How would YOU design an e-ring for 20K?

[jaysonsmom]

Hi Everyone, I haven''t posted in a while, but I thought this would be fun. I want ideas for an upgrade, and dh just gave me a 20K budget (we''ve been married 6 years), so it''s probably not the final upgrade.....

So, given the budget, how would you distribute the money, to include setting AND diamond (s)? Here''s what I''m thinking:

1. Shared prong Raphael setting from SP to match my w-band: $2180 (or there abouts)
2. ~$18K left for an H, SI1, AGS 0 RB. around 2ct.


Dh is thinking more along the lines of (because he feels going for color would make me love my ring more, since I''ve been known to be a color nut):

1. Tiffany Replica Knife-edge around $1300
2. ~19K for an E/F VS2 H&A in the 1.7-1.8ct range

But this thread is not about me, I want to hear how YOU would spend 20K on a ring (for fun).

 

[JulieN]

RB with pears or EM with tapered baguettes. Leon Mege.

 

[UCLABelle]

I would get either one of the following:

Three stone round by Leon Mege

Tiffany Round Brilliant in Platinum

Daniel K. Asscher in Halo

or a bigger version of my asscher and traps and have it done by Leon Mege.

 

[KittenKat]

Oooh, $20k - I''d get an asscher. And a micropave, dainty halo. As well as, micropave down the sides. That''s just me though!

What you''re looking at also sounds delicious to me. Except on number 2 - I''d still go the G / H, SI1 route with some medium fluor.

Is it too much to ask for a first anny??

 

[decodelighted]

This second?

Probably whatever size Daniel K cushion in a split crown pave setting that 20K would buy me.

--OR--

a blingy shared-prong ACA eternity band flanked with two teensy Ritani-eque pink diamond bands

 

[Jelly]

I'd probably get the biggest ideal round ACA or ES stone I could get for the $$ and leave a few thousand for a Leon Mege setting. YUM!

Maybe this stone: here

And this setting: here

 

[Madam Bijoux]

Hi! I would spend as much as possible on the stone and have it set in a plain 4-prong platinum setting.

 

[kenny]

I'd get the simplest setting possible and put as much as possible into one diamond.

I'd get this one for $19,885 with PS discount.

1.507 F VVS2 ACA

Then I'd go for a low cost titanium tension setting so I will see more of what I paid for.

Side stones, melee, halos all lower the quality of the main stone by taking away from its budget.
I'd only do all that if the budget was so large that I'm in the D IF territory and the stone is getting so large it would make me self conscious.

For me it is all about that one stone.

 

[starryeyed]

I love many of the designer settings, but I just can''t justify the money, unless the ring is the final ring. I would agree that you should get the best diamond possible.

In terms of shape - it may be good time to satiate any shape fetishes you might have. If you want to switch to a bigger better RB on your next upgrade you can. I''d just hate for you to play the coulda-shoulda-woulda game and then later down the road, wind up with a huge final diamond in a shape that''s out of style or that you longer longer like.

Just a thought....

 

[Lorelei]

Nice to see you back JaysonsMom!

Glad to hear that upgrade is getting close too!!!

I would go my usual route and let it be all about the rock with a simple solitaire setting with a basket and split double prongs!

 

[firebirdgold]

Hmm, my first thought was an asscher or an untreated sapphire in a Mark Morell setting, but on further thought I probably would have choosen not to spend all 20k.

Instead I''d have used the money to fly to NY and pick out my favorite Niwaka wedding set. I wanted a Niwaka ring almost as much as I wanted a diamond bigger than my mother''s (which mine is, yay!). With a bit over a tenth of your budget they were just out of our reach and the markup was hard to justify. But with 20k to spend I''d have said sc#@w the markup, and picked whatever I liked best no matter the size of the diamond. I still wouldn''t have picked anything over 3/4''s of a carat, though.

That''s if we had a budget of 20k when first looking for my e-ring. I love my antique e-ring and, even if I weren''t terribly sentimental, I''ll never trade it in or up. So if the 20k was for a future anniversary present, I''d get a three stone truffle/trellis ring from Mark Morell with a gorgeous 1 1/2 ct Sapphire or 1 ct Ruby center and with .5 carat ACA diamonds on the side.

Basically the second one down on his January ''05 project page but with the sapphire and diamond reversed. Oh, and it''d be a right hand ring.

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 12/4/2006 7:44:30 PM
Author:jaysonsmom
Hi Everyone, I haven''t posted in a while, but I thought this would be fun. I want ideas for an upgrade, and dh just gave me a 20K budget (we''ve been married 6 years), so it''s probably not the final upgrade.....

So, given the budget, how would you distribute the money, to include setting AND diamond (s)? Here''s what I''m thinking:

1. Shared prong Raphael setting from SP to match my w-band: $2180 (or there abouts)
2. ~$18K left for an H, SI1, AGS 0 RB. around 2ct.


Dh is thinking more along the lines of (because he feels going for color would make me love my ring more, since I''ve been known to be a color nut):

1. Tiffany Replica Knife-edge around $1300
2. ~19K for an E/F VS2 H&A in the 1.7-1.8ct range

But this thread is not about me, I want to hear how YOU would spend 20K on a ring (for fun).

hehe I guess pretty much the way I''m doing it.... oh you mean ANOTHER ring???? I would get an eternity band of evenly graduated stones from 1 carat on top to 1 point in the back.

 

[jaysonsmom]

Date: 12/5/2006 12:49:25 PM
Author: Cehrabehra

Date: 12/4/2006 7:44:30 PM
Author:jaysonsmom
Hi Everyone, I haven''t posted in a while, but I thought this would be fun. I want ideas for an upgrade, and dh just gave me a 20K budget (we''ve been married 6 years), so it''s probably not the final upgrade.....

So, given the budget, how would you distribute the money, to include setting AND diamond (s)? Here''s what I''m thinking:

1. Shared prong Raphael setting from SP to match my w-band: $2180 (or there abouts)
2. ~$18K left for an H, SI1, AGS 0 RB. around 2ct.


Dh is thinking more along the lines of (because he feels going for color would make me love my ring more, since I''ve been known to be a color nut):

1. Tiffany Replica Knife-edge around $1300
2. ~19K for an E/F VS2 H&A in the 1.7-1.8ct range

But this thread is not about me, I want to hear how YOU would spend 20K on a ring (for fun).

hehe I guess pretty much the way I''m doing it.... oh you mean ANOTHER ring???? I would get an eternity band of evenly graduated stones from 1 carat on top to 1 point in the back.

I didn''t quite understand the highlighted part....were you going for the same thing I wrote in pink or blue?

 

[decodelighted]

Date: 12/5/2006 2:18:52 PM
Author: jaysonsmom
I didn't quite understand the highlighted part....were you going for the same thing I wrote in pink or blue?

She's building her own dream e-ring right now ... in a detailed thread somewhere around here. Hers is a gorgeous cushion cut in a custom setting frought with delays!

(Just in case she didn't get back here quick enough to explain herself)

 

[ladykemma]

i would put the biggest, best rock into an 18k yellow gold, "platinum pronged", tiffany replica.

 

[Julian]

I would do it your way, Jaysonsmom! Excellent idea.

My second choice would be to get a 1.5 carat cushion and ask Leon to halo that baby!!!

I''m all for putting it all into the center stone for an e-ring, though. But since we''re talking fun money and you get to keep your solitaire... I''d get a RHR like the one I just described!

 

[poptart]

I have teeny hands, so I would probably put the most in the setting. An antique style platinum setting with intricate filligree work. And then a .5-.75 center stone with two small deep red garnet accents. Oh wow... too many good ideas right here. I don''t even know if I would be able to use the 20K on one ring... which means, I could have TWO!! Yessss!!

*M*

 

[Lynn B]

Great question, and guess what? After giving it a great deal of thought... I decided I would do just what I did! Really!

AGS-0 2.36 J/SI2 RB in 2mm custom fishtail pave setting.

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 12/5/2006 2:18:52 PM
Author: jaysonsmom

Date: 12/5/2006 12:49:25 PM
Author: Cehrabehra

hehe I guess pretty much the way I''m doing it.... oh you mean ANOTHER ring???? I would get an eternity band of evenly graduated stones from 1 carat on top to 1 point in the back.

I didn''t quite understand the highlighted part....were you going for the same thing I wrote in pink or blue?

LOL I''m sorry - I''m just in the middle of spending this on a ring right now... have the stone (2.71 old mine cushion) and am having the ring made but it''s been a *little* rocky. So.... my answer was to do what I''m already doing it LOL However, since this is fantasy and I get *another* 20k ring... I''ll go for the graduated eternity

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 12/5/2006 8:38:04 AM
Author: kenny
I''d get the simplest setting possible and put as much as possible into one diamond.

I''d get this one for $19,885 with PS discount.

1.507 F VVS2 ACA

Then I''d go for a low cost titanium tension setting so I will see more of what I paid for.

Side stones, melee, halos all lower the quality of the main stone by taking away from its budget.
I''d only do all that if the budget was so large that I''m in the D IF territory and the stone is getting so large it would make me self conscious.

For me it is all about that one stone.

see... not if you''re me... cause I went over budget on the stone as is and OOPS still gotta get a ring! hehe

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 12/5/2006 2:30:47 PM
Author: decodelighted

Date: 12/5/2006 2:18:52 PM
Author: jaysonsmom
I didn''t quite understand the highlighted part....were you going for the same thing I wrote in pink or blue?

She''s building her own dream e-ring right now ... in a detailed thread somewhere around here. Hers is a gorgeous cushion cut in a custom setting frought with delays!

(Just in case she didn''t get back here quick enough to explain herself)

hahaha - yes, I was gone all day so it''s good you said this and thanks for the gorgeous part - made me grin Let''s ignore the delay part for now... at this point I just want to scrap this and start over in january elsewhere... good news is I still love my dang design but alas, this is a topic for another thread - if it were worthy for discussion lol

 

[butterfly 17]

I would probably get a 2 carat fat pear- G VS2 in a simple Mark Morrell cathedral platinum setting.

 

[kcoursolle]

1.75 round with a split shank designed by leon. Yummy!!

 

[anchor31]

I''m a setting gal... And I happen to love mine! I''d probably have it remade by leon mege with bigger stones, G-VS2 ideals.

 

[Ellen]

I would get (not really, I''m not a size gal, but just for the sake of the question) the biggest eyeclean G round I could, with a simple Mark Morell setting.

 

[E B]

I''d spend it on two different things, actually!

1. A 1.5ct G, SI1 H&A in the same setting I have now (platinum, 2.5mm basket setting) = ~13k?

2. A 1ct H, SI1 H&A pendant in a platinum bezel setting = ~7k

There. $20k spent!

 

[winternight]

I love the Tiffany round brilliant with Melee diamond border - I haven''t tried it on yet but I think I might for for that. It starts at 16,600.

http://www.tiffany.com/expertise/engagement/engagement.aspx?style=round_brilliant&ring=melee

Otherwise maybe a classic solitare probably in a 4 prong setting, a Tiffany Legacy ring, or a Cartier Ballerina ring. I''m chicken when it comes to custom work!