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diamonds...

drums and skins

By drums and skins
in The Tailgate

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drums and skins

drums and skins

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Well, her birthday IS in September and I thought about getting a diamond set in between two smaller sapphires...don't know how that'd end up looking though...or how much it'd cost for that matter. Definitely going white gold on the band.

And as for what Candace said...she told me she'd be happy with a 25 cent machine ring...so I don't think she's incredibly picky (she just wants it to happen). And if I could decide on the cut I'd like to get, it'd definitely be the Princess.

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CandaceM23

CandaceM23

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Well, her birthday IS in September and I thought about getting a diamond set in between two smaller sapphires...don't know how that'd end up looking though...or how much it'd cost for that matter. Definitely going white gold on the band.

And as for what Candace said...she told me she'd be happy with a 25 cent machine ring...so I don't think she's incredibly picky (she just wants it to happen). And if I could decide on the cut I'd like to get, it'd definitely be the Princess.

DONT GIVE HER AN ENGAGEMENT RING ON HER BIRTHDAY!!! DON'T DO IT!!!

Pick another day ... Birthday's are birthday's ... Pick another random day and surprise her then.

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dockeryfan

dockeryfan

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1) Find out if she wants a diamond. It is the RARE girl that wants a different stone.

2) Find out the shape she likes. Does she like a round cut, a princess cut, a marquise cut?

3) Talk to her friends. Find out what they know.

4) Find multiple small jewelers and have them locate stones for you. Tell them your price range and shape. Then just start looking at stones. Get used to looking through a loupe. They'll show you a variety of stones with regard to color, cut, clarity, and of course, carat size. You'll get your feet wet and start recognizing what you like and don't like.

5) WHat I found is that the cut and the color are the most important. The more ideal the cut is, the better the diamond shows. Look up Tolkowsky. He came up with his ideal cut, and it really is a standard to this day. (They still refer to it and that was around the 1910s.) When you have the jewelers locate stones, tell them you want close to those specifications. And as for color, if it is not at least close to colorless, you really can tell. I'm not saying you need a D, but probably no less than F.

6) Look at lots and lots of stones. When you find the one that speaks to you the most...that's the one. Some have more brilliance---lots of white reflections. Some have more fire---lots of flecks of color. You'll know what you like best.

7) Imperfections are not the end all be all. VS1, VVSI, SI, they're all quite subjective. Also, they can be hidden. If you have a VS1 and it's right on the table in the center, you may in fact be able to see it, but you could have an SI1 right on the border of a facet, and you might have to look closely with the loupe. Also, you can hide imperfections under prongs, and jewelers do that all the time. That's why you really have to look at the stone loose.

8) Don't let your future wife pick out the diamond herself. You taking the time to find out what she likes, and picking out the stone and setting yourself is more romantic. Find out what she likes, of course, but do the work, take a chance, and buy it yourself. I can't think of anything more emasculating than having your future wife pick out her own engagement ring. Especially when she probably doesn't know jack about diamonds anyway. If she works as a gemologist, that's one thing...she would know much more than you, but otherwise...I just can't think of anything less romantic.

Believe me. I didn't know much about diamonds before I started looking. I went to Mervis and experienced the intimidating "we know what we are doing

why would you even think of going somewhere else" approach. Honestly, the more you look at stones, the more comfortable you will become. And Mervis has great stones, I just didn't go with them. GOldbean has good advice earlier in the thread, I just think color becomes more important than clarity to the naked eye. Anyway, good luck and enjoy it. When you give her the ring, she'll know you worked hard to pick it out special for her.

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helptheSKINS

helptheSKINS

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I went to Jareds. The prices were good as was the customer service. One thing I would recommend is to get a plan with them that offers free cleaning and inspections. The plan is about $100 or so but is well worth it. My wife gets hers cleaned every 2 months or so. Makes it look new everytime. That is why I would recommend going somewhere local over the internet.

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Major Harris

Major Harris

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If a woman thinks I'm a cheap **** for not buying her a diamond, then that's not the type of woman that I want to be with in the first place. :whoknows:

it's not really about being cheap (that was a joke), it's about getting them what they want. and for 95-99 percent of women, that would be a diamond.

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jrockster21

jrockster21

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it's not really about being cheap (that was a joke), it's about getting them what they want. and for 95-99 percent of women, that would be a diamond.

Eh...the girl I marry will be happy about marrying me and won't care what type of engagement ring (if any) I decide to get her. That's the plan, anyway.

I often thought that I will buy a very nice ring, and then instead propose with a 25 cent gumball machine ring as a test. If she accepts it happily, I'll know I've got the right girl, and then I can give her the real ring. :)

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Major Harris

Major Harris

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Eh...the girl I marry will be happy about marrying me and won't care what type of engagement ring (if any) I decide to get her. That's the plan, anyway.

I often thought that I will buy a very nice ring, and then instead propose with a 25 cent gumball machine ring as a test. If she accepts it happily, I'll know I've got the right girl, and then I can give her the real ring. :)

of course she will be jrock. that's not really the point. most girls dream about 2 things growing up: their engagement ring and wedding ceremony. you get them what they want, and let them do what they please with the ceremony.

like i told my wife, tell me where to be and when to be there. i'll show up.

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drums and skins

drums and skins

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DONT GIVE HER AN ENGAGEMENT RING ON HER BIRTHDAY!!! DON'T DO IT!!!

Pick another day ... Birthday's are birthday's ... Pick another random day and surprise her then.

Thats not the idea...I was just thinking of incorporating her birthstone into the ring.

Heck, I probably won't be proposing until the new year. Ideally I'll have finished school and have a career waiting for me.

Ideally.

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Kosher Ham

Kosher Ham

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Propose and then tell her she's going shopping to get what she wants. Thats how I did it, that way I knew I couldn't **** it up. Proposed on thursday, went ring shopping first thing Friday morning and she actually spent less than I would have by myself.

I bet that would have worked for me. My wife's ring cost me more than I wanted but it was worth it.

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drums and skins

drums and skins

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Okay, just chatted with her a bit. Its not much of a surprise...we've talked about this for a while so I just flat out asked her. Basically she said she's bored with traditional, so my idea of the diamond sandwhiched between two saphires is probably what I'll be primarily looking for (unless some other ring just catches my eye for the right price).

So...I can find what I'd like to get online. Something like so:

http://www.jewelrycentral.com/product.asp?pID=4738&cID=204&c=164949

(ideally with trillian cut sapphires)

But I'm weary of spending this much...online. Would any brick-and-mortar jeweler be able to produce that same ring for about the same price. The one I linked is at the top of the budget I want too (which is fine by me). Any thoughts on that? I guess its somewhat of a catch22 also, considering their pric es are lower because they are online...

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dockeryfan

dockeryfan

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But I'm weary of spending this much...online. Would any brick-and-mortar jeweler be able to produce that same ring for about the same price.

No. But that's most likely because a good jeweler would not want to sell you inferior product. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I am fairly certain you will not be satisfied with the product they send you. Maybe a jeweler would be able to get you a nice ring for 2 grand. A .5 carat stone...maybe.

Unfortunately, your price range is pretty low. If your girl is fine with a smaller stone, you may be able to find a really nice one. In fact I am certain you would be able to find one. But not online.

PM me. I'll tell you the name of the jeweler where I got my wife's ring. They were very good. Attentive to detail, and competitive in price. You want to buy a TV online? Fine. Not a diamond. You are asking to get ripped off.

BTW, when looking at graded stones, use GIA and AGS. IMO, they offered the most consistent grading.

Buying a diamond sight unseen is just bad. Someone needs to tell you this.

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Leonard Washington

Leonard Washington

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I brought my ex-gf a diamond engagement ring from diamond.com. It was beautiful and expensive! Before I proposed, we broke up (luckily). I sold it on ebay for more than I paid. While selling it, a jeweler contacted me. He had no interest in buying the ring but he told me about how the price of diamonds is controlled by folks like debeers and how the appraisals really don't mean much. It rocked my world b/c the next time I consider proposing, I don't know where to turn. I don't want to spend few grand on something that could be easily bought for much les.

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dockeryfan

dockeryfan

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I brought my ex-gf a diamond engagement ring from diamond.com. It was beautiful and expensive! Before I proposed, we broke up (luckily). I sold it on ebay for more than I paid. While selling it, a jeweler contacted me. He had no interest in buying the ring but he told me about how the price of diamonds is controlled by folks like debeers and how the appraisals really don't mean much. It rocked my world b/c the next time I consider proposing, I don't know where to turn. I don't want to spend few grand on something that could be easily bought for much les.

I 'd have loved to have seen it. Any pics?

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Leonard Washington

Leonard Washington

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No. But that's most likely because a good jeweler would not want to sell you inferior product. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I am fairly certain you will not be satisfied with the product they send you. Maybe a jeweler would be able to get you a nice ring for 2 grand. A .5 carat stone...maybe.

BTW, when looking at graded stones, use GIA and AGS. IMO, they offered the most consistent grading.

Buying a diamond sight unseen is just bad. Someone needs to tell you this.

I disagree. You can save good money on "high quality" diamonds online. I got my ring from diamond.com. I got a GIA report and everything. The ring was amazing. Just in case I took it to an prof appraiser and he graded the diamond higher than the GIA report.

Long story short, you can buy a diamond online. Be sure to get solid reporting agency. bluenile.com also has good prices.

EDIT...Good places also have 30-180 day return policies (from get all your $ back to credit)

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dockeryfan

dockeryfan

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I hear you.

I could be wrong, it's just that I looked at what seemed like a lot of diamonds when I bought my wife's ring. Maybe 10 visits to stores where I looked at 5-10 stones. It is very subjective. Smaller stones cut well had much more beauty than a larger stone cut poorly. A feather inclusion at a facet that you would never see was graded SI1 where a big cloud very easily spotted would be graded the same, or a small dark spot (much easier to see) could even be VS2. After looking at a bunch of stones, I could never buy one already in a setting. Not knowing what I know now, and I'm far from an expert. And it isn't even about the grading, it's about the subjective nature of beauty.

Anyway, I'm glad you had a good experience, but I still recommend against the internet for diamonds.

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Mr. Grundle

Mr. Grundle

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But I'm weary of spending this much...online. Would any brick-and-mortar jeweler be able to produce that same ring for about the same price. The one I linked is at the top of the budget I want too (which is fine by me). Any thoughts on that? I guess its somewhat of a catch22 also, considering their pric es are lower because they are online...

I was weary of buying online too, I wanted to see the thing before I shelled out a couple G's for it.

I ended up buying mine at a Gem and Jewelry Show at the Dulles Expo Center. It's a huge convention hall full of gem dealers from around the U.S. who set up booths and try to beat each others prices. I got a diamond from one dealer and the band I wanted from another, and then brought it over to another booth to have it set. So I basically got to build the ring I wanted and walked out with it...only took about two hours. Got a great price for an 1.5 carot diamond, and it ended up appraising for about double what I payed for it.

I suggest you check it out. You won't be able to find a better price without shopping online. The next one is the weekend of Aug 17-19 at the Dulles Expo Center in Chantilly.

http://www.dullesexpo.com/guestinfo/events/index08_07.htm

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