Men and traditional round solitaires

[KristyDarling]

Picking apart the male psyche is good fun, isn''t it?

Back when DH and I were shopping together for e-rings, he insisted that he had NO opinion whatsoever on the ring. But every time I gravitated towards an emerald cut, or something with sidestones or filigree or embellishments of any kind, he would say, "But that doesn''t LOOK like an engagement ring!" It turns out his heart''s desire was to give me a traditional round solitaire, even though he didn''t know it! Lots of guys I know have proposed to their woman with a Tiffany style solitaire....often not intended as a temp but as a permanent setting. And we see a lot of young men on PS going for this style too.

Ladies -- at the time of your engagement, did your man want to give you a solitaire?

Men -- have you always thought that your proposal would involve a round solitaire? Did you want to propose with a solitaire because you LIKE that style? Or because it''s society''s vision of what an e-ring usually looks like and you didn''t know what else to get?

 

[sumbride]

We picked out my ring together but my FI actually preferred the settings with lots of stones because they were more sparkly. And he didn''t like round diamonds very much. I guess I''m lucky! He preferred the radiant and the cushion to the oval, but I was begging for an oval so he let me "win" that one.

 

[ellaila]

We made the mistake of doing our first looksie at Tiffany''s (just because there''s one in the mall where we were having dinner -- it wasn''t a special trip to T''s) and we both fell in love with the Lucida. From there on, it was squares only for us! (And though I didn''t get a Lucida, I did get the trellis style with princess cut, so I''m happy

)

 

[Miranda]

Yep...DH proposed with a traditional solitaire. His reasoning was that I could pick my own wedding band or new setting. He did want to pick the center stone himself, though. He''s very into surprises...Even if I change it, he''d still rather surprise me first. Silly man!

 

[KimberlyH]

My husband was set on a Tiffany solitaire until I explained the 30% mark up and our ability to by a better, bigger stone for the same amount of money. They he got over it. We picked my ring out together; he had a fear of side stones, thought they might be gaudy (he cracks me up!). He changed his mind when he saw the setting I love on my finger and feels the same way about my 3/4 eternity wedding band, both are very this and delicate though (.36 tcw on the e-ring, .74 tcw on the wband).

 

[SuzyQZ]

My husband is a round brilliant guy all the way. He says they are the most beautiful cut of a diamond and that nothing else can compare or show off a diamonds beauty better.

He tried to talk me into a round diamond for my wedding ring in the worst way, but eventually finally gave into my "square" fantasies as I just wouldn't budge.

He has, with time, come over to the "square" side. Recognizing that this shape has much to offer, albeit in a different way than a round brilliant.

He doesn't like pave, halos or side stones of any kind. He says that the diamond should be the focus, not the setting. He likes clean simple lines for settings.

I have to respectfully disagree as I wouldn't mind a super blingy ring someday. You just can't have too many diamonds in a ring... or can you????

 

[SoonIHope]

My fiance didn''t necessarily want a round solitaire, but he was very insistent that it "look" like an engagement ring. To him, this meant no halos, no split shanks, no three stones. But he liked pave and didn''t care about stone shape, so my micropave with a cushion still looks enough like an engagement ring for him!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

My DH does not like solitares at all. In fact the only diamond shape he likes are EC (step cuts) He thinks other cuts look too busy

I picked out my setting by myself and luckily he really liked it too. He loved the idea of sapphires.

 

[Kismet]

I think my husband went with the round solitaire because it was the safe choice. I actually didn't have any huge input into the ring selection and he didn't think to get me involved because it just never occured to him (i.e. engagement ring shopping is something a man has to do all on his own.) This was 10 years ago and if he was ring shopping today he'd probably do it differently.

 

[Julian]

I was proposed to with a RB solitaire! But it''s what I wanted. Even so, because DH had been around other friends getting engaged -- he told me that I could change the setting if I wanted. But you''re right. Most men like that engagement-y solitaire! It''s so classic. Men like classic, clean lines... kind of like how they like car designs. Sleek clean lines.

But these days, it''s TOTALLY different. DH''s friends got engaged: 2 in the past 6 months. One bought his FI a 3-stone emerald cut ring based on hints. One bought his FI a princess with trillions (she picked it out). Isn''t it great?

 

[anchor31]

As a matter of fact, my FI did want to propose with a solitaire. My first (out of many!

) ideas was a diamond band, and he didn''t quite like the fact that it looked more like a wedding band than an engagement ring. When we found my setting, we thought that it allied his wish for a ring that is more "engagement ring-like" (his words, not mine) and still has the sidestones I like.

 

[poptart]

My DH LOVES the round solitaire... I love it too, but c''mon... there are SO many options. I think it''s that "traditional setting" idea all over again.

*M*

 

[robbie3982]

Fi wanted to give me a solitaire. He actually liked princess a bit better for a while, but I think the whole solitaire thing came from the fact that his 2 older sisters and sister in law all received round solitaires when they got engaged. I wanted a round solitaire because that''s what my mom''s was and that''s what i grew up thinking an engagement ring should look like. I bet my ideas would''ve been different had my mom had a pear or something else.

 

[february2003bride]

DH didn''t care what the center stone was but he did care that it be a solitare (he find halos, split shanks and side stones gaudy

), that the center stone be 1 caratish and no more and that it be colorless, high clarity, at least a very good cut, etc.
My "requirements" were that it be a princess cut, in a platinum setting and sparkly, lol. Clearly he had more demands then I did!!

 

[Fancy605]

My fiance likes RBs--in fact, I think it is the only thing he would consider. He had mentioned a solitaire with surprise diamonds, but I think he is pretty fond of the pave band we ended up with.

He didn''t like any other shape, and he absolutely did NOT like halos.

now, one of my best friends also just got engaged, and her fiance selected a radiant set in a halo with a pave band (1/2 eternity) all by himself. So, I guess there are a few less traditional guys.

 

[Mrs Mitchell]

Is this a guy thing? DH hates halos with a passion, even on earrings and pendants. I love that sparkly halo look. As a compromise, I shop without him!

 

[Christa]

Date: 11/8/2006 3:22:13 PM
Author: Kismet
I think my husband went with the round solitaire because it was the safe choice. I actually didn''t have any huge input into the ring selection and he didn''t think to get me involved because it just never occured to him (i.e. engagement ring shopping is something a man has to do all on his own.) This was 10 years ago and if he was ring shopping today he''d probably do it differently.

I think this is the reason most of the time . . .

 

[reader]

It is a guy thing, my FH hates halos too...until he saw my Ritani in person...he still hated it on the net, hated the stone shape....loves it on my hand now

 

[Julian]

Maybe it is a guy thing! Good idea, reader! I need to show my guy a halo in person. He hates that look while I loooooove it!

 

[qtiekiki]

Well we are quite the opposite. I wanted a solitaire, but DH get a 3-stone with some paves and scallop design on the band. I think his thought was that he wanted to get me as much bling as he can afford, but I am not sure. I had no inputs on the ering.

 

[Blenheim]

From my fiance -- Until we started talking about engagement rings, I always assumed that I''d give my future wife a round solitaire. I just really like them, and it really doesn''t have to do with what society thinks.

From me -- FI wanted to give me a round solitaire, but more than that he wanted me to love whatever I got. He nixed some ideas (halos, anything with lots of diamonds, anything that looked fussy), but that was fine, since I had my eye on A LOT of different things. He did gravitate to things that looked more e-ring like, specifially round, emerald, and asscher solitaires and three-stone rings. And I''m not sure if I completely believe that society didn''t have any play in what he wanted. Part of the reason that he wanted to go with yellow gold is because it''s what his mother and grandmothers have, and he always pictured getting a yellow gold ring for me. (Fortunately, I love it.)

And about seeing things in person? I kept showing him halos on PS and rings with lots of melee and filigree, and he kept saying that he didn''t like them and they look too fussy. Well, we saw this ring in person at Pearlman''s, and he loved it!

Funny, huh?

 

[diamondfan]

When I got engaged at 24, I loved bling but just did not think about the ring much (Headslap, I know). I got a round in a VERY modern yellow gold setting and lived with it for 10 years. I knew that men tended to gravitate toward rounds, they like simplicity and symmetry I guess...and it is so traditional and classic so a guy who is nervous can feel pretty safe with his choice.

I LOVE emerald cuts, and for my first and second upgrades I stuck with those, and platinum too...

 

[basil]

The way my fiance explained it when we were looking is that he really wanted something that looked like an engagement ring - I think he was a little afraid that people wouldn''t realize that I was engaged! I initially started out talking about a colored stone to save money, but he really wanted a round diamond. Without my input, he would have gone for yellow gold, too, because when he was a kid he thought platinum was silver, and therefore cheap. I''ve never liked yellow gold, but his wedding band will be yellow gold

 

[codex57]

Date: 11/8/2006 2:23:42 PM
Author:KristyDarling
Men -- have you always thought that your proposal would involve a round solitaire? Did you want to propose with a solitaire because you LIKE that style? Or because it's society's vision of what an e-ring usually looks like and you didn't know what else to get?

I've got no idea if I picked round cuz I liked it or that's what I thought society expected. I knew my wife wouldn't object to the shape. I'm all about the solitaire tho. My mom's got sidestones on her ring. I don't like it. Think it distracts from the main diamond.

I had never actually seen a Tiffany's solitaire prior to looking for the e-ring. But, once I saw it, I knew that's basically what I wanted to get for her. She likes plain and traditional stuff anyways so it all worked out. If she did like fancier shapes and styles, my initial reaction would still have been to start with a solitaire and then expand my search.

You can pick our psyches' as much as you want, but I dunno if you'll get great answers. Most of the time, we're not sure why we do/want/think things.

 

[ljmorgan]

My fiance definitely gravitated to round stones when we were ring shopping. But then, so did I. However his absolute favorite style was a round solitaire but with a shared prong eternity setting -- great taste! That is what I am wearing now

 

[Rosebud8506]

When we first started looking, I was leaning towards a princess cut. He sort of *talked* me out of it, and told me that the RB would be more fitting on my hand and sparkly. Plus everyone here where I am from gets engaged with a princess cut - he wanted something more classic and unique for me.

I started looking for RB and really fell in love with the cut. I wasn''t sure exactly what kind of setting I wanted, so I asked just for a solitaire. He was all about baguettes on the side, but I wasn''t a fan of it.

I was proposed to with the solitaire and later on we changed the setting to the shared prong it is now - I love it

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