No engagement ring? Eternity band instead?

[february2003bride]

The insurance co. and I came to settlement on my chipped diamond and I''ve started looking (casually over the last few days, more seriously since last night) for a new engagement ring. The problem is, I''m just not feeling it on any of them.

I''ve looked at WhiteFlash, BlueNile, GoodOldGold, James Allen, Quest and Mervis Diamonds. I''m not seeing a diamond that I LOVE (specs wise online and in my price range) and I''m torn on the setting as well. But what DOES keep catching my eye is a shared prong round brilliant eternity band!

I love the stacked ring look (ala Jennifer Garner) and would love an eternity band for my collection. Right now I pair my half eternity princess channel with my WF scattered band and love it! Sometimes I add a 2mm plain band to the mix.

One thing I am almost positive is, I will have Quest make my half eternity princess channel into a full eternity. I''m sentimental about my princess channel ring (DH gave it to me for our first anni) and Pete said he could easily use the same stones, add more to it and put them into a new channel band.

DH is fine with whatever, but he doesn''t want me to regret NOT getting an engagement ring in the near future. I told him I''d really love the Tiffany Lucida (new from Tiff''s or used from Signed Pieces) and would be perfectly happy holding out a few years for it. Maybe for my 35th birthday in 4 1/2 years?

So is it totally crazy to hold off for a while on a new e-ring and get a blingy eternity band instead? My budget would be $2K-$2,500 (for the eternity band, not the e-ring), which I thought would get me a nice sized band. Also, I can''t afford to get both an e-ring AND an eternity band, it would have to be one or the other.

Thanks!

 

[Maisie]

I think you should have whatever makes you happy. It must have been a shock for you when you found out your diamond was chipped. Maybe you would feel a bit safer wearing an eternity band for now? I personally love the stacked look. Make sure you show us lots of pics when you decide!!

 

[mela lu]

I''m with Masie....do what floats your boat...but I also wonder:

once you get this eternity band, and the excitement of it all dies down, will you be like me and just start coveting the next ''thing''?

Will the ''itch'' for your e-ring replacement come quicker than you anticipate?

Will this eternity band put ANY crink on your e-ring replacement budget? That would bug me later....even as I gaze lovingly at my eternity band.

just some thoughts to ponder...

PS. I love stacked. I stack. If you decide to stack, please DO come post some pics

 

[baby monster]

An eternity ring to stack sounds great, especially since you have a few rings to stack with already. I love how Jennifer Garner''s rings look! Also, a band will be easier for everyday wear. A lot of women at my job stop wearing their erings after a few years of marriage and only wear wbands, so not having an ering on is not unusual.

 

[erica k]

would you be getting another eternity band along with the princess eternity from Quest? i just did a quick search of your earlier posts, and it looks like you have a .40ctw bead-set wg eternity, along with the blue nile princess channel half-eternity. they''re both lovely and look great stacked!

i can definitely see how it might be fun to mix it up with a shared-prong RB eternity, around 1.40-1.60ctw.

echoing mela lu''s concerns, when you say that you can either get an e-ring or an eternity band, do you mean your budget of $2,500 would also apply to the e-ring? or does it mean you would save that amount of money for a future upgrade? it may not seem like a lot of money, but later one, it could make quite a difference in your stone choice. if the stone upgrade is going to happen in the next 1-5 years, it might be more worthwhile to upgrade your princess half-eternity to a full-eternity and call it good for now.

i decided to go with an eternity band because i know i won''t be upgrading the stone for a long long while. i knew that when the time came, i''d also want an eternity band to pair with the larger solitaire.

i don''t know if your situation is similar to mine and it''s simply a case of wanting something new and sparkly now while knowing you''ll get the upgrade later, OR if the issue is more about the eternity band cutting into your upgrade budget.

if it''s the latter, i wouldn''t buy a new eternity band.

 

[Fly Girl]

I wore my channel set half eternity instead of an e-ring for 15 years. First 10 years I wore my e-ring. When it no longer fit (thanks to my pregnancies), I wore the half eternity until my 25th anniversary when I finally got my 1.5 ct diamond ring. It was a busy time, raising our two children. A channel set ring that sat flat to my hand worked great. But it was great to finally get a nice diamond!

Good luck.

 

[february2003bride]

EricaK- My budget for a new e-ring is $6500-$6800. If I did go eternity ring, it would come from the e-ring budget.

Everyone brings up good points, that an eternity ring might be enough for right now but in 3, 6, or 9 months, will I wish I had used my whole budget on a new e-ring? Definitely something to think about.

I''ll keep poking around, browsing through the Show Me The Ring section.

Thanks again!!