Question about upgrading setting with a diamond later

[tacorilove]

Hi everyone!! I''m a newbie so bear with me!!

Here''s a little background info:

My boyfriend and I are 24 - he''s a recent college grad working as a civil engineer and I am finishing up my degree and working part time. We''ve been together for nearly 4 years, lived together for 2 years, and have been ready to take "the next step" for quite a while.

Now for the issues... Our rent is through the roof, the economy is awful (we are fearful of losing our jobs so we''re saving as much as possible), and I am not ok with him financing a ring. There''s just something unromantic about that. He currently makes $52,000/year, (before taxes), but in a year or so he will be obtaining his professional license which will increase his salary dramatically, (by at least $20,000 which was quoted by his boss). I suggested that he purchase one of the settings we both adore, (Tacori, Scott Kay, etc), and not buy a diamond until we can comfortably afford to buy one outright. Although I don''t necessarily like the diamond substitutes and would never have one as a "forever" ring, I don''t see a problem with keeping it in there until we can make a purchase in a year or so. He is also an absolute traditionalist and is not exactly thrilled with the idea of what he calls buying me a "fake" ring (even though it''s just a temporary sub for the center stone). He also made it clear that he will not purchase a colored stone or a diamond he thinks is small, ( which to him is under 1 carat).

Is this even possible?? Can we purchase a setting such as Tacori, Scott, Kay, etc, and put a CZ, white sapphire, or something like it? This will not be a forever stone.. I just want the setting to be my forever setting.. the stone can be upgraded when we can afford it. I''ve even thought about taking whatever CZ, sapphire, etc. and having it made into a necklace or something like that since it will still have meaning for me.

We are also leaning towards halo settings.. will this be a problem in setting the actual diamond in it later?

Thanks for any and all comments and opinions!! I''ve been a lurker for quite some time and am so happy I finally joined!!

 

[l0v3lif3]

I just joined (right now, just to respond to you).
I clicked on something to not talk about CZ, so let''s say you put in a white sapphire or something. The designer settings are sometimes kind of expensive, even before you add the cost of a CS. If there are other diamonds on the ring, they will probably out-sparkle a non-diamond CS. Other than that, I can''t think of a reason not to do it this way. FI and I are considering ourselves.

Don''t know about a halo, hopefully someone else can answer that.

Congratulations!

 

[Rhea]

It can be done. The setting may need to be retipped, new prongs, or a new head depending on the cut and size of the stone you choose each time.

 

[neatfreak]

You can sub out stones of the same size pretty easily. But if it makes your BF uncomfortable, maybe you should consider something else. What about doing it backwards and buying a beautiful eternity band now, which can become your wedding ring and you can buy a more traditional ering when the time comes? That way there is nothing fake or not forever about it.

 

[MMT]

Date: 10/19/2008 2:03:46 PM
Author: neatfreak
You can sub out stones of the same size pretty easily. But if it makes your BF uncomfortable, maybe you should consider something else. What about doing it backwards and buying a beautiful eternity band now, which can become your wedding ring and you can buy a more traditional ering when the time comes? That way there is nothing fake or not forever about it.

I second neatfreaks idea I think that sounds like a great plan

 

[Circe]

Date: 10/19/2008 2:23:08 PM
Author: MMT

Date: 10/19/2008 2:03:46 PM

Author: neatfreak

You can sub out stones of the same size pretty easily. But if it makes your BF uncomfortable, maybe you should consider something else. What about doing it backwards and buying a beautiful eternity band now, which can become your wedding ring and you can buy a more traditional ering when the time comes? That way there is nothing fake or not forever about it.

I second neatfreaks idea I think that sounds like a great plan

Thritto-ing both of these ladies: if you check Signed Pieces/Facets, you''ll see a variety of absolutely gorgeous eternities for really reasonable prices, and then you can save up for a solitaire when circumstances/the economy permits. I''ve always rather liked the idea of the eternity ring as an engagement ring for purely symbolic reasons, and aesthetically, it''s a beautiful look ....

 

[Circe]

Argh, too late to edit my last post - an aside. If you love Tacori, try checking Overstock, both for the eternities, and for the solitaire settings with "place-holder" stones: a quick search brings up a lot of possibilities.

 

[l0v3lif3]

I like the idea of the diamond band as e-ring, but it won''t have the same e-ring look people are expecting. They can be as expensive as small solitares, and one may want to deal with comments about "when are you getting the REAL ring?"

 

[tacorilove]

Thank you each for your wonderful responses!!

l0v3lif3 - Well thank you for taking the time out to join and respond!! We are both aware of the pricing for the designer settings as we''ve shopped around quite a few places. I do agree with the possibility of the other diamonds outshining the center. That is definitely a huge concern so I guess we''ll have to see when the time comes. I also agree with your issue about a band not looking like an engagement ring. The biggest problem for me is that I don''t want to explain it to my friends, my family/his family would never go for it, and neither would my boyfriend.

Addy - Of the things that you mentioned (new prongs, new head, etc.), is it quite expensive to do so? We know that in the long run this will be more expensive, but if it''s quite a bit I might be tempted to wait it out.

neatfreak, MMT, Circe - I''m all for a smaller ring. I''m not much of a jewelry person to begin with. My boyfriend is a traditionalist with a capital "T"

He will not do the eternity band as it will look like a wedding band. My family and his family wouldn''t go for it either. I do understand the idea though and that would be a nice option, but I''m not sure that I''d be willing to get into lengthy explanations as to why my engagement ring doesn''t look like one.

Circe - Thanks for the link to Overstock! I had no idea they had Tacori settings there!

Hmmm... with all this new information, maybe it''s worth the wait. I''m not sure that I want to go through the hassle of changing it out later or worrying if the diamonds will match the temporary fake.

Thank you so much for your responses. Hopefully we figure something out.. but this has definitely helped a ton!!

 

[l0v3lif3]

Good luck with whatever you decide!