opinions about size vs. cut

[decodelighted]

Date: 9/18/2006 6:38:39 PM
Author: tlow
For any number of reasons ones budget goes up throughout the ring process.

Hoo-boy, are you right!! Who really knows what the cost of these little sparklies are when you''re making up numbers in your head??? And then ... when you start to realize how the different qualities of stones make a big difference, you''re much more willing to spend more now to get something that will last a lifetime!

I APPLAUD your outlook & desire to get your fiance something you both can be proud of & super psyched about! I have no doubt that she''d *take* the proverbial "twist tie" to be engaged to you ...but has confessed her desire for a not-so-uncommon "dream size" ... and since it''s within striking distance of your budget ... you might leap for it & even upgrade the budget a bit to NOT have to compromise on the "cut" aspect in order to satisfy the "size" yen.

Ya can''t please everyone ...but BLESS YA for trying to please the TWO people who really count in this scenario (the two of YOU)!

 

[tlow]

Hey guys,

The stones look good, definetly along the right lines. Also, she wants a round halo...something that accents the centerstone.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Well, if you choose a stone from WF, I''d really consider getting them to do a halo. Several girls here have had them make one and they turned out beautifully!

 

[aljdewey]

Date: 9/18/2006 4:33:02 PM
Author: Mara

most of us here started out with one budget and then after educating ourselves somehow the # magically just kept going up!!

Absolutely. Sometimes budgets go up because we just didn''t know enough about what things cost to set a realistic budget in the first place.

(Like my husband thinking a wedding should cost about about 2-3K. When I told him the average in our area was 20-25K, he choked on his soup!)

For the sanctimonious (DAN!), it''s worthwhile noting that nearly every major purchase goes through this. Car starts out with budget of X, but hubby reeeeeeeeeeeally likes this car, and it''s only a bit more. We think about it and realize that for the expected life of the car, it''s stupid not to get what we''d LOVE (since we can afford it) instead of what''s just ok.

Same with the house.....began with a budget of x, decided it really WAS worth it to suck it up and pay more to get garage. The more we looked, the more we realized that we''d have to up our budget a bit. After a few 10K increments, we finally bought our house.....which was 55K MORE than what we began at for a price. Again, though, we could afford it and we totally made the right choice.

Sometimes, it''s worth spending more up front to get the thing that will totally make you happy.

As long as you can afford to, fabulous. Anyone else who has something *snarky* to say is petty.

 

[aljdewey]

Date: 9/18/2006 7:51:46 PM
Author: moremoremore

I''m bracing for my flogging...but I WOULD sacrifice cut....a LITTLE bit!!! I''m not saying buy a piece of coal, but I''m of the opinion that most people won''t notice the difference between a perfect H&A AGS 0000000000000000000 and a nice ideal stone with nice arrows....That''s just me!

Not only will I not flog you on this.....I''d even agree with it.

Leonid and I once had a discussion about about cut, during which he said this: "Getting the absolute ultimate cut comes with a premium.... just as getting the absolute best color (D) and the best clarity (IF) both come with associated premiums. People make trade offs all the time on color and clarity to fit their budget, and cut can be massaged a bit without a hugely visible difference, too. Just as some people don''t see any color down to G, some folks could choose to massage their trade-offs to an AGS1 or AGS2 without any visible-to-them sacrifice. This might allow someone to meet every other desire in his budget."

In fact, because some stones miss the top grades only due to polish or symmetry imperfections, it''s possible that choosing an AGS1 or AGS2 (or a beautiful GIA EX) may not be sacrificing cut ''proportions" at all! They''d just be sacrificing the premium.

It''s great advice, MMM.

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 9/18/2006 6:38:39 PM
Author: tlow
Dan,

You are getting to the point where your advice is really not welcome. Everywhere I have stated it is my decision to up the budget, not yours to tell me to spend less. Secondly, as numerous other people have stated, for any number of reasons ones budget goes up throughout the ring process. And lastly, again as people have stated, my girlfriend chooses size over everything else so I (who values cut, clarity, and color) has to respect that. It is that simple. Please let''s not spend anymore time on this. It is getting to the point of wasting everyone''s time.

By the way, that setting is awesome! I would definetly think about that one, however, we went ring shopping again she really wants a halo setting. I have been working with the guys at Quest to get an idea of what to make. Been very happy so far with their service.

get the girl what she wants!! I''d rather have an unhalo''d ring and the pave''d band but hey, you''re not marrying me! lol

I think you* nailed it when you said that she wants 1.5 over everything else and it is YOU that wants cut clarity and color to be just *so* so I think it''s great that you get her a 1.5 ::checkmark:: done and then you figure out in *whatever* budget YOU set for yourself how to tweak the cut/clarity/color issue You rock! Any of us would be lucky to have such a considerate fiance to be

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 9/18/2006 7:24:55 PM
Author: diamondseeker2006
tlow, I salute you for wanting to make your fiance happy! An e-ring is something most of us intend to wear for a lifetime. If she gets a size she likes now, she is less likely to ever want to upgrade the stone (we''ll keep our fingers crossed on that one

funny DS I was just thinking about that... thinking, hey, he should buy from a vendor that does upgrades but NOT TELL HER that she can upgrade it and then surprise her with an upgrade for their 5th or 10th or something

 

[moremoremore]

Gotta love a good deal!

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 9/18/2006 8:15:56 PM
Author: aljdewey

For the sanctimonious (DAN!), it''s worthwhile noting that nearly every major purchase goes through this. Car starts out with budget of X, but hubby reeeeeeeeeeeally likes this car, and it''s only a bit more. We think about it and realize that for the expected life of the car, it''s stupid not to get what we''d LOVE (since we can afford it) instead of what''s just ok.

hehe I think this is one of the reasons I don''t get any lip from my dh, because we had two cars totally paid off and he just HAD to have a convertable so he threw down a hunk of money... I tell him this ring is my convertable and he says but it isn''t practical and I say yeah but it will last a lot longer! lol

 

[mrssalvo]

well it's quite possible she just doesn't care about all the diamond details like most of the folks who find pricescope do. Look, I needed a new car, my husband asked me what type of car I wanted I told him, my decision was based on the size of the car since we have kids and my desire to have a DVD player and the auto doors. I do not care what type of engine it has, what type of high performance tires it has, how it will perform in different driving situations I just want x car. Does that make me shallow? And because I haven't researched car magazines or have any idea how much the car is that mean's I have little regard for his money? No, it means I trust him to spend what he/we can afford and I was just telling him what I wanted because he asked. If he buys me a van that doesn't have auto doors b/c that was in the budget, fine. For all we know, our Op's gal would be happy with a gum wrapper. He asked what she wanted she told him. It's funny because my husband thought I was nuts learning about diamonds. He's the type to go into a jeweler store and pic with his eyes and size and color are all HE cares about. I wanted to research and learn about cut and find the deal. So is my hubby shallow b/c all he cared about was size for my upgrade?

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 9/19/2006 9:08:57 AM
Author: mrssalvo

well it''s quite possible she just doesn''t care about all the diamond details like most of the folks who find pricescope do. Look, I needed a new car, my husband asked me what type of car I wanted I told him, my decision was based on the size of the car since we have kids and my desire to have a DVD player and the auto doors. I do not care what type of engine it has, what type of high performance tires it has, how it will perform in different driving situations I just want x car. Does that make me shallow? And because I haven''t researched car magazines or have any idea how much the car is that mean''s I have little regard for his money? No, it means I trust him to spend what he/we can afford and I was just telling him what I wanted because he asked. If he buys me a van that doesn''t have auto doors b/c that was in the budget, fine. For all we know, our Op''s gal would be happy with a gum wrapper. He asked what she wanted she told him. It''s funny because my husband thought I was nuts learning about diamonds. He''s the type to go into a jeweler store and pic with his eyes and size and color are all HE cares about. I wanted to research and learn about cut and find the deal. So is my hubby shallow b/c all he cared about was size for my upgrade?

when we got our latest car (a few years ago) my husband asked me, "Is it worth the $10,000 premium to have a remote door?" and I, 8 months pregnant with #3 emphatically replied, "YES!" lol Next van doesn''t really need an auto door, but I''d love an auto hatchback now hehehehe As for the diamond my dh just wanted to go to shane co. I told him I didn''t think that was a good idea, maybe we could find something online... he said let''s just go to shane co and I said let''s just look up shane co. so we did and I found PS hehehehehehe

 

[bae7]

I suspect I may be a little like your fiance - I don''t wear a fancy RHR, no diamond earrings, no tennis bracelet. So for my one piece of jewelry that I would wear EVERY SINGLE DAY, I wanted at least a 1.5. I think you are doing the right thing, for the right reasons. Good luck!!!

 

[Lynn B]

Tlow,

A 1.5 in a halo is going to look beautiful -- and *HUGE!*

and she is going to be blown away!

I can't wait for the finished product and the hand photos!

Lynn

 

[gailrmv]

I had another thought. Does she know much about cut quality? If she does, and still prefers the 1.5 less well cut, than that is certainly a respectable point of view. But if she does not know how a 1.3 ideal cut will look, it might be worth going to see one before deciding (or seeing the difference between ideal and non-ideal cut in any size range just for comparison). I would want to, for sure.

 

[tlow]

No she does not know much of anything about cut quality....funny you ask...its an interesting game I play the past couple of times we have looked...I sorta play quasi intelligent quasi dumb about diamonds, rings, etc. She definitely knows I am looking but I still want her to be surprised with what I know and what I got her

And Yes, she has seen a well cut 1.3 next to the 1.5, she noticed very little difference if any...but still wants the 1.5