Newbie buying the first diamond for proposal. Need Help!

[tutzl]

Hi everyone!

I am in the process of purchasing the ring to propose to my GF. I am lucky to find this site by chance. After lurking and studying across the this site, I found a couple of stones:

1. 0.524 ct G VS2 ACA eye clean, http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2671411.htm
2. 0.618 ct G VS2 ACA eye clean, http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2724675.htm
3. 0.753 ct I VS2 ACA eye clean, http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2728104.htm
4. 0.744 ct H SI1 ACA eye clean, http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2728090.htm

And I like the "Contemporary" tiffany style setting
http://www.whiteflash.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/contemporary-tiffany-style-solitaire-engagement-ring-1416.htm
or the "Classic tiffany style Knife-Edge" setting
http://www.whiteflash.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/classic-tiffany-style-knife-edge-solitaire-engagement-ring-713.htm

Now I cannot decide whether I should choose the 0.5 ct stone which I can comfortably afford for and save money for something else, or put all my current budget (4k for total) on the 0.6 one, or struggle to get a 0.7 ct one which I like the best.
PS: I am from Quebec, and I calculated the expense based on the tax and duty I need to pay for (about 15%, bloody higher than in the states).

In fact, my GF told me sometime that she won't wear a diamond ring in her daily life as it is not very convenient and comfort for her.
She even told me that a diamond is not necessary for her; she will be happy with any size and qulity if I indeed buy her one. I transparently know that she just don't wanna give me any pressure and is trying to save money for me (What a perfect girl! I am so lucky!). But I believe that she will not wear the ring everyday. So I am wondering whether it is worth to spend my two- or three-month saving on something will be used for only one time. But there is something for sure - I must buy a nice e-ring to propose to her.

Do you think whether a 0.5 ct stone look good enough with the 6 prong tiffany style setting?
Is it worth to spend more for a bigger stone even though the ring will be used for only a few times in the rest of her life?
please share me your opinion.

BTW, please also share me if you find some good choice overwhelmed the ones I mentioned above. I am also ok with a princess cut.

Have a nice day.

 

[farmer gal]

I would not push your budget, you can always upgrade later for an anniversary gift. I also would not pick those particular settings if she is not comfortable wearing jewelry, I personally do not find a knife edge comfortable at all. I would avoid prongs all together.

I would go with something like this, very wearable and comfortable

Diamond:
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2680232.htm

Setting:
http://www.whiteflash.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/keystone-half-bezel-solitaire-engagement-ring-1105.htm

 

[slg47]

q...is there a reason you don't think she'll wear it every day? I wear mine every day and find it quite comfortable. I have a comfort fit setting and my diamond is set fairly low to the finger.

 

[missjuliajoy]

I personally like the second setting better...but are you 100% sure on a 6-prong setting? I feel like on a smaller diamond, the more space taken up by prongs can make it look smaller.

Since she sounds like a non-traditional girl (not wanting to wear the ring all the time), do you know that she definitely wants a traditional setting? If not, maybe point out the bezel setting like the previous poster suggested and see how she reacts to it! High settings with lots of prongs are part of what might make her feel like it's uncomfortable to wear a ring.

There are lots of opinions on here about which color and clarity are best, but what helped me was to go to a store and see them with my own eyes to decide what my minimum levels were! I settled on H or I, and VS2 or eye-clean SI1. No matter what the size, make sure you get the best cut you can afford, read up on the holloway cut advisor and getting idealscope images before you buy! That's the best information I've found on pricescope. Overall, congrats on your soon-to-be engagement!

 

[tutzl]

Thank you guys so much for being so kind to give me your comments and suggestions.

It seems I propagated confusing information that my girlfriend doesn't like jewerlry. In fact, she loves jewerlry.
We already have a pair of bands showing we belong to each other. She wears the band all the time. We will
keep using them as the wedding bands when we get married. She just said that she would not like to wear a
diamond ring in her daily life becuase she has to take off the ring when she washes hands, takes a shower, uses
lotions or screams, cooks, does housework, ..., to keep the diamond away from oil and chemicals. This will bring
risk to lose the ring. Another important reason is that she thinks, after we have a baby in the near future, the
bady might be hurt by the hard stone. But a lower bezel setting farmer gal suggested or a comfort fit setting
slg47 montioned might be good to solve some of the problems. I will consider it.

In fact, the classic tiffany style setting is my own favor. I learnt this kind of design is the best to show the beauty
of a diamond. Although my girlfriend already knows I am buying her an e-ring, I still wanna give her a big suprise
when I open the smal box in front of her. But in this way, I can not ask her too much about the ring so that I don't
get an exact clue what kind of stone and setting she likes the most. To my knowledge, a simple, delicate and special
design is always her perference. This is why I initially looked at the princess cut stones. But later I learnt that a stone
with the classic round cut shows more fire and sparkle and looks bigger, so I shifted my focus to the round cut. By far,
I still can't decide my final choice. But you guys' advice really helps me to go forward. Thank you again.

 

[slg47]

Thank you guys so much for being so kind to give me your comments and suggestions.

It seems I propagated confusing information that my girlfriend doesn't like jewerlry. In fact, she loves jewerlry.
We already have a pair of bands showing we belong to each other. She wears the band all the time. We will
keep using them as the wedding bands when we get married. She just said that she would not like to wear a
diamond ring in her daily life becuase she has to take off the ring when she washes hands, takes a shower, uses
lotions or screams, cooks, does housework, ..., to keep the diamond away from oil and chemicals. This will bring
risk to lose the ring.

and that is why you are careful and get the ring insured! I take off my ring for all of those things and still
wear it every day

Another important reason is that she thinks, after we have a baby in the near future, the
bady might be hurt by the hard stone. But a lower bezel setting farmer gal suggested or a comfort fit setting
slg47 montioned might be good to solve some of the problems. I will consider it.

I don't think a baby will be hurt by a bezel setting!

In fact, the classic tiffany style setting is my own favor. I learnt this kind of design is the best to show the beauty
of a diamond. Although my girlfriend already knows I am buying her an e-ring, I still wanna give her a big suprise
when I open the smal box in front of her. But in this way, I can not ask her too much about the ring so that I don't
get an exact clue what kind of stone and setting she likes the most. To my knowledge, a simple, delicate and special
design is always her perference. This is why I initially looked at the princess cut stones. But later I learnt that a stone
with the classic round cut shows more fire and sparkle and looks bigger, so I shifted my focus to the round cut. By far,
I still can't decide my final choice. But you guys' advice really helps me to go forward. Thank you again.

you can find a really well cut princess stone that has a lot of fire and sparkle...what do you think she would like better?
a round is definitely more 'classic'. if you said simple, delicate, and special design, what about something like LaurenThePartier's
asscher bezel? the asscher has really clean lines and might appeal to her.
https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/engagement-rings/bezel-setting-styles
here is a link to several bezel style rings