Hopefully my last post/question. Rate these diamonds?

[day_lily_me]

CEP, I had a freind once that had children and when her fiance proposed to her, he got her AND her kids all together and sat them all down, got down on one knee, and asked them ALL if they would marry him. Sweet! Good luck. Your heart is in the right place and I didn''t mean to imply that you were not going for quality with your budget. I just thought that being more simple and elegant and not so flashy might be best. But bringing in the friend is a great idea. Keep us posted.

 

[reena]

okay: please don''t go to the mall for your bracelet and earrings? (please?) you should be able to get both pieces for $500--but if you want the pieces to be nice, then you have to be reasonable. like, it is not reasonable to think you''re going to get a nice diamond tennis bracelet and diamond earrings for $500. it''s just not going to happen. but it is reasonable to think you can get nice sterling silver earrings and a necklace/bracelet for that amount. (and by the way, i know you said she likes silver toned jewelry--so why were you looking at gold? bad boy! go with the silver. that''s what she likes.)

i vote that you do what others have suggested and get a nice sterling silver earrings and necklace/bracelet set. tiff''s does have nice sterling pieces, and they''re not crazy expensive. sterling is so classic and stands the test of time. you seem to be stuck on getting her pieces with gemstones, but IMO these pieces do not NEED gemstones--the diamond e-ring will contain all the gemstones she needs this time around--and i think the desire for gemstones is what''s leading you to these rather tacky pieces. i say, stay away from the gemstones! purple, pink, blue, whatever--stay away!

let us know what happens at the jeweler, and PLEASE watch out for those "squares and pears". take a critical look and i think you''ll see why everyone is saying that the two shapes really just don''t go together.

 

[orbaya]

Instead of agonizing over the perfect setting, why not mount the diamond in a simple tiffany setting. Then the two of you can pick out a setting she will love. It would be fun for her to go jewelry shopping and pick something out for her engagement diamond. That way, her ering will have your personal touch (the diamond) and her touch (the mounting). I agree with others about the pear center and princess diamond sides...don''t do it. The two shapes "clash" if that makes sense.

Good luck!

 

[sciencegeek]

CEP, here are a few images of jewelry from Tiffany that I think are beautiful and classic and within your budget. I think she will be wowed by the blue box, and while I would never get an e-ring from Tiffany I do really like a lot of their silver. First, bracelets:

1. simple but pretty, $100. There is a matching necklace that I will post in a minute since I can''t do multiple photos at a time.

 

[sciencegeek]

matching necklace, $170

 

[sciencegeek]

This one is called the love knot, a nice sentiment and I like the flow of the metal. Ordinarily I hate mixed metal but I like this. $225.

 

[reena]

i own the last bracelet. very pretty. there''s also a non-heart version that''s similar.

 

[sciencegeek]

This one is more expensive, $295. I hope I''ve given you a few ideas, don''t hesitate to ask for more. Hunting for jewelry pics is a favorite pastime around here. And I agree with the other ladies, please please in the name of style don''t go for squares with pears. Get one or the other, and then whichever one you didn''t choose will be good for a nice right hand ring as an anniversary present sometime down the road.

 

[Christmas Eve Proposer]

Reena,

I''ve since found out that the only reason she doesn''t have much gold is because he''s never been given GOOD gold.

So...I''m getting her REAL GOOD gold in an engagement ring. And then just decided to go with gold on the bracelet and earrings.

And please note...I''m not stuck on ANYTHING as far as the bracelet and earrings go...I''m just trying to get both for 500 bucks. I don''t care if they''re freaking glow sticks. If they''re cool glow sticks and glow sticks that are WORTH 500 bucks, I''ll get them.


I wonder though...Would sterling silver go with her gold diamond ring? Or is that something that is not considered? In other words, no need to match other jewelry to an engagement ring?

As for the pear and the settings...I don''t know what''s going on anymore...I''ll just go there tonight and take pictures.

And really...I''m kinda screwed on the pear anyway. My jeweler doesn''t have what I want...So I''m taking him a price list I printed from here, showing him the prices, and telling him I HAVE to do what''s best for "Her". And maybe he''ll be ok with me buying the setting from him and the stone elsewhere...And then having him set it for me...And then tipping him generously for all the trouble he''s went-to for me.

 

[sciencegeek]

Ooh, Hest, I was just about to post that first necklace! I love it

 

[Hest88]

I know you say she doesn''t like gold because she''s never had gold, but if all her current jewelry and accessories are silver-toned then it makes no sense to get her gold just because you want to show her what good gold looks like. Stick with silver and platinum. Women like things to match and they don''t like wasting what they already have. If you get her gold she either won''t match or she''ll have to stop wearing the pieces she has.

 

[valeria101]

Gee! Looking back, I am getting scared at this thread.... That "I wanted to do all this on my own" makes me feal really bad... The jewelry is NOT for me after all.

Done with this thread ! Quality and price is one, taste ? A whole different matter. There is a popular saying around here "tastes should never be discussed". Although I do infringe allot, this time ranks among the worst. Sorry for the ranting so far

 

[Christmas Eve Proposer]

Date: 11/17/2004 2

2

6 PM
Author: sciencegeek
This one is more expensive, $295. I hope I''ve given you a few ideas, don''t hesitate to ask for more. Hunting for jewelry pics is a favorite pastime around here. And I agree with the other ladies, please please in the name of style don''t go for squares with pears. Get one or the other, and then whichever one you didn''t choose will be good for a nice right hand ring as an anniversary present sometime down the road.

Hey...I''m to the point that I would hand someone 600 bucks if they just came to me with 500 bucks worht of earrings and bracelet!!!

And I am not kidding in the least!! So feel free to give me all kinds of ideas...Hell....TELL ME what to buy!!

And now...Time to brnig things down...

I am SO screwed on this ring now!!

She said she doesn''t like "round stones''.

She said she does like "Teardrop stones" (Pear)

She said she likes emerald cut stones.

(BUT...AND I CAN''T SAY THAT LOUD ENOUGH...BUT!!!!! She MIGHT have been talking about regular jewelry...NOT an "Engagement Ring". We were just looking through a Kay''s catalog at the time.)

And to top it ALL off...

I don''t like the square stones.


I thought I had found a happy medium with the pear and the setting that didn''t have round stones running down the band (I won''t say they were "Square", but they were not "Round").


Sigh........

 

[Hest88]

Valeria, I don''t think you should feel bad. When he said "all on my own" I think he meant without the help of her friends so he could definitely keep it a surprise. If he had wanted to do it *completely* without guidance he wouldn''t have posted here in the first place. Right, CEP?

And you''re right. The jewelry isn''t for you. But it isn''t for CEP either. It''s for his girlfriend. So, since he doesn''t know exactly what she wants he can hopefully help him make a decision.

 

[Christmas Eve Proposer]

Date: 11/17/2004 2

9:54 PM
Author: valeria101
Gee! Looking back, I am getting scared at this thread.... That ''I wanted to do all this on my own'' makes me feal really bad... The jewelry is NOT for me after all.

Done with this thread ! Quality and price is one, taste ? A whole different matter. There is a popular saying around here ''tastes should never be discussed''. Although I do infringe allot, this time ranks among the worst. Sorry for the ranting so far

Don''t sweat it Valeria!! No problems!! Quite the contrary!!!

You see..."On my own" means nothing more than me being the only "Real person" working on this. All you guys are GREAT!!!

(No offense with the "Real Person" comment. That means...None of my friends or family and none of hers.)


And as has been displayed...I certainly need help with all this!!!


And note...

I don''t want to involve her best friend for two reasons...

1) I don''t trust her to be able to keep the secret!!

2) I might get busted. There is NO reason why we would ever be dong anything together.


So...Do me the HUGE favor of sticking around and helping?????

 

[valeria101]

Date: 11/17/2004 2:100 PM
Author: Christmas Eve Proposer

And I am not kidding in the least! So feel free to give me all kinds of ideas...Hell....TELL ME what to buy!!

Can you ask Leonid to delete all these posts and show PS tou your girl instead

You may be right about "regular jewelry" and "e-ring". Shoping animal as I am, there has been ONE piece of jewelry I would have really, really wanted for myself on one year worth of PS ! Everything is interesting, most pieces are just beautiful and very desirable... but my personal jaw dropped just once

 

[reena]

oh, i didn't realize you were getting her gold for the e-ring now.

CEP, are you sure? i mean, whether an e-ring is gold or silver (meaning plat or WG of course) is hugely personal and honestly it can make or break whether she'll like the ring. you need to know which she would prefer, FOR SURE. really. now, you said you are getting the best friend involved. please, for the love of g*d, ask her. please?

why are you stuck on buying the setting from your local jeweler?

i'll be happy to chime in on other ideas you may come up with, but for now i am leaving it at this. my .02? unless you get reliable input from the best friend, this is what you should get:

1) SIMPLE sterling silver earrings and a necklace or bracelet.

2) a SIMPLE, tiffany style SOLITAIRE e-ring in WG or platinum with a single center stone that's the nicest you can get for your budget. (as for the shape, you said she likes pear and square and you don't like square, so get her a nice pear.)

period.

i know you were hoping for all kinds of color and gemstones and flair and design, but honestly, i wouldn't. i know you want to surprise her and i know you want her to be happy, but it's really apparent that you have all but no clue what she would like. (style, color metal, sidestones or not, whatever.) going 100% simple and classic is your BEST shot of getting her something she'll like and want to wear. you're really scewing with the odds any other way. sorry, but it's true. i think this is what you should do. if she wants a fancier setting, you can get it for her next Xmas, and then you'll at least have some idea of what she wants.

 

[Hest88]

CEP, I feel like we''re no closer to making a decision than when we started. Let''s do this methodically. First step:

What you need to is just choose something and decide that once you''ve made the choice you''re no longer going to second-guess it. The first thing to do is choose the shape of a stone. Given your parameters, my vote goes to either a pear or a radiant. A radiant is rectangular, but it will have the sparkle I think you prefer. So, let''s just focus on the stone right now and nothing else. Do we go with a pear? Yes or no?

 

[Christmas Eve Proposer]

Date: 11/17/2004 2

7:28 PM
Author: Hest88
I know you say she doesn''t like gold because she''s never had gold, but if all her current jewelry and accessories are silver-toned then it makes no sense to get her gold just because you want to show her what good gold looks like. Stick with silver and platinum. Women like things to match and they don''t like wasting what they already have. If you get her gold she either won''t match or she''ll have to stop wearing the pieces she has.

Her current stuff is all cheap crap (Tasteful, but inexpensive)...Except for the ring that has the birth stones of her kids, she keeps it ALL in her make-up case, for God''s sake!! I could probably replace it all with a few hundred bucks. I''m telling you...Jewelry is not a big deal for her either. We have a lot in common that way.

And...

She''s not great at keeping track of stuff either...I find her earrings ALL OVER the place at my house. And, she''s lost the one pair of diamond earrings she DID have!!

 

[aljdewey]

Date: 11/17/2004 12:10:31 PM
Author: reena

i think it's nice that you want to get her a regular present along with the e-ring, fine. but, IMO you're just not going to get a nice diamond tennis bracelet and nice diamond earrings for $500 total. you're just not.

CEP, I've refrained from this whole thing for a while because I honestly find it completely exhausting at this point. This whole thing is like a motor boat doing circles in the lake with no one at the helm.....just endless circles and getting nowhere.

I can understand your wanting to get her a "normal gift" as well as the e-ring. Perfectly understandable. But PLEASE, listen to what folks are trying to tell you.
You said: "I'm guessing I can get her a nice bracelet and nice earrings with a budget of 500 dollars." NO, you can't....not if they are a diamond bracelet and diamond earrings! You're guessing wrong......period.

You want to get her a "normal" gift, too....fine. Pick something else. Maybe a nice pair of pearl earrings and a single pearl necklace. You can get "normal" presents without them having to be cheap-ass, terrible looking diamonds.

If you were going to do a night out on the town at a five-star restaurant, and you were planning to order caviar and chateaubriand, you wouldn't serve those with a no-name, $1.99/gallon wine, would you? Of course not.

People are trying to give you heartfelt and SAGE advice. There have been some great suggestions....(I LOVED the suggestion of getting purple stone/silver earrings and necklace seeing that she likes purple).......but it seems like all you want to do is argue about what *you* like and what you think her current jewelry is.

As others mentioned, after all this angst, you're not much closer to making any substantive decision at all. Since you've said she'll like whatever you pick, I'd say stop beating the daylights out of the horse and vascillating......and pick something already.

Sorry to be so blunt, but it's enough. Clearly, no one here can help you make up your mind.....you just have to do it.

 

[Hest88]

Her current stuff is all cheap crap (Tasteful, but inexpensive)...Except for the ring that has the birth stones of her kids, she keeps it ALL in her make-up case, for God''s sake

So what? Just because it''s cheap doesn''t mean women don''t like to wear costume jeweler. Women are always buying new things because they''re cute or cool or pretty. I hope you don''t expect her to throw out all of her costume jewelry just because it''s inexpensive stuff.

 

[Christmas Eve Proposer]

Date: 11/17/2004 2:22:18 PM
Author: Hest88
CEP, I feel like we''re no closer to making a decision than when we started. Let''s do this methodically. First step:

What you need to is just choose something and decide that once you''ve made the choice you''re no longer going to second-guess it. The first thing to do is choose the shape of a stone. Given your parameters, my vote goes to either a pear or a radiant. A radiant is rectangular, but it will have the sparkle I think you prefer. So, let''s just focus on the stone right now and nothing else. Do we go with a pear? Yes or no?

Outstanding idea!

But...Let me go to the jewelers toniight...I''ll get pictures of the settings I like...Then, once we know WHAT they are, we can go from there.

But to answer your question, YES! I want to go with a pear!! (But if someone could convince me that I need to forget what I want, AND I knew she would definately prefer a rediant, I would go with that, of course).

 

[reena]

white.
gold.
pear.
solitaire.

 

[Hest88]

Date: 11/17/2004 2:27:16 PM
Author: Christmas Eve Proposer

Date: 11/17/2004 2:22:18 PM
Author: Hest88
CEP, I feel like we''re no closer to making a decision than when we started. Let''s do this methodically. First step:

What you need to is just choose something and decide that once you''ve made the choice you''re no longer going to second-guess it. The first thing to do is choose the shape of a stone. Given your parameters, my vote goes to either a pear or a radiant. A radiant is rectangular, but it will have the sparkle I think you prefer. So, let''s just focus on the stone right now and nothing else. Do we go with a pear? Yes or no?

Outstanding idea!

But...Let me go to the jewelers toniight...I''ll get pictures of the settings I like...Then, once we know WHAT they are, we can go from there.

No! No, no, no, no, no!!!! The bulk of your money, thus the bulk of your time, should go to the stone. Stop focusing on the setting! Pick the stone first!!!!

 

[sciencegeek]

Date: 11/17/2004 2:10

0 PM
Author: Christmas Eve Proposer

Hey...I''m to the point that I would hand someone 600 bucks if they just came to me with 500 bucks worht of earrings and bracelet!!!

And I am not kidding in the least!! So feel free to give me all kinds of ideas...Hell....TELL ME what to buy!!

Okay, I''m in. I want to help because you seem like such a sweet guy who really wants to do right by his woman. Plus, I could use the cash

I am of course kidding. But since you really seem frustrated and stuck, and we all want to get what *she* would love, maybe a few pics of her and/or jewelry she owns already to get a better sense of her style. I think Hest and Reena have impeccable taste, but we need to get a better idea of your girlfriend''s taste to be truly helpful.

Don''t worry, CEP, we''ll get through this!

 

[Hest88]

Date: 11/17/2004 2:28:42 PM
Author: reena
white.
gold.
pear.
solitaire.

Me likey. But I''d edit it to read:

platinum.
pear.
solitaire.

 

[Christmas Eve Proposer]

Date: 11/17/2004 2:26:46 PM
Author: Hest88

Her current stuff is all cheap crap (Tasteful, but inexpensive)...Except for the ring that has the birth stones of her kids, she keeps it ALL in her make-up case, for God''s sake

So what? Just because it''s cheap doesn''t mean women don''t like to wear costume jeweler. Women are always buying new things because they''re cute or cool or pretty. I hope you don''t expect her to throw out all of her costume jewelry just because it''s inexpensive stuff.

No...I think you missed my joke.

She''ll probably LOSE it ALL!! LOL!!!

And then who knows...Replace it with gold? Either way, it doesn''t matter....

In other words...

I specifically asked her why she only seems to have silver looking stuff (Maybe a half dozen earrings, and a few necklaces) and she said she only doesn''t have gold because she doesn''t want cheap gold (Money has been tight for her the last number of years...The kid''s father REALLY flaked out on them all.)

What do I know about jewelry (Obviously)? I don''t care if it''s "Costume". And I certainly don''t care if it''s silver. All I know is that I''m not worrying about buying her gold...I know she''ll like it...And maybe we can even get her more in the future!! It''s not like a gold bracelet and earrings are going to clash with what she currently has...Cause those two things (Other than her new ring) will be ALL she''s wearing at that given moment!!

 

[reena]

yes, i would prefer platinum as well. (i only said WG as an intermediate option in terms of cost.)

CEP, i''m all adviced out. my two part suggestion above is all i''ve got for you at this point. good luck.

 

[Christmas Eve Proposer]

Date: 11/17/2004 2:32

2 PM
Author: sciencegeek

Date: 11/17/2004 2:10

0 PM
Author: Christmas Eve Proposer

Hey...I''m to the point that I would hand someone 600 bucks if they just came to me with 500 bucks worht of earrings and bracelet!!!

And I am not kidding in the least!! So feel free to give me all kinds of ideas...Hell....TELL ME what to buy!!

Okay, I''m in. I want to help because you seem like such a sweet guy who really wants to do right by his woman. Plus, I could use the cash

I am of course kidding. But since you really seem frustrated and stuck, and we all want to get what *she* would love, maybe a few pics of her and/or jewelry she owns already to get a better sense of her style. I think Hest and Reena have impeccable taste, but we need to get a better idea of your girlfriend''s taste to be truly helpful.

Don''t worry, CEP, we''ll get through this!

Thank you so much!!

And it''s funny...

If I post a pic of us, it will be the one I use as a background. It''s from an evening we spent in downtown Indy...At her company''s "Night of Acheivement". A pretty big deal. We even had to go buy me an outfit (Purple, of course) because my standard slacks, shirt, tie and sports-coat would have been just a biiiiiiiiit too casual.

Anyway...It''s an evening just short of Prom Night for grown-ups...

And to the ponit of my story...

In the pricture, where she''s clearly wearing a lower cut dress that I assume SCREAMS for a necklace, all you can see is her small earrings. No necklace. And of course, on her hands (Which you can''t see) is nothing but her kid''s birthstones ring.

I am telling you...This chick is flexible when it comes to jewelry!! It''s not a big deal to her.

 

[Hest88]

Yeh, me too. Here''s my final suggestion.

Tiffany black bracelet
Tiffany cloverleaf necklace
E-ring: simple platinum or white gold pear solitaire. No sidestones.