Mixing cuts: what would you do?

[AprilBaby]

My BFF works for a small local jeweler. I recently took my 3 stone ering in for cleaning and a new appraisal as I was going to change insurance companies. On inspection she saw that one of my .38 side stones was chipped. My center is a GIA 1.21 H si1. It is a traditional RB purchased before PS. It scores 1.8 on the HCA. Luckily I had a good eye. My sides are .37/.38 G Si1, uncerted. They were originally earrings. So here is the choice: State Farm is giving me way more than I think the .38 is worth. My BFF can get me the new stone, uncerted to match. I didn't care about the side stone before and I can use the extra $$ for some bills. The other choice, for the amt I got plus a few hundred I can get two ACA side stones from WF. Would the ACA make my center stone look like it didn't belong?

 

[tyty333]

Hmmm, that's a tough call! The logical side of me says pay down the bills but the other part of me says
You'll never have this opportunity to get some nice ACAs for a couple hundred bucks.

I'm going with option 2...the ACAs. Im assuming that your middle stone is cut fairly well (1. so
I would hope the new stones would not outshine your Center stone.

 

[SB621]

I would go with option 1 because I think bling should come after- and only after- all debt is paid off (minus mortgage, cars etc)

 

[yennyfire]

I would go with option 1 because I think bling should come after- and only after- all debt is paid off (minus mortgage, cars etc)

I agree with SB...

 

[Aerix]

Personally, I would go with option 1. I've had to make a similar decision before. I had an ags0 diamond that I had set in a second-hand 3-stone mount with uncerted 0.25ct sides. I always wanted to upgrade them to matching ideal cut stones from BGD or GoG, but I ended up selling the ring in the end. One of the stones was more yellow than the other and it always bugged me, but I think if I'd just had a couple of matching white sidestones, I probably would've been happy with it.

Now, I have a 0.60ct stone from my late grandmother's e-ring and I also have a pair of 0.48cttw studs from BGD. I've toyed around with the idea of unsetting the studs and turning them into a 3 stone ring with my grandmother's diamond, but I think the difference in cut would bother me, and not to mention, I feel that the sidestones just become accent stones... That said, I'd opt for option 1 and use the money to pay some bills.

 

[kenny]

Difference of cut is more noticeable when all of the diamonds can be simultaneously viewed head-on.

This is possible only with the ring design on the left.

If your ring design is like the right one, then non matching well-cut rounds may be fine.