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My sister's getting engaged! Help her BF find the perfect ring please!

M

misa1214

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jan 29, 2015
Messages
19
Hi All,
My sister's boyfriend wants to propose and he asked me to help him find the perfect ring! I was hoping to ask you all for help with finding the best options given her likes and his budget. I've been a long time lurker, and because of this forum I have a beautiful ER that I love and I want to make sure she has the same!

Budget:6-10K
Setting: Cathedral 4 prong with 2-3 pointer side stones for 3/4 eternity. She doesn't like micropave. Though pointer size would ultimately depend on the centerstone because she doesn't want the setting to over power the center stone.

She really loves HalfMoon5291 style ring
90248.jpg


Diamond: she prefers over 1.25 ct and eyeclean
Color: She's willing to sacrifice color for size. I have a K 1.2 super ideal and she said she would like it to be whiter. So i'm thinking I color would be the lowest. She might be willing to go J/K if that means it's a substantial size difference.

Thanks in advance for all your help, it's very much appreciated!
M.
 
Congratulations! Does the budget include the setting or is it for the stone alone?
 
Hi! It's the total budget for setting and stone.
 
What a lovely sister!

Setttings:
https://www.whiteflash.com/engageme...en-cathedral-diamond-engagement-ring-1539.htm
https://www.whiteflash.com/engageme...shared-prong-diamond-engagement-ring-4495.htm

I'd be inclined to ask WF to pull these three and give their thoughts. But, do put that 1.218 on hold as it a great budget option and they can move (aka sell) quickly.
1.243 I VS1 https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-4061061.htm {pushes budget depending on final setting)
1.214 H SI1 https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-4065511.htm
1.218 I SI1 https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3872128.htm**budget friendly!

Thread on inspiration ring. High cathedral, 4-prong, shared prong.
https://www.pricescope.com/communit...e-with-shared-prong-pave.229326/#post-4247670
 
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Thank you so much for the recommendations! I'm showing them to him and so far he loves what he's seeing from online vendors but it seems that he's using what i'm showing him as "ideas" for when he goes to a BM store to purchase. UGH!!!! I'm trying to convince him that buying from PS trusted vendors and buying ACA, HPD, etc... is the way to go but how can I convince him??? I really don't want my sister to get a sub-par ring.

He's listening to his "buddies" and their 2 cents; but, she's my sister and I know what she wants. My sis has seen my diamond and loves it. That thing never stops sparkling. I just want the same for her =(.

I will keep trying. Hopefully I can keep him on the right track! Thank you again for the suggestions. I'll keep posting as things progress.
 
I think you just need to be honest and tell him that your sister wants what you have, anything less, and she’ll be very disappointed, and he just won’t get that at a B&M store.
 
What @Austina said. It will be very unfortunately if he doesn’t listen to you.

Sometimes, the ring purchaser might be a bit shy to talk to family about the ring purchase if they are hoping to save money on a “deal” their friends told them about. However, there are gorgeous diamonds and rings to be found at all budgets.

If he insists on B&M, at east try to convince him to go with him in store.
 
SimoneDi said:
A fellow PSer is selling a beautiful ring which has a very similar style to what your sister is looking for. If pre-loved is an option, here it is:https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/feelers-for-1-4-g-vs1-ring.245595/
Click to expand...

I like this ring. 1.4ct G VS1

She's asking $9,000 OBO for setting & stone, which means there's a little wiggle room in their to negotiate. That would be above size, color and clarity requirements and less than max budget. It is a size 5 so a few additional dollars might have to be spent getting it re-sized but that's chump change.

Proportions are within ideal criteria: 55 table, 61.7 depth, 34 crown & 40.8 pavilion

Technically not super ideal, but it has a nice ASET.


misa1214 said:
Thank you so much for the recommendations! I'm showing them to him and so far he loves what he's seeing from online vendors but it seems that he's using what i'm showing him as "ideas" for when he goes to a BM store to purchase. UGH!!!! I'm trying to convince him that buying from PS trusted vendors and buying ACA, HPD, etc... is the way to go but how can I convince him??? I really don't want my sister to get a sub-par ring.

He's listening to his "buddies" and their 2 cents; but, she's my sister and I know what she wants. My sis has seen my diamond and loves it. That thing never stops sparkling. I just want the same for her =(.

I will keep trying. Hopefully I can keep him on the right track! Thank you again for the suggestions. I'll keep posting as things progress.
Click to expand...

You need to meet him for lunch or something and be point blank. Don't leave anything for interpretation. As guys, we are stupid. We don't take hints well. If you want a red pen, just say you want a red pen. Don't say you don't want a black or blue pen. We might buy you a purple pen since you didn't say you didn't like purple.

I wish you luck as I just went through something similar with a buddy of mine. Just happened to be in town and dropped the fiancee off to run some errands with her bridesmaids. Called this buddy and met at a local tavern to drink some lunch.
beer.gif


A few other buddies join us. He breaks the news he's proposing and is buying a ring that day. We're all excited for him and ask what kind of ring. He has no idea, and starts off with some mall ad. Some other buddies are just as clueless and like yeah, that looks awesome.

facepalm.gif


I'm trying to talk sense into him. Think we have a game plan together. After one more round we are heading out shopping (as he refuses to buy online). About this time I get a text from my fiancee she is done and needs me to pick her up. Apparently a few hours had passed since we started. I'm hesitant to leave but my hands are tied. Last thing I tell him is do NOT buy anything until I get back!

I go pick the fiancee up and tell her we are going to met up with my buddy and we will likely be going to multiple jewelers so I can help him find something at least decent. She's fine with it. Before I can make it back my phone buzzes. My buddy texts me a pic of the ring he just bought.

jaw-drop.gif
jaw-drop.gif
jaw-drop.gif


<enter expletive>!!!! Fiancee nearly jumps out of her skin and asks what is wrong. I show her the phone. She giggles and says I guess we aren't going diamond shopping today.

I have her text my buddy back WTF he was thinking. He ignores that and asks if he did good and tells me the price he paid. He has no idea color, clarity, etc. It's an emerald cut with halo which is nothing like we discussed -- it just "spoke" to him. Okay, diamond whisperer, if you're happy I'm happy I guess. :lol:

Bonus points for me -- his stupidity helped my fiancee reaffirm how lucky she was to have me, so I guess it all worked out in the end.
 
Thank you all for the advice. He's slowly coming around. He came across this Brian Gavin setting and really loves it.

https://www.briangavindiamonds.com/...e-stones/dream-half-eternity-truth-head-5498a

He is really considering getting the setting but with 3 pointers instead of 5. Diamond-wise he's set on a 1.5ct and thinks 3 pointers would look more balanced? What do you think? Will have to increase budget though.

He's still wary of getting an online whiteflash ACA. I've tried everything but being totally direct like how Austina mentioned. I think i'm gonna have to try that. I figure if he's amenable to buying a setting online maybe I can get him to buy the diamond?

It's hard because I live in Scotland and I'm only in the States for the holidays. I return this week so I hope I can be as helpful from far away.

Frustrated but hopeful!
 
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FYI, if he decides to take a closer look at that BGD J VS1 that @SimoneDi posted, be sure to have him request the hearts image from Lesley. It will come in a blue color and she will email it. While they are happy to send the hearts images that way, BGD does not post hearts images for the Blue series on their website.

That particular stone has strong blue in it which may help increase the whiteness of the stone a little more. I'd also ask Lesley to pull both the I and J stones and compare them against each other in terms of color and cut. The J is only 0.10mm smaller which won't be noticeable to the naked eye. Assuming color, etc check out that's a good way to save $3k on the price.

Lastly I do think smaller stones on the setting might compliment the ring better. Maybe BGD has some pictures of various melee sizes with a 1.25-1.50ct center stone they can share? I'm a big fan of pave complimenting the center stone but not competing. That may be what he is worried about.
 
+1 what Sledge said. Guys are generally that dense. My cousin came to me asking about purchasing an ER only after he had ordered one from a B&M store. I told him he should cancel that order and we can get a better diamond and setting for cheaper. He didn't and bought it anyways.
 
Good news! After a long talk, he's on board with ACA's! Thank you all with the suggestions on how to handle all this.

I've been emailing with him and whiteflash, brian gavin, etc... and he's impressed by the level of attentiveness and ease which he hasn't received at BM stores. Also, after talking to him and showing him there's more to diamonds than the 4'Cs, he became unsure that he would be able to go back to BM stores and determine which diamonds performed better than others. He now figures that ACA's take the guesswork out of it and make it less stressful.

Thanks SimoneDi. He LOVES that setting but is looking for 3 pointers.
https://www.briangavindiamonds.com/...dream-half-eternity-truth-head-platinum-5498p

We emailed Brian Gavin and they said they can make it with 3pt. Whiteflash has said they can make the ring as well and I've also heard back from David Klass. Now he doesn't know who to go with. Any suggestions? I'll post the question in a different thread too.

Regarding the stone, he really wants to go bigger and he's reserved a 1.55 K VS1
https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-4052019.htm

Both him and my sis are not color sensitive. Face up they both can't tell the difference between an H or K color so I think this is a good option to remain within budget. What do you think?
 
If a large diamond is what they want, then sure, go for the 1.5 K. Didn’t you say before that your sis can see the warmth in your K? As long as she is ok with it, then that’s all that matters.

I also really like the smaller 1.218 J blue, but it will be smaller. She will also be able to upgrade easier throigh WF of the color bothers her eventually.

I would ask for low color melee in the setting i/j to reduce the contrast between the stone and the setting melee.
 
Yes, she saw warmth next to a D. She said she prefers size over color.
I asked her hypothetically if she had to choose between a 1ct G, 1.25ct I or a 1.5ct K for the same price, she said would rather have the K.
 
misa1214 said:
Yes, she saw warmth next to a D. She said she prefers size over color.
I asked her hypothetically if she had to choose between a 1ct G, 1.25ct I or a 1.5ct K for the same price, she said would rather have the K.
Click to expand...
Oh great, then you have your answer!
 
misa1214 said:
Thank you all for the advice. He's slowly coming around. He came across this Brian Gavin setting and really loves it.

https://www.briangavindiamonds.com/...e-stones/dream-half-eternity-truth-head-5498a

He is really considering getting the setting but with 3 pointers instead of 5. Diamond-wise he's set on a 1.5ct and thinks 3 pointers would look more balanced? What do you think? Will have to increase budget though.

He's still wary of getting an online whiteflash ACA. I've tried everything but being totally direct like how Austina mentioned. I think i'm gonna have to try that. I figure if he's amenable to buying a setting online maybe I can get him to buy the diamond?

It's hard because I live in Scotland and I'm only in the States for the holidays. I return this week so I hope I can be as helpful from far away.

Frustrated but hopeful!
Click to expand...
You’re doing a great job, what a fab sister! :wavey: from a fellow Scot, not many of us here!
 
If he wants the ease of buying the diamond and setting from the same vendor there are options also at WF which he make like as they are similar to the BG one posted.

For instance:

https://www.whiteflash.com/engageme...diamond-shared-prong-engagement-ring-4278.htm

https://www.whiteflash.com/engageme...tani-1rz2498-diamond-engagement-ring-3922.htm
https://www.whiteflash.com/engageme...en-cathedral-diamond-engagement-ring-1539.htm


These are also cheaper than the BG setting so may help increase the size of the centre diamond a bit as it seems she definitely likes size.


Maybe this one also if using one of the cheaper settings:

https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-4066991.htm

Although the one he has reserved is a similar size!
 
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