Oh boy... which engagement ring? (she likes: Whiteflash Harmony/Legato)

[well_intentioned]

Hi, first time post, apologies for making it so long--

I have wanted to propose for about two months now! In that time, I''ve been searching for a ring to surprise her with... which has pushed my tiny brain to the limit. Here is the balance I''m trying to achieve:

1. Find a ring she would like (and I''m one of those guys that think all women''s shoes look the same)
2. Make sure it is durable enough for her (she''s an artist/cooks/cleans/gardens/etc)
3. Keep some $$ for a down payment on our first house. Hopefully under $4.5k for the ring.

Based on some posts from this site, I have the following two rings at the top of my list:
Legato Micro Pave
Harmony Engagement Ring

I''m curious about how durable those pave diamonds will be in a platinum setting? Would she have to worry about losing one? Is there regular maintenance on a ring like this?

Also, platinum is ridiculous at the moment so those settings would only about $2500 for the center stone. From what I can tell this would be about 0.75ct at VS2-SI1, nice color, etc. Would that look small? How reliable is the color grading from GIA and what would look too yellow?

Would a plain type band go okay with this type of ring? Do I really have to have another band? (They should teach guys this stuff in school).

Is there any other way to maximize my purchase? Other, similar, rings or vendors? I''ve spent a couple hours discussing options with a privately owned jeweler, but they don''t seem to come close to the prices I''ve seen online.


Thank you for any advice, I''m a bit saturated (or clueless) at this point.

 

[neatfreak]

You'll get a lot more responses if you post this in Rocky talk. Just contact the moderator and ask for it to be moved.

But here are a few answers:

1. Cut is THE most important thing in a diamond. Period.
2. If you want a round diamond, WF has great prices on those, AND great stones, so it is much easier to buy the whole thing from them than try to save a buck elsewhere. And their prices really are great, so you likely can't beat it anyway.
3. Pave is NOT super durable and should be removed while cleaning, gardening, etc. But most rings should...so really she SHOULD have a plain band to wear while doing these things IMO.
4. .75 is not too small and is a great size. How large are her friends rings? That will give you an indication of what size is appropriate.
5. GIA grading is reliable as is AGS. I think you can easily go down to an H in a well cut RB (just buy a WF ACA to save yourself the headache of learning the parameters of cut) without seeing warmth, but many people think you can go lower. This is a personal preference.
6. I think that ring looks fine with a plain band, but I think a better idea is to get a plain e-ring and then get her a matching band later with diamonds...it would be easier to space out the purchases and she'll have a lot more options with wedding bands. BUT if she said she wants pave, get the lady what she wants.

Hope that helps and GOOD LUCK!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 4/1/2008 8:49:59 PM
Author: neatfreak
You''ll get a lot more responses if you post this in Rocky talk. Just contact the moderator and ask for it to be moved.

But here are a few answers:

1. Cut is THE most important thing in a diamond. Period.
2. If you want a round diamond, WF has great prices on those, AND great stones, so it is much easier to buy the whole thing from them than try to save a buck elsewhere. And their prices really are great, so you likely can''t beat it anyway.
3. Pave is NOT super durable and should be removed while cleaning, gardening, etc. But most rings should...so really she SHOULD have a plain band to wear while doing these things IMO.
4. .75 is not too small and is a great size. How large are her friends rings? That will give you an indication of what size is appropriate.
5. GIA grading is reliable as is AGS. I think you can easily go down to an H in a well cut RB (just buy a WF ACA to save yourself the headache of learning the parameters of cut) without seeing warmth, but many people think you can go lower. This is a personal preference.
6. I think that ring looks fine with a plain band, but I think a better idea is to get a plain e-ring and then get her a matching band later with diamonds...it would be easier to space out the purchases and she''ll have a lot more options with wedding bands. BUT if she said she wants pave, get the lady what she wants.

Hope that helps and GOOD LUCK!

Ditto to EVERYTHING Neatfreak said. Excellent advice all around. I especially ditto point 6, and add that you can get white gold and then put the lions share of your budget into the stone (unless she wants pave specifically)... I love pave, but I don''t wear it because I don''t want to worry about the maintenance and cleaning issues.

DD

 

[swingirl]

Here is a suggestion if you go with a more expensive stone and simple on the setting.

0.9 ct H Si1 $3725. That leaves $775 for the setting.

http://www.whiteflash.com/round_ideal_cut/Round-Ideal-Cut-cut-diamond-684415.htm#

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Definitely the plain Legato setting and get a diamond wedding band later. Pave and durable don''t really belong in the same description! But I''d also get the plain setting in order to put more of the money toward the diamond. Then tell her you plan for her to have a diamond wedding band which she''ll need to try on when the time comes to see what works with the e-ring.

 

[swingirl]

Here is a beautifully cut stone a tiny bit smaller but with a more prominent inclusion. WF could give you the visual details on how visible it is. It''s about $1k less--so you could put that into the setting if you want one of the pave settings.

0.81 ct H SI2 $2,860 (less with wire transfer)

http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-684405.htm

 

[well_intentioned]

Wow... I''m not surprised to hear people here say "focus on the diamond," but I''ve heard it other places too. I suppose I''ve always seen it as just part of the ring.

I mean no disrespect to diamond lovers of course.

Hearing about the importance of the cut is a bit of a surprise too. Clarity and color are immediate standouts to me-- I''d always filter on them first. So the cut really makes a big difference? Is it just "sparkliness?" Again, apologies, my brain is less faceted than your average diamond.

But is platinum worth it? I was put off white gold because it wears faster and can have a yellowish tint. I don''t see my GF wanting to have it flashed with Rhodium every year. I hope she would want to wear the ring for life.

diamondseeker2006, your avatar is a great example of a diamond band with a plain (an odd word for something so shiny) setting. I feel like I have to warm up to this idea... it lessens the impact of the e-ring a bit, but it does provide more options.


Thanks again, she''s going to kill me when she finds out how long I''ve spent trying to find the right ring.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 4/1/2008 11:25:54 PM
Author: well_intentioned
Wow... I''m not surprised to hear people here say ''focus on the diamond,'' but I''ve heard it other places too. I suppose I''ve always seen it as just part of the ring.

I mean no disrespect to diamond lovers of course.

Hearing about the importance of the cut is a bit of a surprise too. Clarity and color are immediate standouts to me-- I''d always filter on them first. So the cut really makes a big difference? Is it just ''sparkliness?'' Again, apologies, my brain is less faceted than your average diamond.

But is platinum worth it? I was put off white gold because it wears faster and can have a yellowish tint. I don''t see my GF wanting to have it flashed with Rhodium every year. I hope she would want to wear the ring for life.

diamondseeker2006, your avatar is a great example of a diamond band with a plain (an odd word for something so shiny) setting. I feel like I have to warm up to this idea... it lessens the impact of the e-ring a bit, but it does provide more options.


Thanks again, she''s going to kill me when she finds out how long I''ve spent trying to find the right ring.

Cut makes a hige difference. It makes the difference between a dead, lifeless stone and a sparking disco-ball. Get and ideal cut stone and then focus on simply eye-clean (inclusions not visible to the naked eye) in the VS2 SI1 range, then pick a color. Any color. That is personal choice. I just bought a J, there''s some pics in the SMTR forum. A "sweet spot" for many is G-H (correctly graded-- like GIA or AGS), b/c it will look perfectly white but it costs a tonne less than D-E-F. A G or H by another lab may not look perfectly white b/c other labs may be more liberal with their color grading (i.e., one labs "H" could be a GIA or AGS K).

You should check out the legato sleek line setting at WF: http://www.whiteflash.com/Engagement-Rings/Styles/Solitaire/-Legato--Sleek-Line_1118.htm This is a gorgeous setting, I just ordered my ring in it. I got white gold b/c it is less expensive and I will probably get a different setting at some point, and I find that WG wears well on my hands--no yellowing that I have seen so far, but I get them polished every 6 months. Even platinum needs to be polished every once in a while, so I don''t think that getting a WG ring rhodium dipped is a hassel, they do it when they check the prongs and it makes the ring look brand new. But the legato in platinum is only $400 more, so it isn''t a huge difference.

Katiedid has some great pics of the legato here: https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/just-got-my-wf-photos.65257/page-2

DD

 

[sera]

Date: 4/1/2008 11:25:54 PM
Author: well_intentioned
Wow... I''m not surprised to hear people here say ''focus on the diamond,'' but I''ve heard it other places too. I suppose I''ve always seen it as just part of the ring.

I mean no disrespect to diamond lovers of course.

Hearing about the importance of the cut is a bit of a surprise too. Clarity and color are immediate standouts to me-- I''d always filter on them first. So the cut really makes a big difference? Is it just ''sparkliness?'' Again, apologies, my brain is less faceted than your average diamond.

But is platinum worth it? I was put off white gold because it wears faster and can have a yellowish tint. I don''t see my GF wanting to have it flashed with Rhodium every year. I hope she would want to wear the ring for life.

diamondseeker2006, your avatar is a great example of a diamond band with a plain (an odd word for something so shiny) setting. I feel like I have to warm up to this idea... it lessens the impact of the e-ring a bit, but it does provide more options.


Thanks again, she''s going to kill me when she finds out how long I''ve spent trying to find the right ring.

You''ve got some good advice here already. Yeah, not surprising we say focus on the diamond here... and the majority focuses a lot on size... if you think your GF would prefer a larger stone to a pave band, the plain solitaire would allow a bigger rock now, then later you could get a blingy w-band (like in diamondseeker''s avatar... gorgeous impact!).

Now, there are those in the minority like me, who just aren''t a solitaire kinda gal and see the diamond as part (a big part) of the whole thing, so the setting is very important. I could have gone with a larger diamond... pretty significatly larger had I not gone with a blingy, custom platinum setting... but I would not have wanted a plain solitaire at all even with a blingy wband. That''s just my personal preference. So, be clear what your GF''s preference is.

But what we pretty much all agree on and don''t sacrifice is on cut quality. Cut IS the most important. If you look at maul stones in G or H color, they are pretty darn yellow. If you do a search here and look at some well cut I, J, and K stones... you will be surprised how white they face up. It''s all about the cut. And yeah, it''ll be sparkly.

 

[cara]

I think white gold is the right call with your budget, as someone that went with platinum. The exceptions would be if she has a nickel allergy or is so sentimental that she would never want to upgrade the ring.

For most people white gold works fine, but a few people find the rhodium wears off quickly and they don''t like yellowish-whitish color afterwards and it is too much hassle to rhodium plate it regularly. This perceived hassle is why I went with platinum, but now my platinum bands turns from shiny to a softer grey patina in a few months after polishing. I can''t very well go and polish it every few months either.

So go with the white gold, and if it is an issue, reset the ring later.

I also think a plain engagement ring setting and pave wedding band would be a fabulous combination. Again leaving money to maximize the center stone. Yes, cut first, then eye-clean on clarity (often VS2-SI) and then personal color preference. I am fine with H, maybe even I in well cut stones, especially in the size you are looking at. Once you pick the color, go as big as you can within your budget

Yes, she will need a wedding band, unless and until she tells you she doesn''t want one. Even if she doesn''t want one to wear with the engagement ring, a cheap one will serve her well when she wants to leave her fancy ring(s) at home.