Starting from scratch! HELP!

[zachlost]

Hi all,

I humbly come before you looking for advice on pretty much every aspect of choosing/buying an engagement ring.
I tried to pick the forum best suited for advice-begging, and hope this is it.
I am looking for a ring for my girlfriend, who apparently knows an awful lot about diamonds, rings, etc...
or at least SEEMS like an expert on the topic. Unfortunately, I can't ask her these questions, as she has no idea that I'm at this stage of the game. I found these two pictures of rings on her pinterest page, and know that she likes the style of them very much.

I need help with knowing what I'm looking at, and looking for, if these are what I'm shooting for:




Here come the questions:
What cut is the main diamond? looks round, is round a cut? (again... starting from scratch!)
Any estimates on how many carats I'd be looking for? Cost for those carats?
Is it better to shop online, or should I be out pounding the pavement? (I'm close enough to the diamond district in NY)
Based on the look of those two rings... is anyone able to give me a ballpark estimate of what prices I should be preparing for?
Are there any other questions I should ask her friends?

I hope I'm not disrupting everyone. I am a true novice, and would love to get this right the first (and hopefully only) time!

Thanks!

 

[JulieN]

It's a round. You tell us what you can afford and we can go from there. The second ring is large, probably at least 2 cts.

 

[rubybeth]

Here come the questions:
What cut is the main diamond? looks round, is round a cut? (again... starting from scratch!)
Any estimates on how many carats I'd be looking for? Cost for those carats?
Is it better to shop online, or should I be out pounding the pavement? (I'm close enough to the diamond district in NY)
Based on the look of those two rings... is anyone able to give me a ballpark estimate of what prices I should be preparing for?
Are there any other questions I should ask her friends?

I hope I'm not disrupting everyone. I am a true novice, and would love to get this right the first (and hopefully only) time!

Thanks!

1) They both look like round brilliant (RB) shapes, but 'cut' on these boards generally refers to how WELL a diamond is cut. You'd want to look for GIA Excellent or AGS Ideal stones if your girlfriend is knowledgeable about diamonds.

2) The first photo is probably a 1 carat stone, and the 2nd is a photo of a regular PS poster, frankiextah, that I've seen on Pinterest. Here's the original post: [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/teaser-photos-of-my-2-32-g-vs1-michael-b-paris-ring.151559/page-3']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/teaser-photos-of-my-2-32-g-vs1-michael-b-paris-ring.151559/page-3[/URL] Frankie no longer has this ring, but the diamond is a 2.32 G VS1.

3) Cost is really going to depend on what color and clarity you are okay with. A 1 carat could be $8,000, a 2+ carat could be $30k. Better to start with your budget and work backward from that, unless you truly have an unlimited budget.

4) Probably easiest to shop online at this point. There are a few PS vendors located in the NY area (ID Jewelry, Good Old Gold) but you'd want to do your research and budgeting before shopping locally.

5) Prices for settings can vary widely, from around $1k for a stock setting like this: http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/pave/14k-white-gold-pave-halo-and-twisted-shank-solitaire-11195w14.html to $5k+ for a creation like frankie's (just guessing, but really nice pavé like what she had/has in a custom setting can get pricey).

 

[zachlost]

HUGE help already! Thanks to both of you! I'm going to start doing some research on those sites.

An unlimited budget... *daydreams for a minute...* ...would be nice

The price question is perfect. I'm teaching my student place value right now, in school. I'd like to stay in the thousands place, ideally... but at max, would be willing to take a step into the ten thousands column... just one step though! Is it realistic to find something of good quality in the low thousands, up to $10,000?

I know she's mentioned specifics before, i.e.. the band shouldnt be too skinny, some diamonds on the band would be nice, and preferring a couple of diamonds nicely arranged as opposed to one giant stone. Also, please excuse my vocab here... but something that "sparkles a lot".

Does that info help?

 

[JulieN]

So when I think of all of your descriptions, I come up with something like this: http://www.jamesallen.com/engagemen...e-Pave-Set-Diamond-Engagement-Ring-17136.html

And together with the first two pictures you posted, none of them are really alike. I'm wondering if she likes antique style.

 

[bunnycat]

Looking at the two rings she has bookmarked, the main thing they seems to have in common is pave on the shank and a central focal stone. Since she bookmarked the first one, it's clear she isn't opposed to the idea of a halo around the stone either. You might have a look on James Allen or Good Old Gold (or WHiteflash too) and see what kind of pave shank styles there are and halo styles.

Benefit of JA and GOG is they are in NY, I think and GOG has a storefront. WHiteflash is in TX so you would save tax which is a major upside there.

Here a halo with the twisted pave shank to get you started:

http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/pave/14k-white-gold-pave-halo-and-twisted-shank-solitaire-11196w14.html

http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/pave/14k-white-gold-pave-halo-and-twisted-shank-solitaire-11195w14.html

And a halo with a wavy shank from GOG's Gabriel and Co line:

http://www.goodoldgold.com/setting/ER7806W44JJ/

One last one from Bev K at GOG:

http://www.goodoldgold.com/setting/Bev-SSR1234/

Any of these rings could be made to fit whatever stone you get. The best advice I can give you is find the stone first, and then sorry about getting a setting made (lesson learned here). The stone is going to take a big chunk of your budget. My guess is that a lot of the settings with the pave shanks are going to be in the $1500-2000 ish range.

 

[LJL]

Something around 10,000 is definitely doable, as long as you understand that it will not look like that second picture you posted - it will have proportions more like the first.

Im thinking a stone like this would make sense given we dont know her sensitivity to color
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/9690/

in one of the settings suggested around $1500. I think if you go with Good Old Gold, Beverly K settings are typically seen as a great compromise on quality and price - you will be very happy with their upgrade policies if she wants to get a stone that is much larger in the future like frankiextah's.

For safe searching, you can browse on : goodoldgold.com or whiteflash.com in their signature lines or Hearts and Arrows collections..... or just wait for all the wonderful people here to give suggestions!!

 

[rubybeth]

You could do something like this (1.2 H SI1 Expert Selection, $8,946 w/PS wire price): http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2777306.htm

In a setting like this: http://www.whiteflash.com/engagement-rings/diamond-settings/legato-micro-pave-diamond-engagement-ring-1011.htm or this: http://www.whiteflash.com/engagement-rings/diamond-settings/legato-micro-pave-diamond-engagement-ring-1011.htm for just a bit over $1k.

One thing to think about that you may not have considered is a vendor's upgrade policy. If you think there's any chance you may want to get a larger stone later, it's good to understand these policies now. Some policies require you to spend double your original purchase price, others just require that the new diamond be $1 more than your original diamond purchase.

Or this kind of setting: http://www.whiteflash.com/engagement-rings/diamond-settings/ritani-bella-vita-split-halo-diamond-engagement-ring-2137.htm (a bit over $2k) and a slightly smaller center stone, like this: http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2782648.htm but the halo will add a lot of 'oomph' to a 1 carat center stone, giving her more 'finger coverage.'

Are any of these ideas grabbing your eye? Other questions you've come up with?

 

[Gypsy]

Setting's I'd recommend given her taste: (I'd get these with no engraving for her)

http://www.beverleyk.com/semi-mounts/8wrtj011-a-d-d-m.html
http://www.beverleyk.com/semi-mounts/8wr1233-a-8-0rd-d-d-m.html
http://www.beverleyk.com/semi-mounts/8wr1162-a-d-d-m.html

With this diamond: http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/1.232-i-si1-round-diamond-ags-bl-104061006035

Alternately, if you think she would like a three stone with pave: I'd for for this amazing setting (and on sale!!) http://www.pearlmansjewelers.com/jewelry-specials/closeout-jewelry/rings/105CO1/ (and would fit the diamond above)