Replacing my engagement ring.

[jphillips]

So this might be a long post, but my husband purchased my engagement ring at Mervis. .84, H, SI2. It really is beautiful. Long story short the prong has broken twice. I am hard on my hands. This is the second time, and I took it to them and they found a small chip on a corner of the stone. not really visible to naked eye. I submitted to my insurance. I am wondering if anyone has experience with this and what I can expect. They have not completed their investigation yet. Also, another issue is that the ring is giving me severe blisters. Its either the nickel in the 14K gold of my rings, or the soap that gets caught in there. my wedding band is a 1 ct channel set band with like 10 stones.

What I would LIKE is to replace the ring with a diamond band in platinum to eliminate the nickel allergy completely if that's what the problem is. SO... I have been researching and found some beautiful stuff at COSTCO. Cost generally has great quality from what I can tell and great prices. PLUS a sale this weekend on a 1.5 ct eternity band for $1599 this weekend. BTW it's platinum. I've seen some great pieces on costco.com that I really love.

Ideally I'd like to find a 2.0 ct anniversary band so that the diamonds are concentrated on the top where they can be seen, but I am following the sales, so if I don't find a sale, then forget it. Not to mention the insurance company may not give me full replacement value. I have no idea.

I have also seen a 4.0 ct eternity band sold by Madina Jewelers on sale right now for $3799 through Amazon. Platinum. But I've been researching them to find out how reputable they are, and I've called them to ask about this specific piece.

Last night I saw some beautiful things at Bloomingdale's. I don't usually shop there at all, but just happened to be there for a fundraising event and maybe it was the sparkling wine flowing, but they had some nice sales going on. BUT the catch is they are 18K white gold, and I2 clarity. These are anniversary bands. 5 stone bands. 1.5 ct. Priced at 50% of $14,000 plus and extra 20%. They've also got eternity bands, but 18K gold, I2 clarity, but they seems like way too expensive, even with the sales, considering they are not platinum and the clarity is way down at I2, I1.

So what should I do? Worst case scenario, I've considered just upgrading the original stone, and maximizing brilliance/cut. I'm looking at princess cut, asscher, radiant, or cushion. Not a fan of round. what's the difference in brilliance and light reflection in these stones? Is one more expensive a cut that the other? I can't tell. Diamonds vary SO much with all the factors you have to consider.

I just want to find the best deal for my money, and of course this all depends on what my insurance company says. and Black Friday sales are coming up too, so I know there will be some deals where I might potentially be able to find something for less than what I originally paid.

Can any experts give me some direction? I know I asked a lot of questions. I need some unbiased feedback from experts.

Thanks in advance.

 

[dar7]

Are you unhappy with the sparkle/cut of your current center diamond? I"m a tad confused because at first you said the stone was beutiful but you just had setting issues?

 

[jphillips]

I was not unhappy with my original setting. but, I would prefer to replace the ring with an anniversary band. I think I can do that for less than we originally paid. I think I have some options. Upgrade, which means I have to pay the difference for the cost of a larger stone at the original jeweler(Mervis); or replace it with an anniversary band, which I saw on sale recently for a great price, which means no money out of pocket. I have a nickel allergy, so there was talk of replacing the setting anyway even before the prong broke. Just exploring my options, and looking for feedback. I am not unhappy with it, but I have seen some beautiful things that I like better, or at least just as much, and I now have some knowledge about diamonds and prices and vendors that I didn't have when we got engaged. Upgrading the stone will cost us money, so that probably won't happen. But finding something like a diamond band at or below replacement value that is equally as beautiful, is actually doable. That is, assuming the insurance company comes through. Which I am learning, does not always happen.

-J