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How did you choose your ring?

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zoebartlett

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I''ve been reading a few threads on which vendor/designer people chose, and I just wondered what, ultimately, made you go with one over another. Price, specific detailing you were looking for, designers known for delicate settings, designers known for wider settings, vendors known for dealing with a specific type of diamond or stone, etc...

Who did you choose? Why did you choose what you did?
 

KimberlyH

Ideal_Rock
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Jun 15, 2006
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My ring is not a designer ring. It was made by the vendor we purchased it from. I chose it because I put the setting on my finger and cried. It was exactly what I envisioned, without having a clear picture of what the details were: delicate, sparkly, classic, clean lines. We picked my center stone together, it was the one that spoke to both of us.
 

dianne

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I wanted a cushion center stone and heard great things about Mark at ERD and his expertise with cushions. My bf did buy the center stone from Mark and the experience was so great that I feel I can trust him and I will be having him create my custom setting...whenever I figure out exactly what I want, that is.
 

lumpkin

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May 24, 2005
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The first time was many years ago before the internet even existed. We went to the mall and found the nicest one within the budget. It actually was a nice setting and the diamonds were quite nice in it. The cut wasn''t great but it was the best one in the store in our price range and frankly, at the time no one really evaluated the quality of the cut. I don''t think I could have done better anywhere else at the time.

Upgrading is a whole different ball game. Once I upgraded, I realized I probably wouldn''t be wearing it to the grave and it became much more about the ring itself -- the style, the look, the cut, etc. instead of the symbolism of the ring. I''ve actually had several different rings and diamonds since then, and I finally settled on something practical (YIKES) because it fits my lifestyle. I''m not saying I won''t EVER have a different one, but this is it for a long time. It''s a solitaire and it''s kind of modern and I love the curves of it and the proportions of it. And it''s virtually indestructable. Oh, how I wish I could wear all the pave -- I LOVE the pave and the gorgeous delicate settings I see here, and I''ll admit I love to imagine getting one, but I really like to wear my ring all the time and I''m too hard on anything delicate. I''m the bull in the china shop, so it''s Correlle for me, LOL!
 

Cehrabehra

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Jun 29, 2006
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this is going to sound kooky but my stone called to me across the miles and I knew from the moment that I laid eyes on the listing that it was THE ONE. I wanted WF to source it for me sooooo bad but when they couldn''t I knew I had to have THIS one. I fought it and doubted it and questioned it and worried about it and every moment of 30 days I spent trying to convince myself I shouldn''t keep it for any number of reasons.... and every time there came any hint that maybe something might be as good I felt like a mother defending a child... this diamond was meant for me and it was complete serendipity.

The ring for it has been more complicated... from the moment I got the stone everything *I* wanted and liked prior was thrown out the window... this stone told ME how it wanted to be set. So then it was just finding the right person to sing the song of the stone and make it into being. As it turns out many songs have woven their magic around my stone... but only one calls to the soul of my stone and to me... once again, serendipity.

I know this is a very romantic answer and not a very practical one... but in all honesty THIS was my experience.
 

ephemery1

Brilliant_Rock
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Mar 20, 2006
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A friend and I spent a whole afternoon ring-shopping to get ideas. After looking at shapes online, I was really leaning toward cushion, but eventually decided on oval (much to FI''s dismay... he loved cushions)... mainly because I wanted more rounded shoulders and better spread. Neither FI or I were into solitaires or pave, so we were looking mostly at 3-stone settings... but only ones where the sidestones were small enough to really highlight the center. I loved pears for the sides, but FI liked rounds... so I let him win that battle.
2.gif
And voila... my ring!
9.gif
 

anchor31

Ideal_Rock
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Oct 18, 2005
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He wasn''t comfortable with buying online, so we went local. He''d heard of this fine jewellery place where you pick your setting and stone(s) and they custom make it for you, so I checked his website and picked a couple of settings I liked. I tried it on and fell in love! And then we picked my beautiful diamond according to our budget and preferences.

I should say that I changed my mind a thousand times about what I wanted before that... But trying it on and seeing it did the trick for me.
 

MustangFan

Brilliant_Rock
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Feb 27, 2006
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I chose my stone because as soon as I saw it, it was like "WOW" it was the right color, the right shape, the right sparkle, the right size, the right price... etc.
I was going to just get a Simon G setting but the stone was too large for a standard setting, so we went custom with the jeweler that provided us with the stone, it only made sense to go with them.
 

Fly Girl

Ideal_Rock
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Jan 9, 2007
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7,312
We have been going to the same jeweler for about 20 years now. He is an artist, really. I love his taste and everything in his shop. I drop by his shop several times a week and drool over his latest creations. My guilty pleasure, truly. So when it came time to do my 25th anniversary upgrade, we met, I described what aspects of his work appealed most to me, and we took it from there. My center stone is a gorgeous 60/60 he selected. He knew the cutter, and I believe it was meant for me. It has lots of fire and sparkle. This was all before PS. Since discovering the HCA I know that what he told me about this being a beautiful well cut diamond is all true. I also realize why I need to keep my ring so clean, because the light return goes bad pretty quickly with grime. But I adore every other aspect of my ring, and I intend to keep it.
 

Stone Hunter

Ideal_Rock
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May 12, 2006
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I went to alot of jewelry stores and tried on many many settings/stones. I fell in love with a particular setting. BUT I did not love the stone in it. So on advice from PS I set off to find a stone I loved.

I did many searches on many vendor sites. My stone was listed on more than one. Each time it came up I thought, "OH that one." Then I noticed that I kept liking the specs on ONE stone. So I called a vendor and they brought it in for me. I picked the vendor cause of geographic location and cause they had a setting almost like the one I fell in love with.

HTH
 

liaspar

Rough_Rock
Joined
Nov 10, 2006
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13
We dedicated a day to shopping in New York City. With addresses mapped out on GoogleMaps, we went to about 15 different jewelers: small designers in Soho, the big names on 5th ave, several estate jewelry shops. We wanted to see the best examples of all designers' work all at once. Though we had some specific ideas of what we didn't want, we had no vision of what we actually did want when we started out.

We weren't interested in a round brilliant, and a traditional solitaire or three-stone setting isn't very me either. Given how much there is of that out there, we spent a lot of time just breezing through, trying to cover as much ground as possible. (funny store about our brief time at Harry Winston at the end of the post.) By the end of the day we finally had worked our way uptown to Fred Leighton. We chatted with the saleswoman about our ideas, and all the things we'd seen that day that we didn't like. She thought for a moment, then without a word disappeared into the vault. She brought out a ring from the back they had just received for evaluation. Our jaws hit the ground when we saw it -- it was so well balanced, elegantly designed, unique yet understated, and so perfectly us!

Apparently its owner was deciding where she wanted to sell it...clearly it was coming from a divorce, broken engagement, or death. I didn't want that kind of karma, and the stone was on the smaller side anyhow, so we took the idea and the renewed hope that the right ring could exist, and returned home.

Daniel K was having a trunk show in our area 3 days later. Once I saw his work in person, we were sold. The downside of the magical story is the wait...it's been three months, and my left hand is still feeling awfully naked! :) Daniel K has such exacting standards that he inspects all work personally before it's finalized, and apparently the first time around the stones weren't cut properly. I just keep thinking about all the years I'll be wearing it once it does end up on my hand :)





At Harry Winston, we were effectively turned away at the door...they have a sort of "triage" display at the front of the store where everyone is directed, then sized up, and asked what they're looking for. When I commented that most rings in that case were traditional solitaires or three-stone rings and I was looking for something more unique, the saleswoman dryly quipped, "then we must not have what you're in the market for here at Harry Winston." We looked at each other in horror and backed out of the store, and laughed out loud for the next half block about how insane the engagement ring shopping process is!
 

Skippy123

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Nov 24, 2006
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24,300
we were effectively turned away at the door...they have a sort of ''triage'' display at the front of the store where everyone is directed, then sized up, and asked what they''re looking for. When I commented that most rings in that case were traditional solitaires or three-stone rings and I was looking for something more unique, the saleswoman dryly quipped, ''then we must not have what you''re in the market for here at Harry Winston.'' We looked at each other in horror and backed out of the store, and laughed out loud for the next half block about how insane the engagement ring shopping process is!

I had a similar experience at our local B&M. My husband drove an old car to the jewlery store and we asked about diamonds and we there based on a recommendation. They told us they thought we were not serious and then asked if we could afford a $5,000 diamond. We just walked out! Sheesh. I firmly believe not to judge a book by its cover; I use to work retail and some of the wealthiest women who plopped down the bucks were the worst dressed!!!

I found my setting through Solmon Brothers online in their discounted ring section!!! Diamond from Whiteflash.
Here is a pic of my ring https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/more-fun.55057/
 
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