If you had a $25,000 e-ring & wedding ring budget?

[Bravissimo]

I would get a Victorian cut diamond. It is an emerald cut diamond with extra facets. As large as 25k would allow!

Can you show an image? I tried searching. Just found Victorian era rings.

@Bravissimo

My diamond, "Dainty", is a 2.56 ct CBI. My ring size is 4.5, but my fingers are freakishly long (think ET, LOL). This was not my original engagement ring, (and not my first marriage either) it was a 15 year upgrade (I'm old!)

Super ideal diamonds really do look larger than non-superideals.

You may have freakishly long hands but you could probably be a hand model. I’m recently tiny (and very old comparatively) but my knuckles are not.

As gorgeous as that is and as huge as your stone looks on the solitaire, I think I would drop and break it. I’m going to need a bezel.

 

[MrsBlue]

Maybe a 2ish ct oval in 6-prong platinum erika winters victoria

Victoria Solitaire – Erika Winters Fine Jewelry

erikawinters.com

 

[AprilBaby]

I would get the biggest perfect cut diamond I could afford in a solitaire for now.

 

[prettypaper01]

@Bravissimo

My diamond, "Dainty", is a 2.56 ct CBI. My ring size is 4.5, but my fingers are freakishly long (think ET, LOL). This was not my original engagement ring, (and not my first marriage either) it was a 15 year upgrade (I'm old!)

Super ideal diamonds really do look larger than non-superideals.

Oh my goodness!! You have my dream ring! I am considering an ACA but would love a similar setting - is there a thread / link with all the details on your stunning ring?!? WOWwwww

 

[Polished1911]

I think I’d get a really amazing half hoop (my weight fluctuates too much with weather to do a full eternity) and a plain band.

 

[RunningwithScissors]

Oh my goodness!! You have my dream ring! I am considering an ACA but would love a similar setting - is there a thread / link with all the details on your stunning ring?!? WOWwwww

Thank you, you are very kind!

I had a Show Me the Bling post a few years ago but it got taken down by accident (I had asked for one photo to be removed because it outed me, but the whole thread was taken down.)

I had the setting custom made by Wolf/CBI. It is very similar to the classic Tiffany setting and is in platinum. I like it because the diamond sits at the right height for me -- it is neither too high or too low, and I feel that the width of the band is in proportion to the diamond size. Personally, I feel that when you have a magnificent diamond, you don't need bells and whistles in the setting. My motto is "That which is simple is beautiful." I like simple, clean, modern lines and I feel that Wolf/CBI nailed it.

 

[Bravissimo]

So I am now strongly considering the emerald cut solitaire option. My mom has a little one in either e or f color that I always loved and that got tons of compliments when it was in a solitaire setting. I will inherit eventually and could then make it and my e-ring into a solitaire. Going to go stare at Bryan Gavins page a while. If people want to look at some John Allen ones I’ll post them here.

 

[Bravissimo]

So I am now strongly considering the emerald cut solitaire option. My mom has a little one in either e or f color that I always loved and that got tons of compliments when it was in a solitaire setting. I will inherit eventually and could then make it and my e-ring into a solitaire. Going to go stare at Bryan Gavins page a while. If people want to look at some John Allen ones I’ll post them here.

James Allen. Sorry.

 

[GoldenTouch]

I would have the biggest ideal cut diamond I could (anywhere down to an J) in a basic setting with a plain gold band.

 

[prettypaper01]

Thank you, you are very kind!

I had a Show Me the Bling post a few years ago but it got taken down by accident (I had asked for one photo to be removed because it outed me, but the whole thread was taken down.)

I had the setting custom made by Wolf/CBI. It is very similar to the classic Tiffany setting and is in platinum. I like it because the diamond sits at the right height for me -- it is neither too high or too low, and I feel that the width of the band is in proportion to the diamond size. Personally, I feel that when you have a magnificent diamond, you don't need bells and whistles in the setting. My motto is "That which is simple is beautiful." I like simple, clean, modern lines and I feel that Wolf/CBI nailed it.

I have the same motto - simple and classic! Thank you so much for the info - do you happen to know the mm size of your band?

 

[RunningwithScissors]

I have the same motto - simple and classic! Thank you so much for the info - do you happen to know the mm size of your band?

I don't remember off the top of my head. I will try to look through my old emails to see if I can find it. Stay tuned!

 

[prettypaper01]

I don't remember off the top of my head. I will try to look through my old emails to see if I can find it. Stay tuned!

No worries! Thank you so much ~

 

[diamondhoarder]

Can you show an image? I tried searching. Just found Victorian era rings.

I used to have one these. They are very pretty and quite fiery, although I do think they vary from stone to stone. He doesnt cut very many of them.

Victorian Cut Diamond

Victorian Cut Diamond Engagement Rings and Jewellery

www.victoriancutdiamond.com

 

[Bravissimo]

Very interesting. Thanks for the image and link! Still leaning traditional emerald cut.

 

[Tanzie]

For fun (and to help me decide) , please post how you would spend $25,000 if that was your budget for a wedding set.

Pictures and prices/examples/links are very welcome provided this comports w/PS rules.
My parameters are
1. Mined & certed stones only
2. Wearable daily for an office job in a big eastern city.
3. Durable. I chipped my last diamond and

We are both over 50 so not going to use this money for anything else but $25,000 is the limit.

Thanks in advance for your ideas!!!

I’d go with an ideal F-G vs1 -vvs 2 cushion with trap side stones in platinum and a sapphire and diamond eternity ring with .15 stones.

 

[LLJsmom]

I would say figure out what you will not be bored with after 5-6 years, cut of diamond I mean. I used to love emerald cuts, but rounds are the ones that keep my interest in the long run, because of maximum sparkle. But everyone is different. Then get the biggest, most well cut diamond within the tolerance of my color and clarity parameters. For me that would be a super ideal cut MRB from a vendor with a generous and liberal upgrade policy, such as WF or CBI, with sufficient stock that would allow me to find a stone should I decide to upgrade. Put it in a well made simple solitaire setting and then be done.

 

[canuk-gal]

well-cut stone won't be negatively impacted by a bezel! Bezels vary, some are totally enclosed (including underneath) which i don't recommend because they impossible to clean...

If I liked simple and classic and preferred modern cut stones, I would get an ACA from Whiteflash, and get a mount like this, and probably a channel set baA guette wedding ring

The Cameron Solitaire Diamond Engagement Ring | 585

Embrace the journey of love with the Cameron Solitaire Diamond Engagement Ring, an emblem of eternal commitment. | 585

www.whiteflash.com

I don't know if James Meyer has retired, but his bezels. OHMY.
Sholdt makes gorgeous bezels and half bezels rings.
Leon Mege work, in general, is gorgeous.

You have a lovely budget. Look forward to seeing your decision!

 

[Cerulean]

I don't know if James Meyer has retired, but his bezels. OHMY.
Sholdt makes gorgeous bezels and half bezels rings.
Leon Mege work, in general, is gorgeous.

You have a lovely budget. Look forward to seeing your decision!

Love James Meyer! Caleb Meyer seems to have taken over, but I do not believe that he works with outside stones anymore except for heirlooms

 

[oncrutchesrightnow]

I have a plain gold wedding band I wear when traveling alone and want to fend off the men.

You could get a band with upside-down princess cuts to fend off any unwanted suitors.

 

[Bravissimo]

You could get a band with upside-down princess cuts to fend off any unwanted suitors.

At my age finding an unwanted suitor would be miraculous! We are only doing rings because I love them. Not even sure we’ll marry unless one of us is deathly ill.

 

[Bravissimo]

So I found this this ring below. And it’s the first time I’ve gotten a wee bit obsessed. However, although Amethyst is my birthstone, I think I would break it or scratch it in the blink of an eye. Plus it’s nowhere near my budget (though I could just get it have it )

But right now, I’m contemplating having a replica made either with an Asscher center or an emerald center.

Thoughts on if it would look any good with a diamond? Does it need a gemstone to pop?

I am also thinking it would be a shame to remove the amethyst. Something like this deserves to remain an antique, right

 

[molecule]

So I found this this ring below. And it’s the first time I’ve gotten a wee bit obsessed. However, although Amethyst is my birthstone, I think I would break it or scratch it in the blink of an eye. Plus it’s nowhere near my budget (though I could just get it have it )

But right now, I’m contemplating having a replica made either with an Asscher center or an emerald center.

Thoughts on if it would look any good with a diamond? Does it need a gemstone to pop?

I am also thinking it would be a shame to remove the amethyst. Something like this deserves to remain an antique, right

Can you articulate what you like about it? Square/emerald cut, halo, unique side details, rose and white gold combination?

 

[Bravissimo]

Can you articulate what you like about it? Square/emerald cut, halo, unique side details, rose and white gold combination?

I think it’s the proportions and the bows and the cushiony double halo with the square center. The milgrain. Maybe the strong contrast with the halo. The purple is really so rich. Not wedded to the two tone really but it looks nice w/purple. Not sure if I can tell a difference between rose cuts and single cut melee and regular pave.

The funny thing is my BF hated it. He thinks it way over the top but I told him I want my ring to look dressed. And I work in a formal environment (if we ever go back to the office) so fancy isn’t a bad thing.

 

[Bravissimo]

I think it’s the proportions and the bows and the cushiony double halo with the square center. The milgrain. Maybe the strong contrast with the halo. The purple is really so rich. Not wedded to the two tone really but it looks nice w/purple. Not sure if I can tell a difference between rose cuts and single cut melee and regular pave.

The funny thing is my BF hated it. He thinks it way over the top but I told him I want my ring to look dressed. And I work in a formal environment (if we ever go back to the office) so fancy isn’t a bad thing.

And I just spent hours (insomnia) searching for a halo like this. Something about the bezels repeating. The barely there air line. It’s like the hall of mirrors effect. I couldn’t find any cushion double halos on bezel set step cut square stones. It looks like a beautiful frame around a picture.
Yeah I am a smitten kitten.

 

[Bravissimo]

Can you articulate what you like about it? Square/emerald cut, halo, unique side details, rose and white gold combination?

Thanks for asking. I just sent a very detailed email to David Klass asking about how much something like this would be for an approximately 2 carat Asscher in all platinum. I have a feeling I’ll be over budget if I can even find a great Asscher to upgrade to at my old vendor’s.

 

[bludiva]

D

Thanks for asking. I just sent a very detailed email to David Klass asking about how much something like this would be for an approximately 2 carat Asscher in all platinum. I have a feeling I’ll be over budget if I can even find a great Asscher to upgrade to at my old vendor’s.

Does the center have to be a white diamond? If you like the contrast, what about a sapphire or yellow/brown diamond ? Those could help if the asscher is out of budget

 

[Rockcollector]

I used to have one these. They are very pretty and quite fiery, although I do think they vary from stone to stone. He doesnt cut very many of them.

Victorian Cut Diamond

Victorian Cut Diamond Engagement Rings and Jewellery

www.victoriancutdiamond.com

Thank you for posting! I could not find this thread!

 

[Bravissimo]

So here’s an update on my quest.

We went to NYC this week and saw the amethyst ring in person.
It looked just like the picture. However I was worried it would only get more beaten up in my care. Seeing it got me over it. Despite my fingers being size 6, I’ve lost a lot of weight twice in my life and have a lot of loose skin so this ring gave me finger muffintop.‍ Lesson learned about really thick bands that leave my finger nowhere to go! Maybe it could have been sized but it wasn’t love enough to go through the process only to maybe to still deal with the muffin situation. I was not planning this as an e-ring and I have several right hand rings already so at least that itch has been scratched.

While we were there, I saw a beautiful cluster that inspired me to take my old diamond down the cluster route as a little side project. Not sure if it will be a ring or a pendant. The cluster was an OEC cluster and everything was bezeled. Supposedly an F-G but the sales lady said they don’t pull apart bezels so it only had an EGL cert. It was $8500 but I worried it was over priced and that I could get something made that wouldn’t be 100 years old and that I would know the actual color and that would last longer. It was a lot of bling for the $ tho.


Also the bezels had tiny little prongs in them. What is up with that? They did not go all the way up but when we were in the store I worried they were cracks. On the vendor website I saw they were itty bitty prongs almost like teeth. My 55 year old eyes could not see them and I did wonder how the Edwardians saw them. Is that how all bezels are? Is that a vintage thing? Did the Edwardians have microscopes? Inquiring minds want to know.

Anyway if people have a list of designers who will work with outside stones and who they trust to bezel, I am thinking strongly about keeping my old stone and doing this to it with ACAs. My stone is about 7.2 mm round. I know it won’t be the same as a cluster with OECs but it should still be pretty I think.

Also I am still on the hunt for the e-ring. I did learn I love old Europeans but also I am color sensitive so we did not bother with most old european vendors. We did stop by Kwiat and saw the Fred Leighton old European rounds. They were stunning but in my price range too small.

Also in case anyone cares they did not have either of two rings from their website to try on. That was annoying because I have been looking hard at them for a while and figured NYC would be the place to try them.

We hit a couple other vendors too. One I found a nice emerald and trapezoid three stone but I wasn’t wowed by the band. It was squared off and it would be hard to wear another band with it. For that much money, I want to be wowed.

The sales girl was very nice but a little too much pressure to connect and maintain a lifelong relationship especially when we were out of town. I saw some Single Stone designs there but m their m, n colored stones did not rock my world. She also said Single Stone’s bench takes 12 weeks for custom.

At another place I found a nice bezel set cushion. I loved the bezel. The cushion looked different than I expected. Not an antique cushion. More like a round that had been turned square. Can someone explain what’s happening here? Is this a crushed ice cushion? Here the guy showed me a lot of fancies with bow ties. And he tried to tell me the dark bars in an emerald were as a result of all the black in the show room.

So as we were leaving town, I reached out to Leon Mege to see if he could do a similar setting and find me a cushion but he wants $400.00 to source a stone and I was not sure it would be worth locking ourselves in for a platinum bezel set ring. On the one hand it’s Leon. On the otherhand does a simplish project like that merit Leon? I mean I could see if I wanted pave everywhere…

Ok. I’d love to hear thoughts. For the record, I work in a job where I have to dress up and I see a lot of high priced doctors and attorneys with major bling but I am a government employee so pave everywhere seems inappropriate somehow. BF thought the amethyst ring was too fussy and so halos are probably out.

 

[Tanzie]

I think it’d be worth reaching out to David So at David S Diamonds. I am certain he could find the right stone and make exactly what you want. Another option would be to contact Cynthia Britt in Boston; she’s the only designer I know of who takes skin tone, finger and hand shape/structure into consideration. Check her out on instagram.

 

[lambskin]

Having a three stone brilliant ER as you dream set, a square cut solitaire would be my next pick. You get more finger coverage
with an emerald cut than an asscher. But the bling pattern of a square cut is different. Have you seen the Octavia cut? I think it is beautiful but may face up smaller. I do not know if the shape is still being cut. There are two stunning Octavia’s owned by prominent posters here on this forum. Take a look.