Ideal diamonds versus mall diamonds

[pyramid]

Does anyone here feel their original diamond engagement ring has been devalued in their eyes since reading this forum. Did you come here loving the ideal of having an engagement ring and the sentimental value of it, only to feel it was lesser due to the size, cut etc of diamonds here. A forum with diamond enthusiasts are never going to have the general populations type of ring, do you always remember that or want more? Want larger due to hobbyist having diamond as their hobby and throwing their money into huge diamonds?

There are not too many UK posters here, except those who are looking to buy, I wonder if they are just turned off by the huge diamonds or feel their small stones of yesteryear don't match up with the internet projection of ideal cut?

 

[whitewave]

I made mine into a pendant.

 

[MissGotRocks]

My original diamond was not the best cut and held some color. I didn't realize that at first - in fact I wore it for ten years before really realizing it - but it was certainly pre Pricescope so that didn't color my opinion on it at all. I found Pricescope long after I had traded in that first diamond. I sometimes wish I had it back; I could have recut it for a pendant but that's water long over the dam now. I wanted incredible sparkle and it took me years and Pricescope to realize that it was cut - not size, color or clarity that would make that happen.

 

[whitewave]

Yes, I found PS after I decided to get a new diamond.

I didn't have any choice in my first diamond. I got what DH picked out. From an ad. For the price.

This time I got what I wanted.

 

[AprilBaby]

I had a .35 from jewelers row in Philly. My eyes tell me it was a nice diamond that now sits in a pendant. Pricescope influenced my need for an upgrade in size!

 

[bmfang]

My wife has had a couple of upgrades from her original engagement ring. That ring one was one of my grandmother's rings which has been passed down from her to my mom and then now to my wife (it's not badly cut for such an old stone, but it ain't AGS Ideal/GIA XXX by any means!).

But back then I had already promised my wife that when our financial situation improved, I'd look at buying her a different ring (as her preference is white gold rather than yellow gold). So she went from an ungraded stone (my guesstimate is it is a H-1 SI1, probably around 0.3-0.4ct in weight based on my observations at 10x under a white light source as close as possible to the GIA colour temperature for grading unmounted stones) to an above-average mall jeweller GIA XXX stone (a 0.7ct G SI1, HCA 4.4, AGA/NAJA Cut Class 1B).

I then started lurking around on PS after that purchase made in 2013 (which some would say is a stupid thing to do :p), I already knew the next present would be an upgrade to that G SI1.

Which ended up being an upgrade in two areas and a downgrade in one (0.962ct BG Blue, K VS2, HCA 1.2, AGA/NAJA Cut Class 1A) for the birth of our son earlier this year. Both of us have found that this stone outperforms the higher colour GIA G in virtually all light settings.

While she tends to wear the latter two stones more because they are set in white gold rather than yellow gold, she does wear her original engagement ring from time to time when she is wearing other yellow gold jewellery. We might even gift that ring to a future daughter (if we are able to have a daughter!).

 

[Crystal_Dreams]

hmm... I did feel that initially, but I've come to terms with the fact that I love my ring because my husband picked it and the stone out himself. I'm sentimental- it's never going to be upgraded or reset.

Mine is a GIA triple excellent stone though, so while it's not a super ideal or a certain score on the HCA, relative to most of what's out there (not specifically PS range) it's beautiful and really quite nicely cut.

My answer to this question then, is no. I know my ring isn't as perfect as others or as large, but it is perfect for me and large enough for me at 1.5ct!

 

[Polished]

I got engaged with a 0.20 carat diamond ring. We bought it from a reputable jeweler so I was tickety boo with cut, clarity, colour. It was small but good quality. I never questioned the size of the stone - others we knew at the time had a similar size or smaller. I was completely happy and content with my choice. I still like stories now of people getting engaged who don't allow the magic of this special time in life to be spoiled by an over obsession with the ring. Eg I ended up choosing a ring without going into too much detail because i didn't want to suck the joy out of it. And i know it's fraught with danger but I love a good story of where the guy has chosen a ring for his intended with just a few guidelines from her - "I like dainty jewelry" and she's loved it and the effort he went to.

HOWEVER once I found Pricescope many years later when we were financially established and discovered you could buy larger diamonds (ideals) over the internet from the US at prices that were far cheaper than her in Aus I was interested. I ended up with a 0.68. I also through Pricescope found I could access great designers of jewelry. So my 0.68 is set in a Mark Morrell solitaire. I'm a different person to the 27 year old who was happy with a great quality 0.20 diamond but I like that I now wear something that feels more sophisticated in my older years.

Choice in general can have the effect of making one less satisfied with what you have. However I think knowing yourself if important with this. I don't need larger (except in coloured stones) for myself but I love looking at larger stones on others. They've enlarged my tiny brain. I also love design and good quality pieces. There was a thread a while ago about how much would you be prepared to pay for a setting. For me there would be an upper limit, going above wouldn't make me happier. But I'm glad fiendish settings exist, I love to look at them and I love it that someone else thinks they are worth it and enjoys and shares their special piece.

I think Pricescope has been amazing at helping people maximize small budgets. I always enjoy those threads. I've also witnessed contributors with very sizable stones equally swoon over a small stone ring. People are here because they love jewelry.

 

[Niel]

I did not have a "pre ps" engagement ring so I can't speak to that but what I wanted to say was I hope people don't feel turned off by large diamonds. Some of my favorite rings- I mean really TOP faves- are smaller rings. My girlfriend wears a .66 CT ring I helped pick out. It's not ideal cut as it's a vintage ring,but oh my God it makes my heart sing when I see it it's so pretty. Or Vampiras half CT three stone emerald ring? It's tdf. Anyways, I hope people don't get turned off thinking there is a minimum ctw for entry.

 

[soxfan]

My first engagement ring was a marquis that a local guy was selling because his wife was upgrading. It was ok, I think I settled, but I DID pick it out. For my 2 ct upgrade, I bought a VG cut from our friend who is a jeweler. It was a "very good" performer. Would I buy another one? Hells no! I sold it when I fell in love with old cuts. I think the most valuable part of PS for me has been introducing me to master jewelers. I've never seen in real life any settings that are even close in quality to mine. People always ask me who did the setting and they get kind of a lost look in their eyes when I tell them it was Caysie and she lives in California. It's like they can't understand why I wouldn't just go to the three local jewelers in town....

I think Pricescope has been amazing at helping people maximize small budgets. I always enjoy those threads. I've also witnessed contributors with very sizable stones equally swoon over a small stone ring. People are here because they love jewelry.

YES. These are my favorite threads. When I was talking to a local jeweler, I said that my DREAM job would be to have my own business where I helped people looking to get engaged get the best engagement ring for their budget. A ring that they just can't get here locally. But PS is basically that business..

 

[doberman]

I got my pre-PS diamonds at some very high end stores, one in NYC, the other in NJ. I'm sure that we overpaid for what we got, so I try not to think about it. I never considered a chain store, even when we were just starting out. I always figured that they would be overpriced due to the excessive marketing.

 

[Tekate]

I do. But I also had an OEC diamond from my first husband and it was a fireball, my husband for life, bought me two stones over the years, first an oval (D color) it was gorgeous but had a terrible bowtie, so I upgraded to a 1.61 MRB, it rates as an AGS 2.. it isn't the fireball of my OEC, it's better than the oval, and can't touch my 3 stone ring from Whiteflash with its 2 ACA and 1 Expert selection stones(s).

I would love to get AVR and a ACA mrb both over 2 carats weight, but I doubt in this life I will be able to do both, maybe one if I keep trying, my AGS 2 stone is going to my younger son if and when he meets the girl he wants to marry altho it's not on his agenda he has said he wants to marry at 40 and he's 25

ETA: I got my first two diamonds with my husband in the diamond district in NYC, in one of the booths, they say don't use them

 

[KKJohnson]

I do love the thought that one day my dear husband will buy a ring that is my own instead of an inheritance piece but that won't happen because he likes having money in the bank instead of on my fingers. So in coming to terms with this I am going to slowly reset the pieces that were left to us. But if I had found this forum prior to my engagement my husband would have been in Trouble and I would have wanted to be more involved in picking the ring instead of letting him handle it.

He is the type of guy who doesn't understand/want to spend money on jewelry (any jewelry!) which led him to buy from diamond nexus *cringe* so my original engagement ring just collects dust sitting in my jewelry box while I wear the heirloom pieces.

 

[Ally T]

I am in the UK & have a very beautiful pear cut solitaire, 1.02ct, D VS2. It's beautiful, sparkly, chubby & has no bow tie. But.... I am a PSer & I want a bigger diamond! I have been introduced through this forum to old cuts, and also to the mind set of "upgrading" but so far, to no avail. Husband thinks I'm very lucky to have such a perfect diamond & should be happy to leave it at that. But one day, when we are considerably richer, I shall buy my dream ring....

 

[Austina]

I'm also in the U.K. I didn't even have an engagement ring I had a wedding ring, which I wore for 3 days when we got married, took it off and never put it on again I don't have any sentimental attachment to things. My DH asked if I wanted an ER and the main reason I didn't, and this is going to sound horribly mercenary, is that what I could've had then, wasn't really something I wanted. We started out married life with our own house and everything we needed for it, which was more important.

I don't know anyone who has gone through several upgrades, the women I know just don't do that, doesn't seem to be a cultural thing here. Could be that my age group might still be wary of making such an expensive purchase over the Internet?

When I decided to have a ring made, I asked for advice here, and found myself getting swept along down the MRB route, when I actually wanted a fancy. I was also steered towards settings that weren't my style either. Armed with all the info I'd been given about cut, angles, ASET etc, I almost bought a round, then I realised it just wasn't what I wanted. I'm not knocking anyone for their input, I'm grateful that people took the time to advise.

One thing that did make me change my mind, was seeing everyone's beautiful halos. It wasn't something I'd been looking for, didn't think it was 'me', but I ended up with a marquise, in a halo, with pave set split shoulders in platinum, which I absolutely love. Will I be upgrading it in the future, nope, it's perfect on my hand. I haven't even shown it to my friends because to them it would be rather flashy.

What I've also taken away from here, is that it's relatively easy to get things remodelled (when you find the right jeweller). I've just had my 20th anniversary diamond trilogy ring made in to a pendant and earrings, and I'm going to get my 2 AAAA tanzanites reset into w/g or platinum.

 

[LLJsmom]

I'm not really sentimental. I never even wore my original ering for 15 years. Then my DH got a Tiffany halo and the diamond craze was ON. I bought an 2.5 ct MRB because I always wanted a bigger stone, a prettier stone, way before PS. So no, PS did not at all make me devalue my original stone. I was never excited about it in the first place. I wanted to recut my original 1.11 stone, but DH wanted me to keep it as is. Ok Fine. I got another to match and made it into studs. I traded in my new stone for an OEC. I think many people that find their way here just want to have something you love.

 

[GreenPapaya]

I found PS while looking for ideas on resetting my stone. I love jewellery but embarrassingly did not pay much attention to my ring (as I love colored stones more). My husband bought this stone from a store he was auditing when we first met. It's a .7 hearts on fire stone, H, VS2 (i had no idea what that meant until I was on here). He bought it in late July 2001, did PS exist then? I barely remember the internet existing lol. I did request a stone under a carat since l was in the military at the time and didn't want anything too big that would be cumbersome in training and deployments. He had the ring set with amethysts, which are my favorite stones. I still really like my ring even after finding this site, but i do not love the setting or my wedding ring. I think the jewellers did a terribly shoddy job. My wedding ring was made in Germany by a mall jeweler. It was expensive and when they set the amethysts they cracked it and refused to change the stones. So I've been wearing cracked stones and a ring that is a touch smaller than what i requested. The sides of My ering prongs look a little worn and you can see slight groves in the side. My ering and wedding rings are both supposed to be 3.5. My ering fits slightly loose and the wedding band is a touch snug in the summer. Now, while PS hasn't changed my mind on the size and quality of my rings, I've found that i wanted better settings. As to what that is, i don't know yet since there are so many beautiful settings here that I can't make a decision. PS also changed my opinions on other types of jewelry - diamond studs and diamond bracelets, which were never on my radar before (I preferred dainty dangly earrings). So there you have it, because of PS, I am now longing for shiny diamond studs (.8 - 1 carat) bracelets, and fancy settings. Unfortunately, my husband would never consider spending thousands on jewellery (the ering being the exception). To be fair, I was that way too, not that long ago.