pun intended) I want the center diamond to be the show, but I don’t want the ring to look too skinny on her hand and the diamond looking obnoxiously large…
d. Are there other options I should look into for a replica of the Cartier ring? I think the Bvlgari Griffe with side baguettes looks similar, but not sure if it’s any cheaper
2) On the question of the diamond – what’s a good size for a 6.5 ring? She’s not flashy at all but I also want to ward off unscrupulous individuals with a decent size diamond. :p
3) How much time do I need to set aside for the DIY version and how much for the Cartier version (e.g. Do they need a week or a month to get me something that I want?)?
Any lastly, while I’d like to get a good value and not spend every last dime I have, I could spend up to $25k, though ideally I’d like to spend in the $15-20k range.
Thank you for your help and I’m sure I will have further questions!
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