Helping my brother choose an engagement ring...

[Jena17]

OK it''s a long story but I think my FF is proposing to me this weekend but to put a spin on things my brother calls my mom to tell her he wants to propose to his GF at the end of November. The funny thing is, is that my FF called my dad the same day to meet with him to ask for his blessing for us! So I can imagine how stressed my parents are.. but now my brother wants his proposal to be a complete surprise and doesn''t want her to help pick out the ring so he has asked for my help in picking it out. He has no idea what she likes I think he is leaning towards a round diamond in some kind of setting.. not just a solitare. I helped my FF pick out my ring and I am going to love it (Hopefully I will have pictures after this weekend) But he already had the center stone from a ring his grandma gave hime which was a 1.10 round diamond that he used in the setting so I never had to look into buying a center stone. Where should I tell my brother to start and what is the price range on a 1 carat round diamond with good specs??? Just so I can give him some direction. Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 10/7/2008 1:46:10 PM
Author:Jena17
OK it's a long story but I think my FF is proposing to me this weekend but to put a spin on things my brother calls my mom to tell her he wants to propose to his GF at the end of November. The funny thing is, is that my FF called my dad the same day to meet with him to ask for his blessing for us! So I can imagine how stressed my parents are.. but now my brother wants his proposal to be a complete surprise and doesn't want her to help pick out the ring so he has asked for my help in picking it out. He has no idea what she likes I think he is leaning towards a round diamond in some kind of setting.. not just a solitare. I helped my FF pick out my ring and I am going to love it (Hopefully I will have pictures after this weekend) But he already had the center stone from a ring his grandma gave hime which was a 1.10 round diamond that he used in the setting so I never had to look into buying a center stone. Where should I tell my brother to start and what is the price range on a 1 carat round diamond with good specs??? Just so I can give him some direction. Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks!

Hi Jena,

There is a lot to consider, the price of a 1 carat round can vary a lot according to the cut quality ( so important for a beautiful diamond), colour and clarity. I would suggest deciding on budget, making cut quality a high priority then if around a carat is desired, adjusting colour and clarity as needed to achieve that. You can use the search tool above Pricescope your Diamond to search to get an idea of pricing.

So I would put cut quality very high on the list, and perhaps colour and clarity...G to H colour and VS2 to SI1 clarity ( verified eyeclean to your standards) might be a good range to consider, with GIA or AGS lab reports. It would be best if your brother could look at some diamonds in person, I would suggest AGS0 cut grade and GIA Excellent to see some well cut diamonds as a comparison, then look at various colour grades in person so you can get a feel for what you want.

Is your brother open to the idea of buying online? If so, he could check out these vendors who have an excellent rep here -

www.whiteflash.com

www.winkjones.com

www.goodoldgold.com

Also for anyone new to diamonds, check out the advanced tutorial here, then you can see the topics listed on the left. This gives an excellent grounding in the basics, and there is an incredible amount of useful info in the archives, so try the search tool for anything else you might want to know.

I hope this helps.

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 10/7/2008 1:57:33 PM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 10/7/2008 1:46:10 PM

Author:Jena17

OK it''s a long story but I think my FF is proposing to me this weekend but to put a spin on things my brother calls my mom to tell her he wants to propose to his GF at the end of November. The funny thing is, is that my FF called my dad the same day to meet with him to ask for his blessing for us! So I can imagine how stressed my parents are.. but now my brother wants his proposal to be a complete surprise and doesn''t want her to help pick out the ring so he has asked for my help in picking it out. He has no idea what she likes I think he is leaning towards a round diamond in some kind of setting.. not just a solitare. I helped my FF pick out my ring and I am going to love it (Hopefully I will have pictures after this weekend) But he already had the center stone from a ring his grandma gave hime which was a 1.10 round diamond that he used in the setting so I never had to look into buying a center stone. Where should I tell my brother to start and what is the price range on a 1 carat round diamond with good specs??? Just so I can give him some direction. Any help would be appreciated!


Thanks!

Hi Jena,


There is a lot to consider, the price of a 1 carat round can vary a lot according to the cut quality ( so important for a beautiful diamond), colour and clarity. I would suggest deciding on budget, making cut quality a high priority then if around a carat is desired, adjusting colour and clarity as needed to achieve that. You can use the search tool above Pricescope your Diamond to search to get an idea of pricing.


So I would put cut quality very high on the list, and perhaps colour and clarity...G to H colour and VS2 to SI1 clarity ( verified eyeclean to your standards) might be a good range to consider, with GIA or AGS lab reports. It would be best if your brother could look at some diamonds in person, I would suggest AGS0 cut grade and GIA Excellent to see some well cut diamonds as a comparison, then look at various colour grades in person so you can get a feel for what you want.


Is your brother open to the idea of buying online? If so, he could check out these vendors who have an excellent rep here -


www.whiteflash.com


www.winkjones.com


www.goodoldgold.com

Lorelei as usual has fabulous advice. Listen to her!

 

[stone-cold11]

Usually we go for excellent cut with a G-I color grade and VS2-SI1 clarity grade.

Around 1ct is where there will be a jump in price and stones just below one will always be in short supply.

Price range is from 5000-9000 for that range G-I VS1-SI1.

 

[swingirl]

Can you convince your brother to get some feedback about his girlfriend''s taste in rings? Work on him a bit and explain that rings need to be comfortable to wear as well as visually pleasing. I get it that men think it''s their job to pick out a style that THEY like but some styles just aren''t comfortable to wear. She doesn''t need to pick out the ring herself but she should have some input---unless he is okay with an upgrade real soon.

 

[DiamondGirlHH]

You should visit some of the well known designers'' galleries to get ideas on various styling of engagement rings...

Ritani

Verragio

Tacori

 

[Jena17]

Thanks everyone for your input, I can atleast tell him somewhere to start!

Oh believe me I have tried to talk to him about asking what she likes and for her to give him some ideas! But he is very set in his ways and doesn''t want to give he any clues that he is going to propose or even thinking about mariage! They have been together for 7 years and she pretty much thinks they are never getting married!

In the begininng I wanted by FF to pick out my ring and I wanted to be surprised but I went to give him some ideas and was very thankful that I was involved in the process and we picked out a gorgeous ring together and now I am just waiting for the surprise!