Upgrading your diamonds

[DiamondsOnly]

HOW BEAUTIFUL LADIES!!!!!

I appreciate all of the great photos. I always love to see pictures!

I think when it comes time to upgrade (wont be for years since were not married yet) I'm going to go as big as I can, but making sure it looks good on my hand since I'm so petite. And def. make sure the clarity and color is superb.

 

[Cozystitches]

the basic rule is....1/10 ct per yr of marriage...

In that case, I should be getting 1.25 ct. Unfortunatley, I'm still pinching pennies for an upgrade. I'll get a new wedding band first (I still wear the original but on my right hand)...

I'm still dreaming of a 1+ carat...would love a 1.5 or 2 (for my big 7.5 size finger), but I'm not sure that's in the budget....

Current (and original) set is a 1/3 carat L-M eye clean diamond hubby gave to me. I also have a wrap that I got from entering a contest. I like the set but want bigger diamond. I won't get rid of my original, too sentimental.

 

[ac719]

Husband and I got married 2005 I was 18 he was 21 and we were just starting out in life. He proposed with a .25 IF Princess Cut tiffany mount.
In 2010 after his 2nd tour from Iraq & Afghanistan he upgraded my ring with a 1.01 SI2 Princess Cut
I feel so lucky to have such a strong amazing man and to get such a BIG upgrade

 

[DiamondsOnly]

BEAUTIFUL ac719!!! I am waiting for the day I can upgrade. I need to make sure it's a good upgrade because who knows when it might happen after that.

 

[LALove]

What a fun topic - I love seeing people's upgrades all in one spot!

My original e-ring was a 3-stone, RB with pears, 0.83 H, VS1 center and .32 tcw H VS1 pear sidestones in platinum. We bought it from Tiffany in 2003. We picked it out after the proposal (b/c I wanted to have the fun of ring-shopping for myself!).

This September I upgraded to a 3.04 ct M SI2 August Vintage Cushion, which I fell instantly in love with. It was chez Leon Mege for over 3 months where he set it with calibrated, K color French cut sidestones in platinum. Since yesterday the ring has been stuck on a grounded Fedex plane in Newark I was supposed to get it at 9am this morning but looks like I'll get it at 9am tomorow.

The upgrade commemorates our "10-year togetherness" anniversary in May, since we first started dating May 2001. There's an inscription on the inside of the new ring so I think this ring will be more sentimental than my first one. Though both DH and myself are most sentimental about the little shared prong wedding band.

I ended up selling my first ring to help finance the Leon setting. I wasn't very attached to my original ring once I got the AVC on my finger though...

In the meantime, here's a pic of my T&Co ring with the unset AVC. You can see the warmth, but I like the color and the tradeoff in size was so worth it to me.

I LOVE your AVC!!!! Id take that M over a 3 carat RB D FL any day!!! I read on GOGs FB that they're not going to stock any more SI2 AVCs

Did fedex deliver yours today?!?! Id be waiting on my porch jumping up n down with anticipation!!!!

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Got married with a 1.5 RB. Received a 5.01 Radiant (6.12 ctw) for my 20th anni. I wouldn't mind downsizing to a smaller RB D IF color/clarity, but I am too lazy to make it happen!

cheers--Sharon

 

[Catmom]

When we first got married my ER stone was my hubby's grandmother's diamond, a round .30ct J VS1. I still have this ring as it is a family stone. He always told me that someday we would upgrade and for our 15th anniversary he upgraded my ring to a princess 1.62ct J SI1. We talked about a further upgrade for our 25th anniversary but I couldn't pull the plug. Children in college will do that lol. Two years later we saw the most gorgeous FLY ring at our jewelers and looked at it every time we were in the store. Hubby completely surprised me one day and said he'd been thinking about it for awhile and I should go get it. So for a late 27th anniversary present I got my 2.52ct FLY radiant. I don't expect any further upgrades but then hubby has been known to surprise me.

 

[hoofbeats95]

Catmom I love your taste!

What does FLY stand for?

 

[Catmom]

Catmom I love your taste!

What do FLY stand for?

Thank you hoofbeats! It stands for fancy light yellow. It's a grading done by GIA for yellow diamonds.

 

[hoofbeats95]

Thanks! That's one I hadn't seen before. I figured the Y was yellow, but that's as far as I got. I love that it's a fly ring! lol

 

[Lilypad3o3]

My very first diamond ring was a .58 ct, J color, and SI 1 princess cut diamond. This was a promise ring from my husband. When we got engaged, I was presented with a 1.70 ct, F color, and SI 2 marquise cut diamond. After three years of marriage, we upgraded that diamond with a 3.06 ct, F color, and SI 1 round cut diamond. I still have my original two diamonds.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

My original diamond was 1 ct. F color, not well cut but still pretty, but we had no knowledge of such things back then! I was 21 and just happy to be engaged! That ring was fine for many years, but I eventually got tired of the yellow gold after platinum and white metals had been popular for several years. I considered a reset, but my husband thought I should leave my original rings alone and just get a new set for our 30th anniversary. That is when I came on PS. We bought a 1.63 H VS1 H&A stone from GOG and it is set in a platinum Leon Mege solitaire and I wear it with the Tiffany Legacy band. I have no desire to ever upgrade, but I do have a few other items on my wishlist!

 

[NOYFB]

Wow Catmom! That yellow is so yummy!!!!

 

[marcy]

I love reading your stories and getting to see so many pictures. Very cool.

Thanks, Diamondsonly! To answer your next question - my original diamond ring was from Zales and I didn't want to upgrade there. I pulled the diamonds out and had them put in an open heart pendant. My 1/2 ct. upgrade I traded in to the same jewelry store and got full credit for my original purchase. I have DSS already.

 

[stci]

I'm curious to know what you started with carat wise, when you upgraded ( how many years into marriage) and what size you upgraded to. Id love to see pictures too of what you had and what you have now.

Right now I have a center of.75 and the sides are .25 each so a total of 1.25.

I look forward to the posts.

the basic rule is....1/10 ct per yr of marriage...

No sense for me!!!!

It depend where you leave, here in Quebec nobody upgrade the ring. Never! It's not a rule hooooooo no!

In my case I upgrade after 30 years of marriage and I think it's fantastic. If you upgrade each year it's ridiculous IMO.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Sylvie, I think he means that every 10 years we earn an extra carat...so after 30 we get a 3 ct. diamond! Haha! I am behind!

 

[marcy]

Diamondseeker, a 3 ct. would be awesome. I should qualify for a 2 ct in June. I'll fill in my husband - I am sure he will be thrilled. I'll tell him it's the "law". Ha Ha.

 

[slg47]

Diamondseeker, a 3 ct. would be awesome. I should qualify for a 2 ct in June. I'll fill in my husband - I am sure he will be thrilled. I'll tell him it's the "law". Ha Ha.

haha! but in seriousness I really like your upgrade, I hope you are enjoying it!

 

[Brensmom]

My original set was a .70 VS2 G (supposedly, haha) round solitaire that was set in yellow gold and soldered to my plain yellow gold wedding band. We purchased it at Friedlander's jewelers. Honestly, I loved it and never considered upgrading even though the store had some kind of policy. I lost my set after being married 10 years! It was insured so we got something new, a .92 AGS 000 VS2 I ......so, a little bit of an upgrade. Also, I chose white gold w/palladium for this time around. It's really a beautiful and classic ring...I hope to get a diamond anniversary band soon I found PS while trying to do some research and really never thought much about "upgrades" until coming here!! Now I'm dreaming of a 2 or 3 c diamond...maybe someday

Here's a pic of each set. Thanks for looking

 

[Catmom]

Wow Catmom! That yellow is so yummy!!!!

Thank you Lil Misfit! I think so too.

 

[Love Street]

I LOVE your AVC!!!! Id take that M over a 3 carat RB D FL any day!!! I read on GOGs FB that they're not going to stock any more SI2 AVCs

Did fedex deliver yours today?!?! Id be waiting on my porch jumping up n down with anticipation!!!!

Lovestreet, I can't wait to see your new Leon. I am so loving french cuts, and I love the warmth of your stone. I can't wait to see
the K frenchies. Here's to the weather clearing up asap!

Aw thanks LALove & Luv2Sparkle! After 3 months with Leon and a final delay at Newark, I finally have my AVC in its permanent warm French cut home! I plan to take pix as soon as I get my mani today

In the meantime, I'm loving everyone's upgrade stories and photos! It's fun to see the changing styles/tastes. Keep them coming!

 

[yennyfire]

We got engaged in 2002 with a 2.03 ct. RB....hubby had the ering and wedding band made for me. They were stunning and sadly, I don't think I have any photos that really show the detail of it. Last May, the whole set was lost/stolen and we used the insurance money (plus a lovely chunk from savings) to purchase my 3.51 ct. cushion brilliant (see avatar). I would never have considered an upgrade had my rings not disappeared, both for sentimental and financial reasons. However, the PS bug has bitten me and I am in the process of getting two diamond eternity bands to signify the birth of each of our children (who are 4 and 6 now!)...I was never sure what I wanted so I didn't get anything...I am also having a pink sapphire eternity band made to sandwich between the two diamond bands. I should have the sapphire band soon, so I"ll post photos of my very belated push presents shortly!

 

[betty6333]

I will try to remember the order and the stones!
I started with a .5 round in my original E ring
upgraded to a .75 round at 5 years
reset my original stone in a RHR
then I went to a .94 marquise.( wore about a year)
then a fat 1.05 marquise( wore about 9 months)
Then I got a 1.0 round( wore 3 years)
Then a 1.10 round ( still wear as a RHR or as a ering cause I love the setting)
Then went to 1.51 marquise ( in my current ring)
and a second RHR 1.50 princess ( newest RHR )
FInally I accepted that I needed a HUGE ring that would give finger coverage, so I had a custom ring done. I went and bought 5.5 carats of rounds and baguettes and designed the ring in my pic...
I put my original diamond as one of the diamonds that lines the side of the ring under the raised diamonds. TCW of the ring I now wear is 7.44 and runs 27 mm long by 18 mm wide ( for the part that sticks out).
I am sure to most people it looks really weird, but I just love my current rings and cant see ever changing!

Sometimes I wear my 1.10 round or the ring I got at our 5 year anniversary because I LOVE the settings, the first 2 marquise that I bought, I sold and don't have those any more, because I wanted the perfect marquise shape with out a bowtie.... I am super fussy about my marquise LOL!

I dont know if/when I will ever upgrade again, I really like the custom one I had done and I think it should take care of my DSS LOL... but DH offered to get me a 3+ carat I wouldn't turn it down!!!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Marquiseluv, I hereby nominate you as the PS Upgrade Queen!!!!!

 

[marcy]

Marquiseluv - I am with diamondseeker. You have a nice long string of upgrades.

 

[betty6333]

Thanks guys,

I am thankful to have a husband who is kind enough to put up with my upgrades and setting changes love!

I think I am done for now at least! I am still in love with my current rings!

 

[sunnyam]

great thread!


I started out with a RB .50c (Oct 2005) when we got engaged. We had already decided on a long engagement as we were young and wanted to get our finances in order. When we decided we were ready we set our date for (May 200 and I got to pick out a wedding set ( as mine was just in a temp solitaire setting) and upgraded the diamond to a 1.00c. We will be married for three years this May and I just upgraded to 1.67c. Ive got a size seven finger so I guess Ill stop when it looks like it covers my finger well. Its definitely on its way.