RoyalRaindrop63
Rough_Rock
- Joined
- Apr 28, 2015
- Messages
- 26
Hello Pricescopers! 
This is my first post, but I have been lurking & utilizing old posts for about... 5 months now. I can't believe it has been that long! After Christmas, my boyfriend of 5 years and I began hunting for my engagement ring. He had looked for several months himself, but couldn't make a decision, and decided to let me in on it.
In the last few months, I have pored over what seems like every website that has to do with diamonds or rings. Here, WeddingBee, James Allen, Blue Nile, Whiteflash, Tacori, Since1910, Good Old Gold, and many others. I have went thru different "phases" as I tried to narrow down what I really wanted, nearly pulled the trigger on an oval halo setting before backing out last minute (first B&M store we looked at and it was too bulky for me) but one thing has remained constant.... I love ovals, and while my taste in settings has changed significantly since I began looking, I've always wanted an oval. During this time I also went from knowing virtually nothing about diamonds to knowing a fair bit about them - still probably not as much as most of the people here!
I have come to really appreciate and love diamonds, and now I know exactly what I want in a setting and in an oval.
Setting
platinum (due to allergies)
1.5-1.9mm rounded shank with pave - very thin, not split or anything
pave must be done well, not too much metal
no halo
claw prongs
Oval Diamond
Somewhere between 1 and 1.5 carats (obviously I'd love the higher end of the spectrum!)
D, E, F... maaaybe a G (I am very color sensitive)
SI2 or SI1 clarity, as long as it's eye clean
no prominent bowtie
Now that I know exactly what I want, I just need to figure out where to get it, and that's where I am hoping you guys could help me.
I am really having trouble finding a setting.
This is made a little more complicated because my boyfriend won't actually disclose his budget to me - I think he is trying to retain some traditionalism. All I know is, "at least 1ct, but maybe more like 1.5ct depending upon cost of setting", and that he balked a bit at the quote from Leon with a 1.5ct. Yet, as I said, the ring I was building at James Allen was the same price, so perhaps 1.5ct is just out of the range.
I have no doubts the setting from Leon is what I really want and would be of excellent quality, and I sure haven't found anything I like elsewhere. Yet I also have to balance cost of setting against cost of diamond. I don't want a big rock in a setting I hate, but I am not sure I want a much smaller rock in a setting I love, either, and I am worried that'd be the case if I go with Leon. Any advice?
I think my next step is to have my boyfriend reach out to Leon himself to see what Leon can do within his budget, and ideally get the cost of the setting alone.
Here are my questions
1) If we go thru Leon, should we get both setting and diamond from him? His diamond prices (thru his diamond search page) seem in line with James Allen's and from what I've read on his site, it does sound like his "Diamond Ambassador" would be able to work with me on pictures of the diamonds and evaluating different stones.
2) Should I reach out to GOG? I have heard several great things on this site about GOG for ovals in old posts. I guess my hesitation there is I am pretty sure they don't have any settings I am interested in from what I've seen on their site. And they only have 1 oval listed in their diamond search that is D-G between 1 to 1.5 ct, but I am assuming that's what they have in house only & they could call in more?
3) Should I stick to James Allen for the diamond, even if we don't get the setting there? I feel like even their selection has gone down recently.
4) Should I get more comfortable with the idea of buying diamond and setting separately? Is it really that big of a hassle, and would we need to get insurance on it while it got set? Who would set it, the setting vendor, or a local jeweler (I know with Blue Nile, it would've had to be local jeweler, but don't know if that's typical)?
Any advice, in general?
This is my first post, but I have been lurking & utilizing old posts for about... 5 months now. I can't believe it has been that long! After Christmas, my boyfriend of 5 years and I began hunting for my engagement ring. He had looked for several months himself, but couldn't make a decision, and decided to let me in on it. In the last few months, I have pored over what seems like every website that has to do with diamonds or rings. Here, WeddingBee, James Allen, Blue Nile, Whiteflash, Tacori, Since1910, Good Old Gold, and many others. I have went thru different "phases" as I tried to narrow down what I really wanted, nearly pulled the trigger on an oval halo setting before backing out last minute (first B&M store we looked at and it was too bulky for me) but one thing has remained constant.... I love ovals, and while my taste in settings has changed significantly since I began looking, I've always wanted an oval. During this time I also went from knowing virtually nothing about diamonds to knowing a fair bit about them - still probably not as much as most of the people here!
I have come to really appreciate and love diamonds, and now I know exactly what I want in a setting and in an oval.
Setting
platinum (due to allergies)
1.5-1.9mm rounded shank with pave - very thin, not split or anything
pave must be done well, not too much metal
no halo
claw prongs
Oval Diamond
Somewhere between 1 and 1.5 carats (obviously I'd love the higher end of the spectrum!)
D, E, F... maaaybe a G (I am very color sensitive)
SI2 or SI1 clarity, as long as it's eye clean
no prominent bowtie
Now that I know exactly what I want, I just need to figure out where to get it, and that's where I am hoping you guys could help me.
I am really having trouble finding a setting.
- There are ones I like from Blue Nile, but don't like the prongs, and was unimpressed with their customer service when I contacted them. Plus, with the way their warranty works, we would have to buy the diamond thru them for the setting's warranty to be valid, and I won't do that because I want to see diamond images beforehand and ideally ASET pictures.
- James Allen is, so far, the forerunner when it comes to similar sites, because of the diamond and setting videos, but there isn't really a setting I'm in love with there. There is too much metal in their thinnest french cut pave setting for my taste, and all of the others are too wide, exceeding these two:
http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/pave/platinum-rounded-pave-engagement-solitaire-item-8162
http://www.jamesallen.com/engagemen...cathedral-claw-prong-engagement-ring-item-851
But while they are beautiful settings, I am not really in love with either one of them. They each have one or more things I don't like. - Leon Mege has exactly what I want in these two settings:
https://leonmege.com/index.php/portfolio/custom-work/engagement/401-solitaire-with-micro-pave-detail
https://leonmege.com/index.php/port...modern-cushion-solitaire-platinum-ring-detail
Oddly enough, his quote for the second setting including a 1.5ct F/SI1 oval was exactly the same price as the rounded pave setting with a comparable diamond from James Allen. But, he didn't give price of setting only in his quote, so I or my boyfriend will need to reach back out to him.
This is made a little more complicated because my boyfriend won't actually disclose his budget to me - I think he is trying to retain some traditionalism. All I know is, "at least 1ct, but maybe more like 1.5ct depending upon cost of setting", and that he balked a bit at the quote from Leon with a 1.5ct. Yet, as I said, the ring I was building at James Allen was the same price, so perhaps 1.5ct is just out of the range.
I have no doubts the setting from Leon is what I really want and would be of excellent quality, and I sure haven't found anything I like elsewhere. Yet I also have to balance cost of setting against cost of diamond. I don't want a big rock in a setting I hate, but I am not sure I want a much smaller rock in a setting I love, either, and I am worried that'd be the case if I go with Leon. Any advice?
I think my next step is to have my boyfriend reach out to Leon himself to see what Leon can do within his budget, and ideally get the cost of the setting alone.
Here are my questions
1) If we go thru Leon, should we get both setting and diamond from him? His diamond prices (thru his diamond search page) seem in line with James Allen's and from what I've read on his site, it does sound like his "Diamond Ambassador" would be able to work with me on pictures of the diamonds and evaluating different stones.
2) Should I reach out to GOG? I have heard several great things on this site about GOG for ovals in old posts. I guess my hesitation there is I am pretty sure they don't have any settings I am interested in from what I've seen on their site. And they only have 1 oval listed in their diamond search that is D-G between 1 to 1.5 ct, but I am assuming that's what they have in house only & they could call in more?
3) Should I stick to James Allen for the diamond, even if we don't get the setting there? I feel like even their selection has gone down recently.
4) Should I get more comfortable with the idea of buying diamond and setting separately? Is it really that big of a hassle, and would we need to get insurance on it while it got set? Who would set it, the setting vendor, or a local jeweler (I know with Blue Nile, it would've had to be local jeweler, but don't know if that's typical)?
Any advice, in general?
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