How many upgrades?

[blodthecat]

Hi everyone,

I live in the UK, where upgrading your ering is unheard of. People have sentimental attachment to their ering, and would consider it a waste of money spending too much on a diamond. A wise person would spend their cash on an expensive car, or property.

So I just though I would ask the Pricescope Community to come clean....and tell us the number of times you have upgraded? What you started out with...and what you have now. And is there anyone out there that feels they will never need to upgrade again?

I am ''The only upgrade queen in the village'' and I''ve had a few upgrades!

Love to hear your stories.

Blod

 

[Mara]

OMG bloddie what a loaded question for the PS diamond nuts!!!

I am currently on my third diamond. But I knew with our first one that I probably wouldn't keep it, I'd been BITTEN by the bug then and now hubby has resigned himself to that fact. I'll be getting my 4th stone this spring and after that I have agreed that is going to be it for the big ring large $$$ until the 10 year anni (but of course that does not preclude me getting side stones for a 3 stone if I just have to beef it up!!).

I am on my way to ~3.5c...I love that size on me and I know that's where I want to be at some point, hopefully year 10 will be the year for that. That said, who knows!!! I think it's very hard to say enough is enough ESP around PS!! I know there are some other diamond straitjacket upgrading candidates (Lynn? Dem? Where are ya gals?!) that will be with me in the psycho ward when we are older and sporting our 50c rocks and still chanting, "But it's so small....."

However I don't wear too much other jewelry so don't see myself sporting bit 7c bracelets or anything but who knows. I will have to turn my sparkly attention to some other body part after this year, that's for sure!

IMO the madness NEVER ends for people who love the sparklies and have disposable income to spend on it, until you stop hanging out on PS and then get the memory of it purged from your mind. So basically....pretty much never!

 

[Lorelei]

Flippin' heck Bloddie! Shan't tell you how many I have had, I would be far too embarrassed

 

[aljdewey]

I haven''t upgraded (two years since I got my ring), and don''t really think I will ever want to. We took great care in picking a stone because I am a bit sentimental and didn''t want to upgrade down the line, and we had the budget to fund what I really wanted.

Having said that, I was very fortunate we could swing it financially. If we had not been able to afford this and had instead gone with something smaller, I would have sacrificed sentimentality later to upgrade.

 

[lisaC]

My husband asked me to marry him without an engagement ring. I think his mother was so embarrassed that I did not have any jewelery that she gave me her original .25 rb as she has quite a collection. It may be small but it is quite sparkly!
It was 11 years later when my husband decided that after making a huge purchase for himself that it would only be fair that I get a similar amount to spend and I got a 1.13 princess cut and an eternity band. However, the amount of time I spent looking for this stone I will not be upgrading. Plus he was so shocked at how much that ''itty bitty'' stone cost that I KNOW I won''t be upgrading but that doesn''t matter as I know it''s the right size for me and I love it.
Lisa

 

[researcher]

I will never upgrade my stone. I know people here believe in "never say never", but I am thrilled with my ring. More importantly, I want the stone that my hubby worked hard to get, and the ring he placed on my finger when he asked me to marry him. There is no way I could ever part with my stone. Will I get other rings and jewelry? Yes. But the rings I wear on my left hand will never increase in size. BTW, I got to choose my stone, so that may have something to do with the fact that I would never upgrade

 

[Xing]

I have never upgraded my original engagement ring and I don''t think my husband would ever let me for sentimental reason. However, he is getting me a bigger stone for our 10th year anniversary in 2007. I am hoping around a 4 ct. stone, I don''t think I can wait that long.......

 

[Kaleigh]

So as not to incriminate myself I plead the 5th.

 

[Patty]

I''m on my third diamond. I was not attached to my first and never cared for the stone (deep cut, not the one I chose, long story). The second stone was an upgrade in size and the third was an upgrade in cut and color but not size.

I also got a nice three stone ring with a center diamond that is bigger than my e-ring for our 25th anniversary.

I do not plan to get any more rings because I''m not a big right-hand-ring wearer and I don''t like having too many. I''d rather just upgrade what I have if I have money to spend. I will never upgrade the 3-stone ring but sometimes I think I might want to upgrade the center stone in my wedding ring (my avatar).

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 1/22/2006 1:57:16 PM
Author: kaleigh
So as not to incriminate myself I plead the 5th.

you should plead the 1st,FREEDOM OF UPGRADE.

 

[isaku5]

Date: 1/22/2006 1:40:25 PM
Author: researcher
I will never upgrade my stone. I know people here believe in ''never say never'', but I am thrilled with my ring. More importantly, I want the stone that my hubby worked hard to get, and the ring he placed on my finger when he asked me to marry him. There is no way I could ever part with my stone. Will I get other rings and jewelry? Yes. But the rings I wear on my left hand will never increase in size. BTW, I got to choose my stone, so that may have something to do with the fact that I would never upgrade

I was like you, researcher, I was sure I''d never upgrade the .62c rb.engagement ring that I picked out with HTB 44 years ago. In fact, I was appalled at the size and price of my daughter''s engagement and wedding ring which her HTB bought 8 years ago.

Forward to one year ago, I started "looking" at rings on the internet, and last summer after 42 years of happy marriage, I was seduced by a 1.77c E VVS princess cut online which I then had set with a pair of trillions .80ctw E VS. I am ecstatic with the result! Of course, I had to have a matching w-ring, so this Christmas DH bought me a 1.37ctw 7- stone pricess (E, VVS) and they look great together.

Our "children" ages 41 and 40 thought we were nuts, I imagine, but had the good sense to keep their opinions to themselves (inheritance at stake if they said anything?). Besides, both are well educated and earn 6 figure incomes.

Yes I will keep and always treasure my original rings, but I''m very pleased with my upgrade.
Besides, I have 2 granddaughters who already love Grandma''s bling.

 

[AChiOAlumna]

We got married young and DH didn''t have a lot of money...he was working his first teaching job and was at the bottom of the payscale. He did the best with what we had and spent all of $700 on my w-set. It was a 1/3 carat marquise (probably not the best cut in the world for that kind of money in 1994) with an additional 4 rounds (2 on each side) that weighed about .1 carat each.

DH always wanted to give me a bigger diamond and felt bad for years that he couldn''t give me more. On our 10th anniversary last year, we upgraded to a 1.03 carat emerald cut with another 1.25 carats of baguettes between the e-ring and w-band....Will I upgrade again? Never say never, but I''m hardpressed to want to give this ring up!!!

 

[widget]

Hi, Isaku!

Welcome to Pricescope!

Congratulations on your fabulous upgrade! I''d certainly agree that after 44 years of marriage, it''s well deserved...

Now, you absolutely MUST take pictures of your treasures and post them on the "Show Me the Ring" board.

widget

 

[hlmr]

My original ering was a fair cut .46 RB G SI1 diamond solitaire that was purchased in Amsterdam, without any research whatsoever.

For our 11th anniversary we purchased a 1.53 ideal cut H VS1 RB (I know.. strange year to upgrade - but for our 10th I surprised my husband with a trip to San Francisco - a place where he has always wanted to go). I wore this as a solitaire for almost 3 years and then upgraded to a diamond setting last February.

I most recently used the original diamond along with some other smaller diamonds to have a RHR custom made. If I ever figure out how to take diamond pictures in my lifetime lol

I will post some.

Heather

 

[diamondlil]

Whenever anyone makes a comment about my 2 ct pear, I always explain that this is my second upgrade. There was NO WAY we could have afforded anything close to that when we got engaged 20+ years ago.

My original ring was slightly over three-quarter carat. My first upgrade was at our 7th wedding anniversary, and my second upgrade was 10 years after that! I had that stone in a simple setting for a good year before I had the halo/pave set custom made, and I''ve been wearing those for about 10 months.

I will not be "upgrading" again, but if I had the money, I''d buy another big diamond in a different shape. I''d love to have a 2+ ct RB someday, and a 3+ ct fancy light yellow radiant would be nice, but we''re talking WAY in the future -- gotta get 2 kids through college first . . . . and win the lotto.

 

[researcher]

Date: 1/22/2006 3:18:06 PM
Author: isaku5

Date: 1/22/2006 1:40:25 PM

Author: researcher

I will never upgrade my stone. I know people here believe in ''never say never'', but I am thrilled with my ring. More importantly, I want the stone that my hubby worked hard to get, and the ring he placed on my finger when he asked me to marry him. There is no way I could ever part with my stone. Will I get other rings and jewelry? Yes. But the rings I wear on my left hand will never increase in size. BTW, I got to choose my stone, so that may have something to do with the fact that I would never upgrade

I was like you, researcher, I was sure I''d never upgrade the .62c rb.engagement ring that I picked out with HTB 44 years ago. In fact, I was appalled at the size and price of my daughter''s engagement and wedding ring which her HTB bought 8 years ago.


Forward to one year ago, I started ''looking'' at rings on the internet, and last summer after 42 years of happy marriage, I was seduced by a 1.77c E VVS princess cut online which I then had set with a pair of trillions .80ctw E VS. I am ecstatic with the result! Of course, I had to have a matching w-ring, so this Christmas DH bought me a 1.37ctw 7- stone pricess (E, VVS) and they look great together.


Our ''children'' ages 41 and 40 thought we were nuts, I imagine, but had the good sense to keep their opinions to themselves (inheritance at stake if they said anything?). Besides, both are well educated and earn 6 figure incomes.


Yes I will keep and always treasure my original rings, but I''m very pleased with my upgrade.

Besides, I have 2 granddaughters who already love Grandma''s bling.

Well, I have to say that part of the reason I will never upgrade is my finger is too small for more bling (my solitaire is 3.22cts and my finger is a size 4-4.5). I was lucky in that I got the size I wanted the first time around

Now, one thing I have to say is that I think it''s great you kept your original rings. To me that''s not quite a true upgrade, as you can see from my posts.

Now on to important matters--please post your rings! I would love to see the originals and the new ones! Also, welcome to PS!

 

[isaku5]

Date: 1/22/2006 4:53:09 PM
Author: researcher

Date: 1/22/2006 3:18:06 PM
Author: isaku5

Date: 1/22/2006 1:40:25 PM

Author: researcher

I will never upgrade my stone. I know people here believe in ''never say never'', but I am thrilled with my ring. More importantly, I want the stone that my hubby worked hard to get, and the ring he placed on my finger when he asked me to marry him. There is no way I could ever part with my stone. Will I get other rings and jewelry? Yes. But the rings I wear on my left hand will never increase in size. BTW, I got to choose my stone, so that may have something to do with the fact that I would never upgrade

I was like you, researcher, I was sure I''d never upgrade the .62c rb.engagement ring that I picked out with HTB 44 years ago. In fact, I was appalled at the size and price of my daughter''s engagement and wedding ring which her HTB bought 8 years ago.


Forward to one year ago, I started ''looking'' at rings on the internet, and last summer after 42 years of happy marriage, I was seduced by a 1.77c E VVS princess cut online which I then had set with a pair of trillions .80ctw E VS. I am ecstatic with the result! Of course, I had to have a matching w-ring, so this Christmas DH bought me a 1.37ctw 7- stone pricess (E, VVS) and they look great together.


Our ''children'' ages 41 and 40 thought we were nuts, I imagine, but had the good sense to keep their opinions to themselves (inheritance at stake if they said anything?). Besides, both are well educated and earn 6 figure incomes.


Yes I will keep and always treasure my original rings, but I''m very pleased with my upgrade.

Besides, I have 2 granddaughters who already love Grandma''s bling.

Well, I have to say that part of the reason I will never upgrade is my finger is too small for more bling (my solitaire is 3.22cts and my finger is a size 4-4.5). I was lucky in that I got the size I wanted the first time around

Now, one thing I have to say is that I think it''s great you kept your original rings. To me that''s not quite a true upgrade, as you can see from my posts.

Now on to important matters--please post your rings! I would love to see the originals and the new ones! Also, welcome to PS!

Okay researcher, NOW I understand why you''ll never upgrade - Woohoo and Wowza!!! 3.22cts for your original e-ring!!!! Hard to get an upgrade to top that one especially for a size 4-4.5 ring finger!! You and your DH did well. Does SMTR have your pictures and maybe your link??

When I figure out how to take good pictures ( and post them) I''ll be happy to do so.

BTW, what is your definition of a "true upgrade"? And thanks for the welcome, It feels[ great to make that first post.

 

[Lynn B]

OK Mara, here I am! Another diamond-addict checking in...

I am on my second stone. First one was an AGS-0 1.53, current one is a gorgeous AGS-0 2.36. Sometimes I think this one just may be *it*... my forever diamond... then I go and see some killer 3+er here on PS and I moan and swoon a little bit and think, "OK... just a little more..."

I aspire to a 3+''er someday... 3.5 (or even more) sounds good! How big would I go? Hey, until there''s NO MORE ROOM on the finger... that''s when!

 

[pearcrazy]

I have upgraded once. I got my original ring almost 15 years ago. It was a .54 carat pear shaped diamond in a solitaire setting. I upgraded the setting for our 11 year anniversary and upgraded the center diamond in 2004 to a 1.12 carat pear shaped diamond. I think that I will stick with what I''ve got but I never say never. What I''m more interested in at this point is a three stone anniversary ring that I would like to have for my 20th.

 

[MissGotRocks]

Here I am - the queen of upgrades!

I am on my 7th stone in almost 29 years of marriage. I started with a .75 - .78 to be exact and am now at 2.22. Some of my trades have been to improve color, cut, etc. - not all necessarily size.

I am happy with my current stone for many reasons - I like the size, (and these ideal cut stones are to die for!) I love the G color, and although it is an SI1 there are no inclusions in the table area - a big deal for me - I can drive myself crazy looking for stuff like that and deciding that I don''t like the stone because of them - even if you can''t see them without magnification (crazy is crazy, OK?) There are pinpoints in the crown area but the whole stone is totally eyeclean. I really don''t have any desire to upgrade right now but never say never - the upgrade bug hits you out of the clear blue sky - just like a bad virus! This last upgrade came before I had planned to do it but this stone became available. . . and the rest is history!

As I said, this has all taken place over 29 years - raising and educating two kids in the process - so maybe it''s not so bad after all! We have both worked hard through the years to have what we need and most of what we want. My DH has his toys but he has always been generous and gracious with my obsession - I am blessed.

 

[Dee Jay]

I upgraded for Christmas (after 7 wonderful years of marriage) from a 1.33 ct pear to a 3.02 ct oval. There was nothing at all shabby about the first stone, I just got tired of catching the point on everything (thank god I went to work for a company that's business casual--that point was HELL on pantyhose!). And--truth be told--I did always want a big diamond. (Not sure if 3.02 counts as *big* in a place like PS this, but a finger size 4.75 that's about has high as I'm gonna go... )


So that's it for e-rings, but I'm definitely keeping my options open for OTHER diamonds!!!

 

[Lynn B]

Date: 1/22/2006 8:32:13 PM
Author: Dee Jay
(Not sure if 3.02 counts as *big* in a place like PS this, but a finger size 4.75 that''s about has high as I''m gonna go... )

Yeah, I think even in PS-ville, that''s considered *BIG*!

 

[Dee Jay]

I saw a thread once where someone (I think it was Garry) said *big* starts at 6 carats, so I didn''t want to throw the term around too liberrally!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

A wise person would spend their cash on an expensive car, or property.

I've never upgraded, nor do I plan to. My husband and I have taken the property route instead because our goals at this time and at our ages (33/34) really are more geared toward allocating as much of our money toward long-term investments which will make us money to set us up for life. I want to put ALL money business ventures and my current goal is to buy another rental house rather than a bigger diamond! (I think I'd be more proud with a third rental house in my husband's and my name rather than a larger diamond

)

 

[Mara]

Oh and Blod I just noticed you had said:

"A wise person would spend their cash on an expensive car, or property."

While I agree on the property thing, to me spending on something an expensive car is just as frivolous as a diamond. The car depreciates as soon as you drive it off the lot, whereas the diamond typically at least holds its value and assuming you clean it fairly regularly, is much more appealing to look at in 10 years than an old car.

 

[MiniMouse]

I haven''t upgraded yet. Hubby and I bought my wedding set from Whiteflash in July 2005. The diamond in my engagement ring is gorgeous (1.6ct, D, WF ES) and I absolutely adore it, but I''m continually niggled by the fact that we compromised on size. We wanted a stone nearer the 2ct mark, but there just wasn''t anything available at the time we wanted it. I feel disappointed by the fact we didn''t manage to get exactly what we wanted, so we will upgrade when the right stone comes along. I''ll be sorry to lose this stone, but unfortunately funds don''t permit keeping it and purchasing a larger stone, which is a shame as ideally I''d like both.

Researcher - wow, 3.22cts. That''s a honker and no wonder you''re satisfied with it. I''m sure a lot of us would be. That size stone would be my first and last.

MC - I respect your comment about buying into property for future security, it''s wise, but my oh my, it''s nice to look down on my finger at a wonderful diamond every day (it brings a lot of joy). I get more satisfaction from my diamond than any of our properties, but perhaps that''s because we''re away from home, living abroad. I think an even balance with investments is wise, but you do have to treat yourself to luxuries as well, it makes life so much more enjoyable. I look at my diamond fixation as a luxury, rather than an investment, because diamonds for regular people such as my husband and I tend to be money losers, but enjoyable ones.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 1/23/2006 6:28:58 AM
Author: MiniMouse
. I look at my diamond fixation as a luxury, rather than an investment, because diamonds for regular people such as my husband and I tend to be money losers, but enjoyable ones.

Oh, absolutely. We MUST treat ourselves. . .but, I tend to vear more toward clothes (which aren''t exactly a smart way to spend money, either) than diamonds as treats. I seem to be satisfied with my diamond ring, earrings, and pendant, but when it comes to sweaters and scarves, I cannot seem to have enough. But, like I said, priorities RIGHT NOW are investments. I''m sure this will change over the years. I just want to avoid working for someone else, so security is #1 at the moment.

Mara: as far as cars v. diamonds. I agree both are frivolious, but I do think diamonds are a better way of spending money. New cars get banged up, coffee spilled on the floor, kids throwing up in them

so they''re not pretty for very long - lol - but, diamonds, on the otherhand, generally look as fabulous ten years later as they did when first purchased. BUT, as a person who cannot even change a flat tire, I choose to have a newer car over a diamond. I''m too afraid of being stuck on the side of the road, so a few years back when my explorer started showing signs of keeling over, I chose to get a new car instead of ANY jewelery.

 

[squarediamondlove]

I will certainly never upgrade since my fiance is entirely opposed to it, so this is my first and last. Its a 1.97ct D VVS2, so I am entirely pleased with that. But, I can see myself upgrading perhaps in 7 to 10 years if it wasn''t for my fiance. However, I don''t know if I would be able to part with the ring I have, so I would just get another one. Continuing with this rationale...I figure, although I can''t get a new E-ring, I can perhaps get an Anniversary ring...say a 6ct Emerald or Assher!

When money permits of course

 

[kaylagee]

We''ve ''upgraded'' my ''e-ring'' once from a 1ct-ish Rb to a 2ct oval. I do want a much larger diamond one day (4.7ct-ish fancy shape as per Dancing Fire''s ring size-to-carats ratio rule LOL)but it''s not a priority.

I did keep my 1ct so it wasn''t a trade-in style upgrade. So maybe it counts as just another ring?

OTOH, I eventually began to wear the 2ct as an e-ring. I wear the orignal as e-ring maybe 10 percent of the time? Basically, it''s been usurped.

*FYI the 1ct diamond was actually an upgrade from a red garnet(my original true e-ring)

So technically, I guess that''s twice.

 

[FireGoddess]

I''ve upgraded stones once, from a 0.73 ct I SI1 rb to a 1.5 ct D VS2 pear. In this thread I actually posted pictures of how my wedding set has changed since the original purchase, but there have only been 2 stones.

I think that the 1.5 ct pear in the halo is actually a pretty big honkin ring, even though my ring size isn''t the smallest (7.5ish) so I can''t say whether or not an upgrade is in my future. I am prone to the size monster like lots of other women are, so I do have fleeting thoughts of a 2+ ct stone in the future...and DH would definitely be up for upgrading to a 2ct, but I do have other priorities for the next few years (starting a family, buying a house, etc) so who knows. The other thing is that the B&M store where I got my stone only offers 80% upgrade value, so each time I upgrade I lose 20% of what I paid, and that''s not appealing. To start over with an online vendor would cost more though...assuming they would even take my stone as a tradein, I surely wouldn''t be getting even 80% back, so I may have the pear forever and someday when I''m rich and old start over with another shape!!