Need some help with engagement ring

[MMTFC]

Ok... my girlfriend is a Tiffany''s lover, big surprise huh... her sisters buy things from their on occasion so I know how much she would love the engagement ring to come from there. I want to keep it a surpris. I rather not go looking together so I am doing every thingh I can to find out what she likes. I "planted" a few catalogues which she immediately began reading and looking through and I casually looked on with her while "watching" football.

Anyways, I know shes not a diamond solitare fan and she only likes silver metals like platnium, white gold etc. She likes the 3 diamond settings and Tiffany''s has one such setting. So I contacted them and the setting would be on a platnium band with 2 .34 carat and one .71 carrat, all three color E and VS1.

Now, I feel bad about that b/c I wanted to try and giver her something that was more like 1 carat in the center at least and maybe .6 on the sides but I know little about them so although i say thats what i want, I can''t actually visualize that. Her hands are small width wise and she has long slender fingers... so I want something that is beautiful but not dominating.

The ring mentioned above would run me $12,380.

While waiting for tiffany''s to call me back, I found somethign very nice in my internet travels...

Now, this setting has diamonds weighing .8 carats total on a platnium band with the thickness and style i know she likes... the center diamond would be my choice. Now the Tiffany''s person said a one carat dimond would be really big on her hand... but she has never seen her hand and I know nothing about rings so as you can see I still have detective work to do... we joke around a lot and so I am thinking we''ll go into a jewlry store and i''ll ket her be goofy and try on a bunch of stuff as a joke... as of right now she thinks nothign would even possibly happen until the end of the summer so I have the upperhand there and thus my little plan wont spark any suspician.

Anyways, I was going to do a 1 carat in the center there with a VVS2, color F which would run me about $7,500 from what i see, plus $1,600 for the ring itself that has the .8 carat with G-H color and VS1-VS2 on average for the diamonds on the side.

It looks nice I think... so if any of the ladies could plz plz tell me what they think. I obviously need to see what the center diamond would look best on her and the $12,380 Tiffany price tag isn''t scaring me b/c I like the idea that they match the 3 diamonds perfectly and you know the quality is second to none, but I really like the setting in the picture above but putting it together like that makes it seem sort of "not as good". I am not trying to offend anyone. I am sure eitehr way would be beautiful... basically i want Tiffany''s quality with that above setting and i am wondering what should i do... the Tiffany''s ring is definitly beautiful but if teh above was made by Tiffany''s, my girlfriend would definitly like it more than the current Tiffany''s 3 stone setting.

Worst thing is she acts like anything would be fine but I know she wants Tiffany''s but is probably afraid to ask for something that expensive since I am still in medical school. I am torn on what to do. I said $10,000 ballpark is what I want but after learning more about Tiffany''s the extra $2000 or so doesn''t bother me.

That was long winded... thanks for reading and any advice you may have!

Kevin

 

[mini]

Hello Kevin

Welcome to the forum

I think your heart is set on the Tiffany ring because it seems like she would cherish it. You could find out if Tiffany offers upgrades on their diamonds and consider doing that in the future. Have you seen the ring in person? That may help you decide if the size is substantial enough without being dominating. You really have to go with your instinct.

I wish you the best!

Candace
www.abazias.com

 

[valeria101]

Tiffany does have other tyes of engagement rings, some with small diamonds pavé (solitaires with round and square diamonds channel set along the band, listed among 'other styles' under Site Index/Jewelry Expertize/The Tiffany Ring). These styles might not be available in every Tiffany store, but a check on their website and call to the main customer service number will clear that out.

It would be hard to get the same level of craftmanship and detail in a custom made ring, even if not impossible. Ready-made settings will probably not come close to Tiffany's upon close inspection (and your girl shoud be an expert in that, if her friends get things from this source). If you want a non-tiffant of simmilar quality, you should have it custom made with a top jeweler, ideally someone specailizing in expensive stones (which get more respect too). Check WWW for example and maybe drop them a line for a quote (I guess what you want is a channel set band for the 3 stone ring). Matching the diamonds like Tiff does, should not be such a challenge after all.

Conclusion? Tiffany does charge for the name, but also maintains high standards. Matching their quality (especially for the setting) is something to be considered carefully. Matching their selection of diamonds is however, straightforward.

 

[juicy]

Here's a setting from Scott Kay (scottkay.com) that is very similar to the Tiffany setting you are looking for. Scott Kay rings are very high quality and are advertised in all the bridal magazines. It comes in 2 sizes. The smaller setting, .42ct sides looks awesome with a .75ct round center stone. The side stones are F-G, VS2 or better. For the center stone, you may consider a super ideal cut heart and arrows type stone. This type of stone would rival or exceed the performace and quality of a Tiffany stone. Check out www.GoodOldGold.com and www.superbcerts.com. The diamaond education course at Gold Old Gold is worth the visit. In summary, this option provides a quality, high profile designer setting with a diamond that perform better than a tiffany stone and save $6,000-$7,000. You could spend another $3k and go with a 1.0ct. Anyhow, just my two sense on the matter. Best regards.