I would vote for Amendment 1 if it banned engagement rings

5/3/2012 9:57:28 AM

finally i can post in this thread!!!!!! I gave it to her Sunday night at a B&B in Virginia. Best vacation I've had in a long time.

5/3/2012 10:48:35 AM

gorgeous!! congrats!

5/3/2012 2:39:26 PM

Quote :

" what's the specs and price of the ring at the top of the page?"

http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/settings-with-sidestones/-Platinum-3-Stone-Channel-Set-Princess-cut-Ring.html

5/3/2012 5:06:23 PM

Ugh...I'm struggling with picking out a ring. I've enlisted the help of my mom and my girlfriend's sister...thinking that they will bother agree on one and I'll be gold. My mom has bought more jewelry for my girlfriend than I have (it's weird...she LOVES my gf)...and my gf has loved it all. And obviously my gf and her sister have similar tastes and my gf really likes her sister's engagement ring. So this should be foolproof...........WRONG.

Issues are:

- Her sister's ring is a very simple (but very nice) circular diamond ring. I think I can get a picture of it:





- So any ring that I pick out with a circular diamond looks strikingly similar to her sisters...yet smaller and not as nice. Because her brother-in-law dropped a shit ton of money on the ring. So if I get her a ring like her sister's, it will look like the pre-school version (I'd basically have to empty out my savings to match her sister's ring...not gonna happen).

- So my mom and I have been looking at rings. And I'll send some pics to her sister and her sister is like...."NO...too gaudy...blah blah...think simple, classic...blah blah blah." I'll see if I can get a couple pics of what we're talking about here:

Sister actually liked this one...but still wants the simplicity of one diamond (she asked if they could get rid of the three and just do one). And I would put a bigger diamond in the middle that would fill out where the prongs are...so that's not an issue:





This is one that she said was way too "gaudy"...1st pic is just the ring, 2nd has the wedding band with it:






Just to add a little more to the story is that all of my gf's friends have baller rings. Her best friend that got married a couple weeks ago had a $250K ring, another close friend just got a $50K ring, and her sister and other friends also have pretty ridiculous rings (not quite at that level, but out of my range nonetheless).

She knows that she's not getting that and that is not an issue. But at the same time, I want to get her something nice that she's not ashamed to show her friends. I'm looking in the $5 to $8K range.

Solutions? I'm about to say "fuck it" and get her a plain circular diamond (which is the only thing she's mentioned...she says she's never looked at rings). The other side of me wants to pick out something different and beautiful...but I'm just really worried that she won't like it. Bleh.....

[Edited on May 8, 2012 at 7:31 AM. Reason : .]

5/8/2012 7:30:40 AM

the settings you are looking at look somewhat similar to what i have:



i really like the picture you posted of the engagement band with the wedding ring. i think it's really pretty and unique.

and i totally get what you're saying - you want her to have something nice that isn't like everyone else's ring. that's why i like my ring....everyone i know has the halo setting and it's not really my thing.

i think you're on the right track - i love the oval stone shape as well

5/8/2012 7:56:18 AM

^ She said last night that she doesn't like oval...that she likes the circular (like her sister's).

I'm getting to the point where I want her to just pick out something. Pretty sure she knows its coming...so if there's not going to be a surprise of actually getting a ring, might as well get something you picked out and love...right??

[Edited on May 8, 2012 at 7:59 AM. Reason : I really like yours btw. How many carats that be??]

5/8/2012 7:58:47 AM

Quote :

"any ring that I pick out with a circular diamond looks strikingly similar to her sisters"

this isn't really true... what about the setting i posted at the top of this page? not saying you have to do that exact one, but just as an example. no filigree or tiny detail on it, just a simple setting that focuses on the diamond itself

and instead of getting her to pick a ring, then you paying for it... if you really want to go that route, at least have her pick more than one so the ring is still a surprise but you know she'll love it

5/8/2012 8:13:33 AM

Quote :

"She knows that she's not getting that and that is not an issue. But at the same time, I want to get her something nice that she's not ashamed to show her friends. "

If she would be ashamed to show any ring to her friends, she needs friends that aren't shitty.

5/8/2012 8:41:01 AM

Quote :

"If she would be ashamed to show any ring to her friends, she needs friends that aren't shitty."

Maybe ashamed is the wrong word. I would like for her to at least be proud of it and want to show it off. Her friends are great and they'll be happy for her regardless. I just don't want her to have the obvious kid's ring at the big girl's table. And this is probably more of my feelings than it is of hers. We do live a pretty simple life (especially compared to her friends)...but we (and she) still like nice things.

5/8/2012 9:04:02 AM

i have always said to my fiance (prior to us getting engaged) that i don't care how big or how small the diamond is, what is important is the quality of the stone. he ended up getting a smaller stone than he had originally anticipated to buy but because the quality on the stone was a million times better than on any of the larger diamonds he was shown.

5/8/2012 9:21:00 AM

Bad:

Another one of her friends' engagement rings




Good: she thinks its too big.....

5/8/2012 1:33:39 PM

Her sister's looks like a bevel, right? How about a halo style?



You can find one with a different style band, too - mine has a split band, and I love it. Not too much but different.


Also, with the halo style you can get away with having a smaller center diamond since it kinda disguises it

5/8/2012 1:41:17 PM

I'm hoping the puppy she gets with the ring will disguise the entire ring

5/8/2012 1:43:29 PM

I don't think you should feel bad about it - if anything, at least your ring is going to have more meaning (or so it seems) instead of just looking like a trophy ring, if that makes sense. The last one you posted is heinous.. she should not go swimming with that thing

5/8/2012 1:51:23 PM

What would be a reasonable price for a jeweler to charge to remove the stone from one ring and set it in a new band? I'm a fish out of water with this and don't want to get ripped off.

5/9/2012 12:05:58 PM

I had it done for around 900 in white gold (3 stone setting)...I think platinum would have been roughly double.

Reliable Jewelry downtown had the best prices and did a really good job. I think diamonds direct quoted around 400 more for both.

5/9/2012 12:13:03 PM

Quote :

"I'm getting to the point where I want her to just pick out something. "

NOOOOOO! Don't give up !

5/9/2012 7:20:20 PM

While she didn't exactly pick out something, we definitely did a little browsing this past weekend. I'm really glad we did. After going back and forth between what my mom, her sister, and myself THINK she might like...I was finally able to really see what she really liked and disliked. I don't think I would have been able to pick out something in her wheelhouse without this browsing session.

I do have some questions about carats. I think she wants, and I would like to get her, at least a carat. I honestly don't think I can afford more than a carat anyways...and even a good carat is a push. I found a beautiful setting for her, but it's a tad on the expensive side, and with the price of a carat, will push it a decent amount out of my budget. So I could get her something less...lets say around the .90 carat range (the jeweler found a .94 that puts it a little closer to budget, but still a little ways away), or I could get her a lesser quality 1 carat diamond. Don't want to do the lesser quality carat, but is it really a big difference between .94 and 1. It definitely seems that way in price terms. And is this pretty spot on in terms of pricing and carats:

Quote :

"$2,000 - $3,500 Absolutely exquisite quality diamonds in the low carat end of this range, but use caution when considering the larger stones. Make sure you are familiar with the "Four Cs" of diamond quality before purchasing. The 1-carat stones in this price range often have one or more of the following: visible inclusions (flaws), mediocre color quality ("faint yellow"), and/or a lower grade "cut" (which affects the "brilliance" of the diamond). Carat Weight: 0.40 - 1.00 Diamond Quality: Varied. Setting: 14-18K gold (white or yellow), Platinum $3,500 - $5,000 This is the lowest price range where you can reasonably expect to find some nice quality 1-carat stones. The smaller stones in this range will generally be of greater value and quality, but you can find some "lovely-to-the-eye" 1-carat diamonds. Carat Weight: 0.50 - 1.50 Diamond Quality: Varied. Setting: 18K gold (white or yellow), Platinum "

And what about bargaining? The jewelry place where I found the setting that she/I likes is a really old jewelry store in downtown Charleston. I haggled a little, told him my budget, and asked if he would take off anything if it was all cash. In the nicest way possible, he pretty much told me that I'm at the low end of their customer totem pole and that its not gonna happen. My mom, OTOH, is talking to our small town jewelers back home, and she can get crazy good deals. Could I buy the setting from the jeweler in Charleston and get a more affordable diamond from back home?

HALP!

[Edited on May 14, 2012 at 4:04 PM. Reason : .]

5/14/2012 3:50:15 PM

Quote :

"Could I buy the setting from the jeweler in Charleston and get a more affordable diamond from back home?"

I don't see why you wouldn't be able to. There will probably be a charge to put it in the setting, but if she can get a great deal then go for it. I think your girlfriend would rather have a .94 with better quality, imo. However, it depends on what the setting looks like as to how noticeable the smaller diamond will be in the ring.

5/14/2012 6:04:26 PM

Any of the ring experts still hanging around from earlier in this thread ([user]G.O.D.[/user] and QTPie)??

So when the lady and I went browsing last Saturday, she saw some things she liked and disliked, but there was one ring that really stood out to her. I remembered which one it was and went back to check it out this week. It's unfortunately a good couple grand out of my price range. I feel like most of that is because the jewelry store itself. They don't budge on prices and they are probably one of the nicest in town and have some of the highest mark-ups. There price for a one carat diamond was a good $1,000 more than every other placed I looked. I figured I could find a similar style somewhere else...but am finding no luck.

I am going home for a day next week to try some jewelry stores in the Wilmington area with my mom, but I'm starting to get a little worried. The gf and I keep looking at other rings, and she's just kinda "meh" about everything. This is the only ring that I've seen her "light up" about and not find any faults in. Here it is (warning...fuzzy pictures because there was tons of sunlight coming in the store when I tried to take the pic):










Things that she really likes:

- Round diamond

- very thin band

- diamonds on all three sides of the band (but simple, not gaudy or busy...obviously if the band is thin, this should be easy)

- similar taste to the setting as with the band. likes a simple design, just not overdone

So this ring fit all of those. Round diamond, check. Thin band, check. Diamonds on three sides of the band, check. Setting isn't crazy, but it's covered in very small diamonds, check.

But one of the big things she fell in love with is the Rose(pink) gold setting. It takes a simple, classic ring...and just makes it stand out without adding gaudy, big, intricate things to the ring.

Problem is...I can't find anything close to this anywhere else. There are some, but not a lot, of two tone rings that contain Rose gold...but they either have too much of it or the rest of the ring doesn't fit the criteria. Here is an example of one with too much rose gold:




Any of the ring experts out there know where I can find something similar to what I first posted? I'm having no luck online or any of the other stores in Charleston.

[Edited on May 18, 2012 at 1:52 PM. Reason : .]

5/18/2012 1:52:12 PM

Are there any custom jewelers around you could consult to see how much they'd charge to make a ring that fits what she wants?

5/18/2012 1:59:54 PM

I'm sure there are...my inexperience with this has always looked at custom jewelry as being more expensive. And my time is starting to run out a little bit. I've got maybe 5/6 weeks before this thing needs to be ready. How long would it take to make a ring like this?

5/18/2012 2:04:47 PM

Oh. Didn't realize you were on a tight timeline It does seem like custom would always cost more, but from what I've heard sometimes it doesn't. Of course "what I've heard" also isn't very much.

5/18/2012 2:06:47 PM

[Edited on May 18, 2012 at 6:15 PM. Reason : got it today.]

5/18/2012 6:12:11 PM

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

good quality jewelry unfortunately they gear their jewelry to gems

but this one looked like a similar coscept, I don't know how set she is on the main stone being a diamond, but I feel like it is unique... this one by far is my favorite



or

but it's not round.... but very pretty



http://www.eternitydiamonds.com/engagement-rings/diamond-engagement-ring/Ellie-Thin-Pave-Ring-423.htm?ringsize=7&metaltype=5




this one is on ebay

http://www.amazon.com/Round-Diamond-Engagement-Setting-Platinum/dp/B005IPBHK4






art and fire also have some interesting collections

http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/product_view/knrinc/4284295/round_cut_diamond_engagement_ring_art_deco_bezel_set_2_00ctw/handmade/jewelry/rings/gemstone

5/18/2012 6:32:43 PM

jbrick... shoot me an email... we've totally got this...

5/19/2012 12:37:44 AM

I'd been on here asking all this advice on engagement rings. I've been planning a July proposal. This week she dumped me. This sucks. I love her lots. I have to win her back to the detriment of my bank account.

Blog over.

[Edited on May 19, 2012 at 1:19 PM. Reason : .]

5/19/2012 1:11:16 PM

Diamonds Direct does custom rings... mine was.

5/19/2012 1:27:24 PM

damn montclair, that sucks man.

keep your head up, friend.

5/21/2012 5:08:34 PM

that does suck; but for the love of whatever is still good in this world, try to win her back with anything but money.

5/21/2012 5:50:23 PM

,That is shitty. You are better off if she could only be one back by material things.

I wish you luck.

5/21/2012 5:55:32 PM

Thanks a whole lot guys. It's been a week and I think I may have actually won her back. It took a little bit of money. Not gifts, but small gestures and a surprise dinner. Worth every penny since I got her back. I hadn't lied, cheated or done anything too awful. She simply got tired of me talking like an asshole. She was probably right I went super sweet mode and probably learned my lesson: women are always right.

May hold off a bit on my proposal plan, just to make sure we're both on the same page. But I'm much happier today.

How did some of you decide on where to ask? Sometimes it is obvious if there is a certain park you always go to, or a first date spot etc... But otherwise what was the thought process? Do any women have advice on good places or types of situations that would be ideal?

5/21/2012 11:14:12 PM

Future Mrs. HockeyRoman as of this past Saturday.

5/22/2012 1:04:05 AM

Quote :

"How did some of you decide on where to ask? Sometimes it is obvious if there is a certain park you always go to, or a first date spot etc... But otherwise what was the thought process? Do any women have advice on good places or types of situations that would be ideal?"

my fiance proposed to me on a gorgeous day at the park we always went to. He drove over night w/o telling me until around VA from Philly, where he bought a ring he thought was perfect, to Raleigh. He said he was worried that I would notice his jitters and know beforehand, but he always is giddy when he comes home so I didn't suspect anything. I think that was the most fun, and it was private, outside in a happy place. Then afterwards we went to artsplosure and ate ice cream. It was a simple and happy day and it wasn't exactly planned. He said he knew he wanted to get to the park, and then we just took a walk downtown and ran into stuff to do.

[Edited on May 22, 2012 at 1:23 AM. Reason : .]

5/22/2012 1:22:30 AM

^^ How many carats is that if you dont mind me asking?

Looking at a lot of these pics, its hard to gauge the diamonds size.

5/22/2012 2:07:01 PM

Right, perspective can be hard to gauge. My fiancee has tiny hands so that .72 was close to the upper limit of what would have looked right on her finger. I was thinking I'd go in the .65+ range, but anyone who's shopped diamonds knows that diamond cutters try and avoid that range and instead bump it up into the 0.70+ category.

5/22/2012 5:21:08 PM

my gf also has small hands, which is why i went with the smaller diamond.

5/22/2012 5:47:15 PM

my ring size is 4.25

5/23/2012 2:31:24 PM

would you get a synthetic diamond or a natural made diamond?

5/24/2012 7:55:42 AM

I looked at synthetics, but unless you can find a actual store and physically look at it, then there was no way I was spending the money (however much cheaper) online. Synthetic diamond also have weird names for their rings and don't provide nearly the same level of personalization from what I found.

5/24/2012 4:19:58 PM

When I was single I never got into the habit at looking at a girl's hand for a ring to see if they were available.

Now that I'm going through this process, all I do is look at girls' rings to see whether or not I like them.

Turns out I don't like 99% of engagement rings. But I'm not the one wearing them!

5/30/2012 10:43:57 AM

the future mrs. Dammit100:

5/30/2012 12:03:28 PM

hairy fingers

also, found my idea engagement ring(s):

5/30/2012 12:21:38 PM

lol diamond knuckles?


that would fuck someone's face up!!

5/30/2012 12:23:49 PM

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?

5/30/2012 12:27:43 PM

Do you want to get her a baller-ass ring because you think it's what she "deserves" or because you think you should spend a certain amount, or you are afraid if you don't get her a diamond people will think you were cheap, or what?

If she has told you she doesn't want one, I wouldn't get her one. If you really want her ring to be a diamond, I'd try to hint at that beforehand and try to get some feedback from her. But getting her one after she's told you that isn't what she wants does not seem like the best idea.

5/30/2012 12:32:41 PM

Skwinkle - yes, yes, and yes.

5/30/2012 12:35:37 PM

IMO if you are going to marry this girl you should care a hell of a lot more about what she thinks and wants than what other people are going to think of the ring. It's one thing for a girl to say "I really don't want you to spend more than $x" and you to stretch that. But it's another thing to ignore what she is telling you she really wants because you think it's not good enough.

5/30/2012 12:38:42 PM

i'm going with what Skwinkle said. if she's not keen on diamonds, then maybe you can get some more info out of her about what kind of stone she would like. i think it's perfectly acceptable to do a non-diamond. i think they're just as pretty, if not more so. there's a lot of gorgeous gems out there. girls like to drop hints so maybe pay attention if the topic of rings pops up or if you know one of her girl friends, maybe see if they could talk to her about some kind of gems likes to help you out.

a baller ring doesn't not need to equal expensive. as long as it's something you took the time to pick out and you did it because you wanted it for her, then that's all that matters.

5/30/2012 12:39:23 PM