Recommendations for Engagement Rings (with Setting)

[mrssalvo]

I agree with Dreamer that an oval or pear will look larger and I agree with Charmy that a halo can do the same thing, but I'd make sure the person wearing the ring likes those shapes or halos. I personally wouldn't want an oval or pear for an e-ring and would take a smaller round or cushion. I love halo's but many gals don't so you really need to find out what shape she wants and not worry about how it looks to other people from a distance

 

[CharmyPoo]

I agree with Dreamer that an oval or pear will look larger and I agree with Charmy that a halo can do the same thing, but I'd make sure the person wearing the ring likes those shapes or halos. I personally wouldn't want an oval or pear for an e-ring and would take a smaller round or cushion. I love halo's but many gals don't so you really need to find out what shape she wants and not worry about how it looks to other people from a distance

Ditto. For me, size isn't everything - a bigger version of something I don't like won't make me like it more.

 

[Dreamer_D]

I agree with Dreamer that an oval or pear will look larger and I agree with Charmy that a halo can do the same thing, but I'd make sure the person wearing the ring likes those shapes or halos. I personally wouldn't want an oval or pear for an e-ring and would take a smaller round or cushion. I love halo's but many gals don't so you really need to find out what shape she wants and not worry about how it looks to other people from a distance

Yeah, I agree too. I like a big looking ring but want top optics too, so opted for an RB. A halo is an amazing size enhancer, though I don't like them on my hand.

Ducks you are very concerned about the sizeof the rock. Is this something your gf said she wants or your own desire?

 

[farmer gal]

I came acroos this round that I wanted to throw out at you it is a 1.11 but it looks like a really nice stone. The other thing that is nice about JA is that I don't think they will charge you anything for shipping, or taxes their is a little extra calculator on the bottom of the page I think I'm doing it correctly. If you are interested I would place it on hold and have their gemologist inspect the diamond to see if it is eyeclean.

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/J-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1304772.asp

Light Return Excellent
Fire Excellent
Scintillation Excellent
Spread
or diameter for weight Very Good
Total Visual Performance 0.8 - Excellent
within TIC range

I would pair it with this setting

http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/pave/-18k-White-Gold-Pave-Set-Diamond-Engagement-Ring.html

Total with pricescope discount would be $5,965.00

Here it is pictured with a 1 carat round, which yours would be bigger

http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/sold/pave/3688/Pave-Ring-Settings.html

 

[downloadduckss]

Hi
It seems to me that cushion cut provides the biggest carat given all other specs (4Cs) of the diamond are the same. Why is that so?
I'm kind of liking the cushion cut for the e-ring... I didnt like the idea that most people has a round cut.

Anyway, what type of setting would go well with a cushion cut diamond?

DD

 

[slg47]

a branded ideal cut cushion will cost similar in price per carat to a branded ideal cut round.

if you are concerned about largest appearance for carat weight I would go with a round. BUT I would advise you to pick what shape your eyes are most drawn to first and then get the largest ideal cut diamond within your budget.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Cushions face up smaller for ct. weight than an RB. If you take that into account, cushions are not any different price than RBs per face up dimensions.

What shape does your girlfriend want?

 

[CharmyPoo]

It sounds like the paper ct weight is as important as the visual appearance? Have you thought about a second hand diamond - that will allow you to get an even bigger diamond .. and then you can put it in a new setting.

 

[Amys Bling]

a branded ideal cut cushion will cost similar in price per carat to a branded ideal cut round.

if you are concerned about largest appearance for carat weight I would go with a round. BUT I would advise you to pick what shape your eyes are most drawn to first and then get the largest ideal cut diamond within your budget.

Agreed. Get the stone shape you like most and then get the biggest ideal cut of that shape your budget allows...

 

[downloadduckss]

Cushions face up smaller for ct. weight than an RB. If you take that into account, cushions are not any different price than RBs per face up dimensions.

What shape does your girlfriend want?

I'm not certain what my gf wants… I do intend on doing this during a surprise trip I have planned for her. So I'm not certain how I can bring this up to her. If I ask her about it, then she'll start to speculate.... hmmmmm

Would a cushion cut go well with this setting? Do you think I have to purchase those diamonds on this setting?
http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/pave/ring/item_412-4112.asp

 

[downloadduckss]

It sounds like the paper ct weight is as important as the visual appearance? Have you thought about a second hand diamond - that will allow you to get an even bigger diamond .. and then you can put it in a new setting.

The reason why I'm focusing on paper ct weight is because I haven't had a chance to see how each cut looks in person yet. I do intend to pay a visit to the local jeweler to check them out. But I do intend to arm myself with sufficient knowledge in order to ask the right questions at the store...

I don't intend on getting a 2nd hand diamond. The size of the diamond is not the biggest issue to me, but I just want to get the best deal I can with my cash.

As my time is kind of running short (i haven to have till mid july), I'm planning to get the diamond and have it set with the same vendor. Biggest issue I have is the size of the ring... what if it doesn't fit? My gf doesn't wear any other rings and my guess is I'm going to use a piece of string and measure it that way.

I'm planning to go to NYC to pick up the ring from my buddy and propose there while we are on the 4 day trip. Even though some vendors allow free returns/resizing, I'm quite uneasy about the fact that I have to go through the whole return process after the proposal and then have it ship it back to Canada, and pay for the additional taxes of 13%...

 

[Dreamer_D]

I'm planning to go to NYC to pick up the ring from my buddy and propose there while we are on the 4 day trip. Even though some vendors allow free returns/resizing, I'm quite uneasy about the fact that I have to go through the whole return process after the proposal and then have it ship it back to Canada, and pay for the additional taxes of 13%...

You nly pay taxes the first time you import. If you needed resizing, you can do it locally. Or else you send it back as a "return for repair" to the US and then do not pay taxes when it is sent back to you. You just keep your original customs documents as proof that you owned the ring and imported it previously. Simple.

So you don't know what she likes and don't know her ring size. I assume, hopefully, you two have talked about marriage. A proposal should never bea complete surprise. If this is the case, then perhaps a trip to a store like Tiffany to see different cuts and to get sized would be a nice trip? I would not recommend buying at Tiffany, but they have examples of most major cut styles and high quality -- cushions, step cuts, RBs, ovals, halo and three-stone settings. Yes, she will know the proposal is coming *some time soon*. But really, she should know that anyways.

 

[downloadduckss]

I went to see the diamonds myself yesterday, and Ive decided to go with princess cut. Cushion cut simply does not sparkle as much compared to rounds and princesses.

What kind of setting will go well with the diamond below?
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1353416.asp
I wanted to get a thin band with small diamonds on the side. Max budget for the setting is $1G.
What are your opinion on these settings with the diamond above?
http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/pave/18k-White-Gold-Cross-Prong-Pave-Set-Surprise-Ring.html
http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/pave/18k-White-Gold-Cross-Prong-Pave-Set-Surprise-Ring.html

What's your opinion on the diamond?

 

[Amys Bling]

I think the setting you picked will look beautiful with a princess cut diamond (both links you provided are the same setting).

The stone you selected looks good- only thing is that GIA does not grade princess cuts so you don't know the cut quality and would need to request an ASET image from JA to see how this stone performs.

 

[slg47]

Maybe consider a slightly thinner band so that the center stone will 'pop' more? JA has a picture of a 1 ct princess so you can see what it looks like in that setting.

and definitely request an ASET image


here are some options that are AGS0

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/8037/
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/7872/
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamond/diamond-detail/?product_id=AGS-104046707011
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut-loose-diamond-2605284.htm

 

[CharmyPoo]

Who did you see cushion cuts from? Suspect you didn't see nice ones.

 

[slg47]

Who did you see cushion cuts from? Suspect you didn't see nice ones.

agreed! you can have a poorly cut diamond or a well cut diamond in any shape

these videos might be useful

princess and square cushion
http://vimeo.com/1827120

vintage cushion and round
http://vimeo.com/7091714

cut quality in rounds
http://vimeo.com/2556364

cut quality in princesses
http://vimeo.com/5239762

cushion guide
http://vimeo.com/7579666

 

[mrssalvo]

I'd try to find out too if she would want a princess e-ring. Not everyone likes them and since she is going to be the one wearing it all the time I think it would be important to know. I'm curious as to where you saw cushions too. I adore them and have seem some out sparkle other shapes. Most of the time the sparkle factor really does depend on cut, with any shape you choose.

 

[alvina]

oval

 

[downloadduckss]

Somehow my head is set for princess. Would round diamonds on a ring setting go well with a princess cut?
Why does GIA doesn't provide any info on the quality of the cut.

I was with a distributor and he showed me diamonds rated using GemScan, which has been notoriously overvalued & inaccurate - but they do give rating of the cut.

Given a $6.5G budget, how much should i be spending on the setting and the rock?

What does the gemologist tell you when they inspect it and says it's "eye clean"? What is an ASET image? and how will i use this image?

The stone you selected looks good- only thing is that GIA does not grade princess cuts so you don't know the cut quality and would need to request an ASET image from JA to see how this stone performs.

 

[slg47]

Somehow my head is set for princess. Would round diamonds on a ring setting go well with a princess cut?
Why does GIA doesn't provide any info on the quality of the cut.

I am not sure. They provide cut information for rounds

I was with a distributor and he showed me diamonds rated using GemScan, which has been notoriously overvalued & inaccurate - but they do give rating of the cut.

Given a $6.5G budget, how much should i be spending on the setting and the rock?

it depends on what your priorities are. what type of setting do you like?

What does the gemologist tell you when they inspect it and says it's "eye clean"? What is an ASET image? and how will i use this image?

eye-clean means no visible inclusions from a certain distance and viewing angle. different vendors have different definitions of eye-clean. ASET image tells you more about the light return and cut quality. These are useful to have when evaluating fancy cut diamonds (anything other than round). you can post to the forum and we can comment, or you can compare to other images.

The stone you selected looks good- only thing is that GIA does not grade princess cuts so you don't know the cut quality and would need to request an ASET image from JA to see how this stone performs.

 

[Amys Bling]

If you are looking for a plain solitaire setting then you could end up spending just a couple hundred- for example:

http://www.jamesallen.com/engagemen...Knife-Edge-18k-White-Gold-Solitaire-Ring.html

or a little more for a pave setting
http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/pave/18k-White-Gold-Thin-French-Cut-Engagement-Ring.html

more for this channel cathedral setting
http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/channelset-rings/ring/item_58-3691.asp

even more so for a three stone setting with included side stones:
http://www.jamesallen.com/design-yo...hree-stone-princess-cut-engagement-rings.html

it really all depends on what type of setting you are looking for.

 

[downloadduckss]

Isn't the cut quality one of the most important aspect of a diamond? Why does GIA not provide an opinion on it? I looked at a "excellent cut" GemScan diamond vs a "fair cut" GemScan diamond and the diamond rated as "fair" doesn't even sparkle much!

Do you guys have any suggestions on a setting that has a relatively thin band, but slightly bigger paved diamonds on the side? I'm particularly looking at JA.

Thanks!