Engagement Ring Buying Advice

[smoothie.]

For me, diamonds are a giant cash grab either way.

That said, if I'm paying X amount for something that is limited and rare, I would need the man made version to be a LOT cheaper. Half doesn't really cut it for me.

If it makes any difference, I had an F, IF diamond picked out as well, and ended up going down to a VVS1, G - visually the same, and I used that extra money elsewhere.

[MarkyMark]

IMO if you're getting a size 0.8 carat you don't need to have the best specs for it to look amazing in person. Definitely get the best cut but colour and clarity you can save some money on unless you care how it looks through a microscope.

[Oleophobic]

Hey guys,

Bought a ring through an independent wholesaler in Toronto (amazing experience--didn't have to leave the house at all---and got an amazing diamond (HCA <2, excellent ASET images, hearts and arrows, etc.) for a great price. I'll post up a review later when I have time but for now I just have a question someone can help me with.

I proposed, she said yes, and now we need to resize the ring since I was way off on my guess haha.
Can someone recommend a trusted place to resize a ring? It may potentially cost more to ship it back to the place I bought it so I'm considering just doing it locally, but am paranoid about poor workmanship. I can obviously walk into any Ben Moss or random jewelry store but I want to make sure they do a good job. I'm going from a size 5.25 to a 3.75 and there are diamonds along the band so I know it's a bit more work than the typical ring.

[Hondaracer]

just buck up and send it back to where you got it from.

i spent like $450 shipping my fiances ring back twice for resizing, as i sure as hell didnt trust any of the places like Ben Moss etc. to do it. Not when they dont even carry a diamond nearly as nice as the one i got for anywhere close to the price i paid.

[Oleophobic]

Damn i think that's what I needed to hear. That makes sense I'll get it sent back. It'll cost ~$100 but agreed it'll be much better than any store that did not make the ring in the first place.

[underscore]

Alright I'm deciding to nut up and get serious about finding a ring, lucky for my wallet but unlucky for me the hopefully soon to be Mrs. Underscore isn't a fan of conventional engagement rings. She likes coloured stones (she has no interest in whether they're diamonds or something else) that are fairly flush with the band (hence no normal engagement rings with a main stone sticking out), narrower bands with a thinner profile (think like a 195/45R16 of rings) with some sort of styling to it (not just straight bands). So far I'm not finding many, so any direction on where to look would be awesome. These two look to be the best ones I've found so far, I'm liking the second one quite a bit but I want to make sure I'm not missing any others:

0.20 Carat TW, 10k White Gold Colour Couture Diamond Ring featuring Chenille and Silk Diamonds

0.24 Carat TW, Sterling Silver Colour Couture Diamond Ring featuring Chenille Diamonds


Also any suggestions on what to look for in smaller diamonds or other gemstones? Or is there not much to consider when they're so small?

Originally Posted by Oleophobic

It'll cost ~$100 but agreed it'll be much better than any store that did not make the ring in the first place.

Plus that should keep any warranty intact, I've seen a few places that will void the warranty completely if any work is done by anyone else.

[nabs]

Originally Posted by underscore

Alright I'm deciding to nut up and get serious about finding a ring, lucky for my wallet but unlucky for me the hopefully soon to be Mrs. Underscore isn't a fan of conventional engagement rings. She likes coloured stones (she has no interest in whether they're diamonds or something else) that are fairly flush with the band (hence no normal engagement rings with a main stone sticking out), narrower bands with a thinner profile (think like a 195/45R16 of rings) with some sort of styling to it (not just straight bands). So far I'm not finding many, so any direction on where to look would be awesome. These two look to be the best ones I've found so far, I'm liking the second one quite a bit but I want to make sure I'm not missing any others:

0.20 Carat TW, 10k White Gold Colour Couture Diamond Ring featuring Chenille and Silk Diamonds

0.24 Carat TW, Sterling Silver Colour Couture Diamond Ring featuring Chenille Diamonds


Also any suggestions on what to look for in smaller diamonds or other gemstones? Or is there not much to consider when they're so small?



Plus that should keep any warranty intact, I've seen a few places that will void the warranty completely if any work is done by anyone else.

Those are wedding bands brah. I'm pretty sure.

[underscore]

They're listed as "fashion" rings apparently, I've literally been hitting "view all rings" on every site as I'm not finding anything even remotely close to what she likes when I look through engagement or bridal stuff.

[cdizzle_996]

K guys the time has come, I've been actively looking for the right ring. I know exactly what she wants/loves and don't want to cheap out as it will be some thing she has for the rest of her life, and let's face it I've spent a lot more money on much more stupid things.

With that being said, I've searched BlueNile, been to Costco (Canada & US), Spence the list goes on. For what she wants (1carat center stone, halo ring in white gold) I'm looking at anything between 8200-20k.

To humour myself I looked on eBay and I found this..

1 85 Ct Round Cut D VS2 Diamond Solitaire Engagement Ring 18K White Gold | eBay

Please some one tell me why I shouldn't go with some thing like this. There are several sellers, all with hundreds to thousands of 100% positive feedback, excellent return policy

[Hondaracer]

Underscore, check out Cavalier in gastown, they deal with lots of different stones other than diamonds and make very nice engagement rings. I've bought jewelry from them before and have been very happy with the service and quality.

Cdizzle, the eBay link leads me to beleive the grading is very poor on the diamond because that is by far the cheapest I've ever seen anything close to that. I also have never heard oft he "clarity treatment" in the description. D color for any other retailer usually means $$$ and for the price, VS2 seems pretty good..

Just seems too good to be true imo compared to almost anywhere else. And as I previously mentioned, personally I wouldn't touch anything but GIA diamonds because the standard can be so different.

If she is set on 1.0CT you may have to make some sacrifices, but for me id probably just set a budget and get the best possible diamond for that budget

[cdizzle_996]

I agree, which is why it has me second guessing it.

I almost feel like taking the risk, purchasing the ring and having it checked out by a reputable local jeweller.

[Hondaracer]

Buy it and worst case have it appraised and flip it?

[underscore]

Double check the return policy but usually eBay, PayPal and your credit card should have you fairly well covered, worst case send it back? I'd want to know where they sourced it though, hell "100% Natural Earth Mined Certified Diamond" could be the name of a lab that makes diamonds (sounds stupid but I've seen things like this happen with other products).

[cdizzle_996]

Originally Posted by underscore

Double check the return policy but usually eBay, PayPal and your credit card should have you fairly well covered, worst case send it back? I'd want to know where they sourced it though, hell "100% Natural Earth Mined Certified Diamond" could be the name of a lab that makes diamonds (sounds stupid but I've seen things like this happen with other products).

That's the one thing about eBay, the return policy is one of the best.

I'm going to think on it, do some more reading and report back.

[underscore]

After looking through hundreds of rings at a bunch of stores, both brick and mortar and online, I found the right style Tuesday, saw it in person Thursday, bought it Friday, and proposed last night. I won't bore you guys with the details but she said yes right away I'm pretty stoked, but now the really hard part begins.

[Alby]

Originally Posted by underscore

After looking through hundreds of rings at a bunch of stores, both brick and mortar and online, I found the right style Tuesday, saw it in person Thursday, bought it Friday, and proposed last night. I won't bore you guys with the details but she said yes right away I'm pretty stoked, but now the really hard part begins.

congrats bud. let the real party start

[underscore]

Less than 24 hours in and I already completely understand the appeal of eloping

[cdizzle_996]

I too purchased a ring the other day!

Walked into Costco for a few things, $7000 later I found exactly what she was looking for.

I'm going to have the ring appraised and see the value.

[tiger_handheld]

Originally Posted by underscore

After looking through hundreds of rings at a bunch of stores, both brick and mortar and online, I found the right style Tuesday, saw it in person Thursday, bought it Friday, and proposed last night. I won't bore you guys with the details but she said yes right away I'm pretty stoked, but now the really hard part begins.

Congrats!

How did the proposal go? Curious because it seems only a couple of days in between... doesn't seem like elaborate planning was required/done....

please share for noob education purposes... TIA!

[roastpuff]

Originally Posted by cdizzle_996

I too purchased a ring the other day!

Walked into Costco for a few things, $7000 later I found exactly what she was looking for.

I'm going to have the ring appraised and see the value.

Which Costco ring did you go for?

[cdizzle_996]

Diana with a .90ct centre stone and 1.35ctw

Basically this with a little smaller diamond

Round Brilliant 1.45 ctw VS2 Clarity, I Color Diamond Platinum "Diana" Ring

[roastpuff]

My issue with Costco rings is that they only offer one size (at least online) and my girlfriend's fingers are tiny - they're a size 4 IIRC.

Resizing is only +/- 1 size on the rings that they sell mostly because of the extra pave diamonds set on the side... argh!

[underscore]

Originally Posted by tiger_handheld

Congrats!

How did the proposal go? Curious because it seems only a couple of days in between... doesn't seem like elaborate planning was required/done....

please share for noob education purposes... TIA!

Thanks! We've been together for over 6 1/2 years (living together the last 4ish) so we've both been thinking about it for quite a while and I figured it was time to actually do it. She's not the romantic type so I just got her to come for a walk in a nice park near her parents place under the guise of taking her parents dog for a walk and playing Pokemon Go . I brought my camera "to take pictures of the dog" (even though I'm a shit photographer and haven't used the thing in years) as an excuse to have a backpack because there's no way in hell you can hide those big stupid ring boxes in a pocket without it being brutally obvious. Then I just waited til we were sort of on our own, got the ring out, said a few words, got on one knee and asked the question.

It probably sounds way too basic for a lot of people but like I said she's not the romantic type and she's not a girly girl, what you're asking is supposed to be the most important part so I wasn't going to try and coordinate jets flying overhead and making a heart out of their contrails or something.

[meme405]

Originally Posted by underscore

I wasn't going to try and coordinate jets flying

Nothing says love like 160db of jet powered fury rocketing past you at 700mph

Seriously though your way sounded pretty good. Congrats.

[underscore]

Thanks! I figure I'll save the jets for the actual wedding.