hi everyone. i've been with my gf for almost 9 years and want to propose to her in about two months. however, finding the right ring is harder than i thought and i would really appreciate your input. my girlfriend has a small ring size (size 3.5) and when compared to other girls i know, she seems to place a little more emphasis on ring setting than others. so we looked around some stores - harry winston, van cleep arpel, cartier, tiffany, etc and thought that the ring designs don't look that special. i also thought that these stores were selling for 2x/3x the online prices from bluenile & whiteflash, so it didn't make sense to buy from them.
after getting an idea of what my girlfriend likes, i ventured off on my own to find the "special one." i stopped by philip press' store and found the platinum ring setting i liked. it's pretty simple but classic. although the price is pretty expensive i thought it's still worth it bc my girlfriend cares about the setting so much and philip's reputation and craftsmanship command that price. while philip also has some loose diamonds in stock, i think i can get a better deal on diamonds through online channels. is this a good approach?
suppose it is, i'll be looking for a round shape diamond with VS1 (or better) clarity, ideal cut, and F (or better) color. i'm a little more flexible on the size as long as the price for the diamond is not more than 15k. while bigger is usually better, i'd much prefer to get a diamond that truly looks awesome with the ring and my gfs fingers. besides the 4Cs, i really don't know what all the other stats can reflect how good a diamond is. i am also not trained to just look at images of diamond and know which is better.
can some of you nice people help me out by offering me some advice or choices? oh, i also took a blurry pic of the ring itself - http://imgur.com/jbBAV just to give you some perspective. thank you for all your inputs in advance!
after getting an idea of what my girlfriend likes, i ventured off on my own to find the "special one." i stopped by philip press' store and found the platinum ring setting i liked. it's pretty simple but classic. although the price is pretty expensive i thought it's still worth it bc my girlfriend cares about the setting so much and philip's reputation and craftsmanship command that price. while philip also has some loose diamonds in stock, i think i can get a better deal on diamonds through online channels. is this a good approach?
suppose it is, i'll be looking for a round shape diamond with VS1 (or better) clarity, ideal cut, and F (or better) color. i'm a little more flexible on the size as long as the price for the diamond is not more than 15k. while bigger is usually better, i'd much prefer to get a diamond that truly looks awesome with the ring and my gfs fingers. besides the 4Cs, i really don't know what all the other stats can reflect how good a diamond is. i am also not trained to just look at images of diamond and know which is better.
can some of you nice people help me out by offering me some advice or choices? oh, i also took a blurry pic of the ring itself - http://imgur.com/jbBAV just to give you some perspective. thank you for all your inputs in advance!