I''m back from ring shopping ... surprises abound!

[shertz1981]

We didn''t buy anything, but they have to source diamonds for us first.

In any case, I found three settings that I like. None of which I love as much as the MaeVona I initially wanted, but I wouldn''t wrinkle my nose at any of them!

And I have to say, if you''re in the DC area, Quest is faboosh. Huan took good care of us today, and made us want to explore working with him. We should have diamond options by Wednesday, yippee!

1) Vatche Swan

To be fair, this did not have a stone in it, so it looked kind of ... weird.

Pros: Gorgeous thin 2.0 mm knife-edge band (seriously -- so elegant and thin, makes a stone look huge), lovely and delicate basket work

Cons: Surprise diamonds would make a gap btwn the ring and the band.

2) In-house four-prong Tiffany-style setting (hyphen overload)

Pros: Super inexpensive ($300!), strong lines, SO picked it out b/c he liked it, could get *any* band on the planet to go with it

Cons: Not quite as pretty as the Swan -- the head fused on the band was sort of fail

And now for the surprise of the day ....

I am not a sidestone girl. But ... although my Artcarved Hayley idea was a bust ...

3) Artcarved Rosina

Pros: Delicate, graduated sidestones (biggest ones near the head), all bezeled or individually pronged -- just gorgeous, palladium is an option if I want a cheaper setting

Cons: Comes with matching band (so no creativity allowed, sob, and no VC band -- although maybe one could be an anniversary present?)

I attached a quick Bridal Canvas to show you the options (although the Tiff setting is another random knockoff). Swan is on the left, Tiff in the middle, Rosina on the right with her band.

 

[oddoneout]

Personally I like the Swan setting the best but all are pretty.

 

[KittyBling]

I really like the Swan too but I have the same concerns about there being too much of a gap between e-ring and w-ring. I don''t mind a small gap but its just hard to visualise how much of a gap there would be in real life. Which did you like the best out of the 3 you saw? Oh and I wanted to ask do you how high the Swan setting is?

 

[Parsley]

jealousjealousjealouuuusssss

Had to get that out of the way! They''re gorgeous, the swan is definitely my favourite, then Rosina. Bit sad that you wouldn''t get a VC band, but like you said, anniversary...

Did you have an amazing time?

 

[chiquitapet]

How exciting is ring shopping!!!

I personally like the best the Vatche swan and then the Rosina. I like the classic Tiffany setting, but don''t like the head on this particular replica.

 

[shertz1981]

Chiquitapet, that was my problem exactly with the Tiff. The fusion of the head to the shank is not as pretty as the other two.

KittyBling, the Swan looked to me to be the same height as the Royal Crown (I tried both), so the diamond was like 6-7 mm off my finger. Or thereabouts. In other words, not very high. The surprise diamonds are sort of to the side of the head, if that makes sense. Hence the gap.

I wish I could find a better pic of the Rosina -- the sidestones are so delicate, and with the individual bezel (prongs? I can''t even remember), it looks like a pretty necklace!

And Parsley -- I had a *blast*!!! Afterward, we went and had pad thai (yeah, *not* Weight Watchers approved) at Thai Basil, where Bobby Flay filmed one of his Throwdown episodes ... it was AMAZING. I can see why he lost, LOL

 

[Nomsdeplume]

I like the swan, but they are all amazing!

 

[Parsley]

Pah. Weight watchers can wait (no pun intended) from time to time! I''m glad you had a good time

I agree that I don''t like the head on the Tiffany ring...it seems a bit fused on like an afterthought to a ring, you know?

Gotta love that swan though...swoon!

 

[princessplease]

Digging the swan the best!

 

[CheshireSmile]

I love the swan too - it''s so beautiful and elegant!

 

[tigian]

The Swan is gorgeous!