I need help!!

[happilyeverafter86]

Alright...here''s the story... I''ve been with my boyfriend for five years now.. we''re high school sweethearts (aww lol).. and we are both getting ready to graduate college soon.. SO the talk of marriage has surfaced into much greater detail.. now, my guy is VERY careful with his purchases.. his big deal is that he doesn''t want to drop a huge amount of money on a ring that I won''t like... because it is definately a huge investment.. so, last week he surprised me and told me he wanted to go shopping around to see what I liked and such.. After going to around 12 jewelry stores in our area (we''re both from the Chicago land area).. I have learned A LOT and seen so much stuff that my brain is probably going to explode.. he just wants to see what I like... he told me he wants to propose with the ring and surprise me.. so I basically have to figure out what I like the best... well, after 4 full days of numerous chats with all these jewelers.. I really have come down to TWO beautiful ideas.. and... well, I''m a bit stumped. he wants to spend around $10,000..

The first idea is a Hearts on Fire diamond.. an SI1, nearly colorless, .82 ct. set in a Tiffany''s style white gold setting.. Hearts on Fire are definately BEAUTIFUL diamonds.. OR..
A 1Ct Jared Peerless diamond.. a VS2, G... set in a white gold band with two peerless side stones of the same clarity and such.. each at half a carat.. so the entire ring is 2 carats total..
Both of these are...give and take..... each pretty much equal to $10,000.. SOOO he has left it up to me to think it over for a couple days so he can be on his merry way to "surprise" me at some point in the near future....(probably sooner than later!!)

Here''s my concern..Hearts on Fire.. well, it''s only a brand name.. and, to me.... that''s not really that important...they are defiantely BEAUTIFUL though... but, the Jared is.. well, Jared and I''ve heard some negativity on them as well.. the plus side for the Hearts on Fire is that.. a couple years down the road, he said he would place the diamond in a more expensive band when he has the money.. and.. the plus for the Jared.. well, the entire setting is breathtaking as well..
BOTH SPARKLE. and......well, I love sparkle!! lol

Both of these have literally blown me away .. sooooooo I really am hoping to get some advice!!.. or even a personal story would be amazing!!! Thanks!!

 

[swingirl]

You can do so much better with that budget. Do a PS search (under PRICES) and compare.

Just as an example here is an ACA from WF at 1.22 ct. Many many choices over 1 ct. with enough for a setting and then some. Make sure you buy from someplace with an upgrade policy, too.

1.22 ct F SI1

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 5/22/2008 1:59:45 AM
Author: swingirl
You can do so much better with that budget. Do a PS search (under PRICES) and compare.

Just as an example here is an ACA from WF at 1.22 ct. Many many choices over 1 ct. with enough for a setting and then some. Make sure you buy from someplace with an upgrade policy, too.

1.22 ct F SI1

You might want to think about an ACA. They are gorgeous!!! I like the one Swingirl posted for you.

 

[honey22]

Ditto! I purchased an ACA (comparable quality to a HoF), for around $5800 with setting (Tiffany setting, yellow gold, but white gold should be the same price). D VS2 0.8ct ACA from Whiteflash. I splurged for the D (didn''t want a larger stone), so with your budget, you could almost get a D VS 1.0ct ACA or drop a few colour grades and go quite larger.

I honestly wouldn''t go with a B&M when you can get a truly stunning stone online, and save lots of $$$ (and get a bigger rock!).

If you let us know what your idea size would be, ie. do you want to stay around the 0.8ct mark (could save lots of money) or go up considerably in size. We can suggest some beautiful stones and settings for you if you would like.

I''m off to bed soon (live in Australia), but others will chime in with some beauties I am sure. Good luck!!

 

[Ellen]

Hi happily, how exciting you get to pick, and you have a nice budget!

Not sure which I would pick, I know that Jared's now carries AGS0 stones, which are not shabby, but then neither is a HOF. The Jared stone is bigger, but I would only pick it if it IS an AGS0 stone. You might consider who has a better upgrade policy also, should that be a consideration. And which setting is made better. It's hard to really advise without knowing the all the variables.

What's most important though is the cut of the diamond, that's what makes it sparkley! The lights in the stores make all but the worst look great, it's what the stone does in lighting away from the store that counts. The better cut will look good across the board. If you can get all the info/numbers on the diamonds, you can post them here and we'd love to help you pick the better one.

And as others have pointed out, you could get a bit more for your money if shopping online is a consideration, but I realize it's not for everyone.

HTH

 

[happilyeverafter86]

THANKS!! You''ve all been really helpfull!!!.. But, sadly.. my guy does not want to buy online.. he''s very set on looking in the store himself and.... well, he doesn''t do the whole online buying thing.. whereas, I DO. lol... but, this is his investment and I''m not going to force him!! I definately understand where you''re all coming from!!

I have been thinking all night and I am still in a pickle!! lol.... For some reason, I''m really leaning more towards the Jared ring because it''s beautiful and there is way more bang for his buck.. But... whew, that Hearts on Fire is breathtaking..

Why mustttt this be so difficult!!!?!?! lol

 

[ImpatientOne]

Date: 5/22/2008 11:57:47 AM
Author: happilyeverafter86
THANKS!! You've all been really helpfull!!!.. But, sadly.. my guy does not want to buy online.. he's very set on looking in the store himself and.... well, he doesn't do the whole online buying thing.. whereas, I DO. lol... but, this is his investment and I'm not going to force him!! I definately understand where you're all coming from!!

I have been thinking all night and I am still in a pickle!! lol.... For some reason, I'm really leaning more towards the Jared ring because it's beautiful and there is way more bang for his buck.. But... whew, that Hearts on Fire is breathtaking..

Why mustttt this be so difficult!!!?!?! lol

Well, if that's the case, I would go with the Jared set if they are AGS0 as you will be getting a lot more total diamond weight than the HOF.