The stone or the setting?

[goldengirl]

So let''s say that for whatever reason, your budget does not cover both your dream stone and your dream setting. Do you buy your dream stone and a cheap setting, or your dream setting and a teeny-tiny little stone (or even, a SIM!

)

Just curious!

 

[MelissaSue]

I said the stone.. But i think it depends on just how much your budget doesn''t cover. A great stone can cost a LOT more than a great setting.

The reason I said stone is that you can always get a simple classic setting and get a better setting later.. I guess i have the whole.. "a diamond is forever" slogan drilled into my head. That I want the stone in my e-ring to be the stone i have forever..

That and I feel like I would be "decieving" people with a sim. I don''t think there is anything wrong with having one at all. I just wouldn''t want one for my own e-ring.

 

[blueroses]

I vote for the stone too. If it really is THE dream stone, then a simple solitaire setting will do until the dream setting can be bought.....but if I did the opposite, I''d feel weird about whatever stone I put in the setting, you know? Hmmmm....

 

[Shay]

well I said the setting, and I''m sure I''ll be all on my own for this

I don''t want a solitaire for my e-ring which impacts on my choice.

I want a semi-eternity band with princess cut stones. At the end of the day I don''t really care if the stones are the best grades etc etc, as long as they sparkle and are well cut, I''m happy. They will be very small anyway so any flaws won''t be as obvious as in a 3 ct monster

I''ll try show you a picture of the setting I want and maybe then you''ll understand why my focus isn''t on a single stone. Bear in mind my stones will be about half the size of the ones pictured here.

 

[njc]

I voted for what my FI did. He went for the setting.

While at .75 my diamond isnt tiny (only compared to the bling of PS!

) or perfectly cut, it was the largest and best he could get on his budget because he wanted to get me the setting we both really liked. His thought was he wanted me to have the complete ring (setting and stone) that i could totally enjoy *right now*. That everyone would go, oh wow, how cool is that, *right now*. He said later if i want a larger stone, thats fine, but he wanted me to be happy right now too.

When i was still obsession over when and what and the like before he proposed, I thought i wanted the larger stone to have forever in my ring and a simple setting. After hearing why he did what he did, he was right. Im much happier with the total ring then i think i would have been with the large stone and the simple setting. And if i ever do want a larger stone, i can make my current diamond into a pendant to always wear... closer to my heart!

 

[appletini]

I vote for stone! If I couldn''t get my dream setting, then I would get the classic Tiffany 6 prong setting instead, b/c it will show off my diamond and be very inexpensive at the same, but still look great.

 

[kanne]

My vote is for the stone too. I always thought I wanted a simple platinum solitaire setting anyway (until I became a pave monster). lol.

-lovey

although I must say...that ring in the winfields box is amazing!

 

[lindsal]

Because I am supremely fickle when it comes to rings that I liked at one time or another in my ring search, I voted 100% for the dream stone. Find the stone that speaks to you, and change the setting as your tastes change. This is what I ended up doing, and while 96% of the time I still love my setting, I love my stone 125% of the time.

 

[KimberJEB]

Setting...lol - or at least that''s what we are doing. I wanted the stone, but then decided (and yeah I will be deceiving people, BUT it''s none of their freaking business, lol ) I would rather get a sim in my dream setting and then quietly change the stone when we can better afford it. I will then have my sim set into a pendant or something I can keep. Plus, my setting WILL have diamonds in it, so it is kind of "a diamond is forever".

I thought I wanted the stone, but honestly I want a nicer permanent stone than we could afford by any stretch of the imagination right now. So, the setting + sim is cheaper than a "reali diamond decent stone" and we can pay off more of those pesky credit cards and student loans.

This is a major change of attitude for me. When I started posting here I wanted REAL and I wanted MY STONE FOREVER. We talked about financing and other options. Then I realized what I really want is to marry this man and spend my life with him and I sure don''t want to start that life in further debt. So for me, this is what will work. I do totally understand the stone 1st decision though.

 

[goldengirl]

Date: 1/19/2005 11

2

0 AM
Author: KimberJEB
Setting...lol - or at least that''s what we are doing. I wanted the stone, but then decided (and yeah I will be deceiving people, BUT it''s none of their freaking business, lol ) I would rather get a sim in my dream setting and then quietly change the stone when we can better afford it. I will then have my sim set into a pendant or something I can keep. Plus, my setting WILL have diamonds in it, so it is kind of ''a diamond is forever''.


I thought I wanted the stone, but honestly I want a nicer permanent stone than we could afford by any stretch of the imagination right now. So, the setting + sim is cheaper than a ''reali diamond decent stone'' and we can pay off more of those pesky credit cards and student loans.

Me, too. I THOUGHT this was what we had decided on. But he''s making noises that he might be getting me a REAL diamond.

Now, I''m not privy to every detail of his finances but I have a pretty good grasp of the basic concept and unless he won the lotto and didn''t tell me, I just don''t see this happening.

But that''s exactly what I wanted to do--get my dream setting and have it set with a sim that''s sized like the real diamond I want, then quietly swap out the sim for the diamond when we have the money. That way, in essence, my ring will never change.

 

[gingerBcookie]

I said stone...partially for sentimentality (diamond is forever and all that bs

) and partially for logistical reasons. You can much more easily upgrade the setting (which I don''t feel as sentimentally attached to....and based on my fickleness in choosing a setting, who knows if I''ll get tired of it...yeesh...i hope not!) but its harder to get a bigger stone to fit into a smaller setting. y''know?

 

[jenwill]

I voted stone, but if you go for setting, the way Kimber is doing it is a good way to go. The one thing you might want to keep in mind if you go setting is that many settings can only accomodate certain size stones. So, if you get your dream setting now, make sure it can accomodate your future dream stone.

 

[Erin]

I voted setting because - as elaborate as some of these setting I''ve been seeing posted - I think you''d really have to fall in love with one to say - that''s it! that''s the one that fits my personality. Therefore, like the other ladies said, later in life you can upgrade into a larger diamond and make the e-ring a real yowsa!

I love my setting - no diamonds or pave - (you''ll see once I eventually get to post pics) so upgrading the diamond later is still an option for me even though it is a .89 - I might want a bigger stone with better specs later in life. But my setting is what gives it it''s unique look - I don''t want that to change.

 

[KimberJEB]

"That way, in essence, my ring will never change"

Exactly! It will look the same, be the same. The idea of my ring comletely changing down the road is not one I will go for. I may want another ring, by all means, but I won''t want to change this one. It will be MY ENGAGEMENT RING. So, changing out the stone will be minor.

 

[twinkletoes]

Can''t I have my cake and eat it too? I''m all about instant gratification. I want the whole package - good size stone in my perfect setting. But I know that''s difficult. Ok, I''m pretty certain I can''t get both right away. LOL

If I had to choose, I''d splurge on the better rock in a plain setting and then maybe swap my setting later down the road. But I would probably be a little bummed to not have the whole package from the beginning.

 

[aeli]

I think I''d go for my dream setting and use a "temporary" stone the same size as the diamond I''d eventually like - a saphire perhaps. I like the idea of wearing the same ring forever, and changing the stone wouldn''t affect the overall feel of the ring. Also, once I got the diamond, I''d have a beautiful genuine stone I could turn into a pendant.

 

[heartsonfire]

I chose the stone... because I know it will be very sentimental to me and maybe one day I could upgrade the setting if I my taste changes. However yesterday I was totally caught off guard and I had to think of this thread. Bf and I looked at some rings... the Endless Love Ritani (this is our ultimate favorite

), A. Jaffe in one store and an antique ring by Christopher Designs... let me describe it... Emerald (crisscut) surrounded by pave, pave half way around the band with split pave towards the center stone. Dunno if that makes sense?!? Anyhow bf and I were surprised how good it looked at my hand. Bf described it as stunning

... apparently it caught his eye

... and he never talks about a ring like that. I was so surprised. I know I could never compare this ring to the legacy ring (coz this is with a cushion) but it really had a similar look to it. The wow effect on this ring was when we asked about the size of the Emerald... with my finger size 4 1/2... this ring looked like a 2ct (or even more) on my hand... we thought the stone would be a 1ct and guess what... it was a 0.61ct. The saleslady made me wear a platinum eternety band with it and the entire ensemble just looked so gorgeous on my hand. The only thing about it... it was not flush fit... I really wouldn't mind that much. But now I am so torn between the Ritani set and the Christopher Design set. Bf said we should have a 2nd look at it to make sure I really still like it. Well that's what we will do later. Wish me luck. However I would love to hear what you think of both styles and I will try to attach some pics. Thanks ladies.

 

[heartsonfire]

another one

 

[heartsonfire]

compared to my first choice the Ritani

 

[honeynut]

I voted setting, because that is what we picked out together and Karde is very sentimental... he wouldn''t want to trade it in for something different later on, but the stone is really special to me as well because it was all his to choose and I am totally in love with it! I don''t know what he paid and that is probably a good thing, I know he used a good chunk of his savings to buy me this extravagance (really, this is something I wanted desperately but did not actually NEED). So in the end i am torn. my stone is GORGEOUS and I adore it and I love it desperately for the fact that he chose it himself and had the setting specially made to fit the stone (it was made for a different size diamond), but that setting is really what I know makes it distinguishable as ours.

 

[JCJD]

I said setting too, cause that''s what FI did. The setting is the most distinctive part of your ring, esp if you get something intricate and not "normal", i.e. Tiffany solitaire. Of course, if you want an Asscher, or cushion, or jubilee or another very distinctive stone, then the stone should probably be the biggest investment. Just my $0.02!!

 

[denverkat]

My desperation dictates that I respond: setting, as that''s usually the most affordable of the two off the bat. Stick a marble in it for all I care, just get me the ring asap, oh how the impatience clouds my reason!

 

[jennyt]

Hmmm...I would say it probably makes more sense for me to invest in a stone now, and change the setting at a later date. Not that I wouldn''t be able to use the first stone if we got an "upgrade", but it''s a lot more expensive to switch stones than settings (typically). I also like the idea of starting with something simple and wearing that for a while to see how I like it. I can always go for something more intricate or ornate later on...I also tend to change my mind a lot, so that factors in as well. Finally, I think that while I ADORE the look of pave, since I don''t wear jewelry much as it is, it would probably be best to see how I do with something less delicate at first. But-I totally understand those wanting to invest in the setting!

 

[blueroses]

HOF, I really like that Christopher split-shank design too. I actually don't love the criss-cut for me, but I think it's a gorgeous GORGEOUS ring. And you're right, it's close to the legacy--actually closer than you'd think b/c the cushion in the legacy is a step-cut cushion, so the facets aren't as hugely different from the crisscut as you'd think. They're still different, but have some similarities. The non-flush fit--how far apart were they? Have you already ruled out the Ritani endless love with the pave around the stone? That's sort of the middle between the ritani one you love and the new criss-cut one. (this one

 

[blueroses]

HOF, here''s one more--the ritani endless love again with an emerald cut center (kind of like the Christopher one?) Not a great picture--it''s from the solomon brothers website.

But i must say, there is something SO elegant about that split shank setting--and if your bf really wowed about it on your hand, that''s something....

 

[heartsonfire]

Blueroses: Thank you so much for the pics... unfortunately I don't like the side view of the Endless Love Ritani with the pave around the RB. Yes, it would have been the middle between the Ritani and the Christopher. The gap from the Christopher ring and the eternity band will be at approximately 2mm or a little less. It didn't look that bad and I could always wear them on different hands. But what I really fell inlove with the Ritani was the micro pave and the diamond basket around the center stone and of course that there was a matching eternity micro pave band which would fit flush-fit. And what attracted me to the Christopher ring was the split-shank and the pave around the Emerald Crisscut. Both look classy and gorgeous. The second ring you posted reminds me of the Daniel K Boxter ring. Lovely! I never tried one on so I couldn't tell how it will look on my hand. But wait... I just flew over the Daniel K Bridal site and guess what I found... the two rings merged in one... I have to try and find that ring and see how it will look on my finger. I wasn't able to copy the pic and paste it but here's the link http://www.danielk.net/flash/. Again thanks for your help Blueroses!

It's under: featured collections - Bridal - SPLIT SHANK

 

[treysar]

Fi had this problem, so what he did was buy the stone in a solitaire setting and then as a wedding gift he allowed me to pick whatever settign i wanted - this gave hime another year to save for the setting - it worked out very well, and the jewler let him pay a little at timE!

 

[blueroses]

HOF, I have to tell you, that Daniel K split shank asscher is STUNNING in person!!! (All his stuf is!)

I know what you mean about the side view of the endless love bezel. It doesn''t have the same elegance of the pave basket that the solitaire one has.

So exciting!! We have similar tastes--I love all the rings you''re looking at!!

 

[heartsonfire]

Thanks Blueroses - your e-ring taste is to die for!!!

Thank you so much for helping me out with my ering search. I guess I have to let go soon and let bf do his job. I keep changing my mind. Oh well, it wont stop me from dreamiing