Under 1ct Owners - Upgrade or No?

[Imdanny]

I think you should be direct and honest about this with him, like you said, when the time comes, and after you've done your research. And, I think that some of the advice given to you in this thread is good advice. Specifically, all the parts about how you can, and should, consider many colors and clarities in order to optimize the size. Also, that it's in your best interests to get the best cut diamond. You can get a lot of great ideas at Pricescope about what to buy and where to buy it. I'd suggest doing a search for the threads about happy J and K owners to get inspiration, even if you didn't end up choosing one of these colors. Personally, I like colors even lower than that. I understand that you do not want to upgrade for sentimental reasons, and you are not over-thinking it in trying to get the right diamond. Making decisions about the right thing to do takes a lot of thinking and not a small amount of time for many of us. Good luck!

 

[soycoffee]

This is an interesting topic, and it sounds like you are being very thoughtful in this decision, which is good. I think that in itself shows that you''d rather "get it right the first time." Life throws funny things at you though, and things change--so, keep an open mind on an upgrade way down the road if it wouldn''t hurt your fiancee''s feelings, and if it is really what you want. It''s a personal decision--tons of people upgrade, tons don''t. There''s no right or wrong, just what fits you and your fiancee best.

Personally, it''s a long story, but I am currently "upgrading" my ring. It isn''t really an upgrade by choice. I haven''t been married that long and it''s the last thing I really wanted to do. That said, I purchased a 1.15 carat OEC and it is GORGEOUS! It cost more than my original ring, and it is quite a bit bigger, but it''s worth it. When you average out the cost of going from a .6 to a .85 or whatever over a lifetime, it''s worth it to do it get what you really want. And you should consider antique cut diamonds--they are absolutely gorgeous and very unique--and generally, they are cheaper. Mine faces up the size of many 1.20 carat modern RB''s, so, it isn''t always true that a larger antique cut will look smaller because of poor cutting, etc.

Good luck, and I am sure you''ll love whatever he gives you

 

[justinislooking]

I just decided on the diamond for my girlfriend. Its a .572 ct G, SI1, AGS0 from WF. Its going to be beautiful and my girlfriend is going to love it. I know she will never want to get rid of it for sentimental reasons. I thought about this long and hard last night and was considering upgrading to a larger diamond that would be much more difficult for me to afford, because she will never get rid of it. I just couldn't do it. I still have to purchase wedding bands and save some money up for our actual marriage.

I figure that down the road, if she wants a larger diamond or I want her to have a larger diamond, maybe we can remove it and place it into some other piece of jewelry and put a larger diamond on her engagement setting... or I just get her a rockin' right hand ring with some major bling.

I should also add that I am a part-time college student. If I was making money working full-time, I'd be dropping some major dinero for sure. She deserves the best.

Its confusing because she would marry me without a ring. She even has an old ring from her great-grandmother that we could use. Its a five-stone with round cuts set to make them look square. At the same time, her love for me regardless of material things makes me want to buy her the material things.

 

[vetrik]

I think it would have to be a balance of what size you like on your finger and feel you could be happy with long term, the budget and the timeline (how long it would take to save for a size you want and how that fits with when you would like to get engaged and how long you want to wait!). There''s been some good advice about how you can maximize the size for your budget.

For myself, I actually prefer smaller stones. I got engaged 6 1/2 years ago with a .75 carat (6.0 mm) cz because we had just finished college and were broke, but I did know that was the perfect size for me. I upgraded last year to a .89 carat diamond. I didn''t plan to go up in size at all and was actually looking for a .75 carat diamond, but I just sort of stumbled onto this one and it was too good to pass up, plus it was close enough in size to fit in my setting (which I love and did not want to change). I believe that I will be happy with this size for a very long time - I bought a semimount for a 1 carat stone once, and I actually returned it because I felt it was too big for me. I know I can never predict years and years into the future, but I can''t imagine wanting to upgrade in size at all at this point.

 

[Rhea]

I have a .47 centre for an engagement ring with baguettes totaling around .71 carats. I don''t think I''ll upgrade, DH isn''t for it and considers my ring to be large. He didn''t like solitaires so we didn''t go that route, but I think a good way to get both now and later is to buy a solitaire and later add side stones. I don''t think I can do that and keep the baguettes, which would be an issue for him. For me, that would be the best of both worlds. A .75 centre with .50 sapphires or diamonds on each side would look lovely.

 

[makemepretty]

I would suggest getting engaged with a gemstone ring, that you can use throughout your life and then as milestone anniversaries come up, upgrade to a diamond, then bigger diamonds as the years go by. You won''t wear the gemstone ring on your ring finger after the first upgrade but you''ll always have it to wear on other fingers and to remember the proposal by.

I met my husband when I was 17, so obviously a big diamond was out of the question(any diamond was out of the question). It''s nice to have a ring for sentimental reasons but I now have a big diamond for my ring finger. As long as you keep the same husband, why does it matter if you upgrade the diamond later on? I think marrying for love rather than money is more important. My 18th anniversary is Monday, I still have the original gumball machine ring he first gave me at 17 and the gemstone one he used later for a proper proposal, those stay in my jewelery box.

My husband actually likes my new diamond on my ring finger, it shows him that we''ve come a long way and that as the years went by, the diamond got bigger...so he knows we''ve been together a very very long time, just by glancing at my rock.

 

[makemepretty]

Or maybe you could get a simple thin eternity band that you could always wear with whatever diamond comes along through the years? He could propose with that, you can use it as your wedding ring and it would go with whatever shape and size you eventually end up with a decade or so later. Just an idea.

 

[b.anna]

as a soon-to-be fiance, i''ve decided i wouldn''t upgrade my ring. i feel like my boyfriend put a lot of effort into getting a diamond that he''s proud to give me, that''s both within his budget and something i love. someone pointed out that the diamond that he proposes with should be the most meaningful one, and i agree. even though mine will be less than a carat, i wouldn''t trade it for a bigger diamond. i''m not sure what the would mean in terms of sentimentality. in addition, i feel like if it wasn''t him offering to upgrade, then i''m just upgrading for a bigger diamond and more bling.

this isn''t to say that you could get a new ring for an anniversary after you''re married, and wear it on your right hand. personally though, the original ering will always be on my left hand, and i can always tell people that the ring i''m wearing is the one he proposed with.

so i guess what i''m trying to say is that if you''re having doubts about upgrading, then wait until you can get something you truly love that he''ll propose with. that way you''ll never be tempted to upgrade

 

[SYC]

Did your boyfriend suggest .5 to .75 because he think that''s what fits in the budget? If he''s basing that on what regular retail stores charge for diamonds that size, a larger diamond (perhaps something just under 1 ct) may be within the budget. Why don''t you two talk about your specific budget and do a search on Pricescope (Cut Quality Search) to see what you can get wtihin that amount?

 

[icekid]

Date: 4/21/2009 4:20:34 PM
Author: AprilBaby
get what you can afford and upgrade later. I went from .35 to 1.21 for my 25th anniversary.

Definitely! We got engaged when I was in med school, so we did not have a ton of extra cash. However, there will definitely be more rings in my future. But I won''t give back my current ring. I''ll just add to the collection

Would that be an option for you?

 

[joelly]

Yes, I do have this feeling as soon as I get a 0.40ct promise ring from FI. I haven''t got my e-ring yet as it is now being made. FI agreed to my splurge,

, to a 0.70ct. Thats for making me wait 1 yr before he even consider me his girlfriend and another 6 yrs of me waiting and seeing what he wants to do next.

I''d say do what you want and this will end the craving.

 

[innerkitten]

I won''t be upgrading but my right hand ring collection will always be growing. The center stone in my ring is a .65 OEC. One day I may put it into a new setting but I won''t change the stone itself.

 

[cindygenit]

No i won''t upgrade my 0.59 ct i love it and FI too much (in that order) hehehe j/ks

 

[2.5rs]

As a guy I hope that my current g/f, soon to be fiancé, and then wife *shew* will never want to ''upgrade'' the ring I propose to her with (.86 VS2 H H&A in a solitaire mount). I am in favor of adding more to her collection in the future with right hand rings if she wants larger stones. As a matter of fact I think it would be neat to have an assortment of colored stones such as the ones in the profile pic for "icekid"... those stones are amazing I think!

 

[joelly]

Just want to add that I didn''t trade in the stone he propose to me with. I keep that 0.40ct as is. But he bought me another ring (three stone ring) as the official e-ring because he proposed to me with a promise ring. Am I confusing you already?