Hopefully my last post/question. Rate these diamonds?

[sciencegeek]

Date: 11/17/2004 2:24:23 PM
Author: Christmas Eve Proposer

Date: 11/17/2004

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!!

So maybe earrings are not the best choice. I''m sure she would be upset if she lost a beautiful present you gave to her on the eve of your engagement. Some people are just bad at earrings, my mom loses them all the time. If you want the easiest solution for the bday/Christmas gifts, which I think is a grand plan since it allows you to forget about them and focus on the e-ring which is much more important, go to the Tiffany website and order some things online. Plenty of lovely suggestions have been posted here, and you''ll have the gifts taken care of and shipped to your house within a week. No more hassle!

E-ring: pear solitaire, white gold temp setting. Again, a gorgeous classic and then she can have the fun of helping to choose her own setting. It''s been said before and you didn''t like the idea of a temp setting, but seriously, think how much time and worry you''ve put into this without any real progress.

Guess I can be a little bossy sometimes

 

[Christmas Eve Proposer]

Thank you Reena! Your help will never be forgotten.

Who knows? I might come full-circle and head back to platnum (I only changed to gold because she said "I have never had any GOOD gold")...I want to give her good gold. And I DO like the idea of a solitare!! But my eye is drawn to the setting with all the pretty stones in it...But, as we''ve discovered here, I''ve got the taste of a beer that''s sit open for a month.

I''ve been stuck on doing something a little different, because she''s "Different". She''s FUN! She''s as cute as can be, smarter than I''ll EVER hope to be, tiny, and best of all...She takes her shoes off when she gets into my piece of shit jeep with no top, and then puts her bare-feet up on the dashboard that''s peeling away...And rides in town with me enjoying the open air!!

 

[Christmas Eve Proposer]

I''m curious of one last thing...


Why is everyone going with White Gold or Platnium? Not that I don''t like it...I''m just curious. Why that over Gold??

 

[chrono]

So that it will match all her other jewelry. Her skin tone also compliments WG and PT.

 

[reena]

CEP, you may be frustrating as heck to help in picking out jewelry

, but everytime you say something sweet like that i want to hug you through the screen. im so happy for you that you found someone so wonderful. you guys are going to be very happy.

now PLEASE, for the love of all that is holy, will you get your tush to the jeweler and BUY THE WOMAN A PEAR SOLITAIRE? just think how easy! and simple! and classic!

AND EASY!

 

[Christmas Eve Proposer]

And here''s one REALLY COOL thing (If I go with the concensus here)...

My jeweler can get me a 1.85 F-SI2 pear for 9200. (Assumming the standard Tiffany setting is less than 800, i''m in budget..I hadn''t considered it before because I wanted to spend more on the setting).

Plus, I''ll beat him down to 8500 maybe?

 

[valeria101]

Date: 11/17/2004 2:48:54 PM
Author: Christmas Eve Proposer
I''m curious of one last thing...


Why is everyone going with White Gold or Platnium? Not that I don''t like it...I''m just curious. Why that over Gold??

Well... presumably, white metal goes best with white diamonds (the large ones, pave is not counted). It''s been comon wisedom for the longest time - so much so that way back silver was used instead of gold to mount the most precious gems.
So... not sure. This is basically a diamonds-for-e-rings forum, so perhaps some association applies? Yellow gold has been the top act in international jewelry fairs this year.

Keeping up in traditional personal shopper manner. Here''s some matched necklace & earrings sets. Cannot guess your girl style any better than you can

But, let''s say that the pair to the left runs a Parliament debate and the one to the right makes just enough noise to sound elegant during an opera concert

Both reasonable bargains talking of two different personal styles to me.

Vote ?

 

[Christmas Eve Proposer]

Date: 11/17/2004 2:40

5 PM
Author: sciencegeek

Date: 11/17/2004 2:24:23 PM
Author: Christmas Eve Proposer

Date: 11/17/2004

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!!

So maybe earrings are not the best choice. I''m sure she would be upset if she lost a beautiful present you gave to her on the eve of your engagement. Some people are just bad at earrings, my mom loses them all the time. If you want the easiest solution for the bday/Christmas gifts, which I think is a grand plan since it allows you to forget about them and focus on the e-ring which is much more important, go to the Tiffany website and order some things online. Plenty of lovely suggestions have been posted here, and you''ll have the gifts taken care of and shipped to your house within a week. No more hassle!

E-ring: pear solitaire, white gold temp setting. Again, a gorgeous classic and then she can have the fun of helping to choose her own setting. It''s been said before and you didn''t like the idea of a temp setting, but seriously, think how much time and worry you''ve put into this without any real progress.

Guess I can be a little bossy sometimes

I NEED bossy!!

And I promise...I''ll open back up to the idea of the temp setting,

and GET OVER IT!!

I''m not worried about her losing stuff. She''ll do it forever...It''s part of the bargain. In case you haven''t noticed, I''M the anal one. (We joke about it).

 

[Christmas Eve Proposer]

Ana...

My vote?

Right, hands down. (But remember...I''m an idiot!! )


Seriously...I don''t like the one on the left...Too thick, I guess.

 

[reena]

Date: 11/17/2004 2:54:17 PM
Author: Christmas Eve Proposer

And here''s one REALLY COOL thing (If I go with the concensus here)...

My jeweler can get me a 1.85 F-SI2 pear for 9200. (Assumming the standard Tiffany setting is less than 800, i''m in budget..I hadn''t considered it before because I wanted to spend more on the setting).

Plus, I''ll beat him down to 8500 maybe?

YES! yesyesyesyesyesyes.

 

[Christmas Eve Proposer]

Date: 11/17/2004 3

4:38 PM
Author: reena

Date: 11/17/2004 2:54:17 PM
Author: Christmas Eve Proposer

And here''s one REALLY COOL thing (If I go with the concensus here)...

My jeweler can get me a 1.85 F-SI2 pear for 9200.  (Assumming the standard Tiffany setting is less than 800, i''m in budget..I hadn''t considered it before because I wanted to spend more on the setting).

Plus, I''ll beat him down to 8500 maybe?

YES! yesyesyesyesyesyes.

LOL!!

But just because I''ve already got plans to go to the jeweler tonight, allow me to take pictures of the two settings I''m looking at (Who knows...Maybe they''ll be OBNOXIOUSLY UGLY and we can dismiss them right away) and then post them here with our picture for review?

Plus...I need to go see him anyway. I need to give him the print-outs of the prices I can get here...I need to start laying the ground work for possibly buying the stone online and then paying him to set it for me. (With some extra because he''s been so good to me).

Looks like Tiffany is getting the bracelet and earrings business...

 

[Christmas Eve Proposer]

Date: 11/17/2004 2:31:56 PM
Author: 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!!!!

Will do!!

It''s just that the setting I like is $2500. With a total of 2.5 carats or something like that? (It includes a wedding band too).

Like my post above states...I have to go see this guy tonight...It''s all planned. I can take the pictures since I''m there...And give him the price list I got here. Otherwise, I''d just stay home. And I don''t want to waste any of the little time I have left.

 

[reena]

yes, yes, post the pears and squares when you get pictures of them.

but if you are going to go with a simple tiffany style solitaire setting, it really doesn''t make any sense to go to the trouble of buying the stone online, having it shipped to you and bringing it to the jeweler to put it in the solitaire setting. it would be much easier, and cheaper probably, to just buy the setting from the online vendor as well, and have them set the stone.

i know you feel bad about your jeweler, but you shouldn''t put yourself to all of that extra trouble (and possibly expense) just to purchase an $800 setting from him. trust me--it''s the diamond sale he cares about. once he finds out you''re planning to buy the diamond online, im not sure he''ll really be mollified by the news that you''ll still buy a relatively inexpensive setting from him. (truth be told, he might not even be consoled by the fact that you plan to buy an expensive setting from him. he wants to sell you the stone.)

 

[reena]

and isn''t showing him an online price list just going to, how do i say this, piss him off?

 

[valeria101]

Date: 11/17/2004 33:41 PM
Author: Christmas Eve Proposer
Ana...

My vote?

Right, hands down

Got it... than it's Signedpieces.com (the necklace) and any jeweler (Superbcert posts these settings, so do others, I guess) for the stud earrings (that picture is Tiffany's, but for a piece that small and simple, signatures really make little sense).

The budget went somewhere upwhards - but not upwards of your $600 premium on the $500 choice. So... here's the bad news

BTW, I think the initial chat was about bracelet & earrings not necklace... what was I thinking ?

 

[Christmas Eve Proposer]

Date: 11/17/2004 3:21:47 PM
Author: reena
yes, yes, post the pears and squares when you get pictures of them.

but if you are going to go with a simple tiffany style solitaire setting, it really doesn''t make any sense to go to the trouble of buying the stone online, having it shipped to you and bringing it to the jeweler to put it in the solitaire setting. it would be much easier, and cheaper probably, to just buy the setting from the online vendor as well, and have them set the stone.

i know you feel bad about your jeweler, but you shouldn''t put yourself to all of that extra trouble (and possibly expense) just to purchase an $800 setting from him. trust me--it''s the diamond sale he cares about. once he finds out you''re planning to buy the diamond online, im not sure he''ll really be mollified by the news that you''ll still buy a relatively inexpensive setting from him. (truth be told, he might not even be consoled by the fact that you plan to buy an expensive setting from him. he wants to sell you the stone.)

I plan on giving him some extra cash (500 bucks, maybe?) for his trouble...If it comes to that. He''s been very good to me. He''s brought-in purple sapphires for me to see, he''s stayed open a little late for me, and he''s helped educate me.

I''m a sales guy myself. The man has treated me right and I''ll repay him for that. It''s the right thing to do.

 

[Christmas Eve Proposer]

Date: 11/17/2004 3:22:59 PM
Author: reena
and isn''t showing him an online price list just going to, how do i say this, piss him off?

Well...He''s going to have to deal with that. This is all about what''s best for "Her".

I just want to show him what I''m basing my change of mind on...I want to be upfront with him. Who knows? Mabye he''ll match those prices once he finds-out I''m not a total idiot??

 

[Christmas Eve Proposer]

Date: 11/17/2004 3:24:13 PM
Author: valeria101

Date: 11/17/2004 33:41 PM

Author: Christmas Eve Proposer

Ana...


My vote?


Right, hands down

Got it... than it''s Signedpieces.com (the necklace) and any jeweler (Superbcert posts these settings, so do others, I guess) for the stud earrings (that picture is Tiffany''s, but for a piece that small and simple, signatures really make little sense).


The budget went somewhere upwhards - but not upwards of your $600 premium on the $500 choice. So... here''s the bad news

BTW, I think the initial chat was about bracelet & earrings not necklace... what was I thinking ?

I''m a bit confused? Can I get both those for 600 bucks?

 

[reena]

doubtful. but that yurman bracelet is FAB.

 

[valeria101]

Nooo... me and restraint

Now, you mention "god gold" - somehow this resonates with a nice set of 18k yellow gold of classicla design that most jewelers should have their case full. Say... a substantial whet chain necklace & bracelet (even nicer if graduated, for example) or some sophisticated Italian designs that came to be all the rage (and are below $500 even in Bucharest).

It would not really work to find such things online (did you try Stuller.com ?) but your jeweler should be able to help. And probably glad to help if you do go for the less expensive setting.

 

[jaye]

Hi,
While all of you have been getting burned out.....I''ve just read all of these posts and find it fascinating and very educational. Kudos to all the posters.

There is one thing that confuses me, however, are we sure that the fiance to be actually likes silver or is she into the white gold look rather than yellow gold? When CEP uses the term gold, sometimes I get the impression that gold is being used to describe the yellow. If the fiance likes the white gold look, it would not be wise to make a switch to yellow, even if it is for the necklace or bracelet.

 

[cushionsearcher]

Hi CEP,

I''ve loved reading about your ideas for the proposal, they sound perfect and very romantic. The only thing I''m worried about is that you may be rushing into something a little too quickly. After reading through this whole thread, I thought I''d give you my $.02. Based on the limited amount of info I have on your girlfriend, I''d be willing to bet (based on the fact that she''s been in serious relationships before and is most likely over the age of 20) that she has a decent idea of what she''d like in an engagement ring. Sure there may be things that she''s not sure about or indifferent to, but I''m guessing she has a general idea. An engagement ring is something she''s going to wear for the rest of her life, so you want to be sure that it''s something that she''ll be happy wearing for the rest of her life. (Disclaimer: I''m a bit of a control freak so I''m REALLY glad I had some say into my engagement ring, so feel free to ignore this if you like.)

That being said...I think you NEED to know more about her preferences BEFORE you make decisions as to white gold/platinum vs. yellow gold, shape of the solitare, setting, etc. The best friend is a good way to go about this...parents can be good as well (if she''s close with them and you feel comfortable with them). If you really want to do this without help from anyone, may I suggest discreetly asking her opinion. Just going to a mall and looking at solitare shapes and how diamonds look set in white vs. yellow can give you a lot of insight into what she might want. Sure, she''ll start to wonder, but one stop at a mall store for 5 minutes probably wont give it all away. If you think this is obvious, here''s another idea - what type of engagement ring did/does her mom wear? I ask because I know a lot of my friends (including myself) have wanted engagement rings similar to their mother''s engagement rings (of course that''s purely anecdotal and un-scientific research ))

Once you know the basics - the big one - what shape stone (please don''t leave this decision up to what you *think* she would like in an engagement ring...find out for sure), you can go from there.

As for what to get for the birthday/Christmas presents...Tiffany stuff will certainly work, but there are other options. I know that many people here probably will not agree, but I actually really like mall stores (actually jewelry departments in department stores, such as Macy''s, Nordstrom''s, Filene''s, etc.) for semi-precious jewelry. I would never go to a store like this for an engagement ring (or any diamond over .25 ct) but I''ve gotten a lot of really nice earings, bracelets and even a necklace from here at reasonable prices. I have earrings with small emeralds and diamonds, other hoops that are gold with a small diamond in them - I have a great tanzanite (very pretty light purple color) and diamond bracelet and beautiful tanzanite earrings, both of which I''m sure were $500 or less for the both of them. Not trying to confuse your with more choices, just wanted to let you know that I think those type of stores would be absolutely fine for the birthday/Christmas gifts.

Ok, so my advice is to get a better idea of SHE wants and move slowly forward from there. Remember it''s a big decision - it''s better to get everything right, even if it means possibly pushing back the engagement date.

Good Luck and keep us updated.

 

[cflutist]

CEP,

WOW, my head is spinning from reading all of this. Let us know what happens and good luck.

 

[Christmas Eve Proposer]

Hello again eveyone!

In an attmept to answer all questions above...

My girlfriend was married once, kind of a "Had too" thing. He turned-out to be the most unstable freak of nature I''ve ever heard of...Absolutely impossible to explain...

She picked-out her own engagement ring back then at Service Merchandice...

She lost the wedding ring when she banked it off his forehead and into the front yard...

She hocked the engagement ring for 75 bucks to feed the kids...

Through all that, she''s now got a job (Just recently) in sales, and within a year, will make more than me. The best thing of all, it''s "His" old job...She had a leg-up because while she was trying to save the marriage, and "Him", she was doing lots of his job for him while he was in a drunken stupor.

An amazing woman!!!

Material things mean little to her. She''s happy taking a ride in a row-boat out in the lake...Simply because we''re on the lake!!

She loses stuff!! She''s not organized. She''s lost her only set of decent diamond earrings. No matter what color jewelry she has now, it will change within the next year or so, because she''ll lose it all...She keeps it all in her make-up box!!! (She keeps her earrings scattered around MY house!!)

She wears silver now only because she doesn''t have any "Good Gold" as she put it. If I got her gold, she''d be fine with it, if I got her white gold, she''d be fine with it, if I got her platinum, she''d be fine with it.

I could tie a lump of coal to a rubber band, give it to her and she''d be thrilled.

She deserves a million dollar ring, but I''ve only got 10 grand (Well...I''ve got 25 grand, but she''s going to be getting a 15 thousand dollar ski boat that she''s been wanting this summer).


As for me...

I want to spend about 9500.00 on a nice ring and setting and another 500 on a nice bracelet (She said she needs a bracelt the other day...She doesn''t have any) and earrings (I suppose I could change the earrings to a necklace).

I''m open to suggestions on the bracelet/earrings/necklace. I like the idea of over-paying to have Tiffany for her, but neither of us are "lable" people, so I''m open to buying good stuff made by a lesser name. I just want something PRETTY!! (I love the suggestions I already have and more suggestions are welcome...Because I''ll admit, I don''t have an eye for this stuff)

I''m pretty sure now, after yesterday, that I''m blowing-off my jeweler (I''ll stop by and give him a few hundred bucks for his toubles) and buying the stone online along with a standard Tiffany (Type?) setting. Probably platinum...I like how heavy platinum is. But, I''m still open to yellow gold. The stone is going to be pear shaped (That''s about 90% assured). I''m going to try to find an F, but I MIGHT settle for a G (No comprimise on that...I can see the yellow in anything less). I''ve seen some SI1''s and SI2''s and am OK with them...Can''t see a thing with my eyes or even with reading glasses...And can barely see anything with a loop.


That''s about it. Now I''m going to post some info on some pear diamonds I have. I''m looking at the certs for both and have a basic question about the cut...

 

[Christmas Eve Proposer]

Well...I tried to upload the certs and failed...Anyway...My question is simple...Although I'm sure I'll have a hard time explaining it...


Two diamonds...Both pears, both 1.8...

One has 4 points to the "Star Shape" in the bottom view. The other has 7 points.

Is it safe to assume the 7 pointed one is a better "Cut"??

 

[reena]

YAY!!! on the simple pear solitaire! i think that''s just awesome CEP. i''m telling you, it''s just impossible to go wrong with something clean and classic like that. there is just no way she is not going to like it. (with the other options you were considering, well, there was a possibility! just because once you get into "decorative" settings, that''s really a matter of personal taste. but this! she will love this. i guarantee you.) PLUS the added benefit is that you get to focus the vast majority of your budget on the stone, which i think is a really good thing considering that you seem to want a stone of pretty substantial size. this will allow you to get the quality along with the size. and if she wants a fancier setting later on, she can get it. yay! i think we''re really getting somewhere here.

as for the yellow gold vs. white gold vs. platinum: let me ask you this. what do her friends have? i think that might be a good way to tell what she would like. the best way, of course, is to ask one of her friends, but you don''t seem to want to do that. (by the way, what on earth makes you think her best friend would spill the beans? if she is a true best friend, there is no way in the world she would want to spoil this surprise--the most important surprise she will ever have!--for your girlfriend. i really wouldn''t be so concerned. women understand these things. but i digress.) if it were me, i''d err on the side of WG or platinum, since that seems to be what''s most popular these days (wouldn''t you guys agree?).

now, on those stones, we need much more info. can you copy the numbers off the cert please?

 

[orbaya]

Okay CEP... This is where I get bossy and am going to give you a list of what you should concentrate on in order of importance.

1. You''ve pick a pear...stay with that. (unless she says she hates pear shape).
2. Decide where to make the purchase.
3. Have the chosen place set the diamond.
4. You will go with a simple Tiffany setting. I will allow you to pick the metal.
5. Buy or order diamond & mounting.
6. You have mentioned she doesn''t have a jewelry box. Buy her one....you don''t want all this nice jewelry sitting in a makeup case when not being worn.
7. Hide ring and jewelry box.
8. Decide what other jewelry you will buy her...necklace, earrings, bracelet, etc.
9. Look around at suggested places mentioned here.
10. Make a decision and stick with it. (that goes for diamond as well).
11. Make purchase.
12. Hide jewelry.
13. Take a breath and relax.
14. Don''t second guess anything.

There you go...follow these simple steps and things will work out.

Oh, and make sure you have fun!

 

[Christmas Eve Proposer]

Date: 11/18/2004 9:43:40 AM
Author: reena


now, on those stones, we need much more info. can you copy the numbers off the cert please?

I''ll work on getting those certs...But really, I''m not that interested in those specific diamonds (Not yet). Now, I''m just seeing if my hunch is correct...And I know I''m probably phrasing this goofy, but...

On the cert, there are two images of the stone...Top and bottom. Both showing inclusion locations.

Well I noticed somethig else (This is the potentially goofy part, and I understand if it can''t be answered)...One had 4 points on the "Star Shape" on the bottom image and the other had 7 points. I assumed 7 points is better, since that would denote more "Cuts" and therefore, more light refraxtion??

 

[reena]

Date: 11/18/2004 10:12:30 AM
Author: Christmas Eve Proposer


On the cert, there are two images of the stone...Top and bottom. Both showing inclusion locations.

Well I noticed somethig else (This is the potentially goofy part, and I understand if it can''t be answered)...One had 4 points on the ''Star Shape'' on the bottom image and the other had 7 points. I assumed 7 points is better, since that would denote more ''Cuts'' and therefore, more light refraxtion??

well . . . i don''t actually know the answer to your question for certain, so maybe an expert can chime in, but i don''t think that you''re making a safe assumption there. i think the drawings reflect that the two stones have different cut patterns, true, but i don''t think you can necessarily assume that the 7 point is somehow better or will result in more brilliance.

 

[Christmas Eve Proposer]

Date: 11/18/2004 9:44:55 AM
Author: orbaya
Okay CEP... This is where I get bossy and am going to give you a list of what you should concentrate on in order of importance.

1. You''ve pick a pear...stay with that. (unless she says she hates pear shape).
2. Decide where to make the purchase.
3. Have the chosen place set the diamond.
4. You will go with a simple Tiffany setting. I will allow you to pick the metal.
5. Buy or order diamond & mounting.
6. You have mentioned she doesn''t have a jewelry box. Buy her one....you don''t want all this nice jewelry sitting in a makeup case when not being worn.
7. Hide ring and jewelry box.
8. Decide what other jewelry you will buy her...necklace, earrings, bracelet, etc.
9. Look around at suggested places mentioned here.
10. Make a decision and stick with it. (that goes for diamond as well).
11. Make purchase.
12. Hide jewelry.
13. Take a breath and relax.
14. Don''t second guess anything.

There you go...follow these simple steps and things will work out.

Oh, and make sure you have fun!

YES SIR!! (MA''AM??)