Quote :

"my gf says she doesn't want diamonds for an engagement ring. However I really want to get her a baller ass engagement ring when its time to do so. I think if she were to see a baller ass ring she'd like to have a diamond. Any thoughts from the women on here?"

I told my bf that too, he got me an emerald ring with small diamonds around it. The diamonds were fair trade, while there is no garuntee that is true, the vendor went through a lot of certifications to at least make it look legit.... anyways, my personal problem with diamonds is that they are not creative (to me), and I am a visual person.... but mainly the whole 'blood diamond' trading that happens.


anyway, she might be trying to hint to you that she likes other types of rings too.

he got the ring from http://www.fireandice.com/14k-white-gold-green-amethyst-diamond-ring.html

but this is an amethyst and I think it is more to look at than a diamond ring...

5/30/2012 12:40:08 PM

^ love that. and i'm not usually a fan of halos.

5/30/2012 12:41:30 PM

^ Agreed.

I had waffled on whether I wanted a diamond. Then I inherited my grandmother's ring and kind of had that question answered for me.

5/30/2012 12:42:44 PM

oh yeah, forgot to post here. Future Mrs. afripino!



forgive me if this pic is too big

5/30/2012 1:01:25 PM

you should start by deciding what stone you think you want the main piece to be. Look at the pictures, ignore the design... just look at the stones and different ways they can look.


I don't know why, but I love pearls:




this one is my fav:


sapphire


citrine


blue topaz

5/30/2012 1:06:16 PM

that sapphire one looks pretty cool.

5/30/2012 4:08:39 PM

I love pearls but the only thing is they are soft and easily damaged. at least that's my experience with them maybe I'm just a damn clutz. I don't think they'd make a good "every day" ring though.

whatever is posted at the top of the page is freaking gorgeous

5/30/2012 4:55:57 PM

I'm a june baby so all my jewelry is pearls I have a ring that's like the first pearl posted above, my grandma's dinner ring, so pearl rings make me happy but I dont know if I'd want it as an engagement ring to wear every day

5/30/2012 5:02:47 PM

just found these

citrine



topaz



this one is my favorite I think:

an amethyst




it is $850

5/30/2012 7:41:13 PM

Hey Minka, How about a balla' alexandrite?

5/30/2012 9:25:38 PM

LOVE the critrine that Klaty posted - thats my birthstone

5/30/2012 9:48:01 PM

2^one of my favorite stones

5/30/2012 10:21:59 PM

that first amethyst ring is BALLER. and it's my birthstone. I kinda want it.

5/30/2012 10:34:01 PM

I love alexandrite but the good color changing stuff costs like 10k/carat



cheap



expensive.

5/31/2012 12:14:20 PM

I guess when your GF starts liking engagement rings on facebook, its time to ask. Too bad they all are way cooler than what I bought. haha

6/5/2012 2:50:03 AM

She said YES!

6/14/2012 3:43:30 AM

Grats dude!

6/14/2012 4:18:30 AM

holy cow what a beautiful ring! congrats!

6/14/2012 11:56:28 AM

Thank you!!

Just had to turn it in to get resized...apparently she lost 1/2 a size on her finger.

she was upset to lose it

6/14/2012 5:46:35 PM

So Im ready to propose to my gf and have been shopping around for rings online (Blue Nile) and local stores (Diamonds Direct, Jared's, mall stores).

So far, Diamonds Direct Crabtree has completely blown everyone else out of the water with regards to price and service. I am able to get a much bigger diamond than any other place with high quality characteristics. And the services that they offer (free cleanings, tightening, polishing, upgrade at full purchase price, etc.) is way more than anyone else. Well, the saying, "If something is too good to be true...," has me a little worried. Everyone I have spoken to has nothing but positive stuff to say, but does anyone here have any feedback?

Thanks.

6/20/2012 10:05:26 AM

Zero issues with DD so far. Had my ring since September, needed it sized down, and I scheduled the resize so I just dropped it off and they did it in a day, gave me a sizing band until the appointment, all free. They have offered to polish and clean the ring every time we go in. They get to us quickly even when the store is full.

6/20/2012 10:09:51 AM

i always heard great things about DD.

we ended up getting my engagement ring and our wedding bands at Baileys and it's the same thing - free cleaning and inspections whenever i go in, etc etc. i feel like all these places do something similar.

i think you would be more than fine going to DD judging from experiences i have read in this thread.

6/20/2012 10:12:34 AM

try reliable jewelry downtown...they beat DD prices when i was looking.

6/20/2012 10:41:27 AM

got my fiancee's engagement ring and our weddings bands from DD. i went a while back when they first opened and they had this "used car salesman" approach. turned me off to them, but i decided to give them another try. it seems they changed their sales tactics into more of an "educate the customer" approach which i really liked. good prices, good service. i'll go ahead and vouch for them.

6/21/2012 9:59:36 AM

I know this is an ongoing thing, but I am personally in the Bailey's camp. They have been fabulous the entire time. I think Eric had problems with DD because they ignored him when he went in to look at rings

6/21/2012 10:53:12 AM

this is just so pretty to me. i love the touch of blue



shame it looks like a college class ring from the top

6/26/2012 7:48:29 PM

^ That could easily be made, where it didn't look like a high school ring from the top

6/26/2012 10:43:59 PM

Obligatory "she said yes" post with pictures. Here are pictures of the ring (4 on her finger, and one that QTPie sent me in much better quality and lighting), and pictures of the accompanying Italian Spinone pup we got the week later (I proposed on the 24th I believe...got the puppy this past Sunday). It's been pretty good so far...although I haven't gotten a lot of work done the past few week with all of the celebrating and now taking care of a puppy. But both things are awesome.

Oh...and the ring is white gold, with Rose Gold on the setting. Diamonds down about 2/3 of the band (I think) on the top, with engraving finishing out of the rest of the band. I think it's a halo setting surrounding a 1.01 carat diamond. She beez very happy with it.



















Oh...puppy's name is Lorenzo and QTPie helped me design the ring. She was awesome, I had no idea what I was doing, and it turned out perfect.

7/3/2012 11:51:26 AM

Beautiful!! Congrats

7/3/2012 11:53:25 AM

congrats jbrick! adorable doggie, and great ring! I've never seen a rose gold setting before - I love the contrast, really quite beautiful.

7/3/2012 12:53:50 PM

Yeah...I had never seen it either. We stumbled upon one at a jewelry store down here in Charleston and both of us really liked it. She likes really simple rings (thin band, not too much going on with the setting, bridge, etc), and the rose gold kind of makes the "simple" ring stand out.

It's not quite as bright as the picture that QTPie sent...but it still stands out. And ultimately, I think she doesn't want that much rose gold in there. Just enough to make it "pop."

7/3/2012 12:58:39 PM

good job jbrick! the ring is very nice

cute puppy too!

7/3/2012 1:15:14 PM

I sent this question to QTPie, but not sure how frequent she visits TWW anymore. Thought I would put this question out to the masses and see if anyone had some insight:

Quote :

"I ended up losing my ring in Lake Wylie on July 4th, and am looking to replace it. It was a 14k white gold ring, and Diamonds Direct's price has gone up $200+ on the ring ($750 retail last year, $965 this year) I have looked online and it appears that gold is down in price, I guess I wanted to get some validation from someone in the jewelry business as to why it would cost much more with the materials cost appearing to be lower."

7/10/2012 10:55:41 AM

YAY jbrick! congrats! the ring is GORGEOUS!!!!!!

7/10/2012 12:19:38 PM

^^are you sure that the ring you're looking at now is 14k gold?

7/10/2012 12:58:02 PM

I'm going to attempt to bump this.


So I'm getting ready to take the plunge and do the whole engagement thing.

I'm not a total diamond nut, but could do a diamond engagement ring, but the prices of diamonds are just flat out ridiculous now. I've talked with my girlfriend about stones and at times colored stones are more her thing. The thing is my parents since I was little have said I could have some diamonds and other stones if I ever wanted them for an engagement ring. 2 in particular are some Padparadscha Sapphires (one being pink with orange (looks almost like a pink diamond at times) and another being a red one. The pink is oval and the red being cushiony cut. The thing is my girlfriend goes back and forth on wanting either of these stones. I get the "it's a hand-me down" to "it's taking something from your mother", etc.

I have two 1 ct and two 0.5 ct diamonds I could use if I so wanted to to build my own ring (which I plan on doing anyways), but would ideally like the Padparadscha Sapphires because in my opinion their rarity and beauty far outshines any diamond. I personally think the setting combined with the stone is the personal part, not the center stone, which is why I guess I can't see the hand-me down part, but so be it.

tl;dr
What would you do if you had the choice between rare Sapphires or diamonds but a potential conflict comes up with the origination of the stone?

8/13/2012 11:48:02 PM

Congrats man!

8/13/2012 11:55:20 PM

Both of those reasons/excuses she used point to the fact that she'd rather have something of her own

8/13/2012 11:57:10 PM

Does she really want a different kind of stone? If she is objecting just because they are from your family then she's being a cunt. It's possible she wants something else and you haven't picked up on her hints. Tell her your parents have withdrawn their offer and see what she does.

8/14/2012 12:29:24 AM

Yeah, I'm starting to just go the way of building the ring from a 1 carat diamond. I just gotta ask, what's everyone's guideline on how much they spent on these things? I hate De Beers and their 3 month salary rule and the fact that diamonds are crazy crazy expensive now.

8/16/2012 10:06:10 PM

I'd point blank ask her what she wants. It could be she doesn't want another type of stone other than a diamond, and that's why she doesn't want the sapphire. Most people wouldn't object to a family hand-me-down diamond, as long as it wasn't a cheap cop out. Either way, you should ask her, since it'll be her ring.

8/16/2012 10:11:56 PM

It does sound like you're in a situation where the only reasonable thing to do is ask, since you're getting mixed messages from her. Also, you say you already have two 1-ct diamonds as well--are they of family origin too? In that case you want to be extra sure of what her real objections are.

(If she really doesn't want that sapphire in an engagement ring, keep it in the proverbial pocket for a badass christmas/anniversary/birth of a child gift.)

I think the 3 months' salary rule is kind of silly, myself. (Also I've never known if they meant 3 months' gross salary--which is absurd--or 3 months' net/take-home pay, which isn't as bad.) Mine ended up being in the vicinity of 2 months by the take-home scale, but I didn't go into it planning that exactly--I knew what she wanted and had an idea of my budget ceiling. The ring itself was one of those "you know it when you see it" moments, though I had a general idea beforehand. The center stone came down to a function of size vs. price. Since we were already living together and I make most of the money in the house (she is a grad student) I didn't want to spend big on a baller ring and then have us be poor but I wanted something that would look good on her hand and she would be proud to show her friends.

8/16/2012 11:14:46 PM

if you are going to build a ring for her, you better let her be in on it.... but I would gather what materials you think you could use and tell her that is what we have to work with.


but I am not big on surprises, so that is just my opinion.

8/17/2012 9:12:47 AM

I'm at the point of asking her to just be in on it. The answer to the diamonds is kind of weird. My parents when my brother and I were younger (like 15-20 years ago) bought 2 1ct diamonds in hopes we would use them in our rings when we got older (I was somewhere in the neighborhood of 7-9 and my brother was 12-14). Well my brother didn't use his when he got married (they're round his wife wanted a princess cut) and I was told I could have both (from both him and my parents). However, the only way I could use both would be to use a third stone of something else, as there's no way I can afford a 1.5+ carat diamond of similar quality to mirror it (they're D Color VS1 I think) and that'd be pushing the 18k range easily for just the stone.

I found an emerald cut three stone tonight that I love which is weird as I hate emeralds. However, when set right, emeralds can be amazing. All the cuts from the side stones lined up perfectly with the center stone and it just had one hell of a pop. I hate this process. I want her involved, but I also like the whole surprise aspect. This sucks.

Also, definitely using the other stones/rings as awesome birthday/christmas presents.

8/17/2012 10:46:46 PM

a pair of earrings seems to be in order


also, my ring is emerald cut and i adore it. i have no decent shots of it, but here is a crappy photo for you.

8/18/2012 12:13:50 AM

^^ if the stones match well enough, i'd do earrings. though they would be some expensive earrings at 1ct D VS1 per side get a personal articles policy on them!!

if you want her to be a part of your decision, but still have the final choice be a surprise, why not gather up a few different designs and show her all of them, gauge her reaction and pick one? she still has input, but she'll still be surprised with the actual ring she gets. just a thought..

[Edited on August 18, 2012 at 8:17 AM. Reason : ^ i see that DD box pretty ring!]

8/18/2012 8:16:47 AM

Found out they're not D but closer to the G side, still pretty good . Found the ring today, going to be getting tomorrow through the phone as I'm shipping back up to Chicago after a weekend in Raleigh. Vintage like she likes, 1.12 center, will post pictures eventually (only took them with my Galaxy S3, while a great camera, not perfect). It meets all of her requirements, original, not a solitaire, band work on the sides and lots of detail. Knew when I was looking at it that right away that was the ring.

8/19/2012 9:59:19 AM

well in that case maybe you can keep it a secret. My engagement ring is an emerald, the emerald is a really high quality and yet it wasn't that expensive making me not feel guilty about how much a single ring costs.

I would recommend, since you get to make the ring yourself, you should stick to a v-prong setting or a bezel setting for strength purposes (emeralds are not as fragile as people think, but they obviously aren't diamonds either).


here is a site talking about quality of emeralds and mentions the settings as well. http://www.greeningold.com/html/howtobuyemerald.html

8/19/2012 10:07:21 AM

^^ awesome, congrats

And congrats to jbrick, too! Gorgeous ring!

8/19/2012 10:39:00 AM

Where can I go for for blood diamonds? I think it's something special to know 5-6 african kids died for a ring.

Seriously, though. Looking for contemporary/off-the-wall designs, and I really dig that deep cobalt blue for colored gems. What are some good sites to peruse?

8/21/2012 8:07:15 AM