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Help with buying Tiffany engagement ring, first time buying jewelry

D

driving

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jan 24, 2018
Messages
5
Hello All,

I'm planning on proposing to my girlfriend in the next few weeks. I've been researching here and other sites and somewhat familiar with James Allen offerings as well as Tiffany's. I've been looking for a round solitaire in the $4000-$5x00 range with tax. I don't think my girlfriend would ever buy herself anything this expensive from Tiffany's on her own but i do think she would be ecstatic if i purchased her a Tiffany, even if it was smaller in size then a James Allen for the same price. I went to Tiffanys and found a ring in my price range, but i'm not sure on the quality of the diamond. The most expensive jewelry I've ever purchased was a $100 watch....

Would you consider this a good quality diamond or should I keep looking? Just looking for some reassurance on this particular ring.

Ct .61
Round
VVS2
Color: I
LWD 5.46 x 5.48 x 3.37mm
Depth% 61.6
Table% 56
Fluorescence None
Platinum band, currently a 6 and needs to resize to 7.
$5300 + tax

image1.jpg image2.jpg image3.jpg

GIF of diamond (8mb)
https://media.giphy.com/media/3oEdTPeqTf9ayXyC8o/giphy.gif
 
Don't do it. James Allen has a 25% sale right now on the settings, so if you want something similar and larger, you can get something like this:

PLATINUM SIX PRONG KNIFE EDGED SOLITAIRE ENGAGEMENT RING / SKU: 17192P - $975
0.90 CARAT I-VS1 EXCELLENT CUT ROUND DIAMOND / SKU: 3593064 - $3,910

Total $4885, no tax if you're not in NY, and free shipping. It's almost 0.8mm larger by diameter - but it has medium fluorescence. It also has a crystal which I find is kinda unique. If you search a little you can find other combinations.

Good luck!
 
ichibanichiban said:
no tax if you're not in NY
Click to expand...

You still need to pay taxes on it. Like basically all internet purchases, the store won’t charge you tax if it doesn’t have a physical store in your state, but you’re supposed to pay it when you do annual taxes.
 
I know the name Tiffany has a certain aura about it (and their packaging is sooo pretty) BUT you are paying for a name that will be hidden inside the ring that no one will see or appreciate.
What people “see and appreciate” the the actual sparkly on the finger.
For your money you could get a significantly larger diamond in a very similar setting elsewhere.
However if you know your beloved will be more thrilled to receive a “Tiffany ring” - buy a Tiffany ring
 
Is this going to be a surprise? It would be great to know if she wants a ring that has a Tiffany stamp on the inside or a better cut, larger stone.
I have my Mom’s Tiffany engagement ring. It meant so much to her to get a ring from Tiffany, so I understand. But if not for sentimental reasons, I would have the diamond recut to ideal standards. A big part of the Tiffany experience is going into the shop, so I would suggest, if you are going to purchase from them, a surprise visit to Tiffany as your proposai.
 
I would second the opinions already expressed here. Try to get an idea what she values: branded ring, big diamond or a smaller diamond with her priority C in highest possible grade. I personally did not want "our" money "wasted" on a Tiffany ring. I wanted something quite "perfect" in a diamond though and wanted to hunt the stone myself. I love my stone, but someone might have wanted a 1c, SI1, I for the price of my 0.8c.
 
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As a female, I would much rather have a larger better cut diamond than a Tiffany ring, especially for a design that is easily copied

But, if you are firm on Tiffany, I would go down on clarity and up on color. This one is looking slightly too tinted for my taste (even though I have an I color, my super ideal looks quite white and the cathedral setting hides the side profile better)
 
Tophat1 said:
As a female, I would much rather have a larger better cut diamond than a Tiffany ring, especially for a design that is easily copied

But, if you are firm on Tiffany, I would go down on clarity and up on color. This one is looking slightly too tinted for my taste (even though I have an I color, my super ideal looks quite white and the cathedral setting hides the side profile better)
Click to expand...

Seconding all of this. I'd prefer something larger and whiter, and can see significant tint in the ring you linked above. The clarity is overkill, in that anything at that size (in almost all sizes, in fact!) won't show inclusions down to the VS2 grade and, probably, down to the SI1 grade. I'd be dropping to VS2, going up in color to G, and getting something better cut. The romance of Tiffany is one thing; the love affair women have with larger diamonds is quite another!

Consequently, I'd be getting this:

https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3640395.htm

or this:

https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3880147.htm

and I'd be setting it in this:

https://www.whiteflash.com/engageme...ni-1rz7295-solitaire-engagement-ring-4030.htm

or this:

https://www.whiteflash.com/engageme...tiffany-style-solitaire-engagement-ring-4.htm

Significantly larger diamond, MUCH whiter, better cut, same style setting, cheaper. The Tiffany thrill wears off pretty fast - but the ring lasts forever. Also - with a smaller, more tinted diamond, you stand a far higher likelihood of her wanting to upgrade sooner rather than later. Save the money up front, and deal wth a company like WF, who has an excellent, hassle-free, upgrade policy, should that ever be necessary, and sells the best stones in the biz.

Good luck!
 
In instances where people think their future wife would enjoy a Tiffany piece, I always suggest getting a Tiffany wedding band instead of an engagement ring from them. The wedding band is the one that will get worn every day even if your future wife ends up not wearing her engagement ring much due to lifestyle, kids, work, etc. And the best part is, she'd get to select a wedding band herself that she loves and would go well with the engagement ring. So I would be the next person to say go with a ring from James Allen or Whiteflash or any other vendor other than Tiffany and get a one carat classic solitaire from them and then go shopping for wedding bands at Tiffany.
 
Jimmianne said:
Is this going to be a surprise? It would be great to know if she wants a ring that has a Tiffany stamp on the inside or a better cut, larger stone.
I have my Mom’s Tiffany engagement ring. It meant so much to her to get a ring from Tiffany, so I understand. But if not for sentimental reasons, I would have the diamond recut to ideal standards. A big part of the Tiffany experience is going into the shop, so I would suggest, if you are going to purchase from them, a surprise visit to Tiffany as your proposai.
Click to expand...

Great idea IF you are going to Tiffany's! Let your GF have that ultimate experience. And, if at the end, she realizes that she'd rather have the larger diamond and better specs then you'll know for sure!

I only wanted Tiffany's because I wanted a unique engagement ring that was distinctive = Schlumberger engagement ring!

20170724_141517.jpg

However, my FI didn't end up purchasing that ring but went with something else from Tiiffany's that was more generic and copied by many other artisans. I didn't feel that special Tiffany's feeling about my e-ring.

Had I known he was going to do this, I would have MUCH preferred him get a custom ring with a larger diamond etc.
I do believe the PSers are right when they talk about diamond shrinkage = you're good with the size for a few weeks/months and then you grow accustomed to it and perhaps want a larger stone.

I'm not going to make the same mistake again. This time, I'm getting my wedding band either preloved or custom made. The lovely PSers on here are wise folks and I'll be leaning on them for advice going forward. They will steer you in the right direction too!!

Good luck on your search!
 
i love @rubybeth suggestion of a Tiffany wedding band! That way you can get a bigger center stone. there are a LOT of simple settings like the Tiffany one you posted, the one that @ichibanichiban posted for example. love that stone too! :love:
 
Wow you all are amazing! I really like the idea of getting PS vendor ring and then letting her select the wedding band later from Tiffany’s. I myself don’t get much from the Tiffany experience, that’s more for her. I had initially been going by what her friend was telling me.

I do want to keep it a surprise and will propose in February. After work I’ll take a look at some of the links that were posted here. If you have any other recommendations please let me know. I myself would love to get her a 1ct, but not sure if my budget would allow for a quality stone at that size.

Thanks again!
 
YES!! Buy that combo!
BTW - Wedding bands at Tiffany are NOT inexpensive, except maybe without stones - that would still be a fun experience to have.
 
Vatche makes a setting comparable to the Tiffany, I think it's U113..

It all depends on what your fiancee values most; a blue box experience or a larger diamond. I'll bet you can tell what my preference would be lol. Get the wedding ring from Tiffany.
 
driving said:
Wow you all are amazing! I really like the idea of getting PS vendor ring and then letting her select the wedding band later from Tiffany’s. I myself don’t get much from the Tiffany experience, that’s more for her. I had initially been going by what her friend was telling me.

I do want to keep it a surprise and will propose in February. After work I’ll take a look at some of the links that were posted here. If you have any other recommendations please let me know. I myself would love to get her a 1ct, but not sure if my budget would allow for a quality stone at that size.

Thanks again!
Click to expand...

WF has a .973 for $5800/I/VS2. in case your budget is stretchy: https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3934820.htm
 
I LOVE the idea of picking out a Tiffany wedding band together - great way to give her the experience of the little blue box while still getting great value for your money when you buy the ER.

For reference: Difference between .61 and .9 CT
https://www.diamdb.com/compare/0.61ct-round-vs-0.9ct-round/
 
mrs-b said:
Seconding all of this. I'd prefer something larger and whiter ...
Consequently, I'd be getting this:

https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3640395.htm

or this:

https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3880147.htm
Click to expand...

Comparison of the Tiffany ring compared to the 1st whiteflash stone on a size 7 finger with a 2 mm band (note how the Tiffany stone is deeper than the WF stone, making it even smaller, though comparable weight)

IMG_6040.PNG IMG_6038.jpgIMG_6042.jpg
 
Great suggestions! Bigger size and Tiffany wedding band shopping! Woohoo!
 
ringo865 said:
Comparison of the Tiffany ring compared to the 1st whiteflash stone on a size 7 finger with a 2 mm band (note how the Tiffany stone is deeper than the WF stone, making it even smaller, though comparable weight)

Just a newbie reading to learn some more, but which Tiffany ring is this? OP’s original ring was .61ct and 5.46x5.48x3.37 - have I skipped over another ring?
Click to expand...
 
Woah you're right! I was typing it on my phone. I still am acitalky, but fixed it here. WF is still be 24% surface area larger. Tiffany is still too deep.

IMG_6045.jpg IMG_6046.PNG IMG_6047.jpg
 
mrs-b said:
Seconding all of this. I'd prefer something larger and whiter, and can see significant tint in the ring you linked above. The clarity is overkill, in that anything at that size (in almost all sizes, in fact!) won't show inclusions down to the VS2 grade and, probably, down to the SI1 grade. I'd be dropping to VS2, going up in color to G, and getting something better cut. The romance of Tiffany is one thing; the love affair women have with larger diamonds is quite another!

Consequently, I'd be getting this:

https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3640395.htm

or this:

https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3880147.htm

and I'd be setting it in this:

https://www.whiteflash.com/engageme...ni-1rz7295-solitaire-engagement-ring-4030.htm

or this:

https://www.whiteflash.com/engageme...tiffany-style-solitaire-engagement-ring-4.htm

Significantly larger diamond, MUCH whiter, better cut, same style setting, cheaper. The Tiffany thrill wears off pretty fast - but the ring lasts forever. Also - with a smaller, more tinted diamond, you stand a far higher likelihood of her wanting to upgrade sooner rather than later. Save the money up front, and deal wth a company like WF, who has an excellent, hassle-free, upgrade policy, should that ever be necessary, and sells the best stones in the biz.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

Ding ding ding, we have a winner!

For a $5000 budget, take one of the settings above and pair it with a 0.8 carat ACA from WhiteFlash.

Or, if you wanted to get closer to 1 carat, take a look at these diamonds
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...g-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-3750400
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...h-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-4252085

And pair it with one of the JA Tiffany replicas.
https://www.jamesallen.com/engageme...ife-edged-solitaire-engagement-ring-item-2426
https://www.jamesallen.com/engageme...-six-prong-diamond-engagement-ring-item-50011

Really love the idea of going to Tiffanys for the wedding bands if she's really into the Tiffanys experience. Also, it will be fun to watch the sales associates fall all over you when they see her E-ring and think it's one of theirs :tongue: (I doubt that most of the Tiffanys employees could even tell a replica from a real setting without looking at it up close).
 
ringo865 said:
Woah you're right! I was typing it on my phone. I still am acitalky, but fixed it here. WF is still be 24% surface area larger. Tiffany is still too deep.]

Ha, phone typing is a minefield and I am already having all sorts of trouble getting to technical grips with the mobile site, as you can tell from my posts...

I think Tiffany is 3.37mm deep, not 3.77mm - so 61.9%, which as I understand it would be ok (still, obviously, a smaller diamond than the .80ct). It is matterless to OP though as he seems to have made his decision to go elsewhere based on some good advice here. I hope, OP, you will post a picture when your ring is made? :razz:
Click to expand...
 
I'm still here, over analyzing this decision I think. I'm on the final stretch and really want to order this today or tomorrow. Can you help me make the final decision, they all seem pretty close at this point. From the list below, which is the one you'd pick? Is there one that would really wow you more then the rest?

JA Setting and Diamond Options (already reserved)
$970 https://www.jamesallen.com/engageme...ife-edged-solitaire-engagement-ring-item-2426
1. $3970 https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...at-h-color-vvs2-clarity-ideal-cut-sku-4297783
2. $3790 https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...-h-color-if-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-3714024
3. $3960 https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...-color-vvs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-4205615

WF Setting and Diamond Options
$725 https://www.whiteflash.com/engageme...tiffany-style-solitaire-engagement-ring-4.htm
4. $4461 https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3947661.htm
5. $4418 https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3947668.htm

PS I do really like the Vatche but i'd have to get a smaller diamond because of the price difference.

Thanks!
 
driving said:
I'm still here, over analyzing this decision I think. I'm on the final stretch and really want to order this today or tomorrow. Can you help me make the final decision, they all seem pretty close at this point. From the list below, which is the one you'd pick? Is there one that would really wow you more then the rest?

WF Setting and Diamond Options
$725 https://www.whiteflash.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/6-prong-tiffany-style-solitaire-engagement-ring-4.htm
4. $4461 https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3947661.htm
5. $4418 https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3947668.htm

PS I do really like the Vatche but i'd have to get a smaller diamond because of the price difference.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

No contest. Plus, you'll have the added bonus of WF's great upgrade policy, should that ever be a thing... ;-)

ETA: The WF solitaire setting is really beautful... and they'll do claw prongs for you. There are several PS members with MEGA-HUGE diamonds and they chose that very setting to showcase them... it's lovely.
 
driving said:
I'm still here, over analyzing this decision I think. I'm on the final stretch and really want to order this today or tomorrow. Can you help me make the final decision, they all seem pretty close at this point. From the list below, which is the one you'd pick? Is there one that would really wow you more then the rest?

JA Setting and Diamond Options (already reserved)
$970 https://www.jamesallen.com/engageme...ife-edged-solitaire-engagement-ring-item-2426
1. $3970 https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...at-h-color-vvs2-clarity-ideal-cut-sku-4297783
2. $3790 https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...-h-color-if-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-3714024
3. $3960 https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...-color-vvs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-4205615

WF Setting and Diamond Options
$725 https://www.whiteflash.com/engageme...tiffany-style-solitaire-engagement-ring-4.htm
4. $4461 https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3947661.htm
5. $4418 https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3947668.htm

PS I do really like the Vatche but i'd have to get a smaller diamond because of the price difference.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

From JA, #1 with no questions is my favorite. Small table, angles very complimentary, beautiful IS. 5.94 mm. For the setting, I would ask them to soften the knife edge so it is more similar to Tiffany.

From WF, I like the 0.826 H VS1, https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3947668.htm. 6.02 mm.

I would not choose the WF setting. I would order the JA setting to match the right size (in mm) and have it sent to WF to set their diamond. But, its an extra step.
 
rockysalamander said:
From JA, #1 with no questions is my favorite. Small table, angles very complimentary, beautiful IS. 5.94 mm. For the setting, I would ask them to soften the knife edge so it is more similar to Tiffany.

From WF, I like the 0.826 H VS1, https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3947668.htm. 6.02 mm.

I would not choose the WF setting. I would order the JA setting to match the right size (in mm) and have it sent to WF to set their diamond. But, its an extra step.
Click to expand...

Wouldn't you go for the G since there's no way you'd be able to tell 6.05 x 6.02 mm vs. 6.01 x 5.99 mm?? It's only a 1% difference, and the G is whiter... just curious why you chose the H over the G, @rockysalamander
 
msop04 said:
No contest. Plus, you'll have the added bonus of WF's great upgrade policy, should that ever be a thing... ;-)

ETA: The WF solitaire setting is really beautful... and they'll do claw prongs for you. There are several PS members with MEGA-HUGE diamonds and they chose that very setting to showcase them... it's lovely.
Click to expand...
LOL. I was really on the fence with WF. I can't see the WF videos today. I was worried about that crystal under the table. But, I don't really think you can go wrong with either (and WF's trade-in/trade-up is stupendous).

Edited to add. On JA, the angles and IS of #1 are solid and it has an IS to show its performance. I'll take solid performance over color between G and H -- but thats my personal choice. If color is more important to the OP than that could be a fair trade. I don't like the 36 CA of #3 if better options are available. #2 would be a contender if #1 was not so strong.
 
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