Need advice on Tacori and Diamond specs

[swimman9]

*Skip the first paragraph if you don''t want to read my rambling background

I should start off saying that my girlfriend and I started looking at rings this last summer. We went to Jared because I had bought a blue topaz ring from them over a year ago and I had a great experience. While we were there she decided she liked a three stone ring with channel set princess stones on the band. About 6 months later we went back, this time just to look because i had found PS between the visits and decided there were better places to go (Thank You Everyone!) and she then changed her mind and said she liked more of a solitaire ring. After that I found this. As of last night she is back to the three stone style.

So I have now found this beautiful Tacori setting. Now for the questions!
First off she is just getting ready to go to Physical Therapy school so she wants a "low profile" ring since she will be working with her hands for her career. Does anyone happen to know if Tacori rings stick up more than normal? Also I am not set on a designer name and I would actually prefer not to go designer considering my rather low budget so I was wondering is anyone knows of anything similar that may be a bit cheaper? She really wants something with the three stone look but small side stones since we are considering around a 0.75 center stone, which leads me to my diamond questions.

First off the obvious question is will a 0.75 ct center stone look too small in a three stone setting? As far a color and clarity go, I was wondering if going to an I SI1 would be to much of a downgrade in quality if I stay with a AGS ideal cut? My eyes are pretty sensitive to color so I would like to stay higher on that, but I will not be wearing the ring and I want to get her the overall look of the ring she wants.

Thank you in advance and i apologize for the long post but I feel like I am drinking out of a fire hose with all the knowledge on PS and i will be thankful for any help trying to sort through it all.

 

[dageman]

If she likes the Tacori style they can make the ring custom. Go to a Tacori retailer and discuss. Most semi-mounts come in "large" and"small" versions. (i.e. one for a 1.5-2ct centre and one for a 0.75-1ct centre) and they adjust the proportions (and price) accordingly.

They can also change the heads to make it sit lower, or just keep the same head and modify it so the stone sits lower than "stock". Check out my thread about Tacori Emerald 3stone with pave in the "Show me the Ring" forum. I had the centre diamond set 0.75-1mm lower than it was on the "stock" setting, because my GF is a dental hygenist and works with her hands all day as well. In general a lot of the Tacoris are set higher up than other brands.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

The great thing about Tacoris is they are made to order so you can make changes to the design like dageman mentioned. I think I/SI are a great way to get a larger diamond in your budget (as long as it is eye clean). There are some beautiful diamonds with those specs on here.

 

[Independent Gal]

Also, I noticed you can get Tacori settings at huge discounts on overstock.com