Overall Opinion

[meffaman]

Too much info for me to digest on GOG''s site, but I love every minute of it. Am leaning towards this guy: http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/4206/

Plan to put it in a 3-stone ring for my wife (a surprise). Any thoughts on size of side stones? What balances well etc....

 

[Lorelei]

GORGEOUS diamond, just verify with GOG it is eyeclean and you have a winner!!!!

 

[chrono]

Incredibly stunning. Are you planning on 2 round sides, baguettes or pears?

 

[meffaman]

Cool, thanks guys. I was planning on rounds for the sides. Kinda like the looks of this Solasfera, but GOG hasn''t gotten back to me yet on the price so I might be out of my league.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 5/2/2008 12:47:11 PM
Author: meffaman
Cool, thanks guys. I was planning on rounds for the sides. Kinda like the looks of this Solasfera, but GOG hasn''t gotten back to me yet on the price so I might be out of my league.

That sounds wonderful! I hope the price is within your means, but that is a superb diamond you have picked for the centre stone, so whatever you do, it will be a beautiful ring! Have you reserved the diamond yet, to avoid it being grabbed?

 

[chrono]

Date: 5/2/2008 12:54:05 PM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 5/2/2008 12:47:11 PM
Author: meffaman
Cool, thanks guys. I was planning on rounds for the sides. Kinda like the looks of this Solasfera, but GOG hasn''t gotten back to me yet on the price so I might be out of my league.

That sounds wonderful! I hope the price is within your means, but that is a superb diamond you have picked for the centre stone, so whatever you do, it will be a beautiful ring! Have you reserved the diamond yet, to avoid it being grabbed?

Ditto that. It doesn''t cost you anything to reserve the stone while it is under serious consideration because you don''t want someone else to buy the stone while you are undecided then end up having to start the hunt again.

 

[meffaman]

No, I haven''t reserved it yet but will.

Do you guys have any experience or thoughts on what the appropriate size side stones should be? Is there a rule of thumb to go by?

 

[HOUMedGal]

Yeah, reserving it would be best. There was a thread recently that someone posted because they were upset that the diamond they were considering (and posting about here) was sold to someone else while they were thinking.

About the sidestones, there''s a thread stickied at the top of RockyTalky about sizes, and the 4th post on that thread has a picture of different size round three stones together...Here it is, so you can see what your eyes like:

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/diamond-size-comparison.83517/

 

[HOUMedGal]

Here's that chart I was talking about...it uses a 1.5ct center stone, which is a little bigger than your center stone (which looks FAB btw!), but won't have a huge visual difference in the ring.

ETA: I'm kinda liking the smallest ones, the 0.25ct sides. I think they allow the center stone to still take center stage, and if you go with the stunner you're considering, it needs to have center stage because it looks gorgeous!!

 

[zerj]

"Cool, thanks guys. I was planning on rounds for the sides. Kinda like the looks of this Solasfera, but GOG hasn''t gotten back to me yet on the price so I might be out of my league. "

You know I had wondered what the prices were too on the Solasfera. I found if you do a search and include all diamonds and sort by price, the Solasfera will show up on the list intermixed with the rest of the stones. So my guess is GoG is prevented from displaying the prices by Solafera (a lot of camera companies do this) BUT his sort algorithm does have this info. You might be able to figure out the price from that.

 

[Muss]

Personally, with the center stone from GOG you have picked out (very nice by the way) I wouldn’t go any bigger than .25-.3 on either side. I think that size adds a little sparkle and pizzazz without taking away from the center stone. But that is just me.

Here is a thread of a 3-stone beauty with 1.23 in the center and .25 on the sides https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/just-got-my-pics-from-whiteflash.64961/

 

[Lorelei]

Nice work HMG!! Good to see you back!

 

[meffaman]

I''m looking at the Solasfera setting, not a Solasfera stone. Not sure if that''s what you''re thinking.

I couldn''t get the price of either to show online, but just talked with Sarah at GOG and she''s sending me everything.

I''m the type of guy who will overanalyze all of this to death and then be unable to do anything, kinda like sensory overload. So the sooner they get me the info I''m looking for the better off everyone willl be. I''m ready to finish this off today, or at least make a monetary commital, just need to get them the ring size.

 

[meffaman]

GOG has a couple of .5's that they're suggesting for the sides and they look nice.

With the center stone, does anyone have an opinion (either way) about the spread? It seems rather big at 6.83-6.90. Am I just being too picky? Does it make a difference?

http://www.goodoldgold.com/show.php?image=4206/MEGASCOPE.jpg

Here are the side stones: http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/3785/ & http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/3786/

I put this whole thing off a couple of years ago due to financial constraints and want to get it right. Keep in mind that my wife will be going from a .67 run of the mill stone to this planned 3-stone. I'm expecting she'll be more than happy no matter what the spread is on the center stone, but now's the time to decide.

 

[chrono]

Wow, 0.5 ct side stones are on the large side. Did you see the pictures further up about how they all look together? Some ladies love the large sidestone look but others prefer the sidestones to take a backseat to the center stone. Neither of these are wrong, but a personal preference. Which do you think she prefers?

Your current selection will look more like the lowest left combo. Most PSers like the lowest right combo (1.5 ct with 0.25 ct sides) because it makes the center stone really stand out.

 

[arjunajane]

Date: 5/2/2008 7:28:40 PM
Author: meffaman
GOG has a couple of .5''s that they''re suggesting for the sides and they look nice.

With the center stone, does anyone have an opinion (either way) about the spread? It seems rather big at 6.83-6.90. Am I just being too picky? Does it make a difference?

http://www.goodoldgold.com/show.php?image=4206/MEGASCOPE.jpg

Here are the side stones: http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/3785/ & http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/3786/

I put this whole thing off a couple of years ago due to financial constraints and want to get it right. Keep in mind that my wife will be going from a .67 run of the mill stone to this planned 3-stone. I''m expecting she''ll be more than happy no matter what the spread is on the center stone, but now''s the time to decide.

I think what you''ve listed as the spread seems about spot on for what we''d expect from a great GOG ideal cut - in that the spread will be good

I also like the selection of ring you''ve chosen. My ering is a 3 stone and I lurve it, although yours is going to be alot bigger than mine, lol!
I like the proportions of the sides to the middle that you''ve chosen.
However, to be sure it may be worth asking Jon to line them up and take a photo for you so you can really decide.

Good luck, it sounds great!

 

[purrfectpear]

Actually I prefer the look of the .50 stones. The smaller .25 stones are almost small enough to make it look like every other solitaire with side stone rings IMO. Unless that is the sort of engagement look you are going for? I like bling

 

[meffaman]

This is great everyone, thank you so much for your input and positive responses to my questions/concerns. I went ahead and put a deposit on those three stones and am waiting for information the different settings. Dropping $10k on diamonds and who-knows-what on the setting is something most people do once in a lifetime. Everyone''s input makes me feel like I''m making a good decision.

What I really like about this whole scenario is my wife has no idea. Her original e-ring was a single .67, and the stone fell out several months ago. She didn''t lose the stone, but hasn''t brought it in to get it reset either though she''s brought it up a couple of times. I told her today that I''m going to bring it in to where I bought it to have it reset, but I''m actually going to send the setting to GOG so they''ll know the size.

Was also thinking about putting that stone in a pendant or something. It holds a lot of sentimental value and I''m sure she''d like to see it go to use somehow. BTW, we''ve been married 16yrs (3 kids) and if anyone deserves a nice ring it''s her.

Me, I can''t wait to see what these diamonds look like. I''ve never seen a H&A diamond in person and feel like a kid the night before xmas.

 

[neatfreak]

You are SO SWEET!!! She is just going to faint when she sees this ring. You couldn''t have made better choices. Bravo!!

 

[chrono]

What a fantastic this surprise is going to be; how devious in that you are sending the ring to GOG under the pretext that the stone will be reset in the old setting.

 

[kcoursolle]

Oooooh, beautiful center stone you picked out!! Just lovely!!!

Personally, I like the look of slightly smaller side stones to make the center stone pop instead instead of get lost visually. I think .25-.4 would be perfect and that would also save you quite a bit of money relative to .50 stones.

I can''t wait to see how this ring progresses, it''s going to be gorgeous!!!

 

[meffaman]

Yeah, thruthfully I thought about looking for smaller stones thinking I could maybe save a few bucks and to make the center stone look bigger, but realistically what's a couple of hundred dollars in the big scheme of things. I think the center stone will still be the highlight, and I do want the sides to be seen as well, but really the bottom-line is I don't have the energy to kill myself over all of this.

I've tackled so many projects as a homeowner and have adopted the philosophy that if you put enough quality ingredients into a project it'll come out well simply because you didn't skimp at every opportunity, and doing it yourself gives you the financial leeway to do it this way. So to me buying from a place like GOG and getting a square deal lets me buy quality items vs going to a b&m that "might" be looking to squeeze every last cent out of my wallet, and in the end I'm not sure what I bought and most likely could have done better for the same price as a b&m that doesn't go the extra mile like GOG.

 

[arjunajane]

Meffaman,
you have a great attitude towards this whole thing, and as I mentioned before I think you've made a wonderful decision. I too am currently working with Jon and the team - aren't they just the most helpful?
Its a lovely surprise that your planning for your wife, I'm sure she will adore it. You must post about her response and the pics when you get it!
have you considered the truffel setting from vatche? GOG stock them. I will try to find a pic..

edit: couldn't find a decent pic for vatche, but this WF one is pretty much the same..
http://www.whiteflash.com/Engagement-Rings/Styles/3Stone/3-Stone-Trellis-Ring_1135.htm

 

[meffaman]

Sarah at GOG did mention the Vatche truffle setting and said it''s her favorite. I just saw it for the first time with the help of your link and it''s definitely something I''d consider. I''m hopeful GOG will get me everything on Tuesday when they open.

BTW - I had had several glasses of red wine last night when I wrote that post about being able to use quality ingredients in things you do when you do it yourself. Hope I wasn''t too over-the-top. Just wanted to let the board know how I am when it comes to these things. Also, I certainly wasn''t thinking that putting smaller stones would have been any less quality or anything, they simply didn''t have any smaller matching stones that were H&A''s, otherwise I would have certainly considered it. A big part of my thinking is if I had them search for smaller matching H&A''s for the sides, the doubt fairy would creep into my brain while I was waiting and it''d be all downhill from there.

I''m gonna ask GOG if they''ll provide me with soft copies all of the technical stuff they put up with the stones I''m buying. Do you think they''ll have a problem with that?

 

[Ellen]

Date: 5/3/2008 2:44:00 PM
Author: neatfreak
You are SO SWEET!!! She is just going to faint when she sees this ring. You couldn''t have made better choices. Bravo!!

I couldn''t have said it better myself. What a guy!

 

[meffaman]

Wanted to give an update on this. I went with the Precison Set e-ring and wedding band (platinum). I initially ordered a plain channel-set wedding band, but hemmed and hawed after the order was in because it seemed kinda manly to me, or not too feminine. So several days later I finally summoned up the courage to ask GOG if they could get me the band with millgrain because I thought it had more character etc, and they did it no problem without any hesitation. This made a hugh difference my psyche and I''m feeling more confident she''ll love what I picked out.

I really don''t know how long it''s going to be before it comes in. I asked that the insides of the rings be engraved with our names and weddding date like our current rings, so they said that would add an additional week.

 

[PixnSparklez]

It''s a gorgeous diamond! I''m so happy for you, she''ll love it! I think that rb on the sides would be cute but a lot of people have that. Maybe a pear or princess would be nice too. Even colored gems would be nice, I like saphire or tanzanite!