Upgrading smaller? Is that crazy?

[february2003bride]

My current e-ring in a 1.06 princess cut diamond in a platinum cathedral setting (from Bluenile- F, VS2) and my wedding band is a matching princess channel platinum band. I''m a daily lurker here and love the round ideal (specifically the H&A''s that are so popular here) diamonds in solitare bands that so many are getting! However DH would not want to spend a lot of money right now (we just had a baby) on a new diamond. So I''m thinking of "upgrading down" to a H&A .30 range round on a simple 18K whitegold solitare band (like 2.5mm size) with matching wedding band. I should mention that since my son was born I never wear my e-ring out of fear I''ll scratch him with the prongs so my 1.06 princess isn''t being worn anyway.

I figure, spend the money now (with Christmas and our anniversary coming up plus I DID just give birth 7 weeks ago, so I''m due for a beautiful gift!) and over the next few years upgrade to a .75 then eventually to a 1.25 range (which for me is the largest I want to go). I wear a size 6.25, would a .30 range look ridiculously small on me?

Is it crazy to go DOWN in carat size?? Also, DH would want to sell my princess diamond (I think), what would be the best way to do that??

And what is the difference between a H&A and a round ideal??

Thanks!

Carrie

 

[pebbles]

To answer your last question, I do not believe that all ideal cut rb''s show a true H&A pattern. The tutorial at the top of the page should give you more information on that.

IMO, it is not crazy to go down in carat size to get an ideal cut stone, because that''s what I did.

I got my MIL''s 1.5ct round non-ideal cut. Since I really wanted an ideal cut, I bought a 0.55ct ideal rb. I loved how the ideal cut sparkled, but to be honest, it was such a huge jump downwards size-wise, that I wasn''t happy. I too wear a size 6 - 6 1/2 and I thought the 0.55ct looked so tiny on my finger. I think you would be disappointed to go down from a 1.06ct princess to a 0.30ct rb, even if it is an ideal cut.

My goal was to get a 1ct stone. Every time I wore the 0.55, I kept wishing it were just a *little* bit bigger. I traded the 0.55 for a 0.724ct, hoping that would make me happy since it was *closer* to the 1ct I wanted. Well, after a few weeks, I traded up the 0.724ct for my 1.04ct. I love the size of the 1.04ct. I may eventually upgrade in the next few years, but I am really happy with the stone I have now. Looking back, I wish I had just waited to get the 1ct I wanted. I wasted a lot of time (not to mention making my husband pretty mad) about saying I would be satisfied with the size I had, yet still wanting bigger.

If your husband wants to sell your princess stone, the best place to start would be the store you got your ring from. See what their trade in/selling policy is.

I have two toddlers now and hardly wear my 1.04ct around them, however I love *knowing* that I have it.

And congratulations on the birth of your son!

 

[Lorelei]

Some folk do upgrade to a smaller better quality and cut stone. This is just my opinion, but your Princess is a good size rock, have you actually seen how much smaller a .30 is? This would be quite a lot of size difference, of course it is entirely up to you, the smaller diamond would sparkle like crazy, but I just wonder if maybe it would be too big of a drop sizewise. This is just a suggestion, why not wait a bit then maybe shoot for a .75 H&A round, you may find the size difference wouldn't be too drastic plus the thrill and enjoyment of having a fabulously cut diamond. You could then work up from there. Or maybe even slightly smaller say a .6 - .65 would do the trick!

I hope this helps, congratulations on your new precious gem too!

ETA - Dirt Cheap Diamonds can sell your Princess on consignment, check their website for details, you could get lucky and it sells quickly, but it might take a while. Does it have a cert? If not they can help you get one from what I understand. Good luck with your sale.

 

[belle]

i don''t think going down is crazy at all. what are the dimensions on your princess? depending on the cut, you may not be losing that much size wise by going down to an ideal cut round.

 

[Patty]

When you say that you would "upgrade down" to a .30 round, are you talking about trading your princess for a .30c round? Is that what you would be able to get for the princess?

 

[finerthings]

Congrats on you new baby! Personally I think you should wait a while before making any decisions on your ring. I''m thinking that you just gave birth 7 weeks ago and those female hormones can affect decisions that you may regret later. Focus on your new little one and put the diamond thing on hold for now; there will be lots of unforeseen expenses that will matter more than the diamond ring. Once again, sending best wishes for your new baby and becoming a new Mom!

 

[sistagrl2004]

Yes, you are crazy.. stop it right now! LMAO! I think you should hold out for a mothers ring w/ the round diamond for your right hand

 

[february2003bride]

Thanks everyone! I have seen a .30-.40 range diamond in person. My cousin proposed to his wife with a round ideal cut in that range that he bought at Baily Banks and Biddle (if I got the name right, lol). You all are right, it IS a small diamond and his wife has tiny hands to begin with so on her, it looked proportionate. On my hands, it would probably look like it belonds as a side stone

Here are the specs on my current diamond:

GIA cert purchased from Blue Nile in November 2002
Rectangular Modified Brilliant
5.82 x 5.53 x 3.95mm
1.06 carat
Depth is 71.4%
Table is 73%
Girld is slightly thick to thick
No cutlet Polish is Very Good
Symmetry is Good
VS2
F
No Fluorescense.

The 3 small feathers in the stone are off to the side. We had it appraised by Martin Fuller (we live in the same area in VA) and he said it was closer to an E color than an F.

Are those good measurements? Or a quality stone?

Anyway, maybe I should just think about it for a few days first. The poster who said it was hormones could be right, lol! And the idea of a mother''s ring sounds good...

Carrie

 

[upgrading mama]

Hi,
As someone who has been unhappy with her current ring, let me say that I think it is entirely your choice, but I think you should wait.

We got married in July 2003, and I got pregnant two months later. MY rings came off when I was about 6 months preg. and didnt'' come back on until my son was 3 months or so...
I was thinking again about upgrading, but since we had just had a baby and were still newly married and trying to outfit a house, it got put aside again...

Then, when my son was 10 months old, I found out I was 4 MONTHS PREGNANT!!! (why I didn''t know earlier? I was nursing, on the pill, not sick, and not gaining any weight, so had no reason to suspect!) Anyway, son #2 is now almost 3 months, we have been married for 2 1/2 yrs, and afler shopping around a bit for the best trade in we could get, I will be getting my ring back in a couple days!

I got to go from a .74 Princess F, VS2 to a lovely 1.53 Radiant, J SI2. IT is a lovely stone, faces up wonderfully white, and will be going in to my channel set princess setting in WG. Can''t wait to see it!

I am very glad that we waited and I am getting my final ring.
For me, I am so sad that I am trading in once even, so I won''t be trading up again. When I do get any other diamond, it will be in addition to this, not in place of it.... If you are patient enough to go through a long process and changing of rings over a period of time, then do that if it will make you happy!!

My advice would be: go buy a fake round that you can enjoy until you can save the funds to get the final size you want. That'' s just my opinion.
Good luck, and enjoy the baby! Mine just started sleeping through the night this week, I am so happy!!!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I think going down to .30 is drastic. I would wait and I am sure you can afford the size you want later.

 

[decodelighted]

IMO - definately wait. I DO think this new yearing is somewhat hormone-induced. Your current stone sounds lovely and seems like trading it eventually should get you way more than .30 H&A???

I would journal about this for a while. List out the qualities of your new ring that are most important to you. Sparkle? Ideal-ness? Shape? Setting? And get super clear about the priorities & what you''d like to achieve before CONSIDERING any action. If you notice your ideas shift over a couple of months, wait even longer. Also, maybe start a little savings fund so you feel like you''re making progress. By the time you are ready to decide you might even have enough to get a 2nd ring - or RHR - or "mother''s ring" w/o trading in the original stone.

I also agree about a temp fakie to tide ya over. You deserve it, MOM!

 

[mrssalvo]

I''m with the "wait a little longer" group. I can say that because that is exactly what i''m doing

I am currently stoneless and after hanging around here i''ve decided not to settle. It means waiting a few more months for me to get the ring i want but it will be worth it in the end. I just wear a plain band in the meantime. I don''t see anything wrong with selling your ring if you want to or maybe consigning it somewhere. Then maybe open up a special "upgrade" savings account where you can keep the $$ until you have enough to purchase exactly what you want.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Hi,

I would wait too. Why not pick out another piece of jewelry to symbolize the birth of your first child. Like a pair of diamond earrings or a pendant? This way you can have a sentimental piece you don't ever have to trade up.

FWIW, my diamond is a .42 and it looks good on my 4.5 finger. However, my right hand is a 6 and I've held up a .25 carat stone to it and the stone looked much too small to make an impact (I think I'd need at least a .50 for there to be balance). If I were you and didn't want to go with earrings or something else right now, I'd be more inclined to purchase an eternity band rather than a small single stone.

Michelle

 

[Odilia]

I too would wait.

 

[E B]

I would wait as well, but if you do decide to go smaller, what about something like a .75? It''ll be smaller, but not by a whole lot.

 

[CoutureFemme]

congratulations on your new addition to the family!

for the question at hand, I would wait - going down from a 1ct. to a 30 pointer seems so drastic to me. I would definitely wait!

 

[valeria101]

The new ring would not be a replacement for the princess, no? Just a new ring... not an 'upgrade'.


Than, if you want a 30 pts round ring, why not. If you will upgrade this, than it may help to get it from a store that has a trade in policy, so you could return it to the seller for the upgrade latter on.

A round about the same size as the current princess would be about 0.8 cts - judging from size alone. And the grades could probably get a bit lower without showing significnat color or inclusions compared to the princess cut.

 

[anika]

Hi Feb2003bride,

I agree you are due for a gift! Being pregnant and having babies is a big deal. I think eventually you will find the 0.3ct small from what you are saying but I understand your desire to have something now. What about wearing a smaller stone as a pendant and upgrading to a larger stone as an e-ring later on?

Anika

 

[pearcrazy]

I'm in the wait a little longer catagory. If you worry about scratching the baby with your current e-ring, you'll worry about it with a smaller ring too. You are tallking about a significant drop in size. I don't think you'd be happy. Perhaps for your gift you can get your hubby to buy you a .30 H&A diamond for a nice pendant.

So, if I'm calculating right, your new baby has a September birthday? I think that a beautiful piece of blue sapphire jewelry would be a wonderful gift for a new mom. My oldest son is an August baby and although peridot isn't my favorite stone, my DH managed to round up some beautiful peridot earrings as a gift after I gave birth. Sapphire and diamond earrings or pendant--- yummy!!

My twins were May 2000 babies--I'm still waiting for my emerald gift!!

 

[pebbles]

My daughter was born in January 2003 and my son in March 2004 and I''m STILL waiting for my new mom gifts!

 

[february2003bride]

We got married in Feb ''03, got preggo right away (like, 3 weeks after the wedding!). first son was born Nov. ''03, second son was born Sept. ''05 (a surprise baby since I was breastfeeding and on the pill!) and I have an older daughter as well. We looove being a family of 5. Christmas will be wonderful next year with our newest arrival being over a year old by then and probably walking

I joked with DH about a "mother''s gift" and he pointed out that right before our first son was born, he surprised me with a Kate Spade diaper bag that I adore! Anyway, he is actually against going down in size and said if I really wanted a round ACA (in the 1 carat range) that I would have to wait a few years (maybe at our 5th anniversary?). Something about having three kids, a new house, 3 college saving accounts, blah blah blah

He did suggest just changing my setting if I wanted a change. But he made a good point, that when he proposed he had me pick out the ring and we chose the diamond together (with the help of a Blue Nile rep) and he thought doing that would avoid any "upgrades" or changes later on. Whoops!

I do like the idea of changing my setting but we''ll see...

Thanks again everyone!! It looks like I''m keeping my diamond.

Carrie