Ring upgrade advice please?

[cobaltgirl]

Hello!

I've been married for just over 6 years and I get to upgrade my 1/3 carat princess solitaire.

I've come up with two options, one is to get a ring wrap. I actually have one on layaway until payday in two weeks because it was on a great sale. Its a white gold, around 1/3 tcw, split between two princess stones. My ring fit inside, but there is a small gap to both sides. The ladies at the store said my ring was made for it, and it does look nice but the gaps I'm not so sure about. They're very small gaps, I doubt you would see them unless I pointed them out. The other thing that bothered me is that the wrap diamonds were a step up from my ring. Isnt it odd to upgrade a ring when the new side stones beat the middle one?

My other option would be to trade up my ring, and pay another $6=700 and try to get a fair 1/2 carat or so. I wonder how big I could get with $1200ish to play with... I want a princess cut I think, I'd be ok with down to an i or j in color I think... The store seems to have 30% off sales all the time.

I have very small hands. I'm 4'11' and my ring size varies between 4 to 5.75 if i'm up in weight. My hands are tiny. I'm not sure how big I could go without it totally looking fake. I'm young looking (I'm 24 but look 16ish), and I just want something nice, simple and sparkly. I kept hearing that the wrap was the best option for me but I'm torn.

I know I'll have to make the final choice, but I would love any thoughts on this!

Thanks so much for reading this far!!

 

[fortheloveofdiamonds]

if your not COMPLETELY in love with the wrap..don''t buy it b/c it was "on sale" save up and wait for something that makes your heart pitter patter!

 

[pyramid]

Cobaltgirl Welcome to Pricescope.

The two options you are considering are both good but I would say only you can make the choice.

Would you want to part with your original diamond or not?
What is the color of your original diamond, have you actually looked at I or J colors which may be okay in the 1/2 carat size?
Would the gaps bother you in the long run with the ring wrap choice - as you said not one else would see them, so it is really up to what makes you feel better?
Do you want a solitaire look or a three stone look?
What does your husband think - would he choose one over the other?
Who said the wrap was the best option for you - was it the salesperson, was there only one and so it was just her opinion?
1/2 carat solitaire would not look to big on your hand.
Are you sentimental and would think years later that you wished you had kept the ring you had for 6 plus years?
You said the wrap stones would beat the middle stone, but they would each only be half the size so would they really look any better or would they look equal - again what is the color of your original solitaire?

I think if I had loved my original ring I would go for the wrap. However, if I always felt the original ring was not what I liked, I would go for the 1/2 carat solitaire.

If you do a search on the menu above you will be able to see what vendors are selling for $1200. Would you want to buy online? Have you read the tutorial above about ideal cuts? Remember ideal cuts carry a premium in price so would you want this or a very good or good cut larger stone?

 

[MichelleCarmen]

With 1200 dollars/credit to spend in a retail store, you're probably not going to get a stone much larger than what you have now. With this amount spent online, you'd probably do pretty good.

In your shoes, I'd save up the entire $1200 and buy a nice stone online and also turn my current stone into a pendant.

You never know if later on you'll end up regreting that you parted with the stone you first were engaged with.

 

[cflutist]

Date: 2/27/2005 5:58:59 PM
Author: MichelleCarmen

In your shoes, I''d save up the entire $1200 and buy a nice stone online and also turn my current stone into a pendant.

You never know if later on you''ll end up regreting that you parted with the stone you first were engaged with.

MC, that''s what I did with my original .75 E-I1 MQ from my first husband, and then wore the pendant on
my wedding day to websailor . Oooh, is that bad luck?

 

[cobaltgirl]

Thanks for the replies.

My current ring is a 1/3 carat, 14k white gold, princess cut, SI1, I-J. Its a long story, but I''m not attached to it, so trading it it is fine with me.

The people that said it was ideal in the wrap were 3 sales women, and my mother. I didn''t understand why the staff would encourage the wrap when it was the less expensive of my choices. You would think they''d push the solitaire upgrade no?

We paid $630 for my ring... I would think $1200 would get me a bigger size?? I''m not looking for perfection...

So torn!

 

[treysar]

How exciting!

Does the store that you bought the ring in allow for trade ups?

If I were you I would find out what I could get for my money at that store. (It sounds like you HAVE to go through the store, right?)

If the stone is not a considerable difference in size, I would save up a bit more. But go for a larger stone - you can always get a wrap for the larger stone someday, when you and your hubby have a bit more to spend. It costs less to buy a wrap then it does to buy a new diamond, right? So I would scrimp and save, and go for the upgrade. Even if you use the money that you have on layaway towards the new stone, you can keep paying the lay away for a few more months, to have enough to get the stone you want.

I don't think anyone on here can tell you what you can get for your money at that paticular store, so it sounds like you need to go in yourself and ask a whole bunch of questiuons.
good luck - keep me posted!

BTW - when I ran a search of princess diamonds for a $1200 budget, it looked like you would be in the range for a .50 ct or more! I hope the store you are using gives you a fair price!