Hi all
I suppose I should read other's intros first to get a feel for what information I should be sharing. But I just thought of that and I'm already here
I'm 20 years old. I'm a full time college student and work part time at a law firm. Now to the "LIW" (is that the correct acronym? I think i've seen it used here) status... My boyfriend and I have been together for over three years and have lived together for two. I'm 100% certain he's the love of my life and all that other romantic-y stuff, and within the last few months I've been feeling totally ready to take that next step. But, my boyfriend isn't quite there yet, which is funny, because by most standard's I'm "too young" to get married, and he, being ~6 years older than myself, by most standards "should" be there. Of course these are societal expectations and I'm not one to play into them too much, but it gets a little difficult not to at times, especially when it seems to justify my crazyness in this matter
. He says when I'm done with my bachelors, and I have two years left, and he know's I want a longer engagement- 18 mo-2 years- so it could happen soon right???
So, I was an avid say yes to the dress watcher for some time, and I loved looking at the pretty dresses. But of course I didn't stop there, I had to go online and find my dress (note sarcasm- I like to make fun of myself), which of course led to looking at engagement rings. And let's be honest, dresses are nice and all, but its that ring that I'm going to wear the rest of my life. So I may have gone a little overboard in the ring search- obviously, I went from knowing just about nothing about jewelry, esp. diamonds, to joining PS.
Which is kind of awesome, because PS is clearly an amazing resource, and outlet for my pre-ring anxiety
. So anyway, I've been bringing all my crazy ring lust to my best friends, but I don't think they can quite relate and they're getting a little tired of me. Thats where you guys come in!
I've got my sights on an antique or vintage stone. Love love love love love (can't express that enough!) the large chunky facets and the pastel colors thrown off by these stones. My absolute dream ring would have an antique cushion, ~2 ct and be high in clarity, like vvs2 or higher (I'm finding that once you're in that range any inclusions seem to be so insignificant that it really becomes more of a "status" thing to go any higher- any opinions?) in a pave halo setting- I'm very much in love with Victor Canera's Emilya Halo Solitaire with the "concave" (as opposed to the outward) stems. But, that's probably out of my price range.
So, I'd also be very happy with an old european cut round stone in a plain solitaire setting. I haven't looked into this setting as much- of course I obsessed about the dream ring until I realized it would be financially impossible at this point. About 1.2-1.5 carats would be ideal. I want to be in that 7mm range. Again, higher clarity, vs2 or vs1. Color is not that big of a concern to me in all honesty (is that blasphemy? lol). Especially with the antique/vintage style I think a little warmth is actually fitting.
Well I think thats all, now that I've written you a book
sorry about that.
I suppose I should read other's intros first to get a feel for what information I should be sharing. But I just thought of that and I'm already here
I'm 20 years old. I'm a full time college student and work part time at a law firm. Now to the "LIW" (is that the correct acronym? I think i've seen it used here) status... My boyfriend and I have been together for over three years and have lived together for two. I'm 100% certain he's the love of my life and all that other romantic-y stuff, and within the last few months I've been feeling totally ready to take that next step. But, my boyfriend isn't quite there yet, which is funny, because by most standard's I'm "too young" to get married, and he, being ~6 years older than myself, by most standards "should" be there. Of course these are societal expectations and I'm not one to play into them too much, but it gets a little difficult not to at times, especially when it seems to justify my crazyness in this matter
. He says when I'm done with my bachelors, and I have two years left, and he know's I want a longer engagement- 18 mo-2 years- so it could happen soon right???So, I was an avid say yes to the dress watcher for some time, and I loved looking at the pretty dresses. But of course I didn't stop there, I had to go online and find my dress (note sarcasm- I like to make fun of myself), which of course led to looking at engagement rings. And let's be honest, dresses are nice and all, but its that ring that I'm going to wear the rest of my life. So I may have gone a little overboard in the ring search- obviously, I went from knowing just about nothing about jewelry, esp. diamonds, to joining PS.
Which is kind of awesome, because PS is clearly an amazing resource, and outlet for my pre-ring anxiety
. So anyway, I've been bringing all my crazy ring lust to my best friends, but I don't think they can quite relate and they're getting a little tired of me. Thats where you guys come in! I've got my sights on an antique or vintage stone. Love love love love love (can't express that enough!) the large chunky facets and the pastel colors thrown off by these stones. My absolute dream ring would have an antique cushion, ~2 ct and be high in clarity, like vvs2 or higher (I'm finding that once you're in that range any inclusions seem to be so insignificant that it really becomes more of a "status" thing to go any higher- any opinions?) in a pave halo setting- I'm very much in love with Victor Canera's Emilya Halo Solitaire with the "concave" (as opposed to the outward) stems. But, that's probably out of my price range.
So, I'd also be very happy with an old european cut round stone in a plain solitaire setting. I haven't looked into this setting as much- of course I obsessed about the dream ring until I realized it would be financially impossible at this point. About 1.2-1.5 carats would be ideal. I want to be in that 7mm range. Again, higher clarity, vs2 or vs1. Color is not that big of a concern to me in all honesty (is that blasphemy? lol). Especially with the antique/vintage style I think a little warmth is actually fitting.
Well I think thats all, now that I've written you a book
sorry about that.
so what do I know!?? honestly though, anything in the VS1 or VS2 range is going to be plenty for almost all people. 
If I have any suggestions to you about your old cut search, it is to not create such strict boundaries. Value cut and performance above all, and start getting lenient with what you'd accept for color and clarity within your budget. Old cuts with decent optical performance are needles in haystacks, my dear, and being picky with clarity (or color.. or combinations of the two) will only limit you from wonderful choices. Create the utmost LOWEST boundaries you'd accept, and just aim for anything above that. Personally, I'm okay with anything as long as it's not a black booger under the table. Eye and mind cleanliness is 12" from the face, which usually includes most SI1's and even some SI2's and I's (see Resonance of Life's old (lost) e-ring, and WebDiva's e-ring for beautiful, beautiful "I"s)….. and I would have loved to stick to lower clarity just to keep my stone within budget. Unfortunately, because old cuts really are just super, super rare.. I was stuck with a clarity that I paid more for, and don't appreciate at the least. I have just recently helped a few of our LIW's with their OEC searches, and usually the good OEC's come in lower colors, and lower clarities. VS2 is usually the "higher end" that I've seen. And put in your minimum requirement of a 2 ct (well.. now 1.2!)… you're literally searching for something that may take forever to find! Old cuts are rare. Old cuts that aren't ugly with nailhead/fisheye are rarer. BIG old cuts are MORE rare. See where I'm getting at? Don't limit yourself to such high clarities!
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