New Lady in Waiting, Hoping to be part of the group!

[lmcriss]

Hi ladies! I'm hoping to join your thread! I'm still relatively new to PriceScope, but OH! WHERE HAS IT BEEN ALL MY LIFE!! Anyway... I've been a lady in waiting for about two years (literally since our second date) but at the end of January, we found the perfect Montana sapphire. I had to step in and save him from a terrible mistake in purchasing another sapphire that I unfortunately didn't like. Some of you may have seen my Gem Student's Corundum Conundrum on the Colored Stones page. We purchased my beautiful sapphire from Dana Reynolds of Master Cut Gems Therefore, I've been "officially waiting" for a bit over a month. I have my fingers crossed that he'll go talk to my boss at the jewelry store I work part time in. Besides being a spectacularly talented jeweler and artist, she would give us a pretty great discount and I'd love to have something of hers to wear when I'm talking to customers. I've been not so discreetly nudging him in that direction. I think he's been more receptive to the idea since I am rather hard to buy jewelry for, and the options online aren't really "right". Plus, who better to have help him (since my family is on the other side of the country) than someone who not only knows me, but knows my taste and education as well. However, He let me have my say with the stone and now I have to wait (hopefully not too long!) to see what he decides to do with my ring! When I get home tonight, I'll post a couple of pictures of my stone if anyone's interested in seeing it

 

[Ariadne_Theia]

Welcome! Definitely post pics of your stone! We all love bling pics here. Can't get enough of them. I am another new LIW, hopefully time will pass quickly for us.

 

[lmcriss]

Thank you!!! Tell me your story! there isn't very much new activity on here and I don't know about you, but I feel weird replying a random comment to some of the more established posts out of the blue!!! What's your intended like? How'd you meet? What kind of ring are you wanting???

 

[Ariadne_Theia]

I agree, it's awkward to just start posting in new group.

Hi, I'm Ariadne. I met my boyfriend in high school. We've been dating for over 8 years. I've been ready to get married for much longer than he has. He's (finally) ready to move forward so with all luck, we will be engaged at the end of the year. -fingers crossed- We have a setting from my grandmother that held a sapphire that my sister reset for her engagement ring that we plan on using for my engagement ring. We plan on sticking an oec in there. My bf wants to save up the diamond money on his own so he is doing that right now while I keep busy by stalking pricescope and JBG and LAD.

I would love to hear you and your partner's backstory.

 

[elizabethess]

Hey! Hi to both of you! Always fun to read people's "how we met" stories, talk about dream settings, etc. Glad to see you posting!

 

[lmcriss]

I agree, it's awkward to just start posting in new group.

We plan on sticking an oec in there. My bf wants to save up the diamond money on his own so he is doing that right now while I keep busy by stalking pricescope and JBG and LAD.

I would love to hear you and your partner's backstory.

Hi Ariadne! It's so great to meet you, I'm Leah

A couple of questions for you What's "oec"? I'm not familiar with that particular abbreviation... and are JBG and LAD other forums?? I'm always interested to learn more and gain more resources!

You and your boyfriend's story sounds so great! You're a way more patient woman than I am, but I'm sure that if my boyfriend and I would have met in high school we would have never been together. Timing is a wonderful thing

We met online. OkCupid to be exact . I was living in a pretty little town in Montana and he lived in a suburb of Missoula. We hit it off right away online, met about two weeks later.. went on a second date the day after Valentine's day and We've been together ever since. I always tried so hard to have an opposites attract kind of relationship, but he and I are very much the same. He is my other half and my best friend in the world. We knew very early on that it was right but he wanted to wait until after we had lived together for a year just to make sure that everything was as we hoped it was and that we weren't just twitterpated. Our year was up in October and he came clean that he was looking at a stone for my ring in mid January. I didn't like the one he was looking at (I'm going to school online for gemology) and we found THE stone after about a day on Price Scope We're very happy and I can't wait for him to ask me

 

[lmcriss]

Drumroll Please.......

My pretty Montana Sapphire that's going to go in my ring if he can ever figure out what he wants to do with it!!!!

The First two pictures are what the stone looked like on the website:



This is what the stone looks like in person:




It looks super different right? When we first got it in the mail we were both kind of disappointed, but after having it for a few weeks, seeing it in different lights... It's just as spectacular as it is in the pictures if not more so So spectacular, that my boyfriend takes it out of the safe just to look at it under different kinds of light. His baby face lights up like a little boy when he looks at it. (Don't worry ladies, we're both almost 30, he'll just get carded until he's old, wrinkled and gray) It's so cute to see him so excited, and it makes me that much more excited to be his wife soon

 

[telephone89]

Yay welcome! I'm so glad this forum is getting more traffic. (not a LIW BTW)

That stone is very nice! Can't wait to see the end product.

Just as an FYI
OEC: Old European cut (type of diamond cut)
JBG: Jewels by Grace (online vendor of antique diamonds/pieces)
LAD: Love affair diamonds (online vendor, similar to JBG)

Stick around! Post in hangout too. Don't feel awkward posting on threads by more established members. You might find some love in the coloured stone section too.

 

[Ariadne_Theia]

Yep.Telephone already explained the acronyms but you'll find pricescope loves their acronyms so feel free to always ask someone to explain. Thanks for that!

I love your sapphire! The color is just beautiful. (Teal is my fave!) How do you not take it out and just play with it everyday? You and your SO's story is very sweet. It's so romantic that you knew right away.

 

[lmcriss]

Thanks for the feedback ladies!! I'll have to check those vendors out! Seems pretty quiet on here today. The reason I don't take that stone out and play with it every day is because he's the only one with the combo to the safe I'm ok with keeping it that way . I did ask him to take it out so I could play with it a little bit this morning. Part of the reason is I keep wondering when he'll take it somewhere to have it put into something special. I'm thinking it might be a few months though, he has to pay taxes this year It's funny because every time we talk about the stone, we always talk about the beautiful "necklace" it's going to go into

 

[elizabethess]

Drumroll Please.......

My pretty Montana Sapphire that's going to go in my ring if he can ever figure out what he wants to do with it!!!!

The First two pictures are what the stone looked like on the website:

This is what the stone looks like in person:

It looks super different right? When we first got it in the mail we were both kind of disappointed, but after having it for a few weeks, seeing it in different lights... It's just as spectacular as it is in the pictures if not more so So spectacular, that my boyfriend takes it out of the safe just to look at it under different kinds of light. His baby face lights up like a little boy when he looks at it. (Don't worry ladies, we're both almost 30, he'll just get carded until he's old, wrinkled and gray) It's so cute to see him so excited, and it makes me that much more excited to be his wife soon

Heh, mine has a baby face too... but since he's also prematurely gray/thinning hair it tempers it

I lovvvvvvve that pretty stone! You mentioned wanting him to have the jeweler you work for do something with it... what's your style? Would it be like a traditional engagement ring but with the sapphire? Or are you looking for something more artistic?

By the way, you should add those pictures to the sticky post on top of Colored Stones forum! I think it's called "Vendor Pictures vs. Owner Pictures" or something similar.

 

[lmcriss]

haha that's funny I always tell my guy that if he ever shaved his beard people would think I'm his mother even though he's a little older than me. Gotta love those baby faces! I like to think that we'll be young together forever Speaking of your guy... how's he acting today?? I thought about you guys last night in the way of "well, if he knows she's expecting it Thursday night, maybe he'll really throw her for a loop and do it Wednesday night" How are YOU feeling today??? Your ring is gorgeous! Can't wait to see pics on your hand when he finally pops the question!

As for my ring... I really want something with a floral theme that doesn't really look like what's popular right now. My reason being that besides it being so pretty, some of my most favorite times in the world are when we're up in the mountains picking wild flowers I think the halo themes and the three stone themes are so pretty too but lots of people have them. All of my girlfriends in the town I moved from all have pretty classic Montana sapphire rings. I'm going to school for gemology and jewelry so I want something that's different, more thought out and that I have more of a hand it's creation. (much to my poor boyfriend's dismay because he wants it to be a total surprise. It's a miracle that I got to pick my stone). I had some drawings and designs stapled to the back of my time card at the store and my boss showed me some GORGEOUS designs that she put together back in the 70's. they're substantial and sturdy but depict the prettiest most delicate designs. I pretty much fell in love. He knows how much it means to me for him to go talk to her so now I just have to wait for him to do it and not chicken out (he's not the most social or extroverted person that ever lived). He does know about the conversation with my boss and that I LOVED the designs that she showed me so hopefully... it will give him that extra nudge

Thank you for turning me on to the thread on the colored stones page!! I just spent my entire lunch break looking at it I am a little nervous that it will reflect negatively on the seller which I don't want to do because he was awesome! It was quite a different stone than we were expecting though... what are your thoughts?

Hope you're holding up well throughout the day! You'll be in my thoughts!!

 

[elizabethess]

I am a little nervous that it will reflect negatively on the seller which I don't want to do because he was awesome! It was quite a different stone than we were expecting though... what are your thoughts?

I mean, I'm new around here, too. But I think it's fine to post it. You can certainly write that even though it was different than what you expected based on the photos, the seller was awesome and you did end up liking this particular stone!

I think it's great that you're drawn to something that is not only a bit different, but meaningful to you and your relationship! Super excited for you, and sending lots and lots of proactive boyfriend dust, that he is gently nudged to work with your boss

 

[Ariadne_Theia]

elizabethess - I love floral designs too. What metal are you thinking? Gold? Platinum? Teal can be such a difficult color to match to a metal. You will definitely have to drown us in photos once your SO gets that ring designed.

lmcriss - I am sending you dust for your proposal. I saw on the other thread that you like the 3 stone; I am another 3 stone lover. You have to post a bunch of hand shots when you get your ring as well.

 

[lmcriss]

elizabethess - I love floral designs too. What metal are you thinking? Gold? Platinum? Teal can be such a difficult color to match to a metal. You will definitely have to drown us in photos once your SO gets that ring designed.

lmcriss - I am sending you dust for your proposal. I saw on the other thread that you like the 3 stone; I am another 3 stone lover. You have to post a bunch of hand shots when you get your ring as well.

Hi Ariadne! Hope you're well, haven't heard from you in a couple of days! I believe that you have Elizabethess and me mixed up She's anxiously awaiting a proposal any minute and has a gorgeous 3 stone ring coming her way. I have the teal colored sapphire and am looking at floral designs

anyway... TRUST ME! There will be pictures of that ring everywhere when he gets it made I hate to admit that as much as I'm looking forward to marrying him, I may be looking forward to the ring just as much which unfortunately puts tons of pressure on him because he knows that Hopefully, it's incentive to go talk to my boss about having her make something.

I haven't really thought about platinum at all for some reason... I just always figured it would be gold... Looking at pictures of rings online, I've always really loved rose gold, but it looks terrible on me. Too much pink in my skin tone I guess. I could really go with yellow or white gold, but I'm kind of leaning towards yellow gold. I never thought I'd have a yellow gold ring, but there are these beautiful "flashes" inside the stone that don't show up in the pictures that tend to be kind of yellow depending on the light, so I'm leaning towards yellow gold. PLUS, the rings that my boss was showing me at work were yellow gold and they just looked so pretty... I'm also a fan of two tone rings... so we'll see which way he goes I'm super excited about it, but I'm not sure when/if he'll act on this so...

Do you have any pics of what your ring will look like? or even of your grandma's ring before your sister used the sapphire? I think it's so sweet that you'll both be able to use her ring, that's so amazing!

 

[mary poppins]

Hi ladies! I hope your stay in LIW is short and sweet. I'm not a LIW but love to share in the excitement of this subforum. Definitely feel free to post anywhere, regardless of being a newcomer. That's how you become an old-timer. PSers welcome anyone who is excited about or interested in jewelry.

Imcriss, your sapphire is beautiful. I love the color and look forward to seeing the setting. With your background, interest in jewelry and working in the field, it sounds like it will be very creative if your BF considers your input.

Ariadne, how nice that you get to use your grandmother's setting. Heirloom pieces warm my heart. What does it look like?

 

[lmcriss]

Hi ladies! I hope your stay in LIW is short and sweet. I'm not a LIW but love to share in the excitement of this subforum. Definitely feel free to post anywhere, regardless of being a newcomer. That's how you become an old-timer. PSers welcome anyone who is excited about or interested in jewelry.

Imcriss, your sapphire is beautiful. I love the color and look forward to seeing the setting. With your background, interest in jewelry and working in the field, it sounds like it will be very creative if your BF considers your input.

Ariadne, how nice that you get to use your grandmother's setting. Heirloom pieces warm my heart. What does it look like?

Hi Mary Poppins!!! It's nice to meet you! I'm enjoying reading all of your responses to the different threads!!

 

[mary poppins]

Hi ladies! I hope your stay in LIW is short and sweet. I'm not a LIW but love to share in the excitement of this subforum. Definitely feel free to post anywhere, regardless of being a newcomer. That's how you become an old-timer. PSers welcome anyone who is excited about or interested in jewelry.

Imcriss, your sapphire is beautiful. I love the color and look forward to seeing the setting. With your background, interest in jewelry and working in the field, it sounds like it will be very creative if your BF considers your input.

Ariadne, how nice that you get to use your grandmother's setting. Heirloom pieces warm my heart. What does it look like?

Hi Mary Poppins!!! It's nice to meet you! I'm enjoying reading all of your responses to the different threads!!

Nice to meet you, too! I'm happy there are a bunch of threads here lately!

 

[Ariadne_Theia]

Whoops. Yep. Totally mixed the names up. Sorry.
I keep accidentally deleting my posts while typing them as well. I am just really bad this. -headdesk-

I'll have to try to get pics of my ring. It's like one of those dogs that's so ugly it's cute. It's a giant 1980's style ring. But I love the symbolism of it because it has two loops that connect together; one is plain yellow gold and the other is paved white gold. In the middle of each loop is a small diamond and the center stone comes out of where they meet. I like the metaphor that my bf is plain loop and I am the diamond loop and we are being linked by our marriage for the past/present/future. I am overly sentimental like that.
Everyone in my family was like "You can have it, it's ugly as heck!" Hahaha.

 

[lmcriss]

Whoops. Yep. Totally mixed the names up. Sorry.
I keep accidentally deleting my posts while typing them as well. I am just really bad this. -headdesk-

I'll have to try to get pics of my ring. It's like one of those dogs that's so ugly it's cute. It's a giant 1980's style ring. But I love the symbolism of it because it has two loops that connect together; one is plain yellow gold and the other is paved white gold. In the middle of each loop is a small diamond and the center stone comes out of where they meet. I like the metaphor that my bf is plain loop and I am the diamond loop and we are being linked by our marriage for the past/present/future. I am overly sentimental like that.
Everyone in my family was like "You can have it, it's ugly as heck!" Hahaha.

No worries at all! Have you seen Elizabethess' ring?! It's so pretty!!! I can't wait to see what yours looks like! The symbolism sounds so sweet and if has so much sentimental meaning to you that just makes it even better

 

[Ariadne_Theia]

I saw it! I love it! It's so pretty. And I am so glad she got her proposal. It sounded so lovely.

I know this is completely random but how big is your sapphire and what is your ring size? When I was looking back and drooling over your stone, I was trying to imagine what it would look like on a hand. I have large fingers. I wear 8.25-8.5 on my left. (Yep, my left and right are different sizes and of course my right is smaller. ) Thankfully, my grandma's ring is about 8.75 so it will only need to be taken in just a little and it's a plain band for a least half of it so it should be okay.

 

[lmcriss]

I know this is completely random but how big is your sapphire and what is your ring size? When I was looking back and drooling over your stone, I was trying to imagine what it would look like on a hand. I have large fingers. I wear 8.25-8.5 on my left. (Yep, my left and right are different sizes and of course my right is smaller. ) Thankfully, my grandma's ring is about 8.75 so it will only need to be taken in just a little and it's a plain band for a least half of it so it should be okay.

Hi Ariadne! Don't worry about your ring size!! Everyone's hands and proportions are different!!! As for your hands being two different ring sizes, that's totally normal! I don't think I've ever sized anyone who wore the exact same size on both hands so don't worry about it at all! My right hand is about a quarter size larger than my left. I always figured it was because I'm right handed and the muscles are more developed on that side, but I really just think it varies with everyone. My ring size runs 6.25-6.75 on my left hand depending on the day.

Here are some hand pictures that I took after my BF got home this evening. He's so funny. I'm not sure if I mentioned before that we are kind of coy with each other about what my sapphire is for. He "couldn't figure out why I wanted to take pictures of it on my hand when it's going to make such a pretty 'necklace'" It's pretty cute to be honest with you

My sapphire is 1.63cts and measures about 6mm square.






They're not the best pictures, my camera phone and the lighting in my kitchen really doesn't do it justice... the way it actually sparkles, OH MY! I think it would put any diamond to shame (no offense ) When I first started looking at pictures of stones and sending him links to "inspire" his search, I was thinking of something a lot bigger... Approximately 8mm at least... But then I fell in love with this one and I LOVE the size! I like that no matter what he could want to do with it, whether it's adding a halo or side stones or just lots of really cool molding around it, it won't look too big or too small. If I would have stuck with an 8mm stone, I almost feel like it would have limited the design aspect of it. Don't you think?

Here's a picture of the stone he almost bought....


I was in quite the "conundrum" about it because he'd done so much work to find this one all by himself but I'm sure you can see the difference between the two. He's the link to the thread I posted in the colored stones forum: [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/gem-students-engagement-ring-corundum-conundrum.219319/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/gem-students-engagement-ring-corundum-conundrum.219319/[/URL]

Anyway... I know you want an OEC Diamond, what size are you looking for? Has your BF made any indication that he's looking?

 

[Ariadne_Theia]

You guys are so cute with your "necklace". I love it. I totally agree with you about the size. I think the smaller size gives you more room to do a pretty motif or something without overwhelming your stone. I love your square stone so much more than the round stone so I think you guys make a fantastic decision there.

I love the way it looks on your hand. It looks really good with your skin tone! It's going to look fabulous! I am so excited for you!

Pricescope is full of giant diamonds and that made me want something huge for a while but then I realized that since I actually want to be able to see the design on the band beneath, we are probably going to go for something small by PS standards. My bf is still saving but I'm looking...

 

[lmcriss]

You guys are so cute with your "necklace". I love it. I totally agree with you about the size. I think the smaller size gives you more room to do a pretty motif or something without overwhelming your stone. I love your square stone so much more than the round stone so I think you guys make a fantastic decision there.

I love the way it looks on your hand. It looks really good with your skin tone! It's going to look fabulous! I am so excited for you!

Pricescope is full of giant diamonds and that made me want something huge for a while but then I realized that since I actually want to be able to see the design on the band beneath, we are probably going to go for something small by PS standards. My bf is still saving but I'm looking...

Haha thanks, I think we're pretty cute too I don't think anyone in my family really gets the whole "necklace" thing even when I explain it... they just want to know if we're engaged or not and if not then when the heck is it going to happen?! I haven't had the most successful string of relationships in my life and I think they're all afraid that I'm going to become an old maid lol Luckily, I know that won't happen

We did my stone out to play with again today... it was such a beautiful day and we wanted to get another good look at it under actual sunlight since it's been so drab here. OMG!!! It came alive like I've never even seen it come alive!!! It was pretty amazing and I have to share some pics even though they still don't begin to do it justice... I'm so happy with it



Anyway..... You're right about all the enormous diamonds on PS. They're beautiful but are these couples going into debt or accruing more debt just to have a "competitive" sized ring? I think it's very cool and VERY SMART that your BF is saving towards your diamond rather than putting it on a credit card that you're going to eventually going to have to live with too. I think it makes it more romantic too, every dollar he saves, he's thinking about you and your future together, you know? It's very sweet What size/color/clarity range are you looking for? Where are you looking? Have you found anything you're crazy about yet?

 

[Ariadne_Theia]

OMG! It's gorgeous!! That color! -swoon- I don't know how you don't spend all day doing photo-shoots with it.

My bf hates being in debt for anything so cash was the only way to go. I prefer that as well actually. I've been looking at Jewels by Grace mostly. I think I will end up with something white-ish (higher than K) because the side stones in my ring are H/I and probably around 6mm as well. :p It's a good size. I have no idea how good I am at picking out inclusions so I better figure that out, I guess. I probably have a few months before we are ready to actually buy and set anything so I should probably drag my bf into finishing some research.

 

[lmcriss]

OMG! It's gorgeous!! That color! -swoon- I don't know how you don't spend all day doing photo-shoots with it.

My bf hates being in debt for anything so cash was the only way to go. I prefer that as well actually. I've been looking at Jewels by Grace mostly. I think I will end up with something white-ish (higher than K) because the side stones in my ring are H/I and probably around 6mm as well. :p It's a good size. I have no idea how good I am at picking out inclusions so I better figure that out, I guess. I probably have a few months before we are ready to actually buy and set anything so I should probably drag my bf into finishing some research.

Haha! Trust me, it was so nice yesterday afternoon that I could have kept it out and looked at it and taken pictures of it all day. I think I fall more in love with that stone every time we take it out of the safe and so does he

Good for you guys! Being in debt sucks (unless it's a mortgage and then I feel like it's a little bit different). If your side stones are 6mm each it sounds like it's going to be a pretty sizable rock! Make sure you do your 4C's homework! Especially since you have a little bit of time before you find one, the more diamonds you look at in person, the easier it will be to shop for the right stone. Any chance you could get chummy with someone at a local jewelry store and just go in there and spend lots of time looking at them under magnification? If that's not a possibility, I might try to spend the extra money to find a stone with a lab grading report (like GIA or AGS). Look at the stones and the report and learn how to read it as best you can. That way you will know exactly what you're getting when you two go to buy. I'll have to check out Jewels by Grace's website I've been so preoccupied looking at sapphires that I haven't really had a diamond fix in a minute

 

[Ariadne_Theia]

Oh lord. I have got to learn how to use punctuation better. I meant, we will probably get a center stone that is 6mm. I think the side stones are like 4mm? They about 1/3 carats each. That would be huge if they were 6mm!

I have a pair of diamond earrings that have black inclusions that don't bother me in my ears but would totally bother me if I was looking at them all day on my finger. I would love to just borrow my someone in my family's rings for a hour or two and see if the inclusions would bother me from how close my ring usually gets to my eyes and the angles but nobody has a diamond ring. My sister has a sapphire and my mom has an opal, though my mom does have a wedding band with little diamonds.

 

[elizabethess]

But I love the symbolism of it because it has two loops that connect together; one is plain yellow gold and the other is paved white gold. In the middle of each loop is a small diamond and the center stone comes out of where they meet. I like the metaphor that my bf is plain loop and I am the diamond loop and we are being linked by our marriage for the past/present/future. I am overly sentimental like that.

Hey Ariadne_Theia! I like finding symbolic meaning in things, too! And your ring sounds unique and special Would love to see it when the time comes!

I saw you were wondering about inclusions... have you thought about just going to a local jewelry store and asking to see some rings and asking what the specs are? You can tell them you're trying to figure out what you like. They may not have super ideal diamonds, and the lighting will probably be making things look extra sparkly, but you could at least get a general idea inclusions, and if they bother you.

 

[elizabethess]

We did my stone out to play with again today... it was such a beautiful day and we wanted to get another good look at it under actual sunlight since it's been so drab here. OMG!!! It came alive like I've never even seen it come alive!!! It was pretty amazing and I have to share some pics even though they still don't begin to do it justice... I'm so happy with it

lmcriss your stone really is so beautiful, I love the color and it looks GREAT on your hand Perfect for a 'necklace'

We called my engagement ring "cheesecake"... long story, maybe I'll post later

 

[mary poppins]

Ariadna, I love the symbolism you find in your ring. And from the way you describe it, it doesn't sound ugly at all. My ring sizes differ too, with my dominant hand being slightly bigger. I think that is pretty common due to additional muscle or inflammation from more use. As for as inclusions and other specs, I think elizabethess' suggestion of going to a jewelry store and asking to see a variety of stones is a good idea. That's what I did when DH and I were considering different options. I found the jewelers to be friendly and amenable to taking the time to show me different stones side by side as well as under a loupe so I could see the differences between them and refine my preferences.

imcriss, the additional pictures of your sapphire are beautiful, especially the sunlight shot. Looking forward to seeing it your necklace.

elizabethess, now you have me curious about the cheesecake story.

I totally agree it's not worth getting into debt for an engagement ring. Not the ideal way to start a partnership.