New diamond ring idea for wife - Looking for input

[E Street Shuffle]

Hey everyone. I just found this board in the last couple days and I am very impressed. I think its about the most practical board I''ve ever seen on the ''net.

My wife and I have been together for about ten years. Like most starving college grads, I bought her what I could afford for her e-ring. .45 carat, princess cut, H color, S1 stone. Mounted in a 4 prong ring. Nothing special. Had to have it re-set a few years back and the jeweler said there were a couple blemishes, but generally a good rock. We''re doing a little better now and I want to spend around $5k for something she deserves. I also want to try and use the existing stone in some way. Any suggestions? Is it a feasible idea, or will I be better off just mounting it in a pendant or something for her? I''m leaning more toward a B & M retailer since I''ll be using them for mounting and the relationship-type favors that go along with spending money at their store. Not ruling out using the internet, especially as a negotiating tool. But I''m thinking I can get a pretty nice quality stone just under a carat for that money. I''m very willing to choose quality over size since she has fairly small hands. Big rings look almost gaudy on her. I''ve rambled long enough. Any help or ideas you might have is greatly appreciated.

 

[niceice]

Sounds like a cool concept, but do yourself a favor and spend some time becoming familiar with the best combination of proportions for the shape of diamond that you are considering and run some searches on the PS database to get an idea of how far your money might go with an internet dealer... While there are "a few" B&M retailers who work on a reasonable mark-up, the reality is that most of them are doubling and tripling the cost of their inventory whereas most of the internet dealers are working on a few percentage points... So while you might like the "perks" of buying from a traditonal retail store, you will probalby find that your $5K goes a lot further with an internet dealer... Some of us are both which proves that you can have your cake and eat it too

 

[Giangi]

Hi ESS,

Got some time to spare and did a liiiiiiiiiiiittle research just for you:

I know you'd like to buy locally, but check out these prices and stones! It doesn't get much better than this! Am I tempting ya?

ROUNDS:

Dirtcheapdiamonds.com
1536414 0.90 F VS2 GIA $4,666 61.3 57 VG VG Faint 6.21x6.25x3.82

1706008 0.92 D VS2 GIA $4,802 62 58 VG VG Faint 6.26x6.29x3.89

1201755 0.94 E VS2 GIA $5,072 61.6 57 VG VG Faint 6.34x 6.28x3.89

1678637 0.95 F VS2 GIA $5,106 60 56 EX EX None

1684612 0.92 E VS1 AGS $5,115 60.8 57 ID ID None 6.28x 6.23x 3.81

1198153 0.94 F VS1 GIA $5,123 62 55 EX VG None 6.30x6.32x3.91

1557563 0.91 E VVS2 GIA $5,476 59.9 58 VG VG None 6.34x6.31x3.79

1639951 0.91 D VS1 GIA $5,485 61.1 56 VG EX None 6.27x6.23x3.82

1678634 0.90 F VVS1 GIA $5,837 61 56 EX EX None

1610726 1.03 F SI1 GIA $4,856 60.5 55 EX EX None 6.57x6.55x3.97

1621905 1.01 F SI1 GIA $4,888 62 58 VG VG None 6.40x6.47x3.99

1612229 1.05 F SI1 GIA $4,899 61 58 EX EX None 6.61x6.57x4.02

1610723 1.02 E SI1 GIA $5,031 61 57 EX EX None 6.51x6.48x3.96

1707101 1.05 E SI1 GIA $5,059 60.5 58 VG VG
None 6.58x6.61x3.99

1665019 1.02 F SI1 GIA $5,070 60.6 58 VG VG None 6.48x6.52x3.94

1700144 1.00 D SI1 GIA $5,115 59.2 57 EX VG None 6.54x6.61x3.89

1709053 1.10 F SI1 GIA $5,132 62 58 EX EX None 6.66x6.63x4.12

1536379 1.01 D SI1 GIA $5,153 61.4 57 VG VG None 6.46x6.43x3.96

1634424 1.08 E SI1 GIA $5,157 61.8 57 VG VG
None 6.62x6.59x4.08

1709055 1.13 F SI1 GIA $5,272 60.1 58 EX EX
None 6.84x6.80x4.10

1708546 1.00 F SI1 GIA $5,407 60.7 57 EX EX None 6.48x6.51x3.94

PRINCESSES:

546451 1.09 E VS2 GIA $4,456 74 67 GD GD Faint 6.11x5.30x3.92

1634448 1.00 E VS2 GIA $3,903 74.5 71 EX GD Faint 5.39x5.29x3.94

1707138 1.00 E VS2 GIA $4,251 74.5 71 VG GD None 5.84x5.09x3.79

1719609 1.20 F VS1 GIA $4,749 67.2 69 VG GD None 6.20x6.00x4.03

1701218 1.14 F VS1 GIA $5,081 74 67 GD GD None 5.92x5.69x4.21

1036552 1.07 F VVS2 GIA $5,231 73.2 72 VG GD None 5.72x5.53x4.05

1653192 1.01 D VS2 GIA $5,312 71.9 72 GD GD None 5.57x5.45x3.92

1716659 1.23 F VS2 GIA $5,316 69.7 70 GD GD None 6.05x5.75x4.01

1701164 1.02 E VVS1 GIA $5,336 71 70 VG GD None 5.69x5.55x3.94

1611264 1.13 E VS1 GIA $5,355 73.9 72 VG GD None 5.75x5.64x4.17

1537572 1.06 F VVS2 GIA $5,422 72.8 72 GD GD None 5.89 x 5.56 x 4.05

1568541 1.04 D VS2 GIA $5,469 73.7 69 GD GD None 5.63x5.58x4.11

1277762 1.04 F VVS2 GIA $5,515 72 66 VG GD None 6.02x5.46x3.93

----

On SuperbCert.com:

Product: 1717

VertCert: 1313308

Price: $5,586.00

Cut: Super Ideal

Color: D

Clarity: SI1

Carat Weight: 0.95

On whiteflash.com --A Cut Above superideal h+a
Shape A Cut Above H&A
Carat 0.92
Color G
Clarity SI1
Measurements (mm) 6.23-6.25 x 3.85

On niceice.com
H&A:B 1.06 SI-2 F FT EX EX ID GIA $5,430.00 $5,245.00 In House 60.4 56 34.3 15.3 40.9 43.3 M-F N 6.64 - 6.67 x 4.02

I hope you don't get me wrong... I had a lot of fun while I researched!!

 

[Giangi]

Oh my God--I didn't realise they were sooooo many!

As for the setting, I'd go for a beautiful tension ring and use the princess for a pendant... Or make a little 3-stone ring using two sapphires as sides!