New ring or new center stone HELP!!!!

[mara82]

I love my engagement ring, but my soon to be husband has been talking about replacing my center stone, or getting an additional ring. Here''s why. My ring Currently is diamond free. I have a tanzanite and alexandrite engagement ring in a three stone setting(all rounds). Our concern is since tanzanite is a soft stone, I will end up destroying it just be wearing it daily. Because I love my ring, I hate to notice scratches that appear on the surface. This is when my fiance suggested we change the ring or get an additional ring. That way we could preserve the tanzanite either in it''s original setting or have it made into a pendant.

My questions are these:

If I replace the center stone(currently 7mm 1.33 ct round tanzanite) with a diamond what is a price range a should I expect?

If I make a custom 3 stone diamond ring with two pear sides and round center in 14k white gold 1ctw what should I expect to pay? I would need it custom in order to fit my wedding band which is slightly curved with alexandrite and diamonds.

Any other suggestions are appreciated as well.

 

[TripleG]

The price range is quite large. It really depends on what type of diamond you want to replace it with. I assume a RB. But what color, clarity, cut, etc. That all depends. A lower color, lower clarity, etc. You can start around 5k for a 1.3 carat and go all the way up to 30k. All depends on what you want.

Check out a few vendor websites to take a look at prices, or let us know what type of quality and such you are looking for. Blue Nile has a super easy website to navigate to show you diamond prices. As for the rest of custom settings and such, again it depends on the quality you are looking for. There are several vendors here that I have seen do amazing custom work, so you can get alot of help on here, just all depends on what your price range is and the specifics of the diamond you are looking for.

Good Luck!

 

[stone-cold11]

Yap, too big a price range unless you narrow down the specs a bit, your min requirement.

Or maybe look at other gems stones with Mohr numbers 8.5 or greater like sapphire?

 

[mara82]

If replacing the center, we are looking for a Canadian diamond with at least "very good" cut, J color, and VSI clarity. I''m assuming the Ct weight would have to be the same of the tanzanite. I wouldn''t mind having it a smaller stone as long as it fit the setting. so in that case were looking for a 6mm-7mm round.

The stone quality would be the same for the custom ring if we go that way.

We are also not sure which option would be better. I guess it does come down to personal preference, so opinions are welcome. Thanks for your advice.

 

[oneandahalfrock]

While I think tanzanite is a beautiful stone, I think with how soft it is, it is really not suited for everyday wear.
Also, be more concerned about the dimensions of the stone that will fix in your setting, not carat weight- carat weight will vary in different types of gems.
6-7 mm is quite a range as far as diamonds go too- you''re looking at about 3/4 carat to 1.25 carats... obviously there will be a huge price difference.
Do you have a budget for this project? I know it''s much easier to suggest stones when we have an idea of what you''re looking for. And just curious, is Canadian a must...? There is usually a premium on those stones...

 

[mara82]

no real price range at this point. We are not rushing into this ring since I do have a ring(just trying to keep the beauty of the original stone) I know it''s only 1% of diamonds these day are conflict diamonds, but it still bugs me to think I may be buying a conflict diamond. I would prefer to get Canadian diamonds for that reason. We originally didn''t go with a diamond because he wanted our birthstones, and i wanted something rare. He didn''t realize just how soft the tanzanite was and was mad when he found out if I continue to wear the ring the center would only last about 5 years. I partially think he wants a different ring since his pride gets hurt. I just want something on my finger which I''m not destroying daily.That being said I was expecting to pay about 5G-7G for the center stone and was thinking maybe 3G if we built an additional ring. Is that even close to what it would cost? If my side stones are green in daylight and red at night, can I save money on a lower color grade?

Thanks again for all your help!!!!

Has anyone else out there ever replaced their non-diamond center with a diamond?