4 options...

[mrssalvo]

I like #1..

 

[Agape]

Date: 2/13/2006 10:18:09 PM
Author: Nifergirl7997
Agape,

What style did you end up choosing for your engagement ring? Do you have a picture?



I think I'm going nuts looking at these rings.... makes me want to finally be able to call him my forever one and only... I hope he chooses something soon!

Ok Here is the story. Kind of long, so if you get bored you can just move on When we were talking about getting married and diamonds and such, I told him I did not really care, he could just pick it, I did not even know there were different shapes! I am not really into jewerly and we do mission work so I really do not want a lot of bling to be possibly stloen or for others in third word country to envy. (Which happens anyway, they do not have much jewerly at all) He wanted me to at least go and look the first time with him. Well........My birthday is on Valentines Day and I as soon as I saw a heart shape, I had to have it. Now, he is like, Umm....I thought you did not care....LOL!

Anyway, the heart is a very difficult shape to find a band to match, and we could not find one for months after we picked out the stone. We wanted to make sure the band matched the ering setting, so it took us a while. In the mean time, the jeweler gave us a simple Tiffany mounting so I could wear the stone. I was really happy with that, and found a very simple wrap to go with it. Well, after having it resaultered MANY times, I needed to find something else. I kept the solitare in the simple free setting and bought a 5 stone band ring that I LOVED! It lasted a year.

We are now on year 14 with the stone. At Christmas of this year, my husband said, I really want you to get some forever rings, please go look, so we do not have to keep replacing rings. I, know, he is great! Oh, he even threw in the "I do not care how much it cost!" So sweet!!! Anyway, I went looking and of course found nothing. I stumbled upon a remount show at the mall, of all places. I found the perfect one (they had hundreds to choose from) and the store had a matching band.

I am really happy with this because, although I absolulely LOVE looking at all the beautiful rings on this site, I just wanted to find one we both loved and wear it forever. No trade ups or switching sets for me. I'm just kind of simple.

So here are the specs as much as I can remember (did you get that I'm not a big jewerly person?) Heart shape, not fat,but not skinny either, H color, VS1 (?) The thing sparkles like crazy, I get compliments all the time and it is only a .39. I really wanted quality and the rings really is nice. I have had jewerlers offer to buy it from me flat out, not trade, and offered me more than we paid for it. Even when we went to get the stone reset the saleperson was trying to get my husband to trade up to a larger stone. (All of theirs were crap) After mine was set she looked at it with her Loup for a long time, and then put it down,looked at me and said, "This is a VERY beautiful ring, but you know that right?"I m like uh huh. Give it back. NOW! LOL! As for a picture. I am still working on that. The set is just 2 weeks old, so I am working with the camera. It may be fuzzy, however I can not ever get anything to post on this site.

Here is a description. The heart sits in a cathedral setting with four channel set stones leading up to it. The band had 12 channel set stones. White gold.

After all that (are you still reading?) My advice is do not stress about it. Get what you like for now, if you have to change or add to it, it is OK. If you can not find something you absolutely love get a simple mounting and a simple band. I wore that for years until I really starting looking at this site. It really helped find something I loved.

 

[ilovesparkles]

Hands down would go with #1, its something I have been looking at too! And as far as diamonds, I think under 1 carat is perfect, I don''t particularly like the gigantic ones!

Good luck!

 

[lizz]

Me too. I like #1 the best.

 

[diamondsrock]

I absolutely love the design of #1! A friend of mine has one similar to that and it looks so elegant on her hand.

 

[Tisme]

Number 1 is very elegant, and I love the bezel set centre stone. It''ll look lovely on your hand.

 

[february2003bride]

Oooh, I love #4!

Carrie

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I like 1 and 4 because I think the bezel is very nice on smaller diamonds.

 

[Garysax]

I prefer the tension set, if you like things like that.

Tension is going to be very expensive relative to those other settings though.

 

[kittycatsmac]

I like # 4 but don''t get me rong I like # 1 as well. But really you need to go with the one that you are going to love. When you started asking about price I went to bluenile.com and looked up a round stone in the carat weights of .30 to .50. The prices ranged from $430 to like $980. Thats the thing about blue nile they only deal in like really good diamonds I don''t think you could get a bad diamond there. But that''s just what I think. But I wish you nothing but good luck on finding everything you want for your ering.

 

[valeria101]

#1.

If there could be a version where the two ''wings'' (ends of the shank) wrap around the stone without a separate bezel added in, all for the better. But this one (with bezel) may be more safer after all and probably show off the diamond better.

The profile of the ring reminds me of a diamond paved Cartier version posted recently on ''Show me the ring''. With half a carat, that otherwise dainty ring looks very eye catching on the hand

No reason any other of similar profile would fall short of that.

 

[XChick03]

Definitely #1, but with #3 as a close second. I just love the swirl design, very elegant and unique.

 

[ecf8503]

Here''s a "wave" design the first ring remnded me of: This one by Krikawa -

 

[Nifergirl7997]

ooh, that''s pretty, too. Thanks for the picture. It looks like extra waves billowing up on the shore.... Pretty, pretty!!

 

[Nifergirl7997]

Oh, a heart shape is cute, too. I especially like how it means something special to you. That''s part of why I like #1 so much; the beach is close to my heart and a ring that captures a piece of its beauty would be so precious.

Thanks for your story.

(I don''t think I''ll ever be that into upgrading, either. I think the first you get is the most special, sweet, romantic and all that. I''m a sentimental girl.)

 

[fressia]

Hey I am looking at tension settings myself and have one of my final 4 narrowed down to one almost exactly like #3! My concern with that one (as well as #1) is that it will be hard to wear a band with it.

 

[Nifergirl7997]

That''s part of what I love about the swirl setting; it allows the bands to nest together and interlock. Something about that is symbolic of marriage and a couple becoming one, while still remaining their own beings. I love interlocking bands!

But yeah, the choices somewhat lessen when you choose a style that requires a special band.

 

[Nifergirl7997]

I went to the jewelry store today to try on a possible setting. The thing is, it didn''t look a thing like it did in the book!

The band was thin and pretty, but the stone seemed to sit up really high. The jewler said they could drop down the head a bit, though. She also said maybe having a cathedral would help the stone to seem more "flush" without having a bezel.

She also voiced concern that bezel settings may be "dated" at some point during my lifelong marriage. Hm...

The most concerning part of looking at the ring on my finger was that the "swirl" effect I love seemed almost non-existent. The matching band didn''t come in, so she''s going to re-order it so maybe seeing the two together will make it more swirly.

I emailed her a picture of #1, because the swirl on that is what I like, I think. We''ll see what happens from here.

**The 1/2 carat looked perfect on my finger, though. Not too big, not too little, and the diamond she dropped in it had HUGE sparkle! Paul probably won''t be able to get one quite that nice, but all I''m really hoping for is sparkles, not the certs and all that stuff...**

 

[Nifergirl7997]

Oh, I forgot to add what she said about my concerns with prongs.

She said a diamond that''s set right won''t let the prongs collect "fuzzies." Is that true? It seems I''m forever collecting lent on my other ring with prongs...

She also said that the cathederal setting will help me avoid banging my diamond around too much, because the build up of the band on the sides will be able to cushion the blow a little more. Is that true?

She also said that if I''m concerned with the prongs bending or not holding the diamond well, with relation to the rough treatment I tend to give rings, that it may be best to get not only 6 prongs on the head, but to consider a platinum head on the white gold ring. She said the difference in materials wouldn''t be noticeable, but that it would offer more protection. Is that true?

 

[E B]

Nifer,

Have you thought about asking WF for a quote on that particular ring (#1?) in WG with a platinum bezel? They could make the ring exactly as you''d like and their prices are quite reasonable.

 

[Nifergirl7997]

I''m not quite sure how to go about doing that, ebree. And, ultimately, Paul wants to decide on the ring for me. He wants ideas, but to also have an element of surprise involved in it.

But I will visit their site and see if I can locate where to ask questions. Thanks for the idea!

 

[E B]

Jen,

Just email [email protected]. Tell them what you told the woman in the jewelry store and be sure to attach pictures. When they give you the information, you can give it to Paul and if he decides on that ring, he can go from there. If you need me to help with anything, just let me know!

 

[Agape]

Date: 2/15/2006 6:28:09 PM
Author: Nifergirl7997



She said a diamond that''s set right won''t let the prongs collect ''fuzzies.'' Is that true? It seems I''m forever collecting lent on my other ring with prongs...

From my experience, my new settings always collect fuzz. I think after you wear it awhile it gets better. My new one is presently a good fuzz collector


She also said that the cathederal setting will help me avoid banging my diamond around too much, because the build up of the band on the sides will be able to cushion the blow a little more. Is that true?

As I said before, my new one is cathedral, and I am finding this is true. It is set in such a way there is no way I can bang the stone into anything.


She also said that if I''m concerned with the prongs bending or not holding the diamond well, with relation to the rough treatment I tend to give rings, that it may be best to get not only 6 prongs on the head, but to consider a platinum head on the white gold ring.

Definately go with the 6 prongs, I would not go with anything less, I wanted it as secure as it could be.
As for the platinum part, I have read on here that plat bends if tested and gold breaks. I got gold, because I had as many prongs as possible, it would not really matter, if one broke the others would securely hold the stone.

 

[Nifergirl7997]

Here is a picture of a previous engagement ring. Much like that horrible relationship, this ring SO doesn''t fit who I am. I like thin, small, and delicate. A solitaire is particularly intriguing to me because they are nothing like this ring I got from Mr. Wrong (it only took 1 month to figute out he wasn''t the one. Thank God!)

Notice how the band looks so thick... ick. The center stone is less than 1/4 carat, and the total carat count is 1/2. With itty bitty fingers, it tends to look like more. Too busy for me...

But, I do like the unique design of the setting... the way it dips up and all that.

 

[Nifergirl7997]

Dang, that came out BIG! Sorry, guys.

 

[squarediamondlove]

It really depends on how it looks on your hand. I personally like #3 and #4 (However, I think I like #4 b/c it will make the stone look bigger, which is kind of not your priority) #3 will definately be more delicate but I''m not sure how well it will look on the hand.

 

[researcher]

I just wanted to note that the first photo of #2, the side profile, is actually the W-prong, not the X-prong. As that is my setting, I obviously love it, but I don''t think it would work well with a stone under 3/4ct. I therefore vote for #3.

 

[Nifergirl7997]

Researcher,

Thank you. That shows you how much I know about all this setting business.

I don''t think I like the W prong all that much, really. It''s too much like a "normal" solitaire. I was trying to think of options for Paul, but really, I''m diggin the swirl action. Especially I''m now equating it with the beach, which I adore.

Ebree,

Thank you, too. I emailed the jeweler I''d been talking to around here, and I also emailed WF. I''ll post what I hear, when I hear.

 

[gailrmv]

Hi Jen,
I''m more traditional than you, I really like solitaires. But you should go with what you like best. My only concern with #1 is wearing a wedding band with it. I''m sure you''ve already thought about that, though. The W-prong was my favorite of what you had posted.
Just wanted to tell you, I don''t think I''m very rough on rings, but I have never, NEVER had a problem collecting lint or snagging things on either of my prong-set rings. Both are 4 prong. My RHR diamond came loose a few times after they first set it, but after a more experienced jeweler tweaked it, no further problems.
Can you tell us more how you are rough on rings? For me, once I got my diamond, I just started being more careful, and I always leave it home for volunteer work, artsy stuff, gardening, cleaning and other things that could damage it. I do wear my rings to the gym, which I probably shouldn''t, but feel they are safer on me than in my locker or car. I did trip and fall and scratch up my original e-ring setting just a few days after I got it and I was devastated, but as it turns out, a good jeweler can polish and buff out all kinds of stuff that will happen with everyday wear and tear.
Gail

 

[Nifergirl7997]

Gail,

I''m a social worker, so I work with children daily. That''s not really "rough" on my hands, but I am constantly using them and interacting with people. I use my hands a lot to gesture, and I''m a bit of a clutz in that regard. Thinking back to watches I''ve had, I can''t think of one that''s not ended up scratched and scarred on the face. I do a lot of craft type things and sometimes forget to take off rings prior to doing that, however, I am getting better about that now.

I tried on a ring today that I LOVE. Hopefully the jewelry store I''ve been working with (or inquiring about) will have a visitor this week who will be swayed toward that particular setting. It doesn''t have a head on it (it''s sort of a wave style, but more of a bypass setting) and would look pretty with a prong setting, as long as it sits low. It''s a cathedral setting, and she assured me that it could be set low, to protect the diamond from being knicked.