Engagement Ring Input?

[Milk 1027]

btw, people.
He's looking for ring and diamond input. Not relationship advice. Keep it on topic.

[Ladybugsmom]

One more thing... If the lighting in the shop is fluorescent, ask if you can look at the ring in natural light (by a window, or even outside if the jeweler will take it outside for you) - ALL cuts and qualities of diamonds will look great in the fake light, a really good stone will still look good in natural light... And us gals all want to have our rings look good no matter where we are!

[Number 3]

Ok, first, since we pretty much knew we were getting married but I hadn't proposed, I had her shop with me to get some ideas on what she liked.

Second, unless she is very outgoing in her jewelery tastes, simple is better.

So your choices for the ring itself.

Yellow gold, white gold or platinum. That is more of a color choice on the first two. We chose platinum but that's a personal choice.

Now to the diamond.

First, hopefully you know they aren't rare and even if you buy at a pawn shop you are paying a huge manufactured mark up. Read up on De Beers and you'll see that they essentially create a "fake" scarcity to keep the prices up. This alone keeps a few from even buying a diamond.

Review the C's.....Cut, Clarrity and Carot Weight and Color.

Cut is how well the diamond is cut so that the facets will reflect the light.

Clarrity is the number of visible and detectable (with a loop) flaws in the stone. For sure you don't want anything that has a visible flaw in the stone.

Color is simply white vs lower quality yellows. Some people prefer a colored stone, but the whiter the better.

The biggie from my very limited knowledge is picking Carat Weight (size) vs. Quality (Cut, Clarrity and Color). If you want something big that she can show off, then get a big old diamond with lots of inclusions and a bit of color to it. However, a high quality diamond with good cut will sparkle and you can see it from a distance.

So now we get to the question for you..............is she knowledgeable about these things or not? Some woman will love the bigger stone at the expense of quality. But a friend has a large (2 carat) diamond and you can visually see it doesn't sparkle or look quite right.

So size vs quality is your dilema as I see it.

Also, keep in mind the "2 months salary" thing is just like "change your oil every 3,000 miles". Marketing to get you to buy more. 2 months is a lot of scratch.

And also, you can upgrade later if you are not flush with cash. Mrs. Number 3 got a nice ring when we got engaged, and several years later, I got her a nicer stone of larger size and higher quality. So if she isn't the type of woman that would hang on to "the one" then you can just upgrade later. Our jewelery store had a guarantee trade in for what we paid at any point in time.

Annnnd not knowing how much your budget is, do not go below .25 carats. It will simply look small. If you can afford it, go .5 or bigger just so it looks nice on her hand when she shows it off. JMO on that one.

[2SSRSinNC]

I can't thank you all enough for the advice. Also the relationship advice is just fine also!

...I have a Tiffany on order.

[Xedes]

Originally Posted by 2SSRSinNC

I can't thank you all enough for the advice. Also the relationship advice is just fine also!

...I have a Tiffany on order.

Congrats and Tiffany's will pave the way for future mods for you

[Gordo]

Ringpop,they are huge and tasty.

[Dr. Love]

Originally Posted by Mr_Draco

My advise from someone that has been there and done that, do most of your shopping in pawn shops and no name jewelry stores. You can and will find stuff that is just as nice as the big name jewelry stores at a fraction of the price.

Don't spend too much for an engagement ring just incase you two decide not to follow through with it. Remember if it gets called off she will be the one keeping the ring so don't spend more then you're comfortable losing for good. Save the big money rings for a wedding band.

I say if this is the mentality of a person before they buy the ring, then the question should not be popped. I believe in preparing for worst case scenarios, but this is ridiculous.

[irocnroll]

I would look into James Allen. They are web based. Before you go and shoot it down, look at reviews. I had bought my ring from there for a fraction of the price I would have paid at an actual store front jeweler. When I received it, the first thing I had done was get it appraised at a local shop. The appraisal came in at about 80% more than what I paid for it. I saved $1000's of dollars on the purchase doing it online.

[Tessa]

In all honesty - just find something that makes you think of her when you see it -- it doesn't matter how much it costs, or if it's the highest quality or not -- it matters how much love comes with it

[2SSRSinNC]

We both grew up in Pennsylvania - she's amazing... 11 years of friendship paid off.

[11BEE]

Originally Posted by 1WILDSScmrg

I took my lady out looking at rings about 6 months before i popped the question so i could get a feel of the type of rings she liked and so she would forget about it by the time i did ask her. I ended up getting her the exact one she wanted and she couldn't of been happier.

This is the best advise. I took my wife to a jewelry shop to look at necklaces. They will ALWAYS find the rings. Just play along with it and you will see what she likes.

My one suggestion is don't cheap out on the big stone. Put any money you would at smaller stones into the big stone and maximize it. Settings change, the stone does not.

Good luck and keep us up to date.

[Tessa]

Originally Posted by Mr_Draco

My advise from someone that has been there and done that, do most of your shopping in pawn shops and no name jewelry stores. You can and will find stuff that is just as nice as the big name jewelry stores at a fraction of the price.

There is merit in this part -- I have a sweet ring from my ex that I will be pawning off at some point - so SOMEONE is gonna have a lucky break when they shop those kinda stores (maybe not so much me when they give me $50 for it)

I mean at least it saves you a little.