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Help with an engagement ring!

L

legacy85

Rough_Rock
Joined
Apr 10, 2012
Messages
5
Hi everyone,

Newbie here! :wavey: 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. :D

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! :)
 
Also, I forgot to suggest on smtb that you can do a search here for Cartier 1895, it is pretty popular, so you can get some ideas of replicas etc. You can also take a look at the show me the bling forum at the e-ring "album" since a lot of people will post their ring size with diamond size and that mint give you a visual. Also do a search under size 6.5 fingers and try for some more pics that way.

Your budget is kind of wide, have you searched at all here at ps to get a price range on stones? And are you only looking for size or do you want the best color, clarity etc or are you open minded? For example, a H or I or even J color stone that is a SI1 or SI2 eye clean will buy you a lot more size than a D VS1.....

Maybe you can get a little more specific so people can focus more for you. Just trying to help, I have learned a lot my reading like crazy here but I know it is so hard when it feels like no one answers your post but they do everyone else's! :wavey:
 
Phdecorate|1334103220|3167993 said:
Also, I forgot to suggest on smtb that you can do a search here for Cartier 1895, it is pretty popular, so you can get some ideas of replicas etc. You can also take a look at the show me the bling forum at the e-ring "album" since a lot of people will post their ring size with diamond size and that mint give you a visual. Also do a search under size 6.5 fingers and try for some more pics that way.

Your budget is kind of wide, have you searched at all here at ps to get a price range on stones? And are you only looking for size or do you want the best color, clarity etc or are you open minded? For example, a H or I or even J color stone that is a SI1 or SI2 eye clean will buy you a lot more size than a D VS1.....

Maybe you can get a little more specific so people can focus more for you. Just trying to help, I have learned a lot my reading like crazy here but I know it is so hard when it feels like no one answers your post but they do everyone else's! :wavey:
Click to expand...

I have searched for the Cartier 1895 and while there's some decent information on it I wasn't sure what real options I had to replicate it. Good idea on the albums -- i will look now.

On the diamond, i originally was going to hold off on asking it for now since I feel like I need to do more research, but I think I'd want a G VS2 or better with an ideal or hearts and arrows cut or solasfera. Of course with those criteria I'm looking at the higher range of the budget...

Thanks again for your help!
 
That diamond will be superior to the Cartier. The setting... I'd get the setting done by Steven Kirsch. Then it will be superior too.
 
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