Lurker no more!

[amy_dub]

Hi Ladies & gents!
I''ve been lurking a few days, drooling over everyone''s most gorgeous rings, eyeing my sad little finger & wishing! My Name''s Amy (obviously), and I''m a 21 year old senior in College. My boyfriend of 7 years is Jon. We''ve wanted to get married for some time, but we wanted to do "things right," so we decided to get through school first so that way we''d hopefully have a career to support us. I''ve got about 7 1/2 more months of school so we''ve started looking at rings. I of course have been looking at tons of rings over the years and subscribed to get the Tiffany & Co emails about new products.... several months ago I got the email about the Tiffany Novo, and it was love at first sight!

However, He wanted to go the more "traditional" route with a solitare, so we went to Marks & Morgan to look at rings. I thought I wanted a princess cut (until I saw the Novo Cushion) , he wanted RB. I tried on both and decided a princess just wasn''t for me. The RB was gorgeous (It was a Leo Diamond) but the solitare was just too plain, plus my heart is set on the Novo. The closest Tiffany''s is in Nashville, TN....3 hours away. He thought the Novo looks like it will be "too busy" for my "little hands." I wear a 4.5 plus my hands are small (I wear a kid''s size gloves). I''ve sent him pictures of tons of PSers Novos and how beautiful it looks on small hands. He''s finally coming around that a solitare is a little to "simple" but he''s still not convienced on the Novo because of the price. (he was quoted a price of $18,000 for a 1 ct novo at the Charlotte, NC store) I''ve told him that someone on here said she looked at ones around the 1 ct size and they have several in the $11,000 - $14,000 range.

I''ve looked at tons of "replicas" or look-a-likes and they just don''t have the same "feel" as the Novo.. I really want to go to Tiffany''s and try the ring on, because I may try it on and decide it looks horrible on me, or that maybe it isn''t what i want after all.. Is this wrong of me to be so obsesssed with this ring? I mean, I only plan on getting engaged once in my life and I''ve always dreamed of being married and the wedding and the rings and it being like a fairy tale. I don''t plan on "upgrading" my ring later in life either. I''m not the type that begs for things, in fact my parents have always been like "why don''t you ever asks for things?" I''m the kid that wore holes in her tennis shoes before asking for new ones, and even then I felt bad about asking for them.

I really just need some guidance... or advice... or something..

 

[teetee]

Hi Amy, welcome to PS

!
I am also in love with the Tiffany Novo ring.

The rings they are going to bring in for me to look at are around $13K for 1ct, H/VS2 and I/VS1. The one I tried on at the store was something like 1.06ct F/VS1 for $16.6K. Your hands are smaller than mine and I thought the 1ct looked big on me so it will be huge on your finger. And it definitely does not look busy. I suggest you make a day trip to Nashville and try it on.

I had always wanted an ideal cut RB solitaire but ever since I tried on that Novo, I have been reading all I can about cushions. We are also looking at the square H&A from GoodOldGold in a Ritani micropave setting to replicate the look. Although it is not Tiffany, I think it will look just as lovely. Actually I wanted a RB in the Ritani setting before I found the Novo so it''s just the shape of the stone that I changed my mind on.

If you get other ring ideas, try posting in Rocky Talky...I think you will get more responses there.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Hi, Amy! I don''t usually venture into this forum because I am married and have kids your age, but I wanted to say that the Charlotte Tiffany''s is the closest one to me, too!

I think the Novo is gorgeous and certainly not too busy. You can try on the one in Charlotte to be sure you like it, but they can locate other ones at different prices once your BF is serious about buying. They go as low as I VS2, I think, and that will bring the price down some.

There is something special about having a Tiffany ring, but if the price is too high, you really can get the same look with some of the Good Old Gold diamonds and a Ritani setting.

 

[misysu2]

If the price is too high, you can always go for a smaller diamond. I realized that the difference between a 1ct and my .78 ct is literally tenths of a millimeter! We bought our setting and diamond online, so it was less expensive than a B&B store like you''re looking, but for 16k you could buy THREE of my rings! Just a thought...

 

[sunnygirl]

Hi amy_dub!

I was just thinking that I hadn''t checked PS in ages and I saw your post. I have a thread somewhere with my Novo pics if you haven''t seen them already!

There are definitely a lot of people on here who will tell you to try and replicate the ring or buy a similar one and I read that advice and I totally thought it made sense. Why pay more for a ring than you have to? So we looked into it but i completely agree with you - I didn''t think the similar rings have that same feel or beauty as the Novo. And trust me, when you see it in person and try it on, you will love it even more. After I first tried it on, I compared every other ring to it and they just didn''t measure up. And every time I went back to Tiffany, I loved it more. (Thankfully, there is a Tiffany about 9 blocks from my house! Which comes in handy when I can stop by and have it steam cleaned for extra sparkle!) There is also the option of having it custom-made. But I think when you have something very specific in mind and you are trying to copy it, you run the risk of being frustrated if it is not exactly the same. In the end, I think he just wanted to go with the "real thing." I think the best thing to do is look for an H VS2. Mine is a VS1 but I would have preferred VS2 - would have been cheaper! The Tiffany rep can look up the nationwide inventory and call in any stone you are interested in. Also, just to let you know, Tiffany has a 1 year zero interest financing - you make a downpayment of like 25-40% depending on credit, then you can pay off the rest monthly.

So basically, I love my Novo. It is gorgeous and I get compliments on it all the time. I have a size 4.5 finger and it looks great - definitely not too busy! For us, it was worth it in the end.

Good luck and let me know if you have any questions!

One more thing - I know a lot of people say to pick a square h & A and set it in the ritani setting. There are a few reasons why this didn''t work for me personally. First, square H&As which are the closest to the Novo cut are not cheap either. Second, I discovered that they face up smaller than the Novo cut. The same carat size as my ring in a square H&A faced up several mm smaller - i can''t remember how much but I remember being suprised. Also, the ritani endless love setting is beautiful but it is a very different setting in terms of the prongs and baskets. I tried it on and I thought it was pretty but I wasn''t as into the basket-type setting as opposed to the Novo prongs which left the sides of the stone open. Does that make sense?

 

[sunnygirl]

oops i think i meant tenths of a mm, not mms. I think? I dont remember..

 

[LauraBabe08]

Hi Amy!!

I totally understand where you are coming from with the Tiffany obsession! I am 23 years old and will be graduating from pharmacy school in April 08, and so will my boyfriend. We are planning to get engaged as soon as possible, and he set my ring budget at $25,000. I went through a lot of debate with this b/c I know I could get a much bigger stone from an online vendor than from Tiffany for that price. To make a long story short, I chose the Tiffany solitare. I know that I never want to upgrade and I want this to be my ring for the rest of my life. Tiffany''s quality standards are exceptional and I think there is something nice about owning such a timeless piece from such a well-known brand. I know that within my budget I chose a 1.75 carat I color VS2 diamond solitare and it was $25,300. "I" color is the lowest that Tiffany sells (still near-colorless) and VS2 is the lowest clarity standard (still no inclusions visible to the naked eye). A higher color or clarity diamond would be considerable more expensive, so I would recommend that you call before visiting and make sure they have a 1 carat I color VS1 or VS2 diamond in stock for you to look at in the novo collection.

Finally, others may tell you to try to replicate the ring and get it for much cheaper, but I dont know that saving a few thousand now will be worth it in the long run. You may always wish that you owned the Tiffany and never be quite satisfied with your ring. Diamonds in general are expensive and buying a diamond is a totally emotional decision - spending thousands on a ROCK makes NO SENSE at all anway, so to justify that spending a little less makes it a "good deal" is ridiculous. I think you should check out the NOVO in person, as well as the other rings that Tiffany offers and go with what your heart tells you.

Good luck!!

 

[amy_dub]

Sunnygirl -
It was the pictures of YOUR Novo that made me fall even more deeply in love with it! I''ve been obsessed with this ring and as soon as I saw your pictures I immediately sent them to the FF. I think he''s finally coming around to liking the ring too.. If I could just get him into a tiffany''s to see it... which is hard since there''s isn''t one very close, and he travels every week for work.

I agree with you on the H&A and Ritani setting, it''s pretty, but just isn''t the one for me. The Novo just has a different "aura" about it I guess. I''m glad someone agrees with me!