Price Ratio - Center stone to Setting for E-Ring

[USFBulls]

Just curious of what ratio most spend in comparison of the center stone to the setting.

For example $5000 center stone $1000 on setting 5:1

 

[katrina_33]

That''s probably pretty standard, except that with platinum being popular right now, and also settings with pave, halos, sidestones, etc, there aren''t many settings along those lines that you can get for $1k. I think because of what''s "in" right now, lots of people are probably spending $2500 on settings for $5 k diamonds, but I could be way off. I know that if I could either get a bigger stone in a cheaper or simpler setting, or a slightly smaller stone in the setting of my dreams I''d choose the latter. (It actually came up when I was ring shopping with my bf.) I know there are people on this board who have spent 5 and 6 k on settings for stones that probably cost twice that, which is a long ways off from a 5:1 ratio.

 

[cinnabar]

Date: 5/21/2005 3:12:18 PM
Author: katrina_33
That''s probably pretty standard, except that with platinum being popular right now, and also settings with pave, halos, sidestones, etc, there aren''t many settings along those lines that you can get for $1k. I think because of what''s ''in'' right now, lots of people are probably spending $2500 on settings for $5 k diamonds, but I could be way off. I know that if I could either get a bigger stone in a cheaper or simpler setting, or a slightly smaller stone in the setting of my dreams I''d choose the latter. (It actually came up when I was ring shopping with my bf.) I know there are people on this board who have spent 5 and 6 k on settings for stones that probably cost twice that, which is a long ways off from a 5:1 ratio.

I''m totally the opposite, we spent $5000 on the diamond and $300 on the ring itself. I''m all about the stone, I don''t like fancy, fussy settings. The ring of my dreams is classic and simple. I don''t ever intend to upgrade the diamond so I preferred to spend most of the budget on the stone.

 

[michela002]

I know some will think its backwards, but the way my brain works is that you set your budget, pick your setting, then just spend whatever money is leftover on the centre stone ... Others work the other way around, but that''s me. I would rather get my perfect setting now and get a smaller stone, and upgrade the stone later, than get the bigger stone now and change the setting later. To me, the setting is "my ring" and the stone can be upgraded without the feeling of, "Oh, I got a whole new ring that looks nothing like what I was given when we first got engaged."

So for my ring (one day) I have a feeling 50% of the budget will be the setting, and the other 50% the stone.

But I think I''m unusual in this ...

 

[USFBulls]

I asked because I am unsure how i will approach this myself. I am going to surprise my soon to be fiance within a month or two.

The idea of marriage is not a surprise but the ring is not expected for at least another yr....

she wants a simple setting but she asked that it be unique.....found this out this morning as she was watching tv and some guy gave his fiance a $25k e-ring but she said she didn''t like it because it had too much going on....she said she likes simple but unique??

so i was thinking about this setting which is actually cheaper than others i was thinking of with side stones but i think this is more simple and unique.

 

[michela002]

If you know she likes simple settings then I think a solitaire is perfect, plus it will give you more left over to spend on the centre stone.

The setting you have posted is very pretty - it is a little high though. Just try and suss out if that is okay with her, or if she is a very "hands on" girl who might like something that stays out of the way a little more.

And I think you are on the right track - if she likes simple just go for a simple solitaire, no side stones or pave or anything (but maybe something with a "twist" just to make it slightly different) and I''m sure she''ll love it. Plus it''s a classic!

 

[USFBulls]

thanks cut rock

do you know of any surprise setting solitaires that might sit a little lower?

i like this one because it is only 2.8mm wide WF has a u-prong with accent but it is much wider i think around 3.8mm

do you know how high the one i posted sits?

 

[cinnabar]

How about a plain solitaire setting with a tiny "surprise diamond"? That would make it simple and unique.

 

[michela002]

I''m not too familiar with surprise diamond solitaires so I couldn''t really recommend a lower one, but I do know that Whiteflash do a lot of custom work, so if you wanted to work from that style but modify it I''m sure they would produce something amazing and just to your specifications.

Not sure how high it sits, it does look high in the pics though. I''m sure that could be modified to suit your tastes though. And she might like high settings ... what kind of work does she do? Does she wear a lot of jewellery? Is she likely to want something that stays out of the way or is prominent?

And just FYI, I like the width of that band too - I don''t like thick bands personally. What size fingers does your GF have? That can influence whether a thinner or thicker band looks better on her.

 

[USFBulls]

Date: 5/21/2005 8:06:39 PM
Author: cinnabar
How about a plain solitaire setting with a tiny ''surprise diamond''? That would make it simple and unique.

that is what i posted above

 

[USFBulls]

Date: 5/21/2005 8:39:43 PM
Author: Indecisive
I''m not too familiar with surprise diamond solitaires so I couldn''t really recommend a lower one, but I do know that Whiteflash do a lot of custom work, so if you wanted to work from that style but modify it I''m sure they would produce something amazing and just to your specifications.

Not sure how high it sits, it does look high in the pics though. I''m sure that could be modified to suit your tastes though. And she might like high settings ... what kind of work does she do? Does she wear a lot of jewellery? Is she likely to want something that stays out of the way or is prominent?

And just FYI, I like the width of that band too - I don''t like thick bands personally. What size fingers does your GF have? That can influence whether a thinner or thicker band looks better on her.

I am going to ask WF how high the setting sits.

what would be considered high and what would be considered medium in terms of mm?

she is in pharmacy school she wears diamond earings and her great grandmas wedding band (thin band) - not on the wedding finger.

she is size 6 1/4

 

[valeria101]

Once upon a time there was a poll...

Actually, two polls that say the the usual e-ring setting around here accounts for less that quarter of the diamond''s size and does not attract much attention anyway !

 

[USFBulls]

Date: 5/22/2005 12:06:17 PM
Author: valeria101
Once upon a time there was a poll...

Actually, two polls that say the the usual e-ring setting around here accounts for less that quarter of the diamond''s size and does not attract much attention anyway !

Kind of what I would expect as I doubt many would pay 1/2 for a setting and the other half for the rock.

 

[mrssalvo]

I asked a similar question a while back and got some really great answers. You might want to check it out.
here''s the link

 

[LadyluvsLuxury]

I don''t really think there is a set ratio for spending between a stone and a setting. It is contigent upon MANY factors in your life. For instance, my husband and I got engaged when I was 20 and he was 22 (we were high school sweethearts), he was an enlisted sailor and I was still a college student. My first ring was a $300 invisible princess cut setting from K-MART! Not too long after that one of his mother''s friends had a broken off engagement, her then boyfriend told her to keep the ring and her not wanting the memories sold it to us for $500! It is a 1.54 carat RB, E colored SI2. At the time I didn''t want to keep the SAME EXACT ring as her so we had it set in a simple 14 KT yellow gold cathedral setting. Now my husband is an officer, I am doing well in my career, we have NO bills except our mortgage and we are upgrading my E-ring this year. So all I''m saying is you will have a lifetime with your girlfriend, do the best you can with WHAT you can and TRUST me ANYTHING you get for her she will LOVE! Also, if you are still in college PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do NOT finance a large amount of money for this if possible. Starting out will be difficult enough and if you can avoid adding another debt to have to repay upon graduation then I''d do it. Sorry for the babble! Goodluck and let us know what you decide!

 

[michela002]

Date: 5/22/2005 11:39:22 AM
Author: USFBulls

I am going to ask WF how high the setting sits.

what would be considered high and what would be considered medium in terms of mm?

Perhaps ask them how much higher (if at all) it is than a "standard" six-prong imitation Tiffanys setting that are quite common. E.g. Like WF''s Tiffany Knife Edge setting:

That might give you an indication of whether it will be "high" (as compared with a more standard setting.)

 

[AdaBeta27]

Generally, the larger and more ideal the cut the diamond, the more I prefer an elegant, simple, refined, and traditional setting so that the attention goes to the diamond. An elegant traditional setting is least likely to go out of fashiion. For smaller diamonds and lesser cuts that need help, I prefer large and/or downright gaudy settings.

I would go for the biggest & best diamond I could afford. Get that right the first time and skimp on the setting if you have to. The reason I say that is you'll definitely lose money selling a diamond to upgrade later, and you might even lose money trading it in to a vendor who has an upgrade tradein policy. The vendor you buy from might not even be in business when you get around to upgrading.

Another argument for not putting a lot of money into a setting is settings used to be worn for life or until they wore out but not so anymore. Trendy ones are a fashion item and like all fashions they rise and fall in popularity. (I can't wait until all that "antique" pave hits the pawn shops, LOL. The '80s/'90s yellow gold baguettes and channel sets are already there.) There are many shank and head styles in Stuller and various findings catalogs, so it's not difficult to go somewhat "different" from the standard Tiffany-and-knife-edge without spending a whole lot of money. I even saw one really cool wedding set that was based on a kind of Art Nouveau swirly fashion ring setting and the jeweler had made a curvy gold wedding band fitted to it. Now that WAS different. I'd wear it.

There's finally some action in ring guards, wraps, and insert rings, as in the first new styles I've seen in 10 years, LOL, so those are another possibility to dress up an ordinary solitaire.

I think platinum is so overpriced right now that I'll boycott it. I got my platinum when it was selling for less than gold. I'm just that calcularing sort though, hehe.

 

[USFBulls]

Date: 5/22/2005 6:46:54 PM
Author: Indecisive

Date: 5/22/2005 11:39:22 AM
Author: USFBulls

I am going to ask WF how high the setting sits.

what would be considered high and what would be considered medium in terms of mm?

Perhaps ask them how much higher (if at all) it is than a ''standard'' six-prong imitation Tiffanys setting that are quite common. E.g. Like WF''s Tiffany Knife Edge setting:

That might give you an indication of whether it will be ''high'' (as compared with a more standard setting.)

Is this considered low or medium?

 

[USFBulls]

Date: 5/22/2005 6:07:14 PM
Author: LadyluvsLuxury
I don''t really think there is a set ratio for spending between a stone and a setting. It is contigent upon MANY factors in your life. For instance, my husband and I got engaged when I was 20 and he was 22 (we were high school sweethearts), he was an enlisted sailor and I was still a college student. My first ring was a $300 invisible princess cut setting from K-MART! Not too long after that one of his mother''s friends had a broken off engagement, her then boyfriend told her to keep the ring and her not wanting the memories sold it to us for $500! It is a 1.54 carat RB, E colored SI2. At the time I didn''t want to keep the SAME EXACT ring as her so we had it set in a simple 14 KT yellow gold cathedral setting. Now my husband is an officer, I am doing well in my career, we have NO bills except our mortgage and we are upgrading my E-ring this year. So all I''m saying is you will have a lifetime with your girlfriend, do the best you can with WHAT you can and TRUST me ANYTHING you get for her she will LOVE! Also, if you are still in college PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do NOT finance a large amount of money for this if possible. Starting out will be difficult enough and if you can avoid adding another debt to have to repay upon graduation then I''d do it. Sorry for the babble! Goodluck and let us know what you decide!

Thanks....

Don''t worry she is going back to school in Aug and I already finished grad school so at least one of us is no longer in college

though sometimes i sure do wish i were 9 yrs younger and just finishing under grad once again!

 

[belle]

i love the look of the simple solitaire...the surprise diamonds are a nice lil bonus though!

 

[valeria101]

Date: 5/22/2005 11:39:22 AM
Author: USFBulls

I am going to ask WF how high the setting sits.

what would be considered high and what would be considered medium in terms of mm?

I do not know of any official ranking, but IMO 5mm (from finger to table of diamond) is low, 7mm about average and 9-10 really, really high. At the very least, the diamond must be set 1mm over the finger when it looks like just touching the skin - which you do not want to happen for real because the sharp point would carve into the finger when the ring spins.

The setting shown in that picture could be adjusted from very low to medium, I would think. Basket settings are almost never made very high - not that it isn''t feasible, but they do look awcward if very high, like scaffolding of sorts

 

[northstar_78]

I really think it depends on what you and the reciepent of the ring want. If the person who is wearing the ring has a heart set on a specific setting i.e. a knife-edge solitaire then I''d hunt for the stone with that setting in mind. If the person loves a square princess go for the diamond first. But here''s my two cents...

1. Set a budget and stick to it...makes the whole process so much easier!

2. If you are looking for a specific setting do your homework and shop around. Many vendors carry similar settings

3. Some vendors offer not only a trade-up policy on stones but also on settings. I''ve been looking for settings at Empire Diamond and they will credit the setting (as long as it''s from them) toward a new one

4. Keep an open mind about the different metals; I know platinum is all the rage but a nice 18K white gold setting works well for some. I personally find platinum a bit "heavy"

5. Some vendors can also fine-tune a solitaire and customize it for a lot less then a "custom" ring. If you like claw prongs but can''t afford a custom ring see if your vendor can add them to a four prong solitaire or if you want a lower head but can''t afford a designer ring see if they can set the diamond low. Just ask...they can only say no

6. There are some tricks to making a stone appear larger, whiter etc. Most stones set in platinum or white gold will pop more and if you have a round adding prongs to the setting will make it appear larger. I think Tacori has a lovely 8-prong solitaire that is GORGEOUS! Adding a bezel to any shape or size of stone also makes it appear larger.

7. If you are going for a specific "look" ie. Ritani''s pave Endless Love Collection I''d spend more on the setting

8. If you want a specific stone spend more on the stone and have it set in a simple solitaire

 

[LadyluvsLuxury]

Date: 5/22/2005 9:31:04 PM
Author: USFBulls

Date: 5/22/2005 6:07:14 PM
Author: LadyluvsLuxury
I don''t really think there is a set ratio for spending between a stone and a setting. It is contigent upon MANY factors in your life. For instance, my husband and I got engaged when I was 20 and he was 22 (we were high school sweethearts), he was an enlisted sailor and I was still a college student. My first ring was a $300 invisible princess cut setting from K-MART! Not too long after that one of his mother''s friends had a broken off engagement, her then boyfriend told her to keep the ring and her not wanting the memories sold it to us for $500! It is a 1.54 carat RB, E colored SI2. At the time I didn''t want to keep the SAME EXACT ring as her so we had it set in a simple 14 KT yellow gold cathedral setting. Now my husband is an officer, I am doing well in my career, we have NO bills except our mortgage and we are upgrading my E-ring this year. So all I''m saying is you will have a lifetime with your girlfriend, do the best you can with WHAT you can and TRUST me ANYTHING you get for her she will LOVE! Also, if you are still in college PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do NOT finance a large amount of money for this if possible. Starting out will be difficult enough and if you can avoid adding another debt to have to repay upon graduation then I''d do it. Sorry for the babble! Goodluck and let us know what you decide!

Thanks....

Don''t worry she is going back to school in Aug and I already finished grad school so at least one of us is no longer in college

though sometimes i sure do wish i were 9 yrs younger and just finishing under grad once again!

No problem! I just like to interject my little knowledge when I can, even if it isn''t useful! LOL I would have to agree with the poster above however. The larger the stone, the simpler the setting and vice versa. There IS such a thing as too many diamonds on one ring!

Goodluck and post a picture of the ring when you purchase it!

 

[michela002]

Date: 5/22/2005 9:28:17 PM
Author: USFBulls

Is this considered low or medium?

I''d argue that the Tiffany imitation knife-edge settings are considered "medium." (Don''t know if others agree with me.) I personally wouldn''t want something too much higher, because it already sits prominently off the finger.

 

[hawaii 5-0]

hey usf
my ratio was @7:1

also if you are looking for simple but unique, i just had WF design a ring for me in the last week... check it out and see what you think
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/old-post-opinions-on-this-stone-now-thank-you-wf.28971/

hope this helps
aloha

 

[Kaleigh]

I would say that it''s in the medium range and is very pretty. I have always liked that setting.

 

[USFBulls]

I guess it is a medium setting

WF said
Depending on Size of Stone- sits approx 6.0mm up from the finger

 

[belle]

6mm is definitely reasonable and not too high

 

[Kaleigh]

I think it''s great, what do you think???

 

[USFBulls]

Date: 5/24/2005 3:22:00 PM
Author: kaleigh
I think it''s great, what do you think???

I like it a lot.

For the moment this def. the one!