Is this do-able?

[luckystar112]

Hi, I've been a lurker for a while and this is my first post.
I'm not engaged yet, but I'm sure that I will be within the next 6 months or so.
Here's my question:
I have my heart set on the Locke's Signature Setting. I know that they have discontinued it, but I'm hoping I can find someone in my area to duplicate it. On top of that, I'm hoping that I can find a well-cut 1.2-1.35 diamond to dress it up. (I came up with that after trying on a 1ct and a 1.5ct) The problem is money. When my boyfriend and I looked at rings at Robbins Bros. (Don't ask.) The car-salesman...err...jeweler asked my boyfriend his budget, and he said $5000. I'm not sure if that budget is set in stone (haha..no pun.) or if it is flexible. I sort of think he just threw a number out there that sounded good to him. (He is clueless about diamond pricing...and I don't think he had considered his budget before.) Don't get me wrong, I think $5000 is a very GENEROUS chunk of change to spend on my finger, I'm just wondering if I should alter my preferences. Can I find what I want in that price range or am I being unrealistic?
Thanks for any info you have.

 

[allycat0303]

Well I think it depends on what shape you want and how low you are willing to go in clarity and color. I''m assuming you want a round diamond so I found one from WF:

http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-150441.htm

(but this is a 1.03 carat stone).....But this isn''t the 1.2-1.5 range, and the price at 4900 ish is without the setting. And the J color might or might not be an issue for you depending on your taste. So if you are looking at a custome setting in platinum, I think you are going to have to lower the carat weight of the stone a little (or up the budget a bit).

 

[Bunnifer]

Date: 1/8/2007 1:57:08 PM
Author:luckystar112
Hi, I've been a lurker for a while and this is my first post.
I'm not engaged yet, but I'm sure that I will be within the next 6 months or so.
Here's my question:
I have my heart set on the Locke's Signature Setting. I know that they have discontinued it, but I'm hoping I can find someone in my area to duplicate it. On top of that, I'm hoping that I can find a well-cut 1.2-1.35 diamond to dress it up. (I came up with that after trying on a 1ct and a 1.5ct) The problem is money. When my boyfriend and I looked at rings at Robbins Bros. (Don't ask.) The car-salesman...err...jeweler asked my boyfriend his budget, and he said $5000. I'm not sure if that budget is set in stone (haha..no pun.) or if it is flexible. I sort of think he just threw a number out there that sounded good to him. (He is clueless about diamond pricing...and I don't think he had considered his budget before.) Don't get me wrong, I think $5000 is a very GENEROUS chunk of change to spend on my finger, I'm just wondering if I should alter my preferences. Can I find what I want in that price range or am I being unrealistic?
Thanks for any info you have.

LOL...honey, if money weren't a problem, many a PS lady would be in hiiiigh heaven!

OK, to answer your question...this is the perfect opportunity for you and your BF to have a talk about ring budget. This is a good idea for many reasons, including:

1) Since you're thinking about getting married, money and budgets will invariably be an issue that you guys will need to discuss in the future. Better to learn how to do it SOONER rather than later!

2) If you guys set a mutual budet, neither will be dissapointed. He won't feel like his budget is too small for you, and you won't waste your time by searching for center stones that he is uncomfortable buying.

3) Going into a project like this will only be easier if you guys are on the same page. It would suck if you and he had completely different ideas about what the other wants/expects.

These are just my $.02. I had this talk with my BF early in our search and although I was hesitant to have such a heavy talk, I am SO GLAD that I did! I can now happily concentrate on what I want because I know it's within his budget. Unnecessary worrying is, well, unnecessary! LOL.

 

[luckystar112]

Thanks for your response guys!

Well I would definitely like a round diamond, that is for sure. Platinum has never been an option as I know how much more it costs compared to other metals. I would rather go with white gold or palladium, so at least that will knock the cost down quite a bit! I would be happy with a 1ct stone... or any stone at this point...

. I think the carat weight is probably where I am most flexible...but I don''t wish to go under 1ct. As for clarity and color...I''m flexible, but I don''t want to go lower than an H in color or an SI2 in clarity. I''ve seen some well priced diamonds on uniondiamond.com, perhaps I should start there and then pray it doesn''t cost too much to make the setting. haha.
Again, thank you for your help. I guess I''m just going to have to ask what his maximum budget is...as scary as that may be! Then again, I may be pleasantly surprised.

 

[scarleta]

Hello:have you considered to invite your boyfriend to browse here with you, that way he can gain some knowledge on diamonds, pricing etc..

 

[colorkitty]

IMO, you''re being unrealistic. You could reconsider not going lower than an H, see if you can increase the budget, or reduce the carats. My best advice is to look at .90s carat. You probably won''t notice the difference between that and a carat and you''ll save a lot of money.

I would discuss the budget though. A number like 5K is so round it makes me think maybe it was a guestimate and is flexible. Even an extra few hundred can make a huge difference in getting you closer to what you want.

Good luck!

 

[hikerchick]

http://www.whiteflash.com/round_ideal_cut/Round-Ideal-Cut-cut-diamond-168317.htm#

Check out this 1.01 F SI1 that will cost $4976 with the Pricescope discount . . .

And I will add my encouragement to talk to him about his budget.
My BF also threw out the $5000 number the first time we went diamond shopping and so I kept my searches to stones under 1 carat. Then I realized that the $5000 was just for the stone and he budgeted another $2000 for the setting . . . we finally overshot the $5000 by $800 and kept the setting cost down to $1500 . . . he still spent $500 more than he initially intended but his budget was never "set in stone" . . .

So it really helps to talk about it . . . find out his budget for the ring as a whole, diamond and setting . . . then you can find the least expensive setting that you will be happy with and have a max cutoff for the cost of the diamond, making the searching easier and more focused. Good Luck

 

[luckystar112]

I want to thank everyone for their responses, you all are helping me out so much. Last night I asked him what his budget was, and he did reply that it was $5000...but I forgot to ask him if that was including the setting. Anyway...I guess I''ll just have to assume it is until I get more info out of him!

I was browsing uniondiamond.com and stumbled upon this stunner:


Certificate: EGL
Shape: Round
Cut: Select Ideal™
Carat: 1.23
Color: H
Clarity: SI2
Regular Price: $3761
Wire Transfer Price: $3651

Diamond Proportions:
Measurements: 6.85-6.82-4.26
Depth Percentage: 62.3 %
Table Percentage: 57 %
Girdle: TN-M
Culet: None (Pointed)
Polish: Very Good
Symmetry: Very Good
Fluorescence: None (Inert)

The proportions seem good, the cut is their highest rating...the color, clarity, and carat weight fall into what I''m looking for...and the PRICE!!!!!!!

Is this too good to be true?
What do you all think about this?
If I''m not dreaming, and this is a great deal...then he would still have around $1200 to put into a custom made locke''s setting!

You guys seem to know a ton more about diamonds than I....what do you all think?

 

[E B]

Date: 1/9/2007 12:46:47 PM
Author: luckystar112

Is this too good to be true?

What do you all think about this?

Probably. I'd put money on it not being eye-clean. A stone that big shouldn't be that cheap, and seeing that it's an SI2 (an EGL SI2, no less), I'm thinking its pretty flawed.

With $5000, I'd stick to looking at the 1ct range. $5000 can buy a gorgeous 1ct, and you won't keep running into "too good to be true?" stones.

This stone looks really nice:

1.04ct I, VS2, AGS0, $4860

 

[E B]

If you're willing to go to a K color, here's a 1.21ct AGS H&A in your budget:

http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-179737.htm#