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Need help buying an engagement ring on a budget

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lcuellar75

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Hello, I am brand new on this site and I feel very lucky to have found such a knowledgeable group of people. I imagine that the regulars on this site must see a lot of posts from rookies like me in search of enlightenment, so please forgive me if I am asking something too basic.

I want to propose to my girlfriend and I feel that she deserves so much. Unfortunately I am a student, and finding a place to live and paying for the wedding reception is going to take up most of my budget. I have set aside $1,200 for the engagement ring and I have spent a lot of time looking at different websites. Blue Nile has some nice rings within my price range, but after reading some of the threads on this website I''m not sure if I can rely on BN. Shane Co. also seemed like a good option because of their lifetime cleaning/repair/resizing policies. I am also concerned about the size of the diamond. My girlfriend would like a round cut diamond and I know that she would like a simple setting. However, I cannot afford much more than a .4 carat diamond with decent cut, color, and clarity, and I don''t know if that is too small. On some websites I am afraid that the setting I choose will look silly with a smaller diamond in it. Any advice would really be helpful, this is becoming pretty overwhelming. Thanks!
 

Rhea

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.4 is not too small! It will look smaller on a larger finger. You can go down pretty far in colour and clarity and not notice it, especially in that size. At the even carats there''s a bit of a price jump so it might be worth to look right under that.

That said, .50, H, SI1, round H&A for $938 at JA, with simple 4 prong 18K White gold setting for $275. Something like that would total out to be $13 over budget. I''m not the best at picking out stones so hopefully someone else will come along.

Things to consider, if you ever want to upgrade then Good Old Gold and White Flash have really good upgrade policies (JA has one, just not as good), cut is the most important factor, and it might be cheaper to find a diamond and setting at the same place rather than shipping everything around.

There''s a thread on here for diamond under 1 carat and there are some very beautiful rings, mine included, pictured on there. Looking through it might help to give you ideas on how an under 1/2 carat in a plain setting might look.
 

Rhea

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Here is the under 1 carat thread. It''s really long, 31 pages, but worth a stroll through!
 

lcuellar75

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Thanks Addy! Looking at those beautiful rings really put the .4-.5 size in perspective for me. I was also looking at the JA website you mentioned and they have some really great stuff!
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atroop711

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I would check with Whiteflash. You can look into the .50 cts. I got a 1.8 ct stone that is an H (color) and an SI2 and is eye clean. You cannot see the inclusions. I didn''t mind not getting a perfect color and clarity since to the naked eye..it''s white and very clean. If you want to give the stone a larger look, you may look into halo settings (not sure if she likes that) but it will make any stone seem larger. I agree with Addy about going with a vendor that has a trade up policy!!!! GL and I''m sure she will love anything you give her.
 

motownmama

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Persoanlly I'd contact Whiteflash and have them help maximize your dollars; plus if you ever wanted to upgrade you'd be OK.
Put most of you $ into the stone and choose a simple setting. Do you know you can search for stones at the top of the page? And, you can get a discount as a Pricescope member - look there to get an idea, but speak to the actual vendor to guide you.
 

AprilBaby

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I started out in your situation 30 years ago and eventually took my .38 diamond and made it a sidestone in a 3 stone ring for my 25th anniversary. Still keeps the sentiment and upgrades later!
 

lcuellar75

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Thank you to everyone! April Baby, that is a great idea that I hadn''t thought of. I knew that trading up was always an option but it seemed to take away from the original thought that went into the first ring. You solved that problem by keeping the original sentiment and building upon it! Thank you.
 

tlh

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You might also want to run by Rocky Talk.. they could really help you out there.
Especially when you have a couple different stones in mind.

Good luck, I always like the men that post, and are on their great treasure hunt! You've found the lady, that is the hardest part... now just the confusing ring business!!!
35.gif
 

musey

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lcuellar, if you are not set on a specific setting or style that you're finding at these jewelers, you might consider an antique/vintage ring.
With a limited budget this can be a really great option. That's what I would personally do
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Of course,
that is dependent on you (and your girlfriend, for that matter) liking the styles available to you in that genre of ring.

I posted a little while ago in this thread about how important the overall design (balance of setting + shape/size of center stone) is, especially in the under 1 carat range. The "presence" of the same size stone can be totally different depending on what you set it in. This is with princess cuts, so I don't know whether that's directly useful to you, but just for argument's sake:

princesssettingcomparison.jpg




I think that whole thread could be of great use to you. Here it is again:

Best bang for buck- 1k for a ring
 

Cachette

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Date: 2/2/2009 2:10:34 AM
Author:lcuellar75
Hello, I am brand new on this site and I feel very lucky to have found such a knowledgeable group of people. I imagine that the regulars on this site must see a lot of posts from rookies like me in search of enlightenment, so please forgive me if I am asking something too basic.

I want to propose to my girlfriend and I feel that she deserves so much. Unfortunately I am a student, and finding a place to live and paying for the wedding reception is going to take up most of my budget. I have set aside $1,200 for the engagement ring and I have spent a lot of time looking at different websites. Blue Nile has some nice rings within my price range, but after reading some of the threads on this website I''m not sure if I can rely on BN. Shane Co. also seemed like a good option because of their lifetime cleaning/repair/resizing policies. I am also concerned about the size of the diamond. My girlfriend would like a round cut diamond and I know that she would like a simple setting. However, I cannot afford much more than a .4 carat diamond with decent cut, color, and clarity, and I don''t know if that is too small. On some websites I am afraid that the setting I choose will look silly with a smaller diamond in it. Any advice would really be helpful, this is becoming pretty overwhelming. Thanks!
That`s so sweet!

Just to let you know that my DH proposed with a .29 carat in a very plain solitaire and we were both students. 10 years later he upgraded that to a little over a .40 carat - the range you are looking at for your first ER. Not everyone starts big.
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Your budget is just fine and there is no correlation between the size of the diamond and the love you have for your girlfriend. Just keep that in mind. ;-)

But if I were you, I`d go somewhere that has an upgrade policy because you won`t be a starving student forever and you may want to upgrade later.

Good luck!

*´¨)
¸.• ´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•''Cachette
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