Planning to propose on New Years.... diamond newbie

[Slated]

I love your forum and have read many of the posts. As with any topic, it's hard to learn enough to be educated sufficiantly without alot of time. I hope you don't mind if I ask a blunt question. I'm 23 and am thinking that 4-5 is about what I can afford. I'd love to be able to get her a tifany's but am thinking I could do just as well somewhere else and get more bang for the buck. If anyone could give me some ideas as to what's avaliable in that price range and if there would be a chain in Green Bay Wi that is trustworthy. I really want to do this right as I hope to only do it once in my life. Thank you so much to anyone who can help.

-Michael

 

[Slated]

also, I should mention she has a 2.5-3 since she's 4'11". Should I be concerned that certain styles would just not look good on her since she's so petite?

 

[reena]

hi, don''t worry, you should be able to get her something beautiful for $4-5k. (i assume you meant $4-5 thousand?) a few questions:

and idea what shape stone she would like?

what do you have in mind for a setting? simple solitaire, solitaire in a diamond accent setting, three stone, etc?

what carat weight did you have in mind for the center stone?

are you opposed to buying online?

 

[snlee]

You want to spend $4,000-5,000? Since your gf has pretty small fingers (are you sure 2.5-3?! 2.5 is TINY!) a 1 carat or below would look good. I would get a simple 4 or 6 prong tiffany style band. I think that looks the best for small fingers. Of course that''s up to you to decide...You can look at some pictures of my ring to get an idea of how it would look...

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-diamond-ring.21551/

Have you tried using the pricescope search bar at the top? You can get a good idea of what kinds of diamonds you could get within your price range.

Hope this helps.

 

[Slated]

Thanks for the replies!

I''ve been hearing that because she is so petite, a .5-1ct is the way to go, but I want something that is still VERY eye catching. I figure I can go with something as untainted as possible. maybe with a pave to accent the stone. I was also told that a three stone may apear too large on her.

I''m not opposed to purchasing it online, as long as I can be certain that it is the highest quality possible and every other woman on the street isn''t wearing it.

Thanks again!!

 

[Judi W]

For "4 to 5 K you can get lots of bling
And NO ONE''s too short for a diamond ring!

She''s going to have a fantastic NEW YEARS EVE!
Best of luck in your diamond search!

 

[Slated]

I guess the quality of the stone is the most important to me. I want the highest quality ston possible. Maybe a .75ish with a nice pave? anyone know where I can start my looking or what ''grade'' I should be asking about. Since I''m not looking for a large diamond, I just want as good of one as I can afford.

 

[reena]

what shape stone?

if i were you i would focus on getting the best cut stone that you can for your budget. after that, it''s up to you to prioitize carat weight, color and clarity.

i know that you said she''s tiny, but i still wouldn''t discount carat weight as a consideration in this case--i don''t care what anyone says or how tiny she is, a stone in the upper range of the sizes you''re considering is not going to look tacky on her. it just won''t. now if you were considering a 4 carat stone or something, maybe. but in your case i wouldn''t worry about the stone being "too much" for her.

good luck!

 

[Axemma]

Just to put my $0.2 in...I had a great experience with Good Old Gold recently. He has some very beautiful stones for sale and if he doesnt have exactly what you are looking for they can try and bring it in for you. Try the diamond vendors link in resources up above too...Good Luck.

 

[snlee]

With a 4-5K budget I would focus on getting a high quality 1 carat or smaller rather than a larger diamond.

 

[Slated]

I''m looking for a very traditional cut, even round. I''m almost feeling pressed for time since new years is coming up. I''ve always loved the traditional tiffany''s solitaires. I really wish I would have started looking sooner. What do you think would be the best color, clarity, etc I can get? I''m not sure why, but I think paves are great looking and I know that she''ll love whatever I get her and would never tell me even if she hated it, so I want to stay pretty traditional. Thanks so much

 

[snlee]

I would look for something like a .75-1 carat, colorless (D,E,F), VS2-SI1. Have you tried using the pricescope your diamond search bar? It''s very useful!

 

[reena]

Date: 11/22/2004 5

2

1 PM
Author: snlee
With a 4-5K budget I would focus on getting a high quality 1 carat or smaller rather than a larger diamond.

unless i wasn''t clear, i agree with this. i was just trying to say that since you''re considering something 1 carat or under, then IMO there is no danger of the ring looking gaudy on her teensy finger. anything within that range would look good.

if it were me, i would try to get the best cut stone possible (as others have said). after that my personal priority would be to get the biggest stone i could find (within that 1ct and under range) that also has a decent color (depending on how color sensitive you are, G or H would be great, and you could go even lower in a well-cut RB) and decent clarity (i personally wouldn''t go above VS1 or 2 and would also consider an eyeclean SI1). but it''s really a personal choice.

 

[susiQ]

With a size 3 finger I think .75ct would look awesome. I would do something simple for the setting.... my choice would be a 4 prong cathedral (2mm-2.5mm width). With that combination you should be able to get a H&A F-H, VS1-VS2 with your budget pretty easily. What kind of girl is she??? Would she want something that looks huge? Maybe go for 7/8 ct??? I think to get a 1ct on your budget you would have to start looking for a place to compromise on quality, especially if you are looking to go for a more expensive setting.