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Thank you so much, @Keeliamira and @lilmosun - you are very kind! I've ditched more pieces than I've kept - a lot of them very lovely. But I like where I am now and feel as tho I've kept the best of them all.
Show me, Mrs-B!
- Thread starter Ally T
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@Alex T - you mentioned that people might learn from my process, and since my process has been a comedy of errors and false steps, I thought I would recall the endless route to my current 'e-ring'. I use the inverted comments because I am SO far from my actual e-ring that to use the term is somewhat comical. But here we go....
My original e-ring was 23 pts. It was a G VS2 (I think) and it belonged to my mother, who had died about 2 years prior to my meeting my husband-to-be. In Australia, back in the day, engagement rings were most commonly around the .25 - .5 (considered pretty substantial) carat mark, so my mother's was very much the norm.
My husband and I were engaged when we were at university and he was 19. We had -zero- money, so my father gave my my mother's stone and my husband paid for the $455 setting - which, looking back on it, was MASSIVELY overpriced, since it was one of the flimsiest rings on the face of the earth. On the other hand....
I loved it.
So it was pretty devastating when we took it to a jeweler after we married to have a more substantial setting made, to discover the stone had been switched out by the store owner who had set it for us, for an 18pt stone of...let's just say...'indiscriminate quality'. At that point, the diamond - and the ring in general - wasn't just not what I wanted, it was something that reminded me of a bad experience, an insult - both to me and my mother, and a horrible outcome for my husband's hard work of getting together what was a lot of money back in 1983 at the age of 19 - to set something that belonged to - goodness knows who. So without a second thought, I started the upgrade policy.
We took the 18pt stone and set it between 2 x 10 pointers, in a much more substantial setting. I loved the setting, but the stones....meh. I wore it for a couple of years, then pretty much abandoned the whole e-ring idea at that point and bought the engagement ring stone of my best friend's deceased mother (are you following all of that?) and had it set into a cluster, for which the 18 pt stone made one of the cluster diamonds. This was for my 10th anniversary, and I remember my husband presenting it to me at the airport after I had been away for a short time. It was romantic and a big splashy ring (17mm across, I think, as it was bezel set!) But the whole thing was still a poor quality, and I dreamt of having it remade with beautiful diamonds.
And that was the beginning of my obsession. I wore that ring for roughly a decade at which point I was now living in New York and came across Blue Nile online. Diamonds in Australia are FAR more expensive than in the US, and I was blown away by how cheap they were here! I bought a beautiful .46 F VS1 diamond - 5mm exactly - and it was by far the best diamond I had ever owned. So I bought another one - equally beautiful - and I was off to the races with a three stone. I bought a .83 ideal cut F SI1 to go in the middle, and I LOVED that ring. After what I'd had, it seemed white, uber sparkly, and substantial! DH even bought me a 25th anniversary eternity ring from Leon Mege (yes, we ran that gauntlet) to go with it, and I loved it. My 3 stone even had claw prongs!
But shortly after that, I got sick - very sick - and we thought I might die. So DH took me to GOG and bought me a badly cut 2.35ct H SI1. We sent it off to be recut and it came back as my GORGEOUS 2.15ct H SI1. Remember, this is my FIFTH 'e-ring' iteration at this point....
But by that stage, I had become aware of old cuts, and it wasn't long till I used the trade up policy at GOG and found *this*: a 5ct + OEC, S-T color, original cut, with, I swear to you!, a hint of lime green in its profile!
I wore it for a full 8 days, thinking every day - "This is HUGE! It doesn't look real!" The modern setting didn't help, either! If I'd known of CvB, I'd have shipped that baby off to Caysie quick smart, and let her work her magic! It is, to this day, the best cut original OEC I've ever seen - and Jonathan Weingarten from August Vintage agreed with me! For me, this is 'the one that got away'. After 8 days I sent it back to GOG, saying "It's just not me - it's tooooo big!" and moved on to a 3.11 K SI1 AVR, set as my first ever project with David Klass Jewelry.
I wore it with a rotating cast member of other rings. But can you see the tint in my AVR?
So could I. Up till now, this had been my all time favorite setting for a ring, but the color - especially in profile - sent me nuts, and every time I looked at my ring with my anniversary bands or eternity bands - it grated. I decided I wanted to go up in size anyway, so I made use of the GOG 70% buy back policy - took a big hit, financially, and moved on.
My original e-ring was 23 pts. It was a G VS2 (I think) and it belonged to my mother, who had died about 2 years prior to my meeting my husband-to-be. In Australia, back in the day, engagement rings were most commonly around the .25 - .5 (considered pretty substantial) carat mark, so my mother's was very much the norm.
My husband and I were engaged when we were at university and he was 19. We had -zero- money, so my father gave my my mother's stone and my husband paid for the $455 setting - which, looking back on it, was MASSIVELY overpriced, since it was one of the flimsiest rings on the face of the earth. On the other hand....
I loved it.
So it was pretty devastating when we took it to a jeweler after we married to have a more substantial setting made, to discover the stone had been switched out by the store owner who had set it for us, for an 18pt stone of...let's just say...'indiscriminate quality'. At that point, the diamond - and the ring in general - wasn't just not what I wanted, it was something that reminded me of a bad experience, an insult - both to me and my mother, and a horrible outcome for my husband's hard work of getting together what was a lot of money back in 1983 at the age of 19 - to set something that belonged to - goodness knows who. So without a second thought, I started the upgrade policy.
We took the 18pt stone and set it between 2 x 10 pointers, in a much more substantial setting. I loved the setting, but the stones....meh. I wore it for a couple of years, then pretty much abandoned the whole e-ring idea at that point and bought the engagement ring stone of my best friend's deceased mother (are you following all of that?) and had it set into a cluster, for which the 18 pt stone made one of the cluster diamonds. This was for my 10th anniversary, and I remember my husband presenting it to me at the airport after I had been away for a short time. It was romantic and a big splashy ring (17mm across, I think, as it was bezel set!) But the whole thing was still a poor quality, and I dreamt of having it remade with beautiful diamonds.
And that was the beginning of my obsession. I wore that ring for roughly a decade at which point I was now living in New York and came across Blue Nile online. Diamonds in Australia are FAR more expensive than in the US, and I was blown away by how cheap they were here! I bought a beautiful .46 F VS1 diamond - 5mm exactly - and it was by far the best diamond I had ever owned. So I bought another one - equally beautiful - and I was off to the races with a three stone. I bought a .83 ideal cut F SI1 to go in the middle, and I LOVED that ring. After what I'd had, it seemed white, uber sparkly, and substantial! DH even bought me a 25th anniversary eternity ring from Leon Mege (yes, we ran that gauntlet) to go with it, and I loved it. My 3 stone even had claw prongs!
But shortly after that, I got sick - very sick - and we thought I might die. So DH took me to GOG and bought me a badly cut 2.35ct H SI1. We sent it off to be recut and it came back as my GORGEOUS 2.15ct H SI1. Remember, this is my FIFTH 'e-ring' iteration at this point....
But by that stage, I had become aware of old cuts, and it wasn't long till I used the trade up policy at GOG and found *this*: a 5ct + OEC, S-T color, original cut, with, I swear to you!, a hint of lime green in its profile!
I wore it for a full 8 days, thinking every day - "This is HUGE! It doesn't look real!" The modern setting didn't help, either! If I'd known of CvB, I'd have shipped that baby off to Caysie quick smart, and let her work her magic! It is, to this day, the best cut original OEC I've ever seen - and Jonathan Weingarten from August Vintage agreed with me! For me, this is 'the one that got away'. After 8 days I sent it back to GOG, saying "It's just not me - it's tooooo big!" and moved on to a 3.11 K SI1 AVR, set as my first ever project with David Klass Jewelry.
I wore it with a rotating cast member of other rings. But can you see the tint in my AVR?
So could I. Up till now, this had been my all time favorite setting for a ring, but the color - especially in profile - sent me nuts, and every time I looked at my ring with my anniversary bands or eternity bands - it grated. I decided I wanted to go up in size anyway, so I made use of the GOG 70% buy back policy - took a big hit, financially, and moved on.
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Wonderful pics! Steller collection! My fav of all is your ruby and diamond ring! Oh my! 
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I went back to Blue Nile and started scouring the boards and found a great stone - a 3.61ct I VS2. it had beautiful stats and it had a wonderful hearts and arrows pattern, so I plonked down my money and was back in the Blue Nile fold. DKJ set it and I LOVED this ring. Initially....
I thought I'd have this ring forever - the size was lovely and the cut was fantastic! But again...tint....
So I contacted WF and asked if they'd be interested in doing a trade-in - and they said yes. So off went my stone, and I bought in its place a 3.4 H VS1. I designed a ring I called Merry and it was beautiful.
But - and there's always a but - I couldn't wrap my head around the idea that I'd gone down in size. I felt as tho I'd been through all the changes and re-jigging...just to get a smaller diamond? Like - what was all THAT about?? So it wasn't long till I returned my first ACA. And let me just say - after 34 years of this, I was completely OVER the process. I felt a great kinship for @yssie, who had thought she'd do away with a big ring altogether and just get studs. I thought "I'll take one more shot at it" and decided to go 'all the way' - with a custom cut 4ct I VS1. I sent it to DKJ to be set prior to seeing it. Mistake. Big. Huge. By this stage, I had completely disconnected with the process. Amy asked me how I wanted it set and I said "I don't care. However. You choose." She said she'd set it in a solitaire till I came up with a better idea. At first, the prongs were funky...
...but we got that worked out.
And this, frankly, is where I should have stayed. If I had, I suspect I would still have this ring. But 2 things happened.
I thought I'd have this ring forever - the size was lovely and the cut was fantastic! But again...tint....
So I contacted WF and asked if they'd be interested in doing a trade-in - and they said yes. So off went my stone, and I bought in its place a 3.4 H VS1. I designed a ring I called Merry and it was beautiful.
But - and there's always a but - I couldn't wrap my head around the idea that I'd gone down in size. I felt as tho I'd been through all the changes and re-jigging...just to get a smaller diamond? Like - what was all THAT about?? So it wasn't long till I returned my first ACA. And let me just say - after 34 years of this, I was completely OVER the process. I felt a great kinship for @yssie, who had thought she'd do away with a big ring altogether and just get studs. I thought "I'll take one more shot at it" and decided to go 'all the way' - with a custom cut 4ct I VS1. I sent it to DKJ to be set prior to seeing it. Mistake. Big. Huge. By this stage, I had completely disconnected with the process. Amy asked me how I wanted it set and I said "I don't care. However. You choose." She said she'd set it in a solitaire till I came up with a better idea. At first, the prongs were funky...
...but we got that worked out.
And this, frankly, is where I should have stayed. If I had, I suspect I would still have this ring. But 2 things happened.
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Firstly, the prongs being soooo tiny, the diamond started to rotate in the setting - which completely freaked me out. So without a lot of forethought, we set it into a yellow gold halo, which virtually everyone on PS saw. Gorgeous, right?
Well, no.
Basically, it was just a big circle in an even bigger circle. It didn't follow my finger in an flattering way. If there's one word I've used more than any other to describe pieces I love, it's 'organic'. This was pretty much the opposite of that. Gorgeous tho the workmanship was, it just wasn't me. And I knew it from Day 1.
I said that 2 things happened - the first being the prongs. But secondly, I learnt the truth of the generally held belief that AGS stones are generally one grade warmer that GIA stones. My I - a borderline choice for me in the first place - was clearly a GIA J.
So then I was really stuck. I wasn't going to get it wrong with color EVER AGAIN. AGS F is as low as I will go - maaaaaaybe a G - a white G. A GIA G. But that's it! So I had to bite the bullet, and cap in hand go back to WF and say "I've screwed this up."
There's a thread on my latest ring elsewhere in SMTB, and it covers just how nice WF and DKJ were to me on my road to get *this* ring.
So here's what I learnt....
Don't get het up over jewelry; it's just jewelry - most of the world doesn't even own any. There is no such thing as a unicorn diamond; these are hundreds - thousands - of diamonds out there I would love to own. But I learnt that - for this ring, at least, and at this time in my life, I wanted white. Not a bit white. WHITE. And size wasn't everything to me. And I love solitaires. But I hate halos. And three stone rings are my jam. And small sides are better with large centers. And any diamond over 2 ct is big. And don't ever skimp on the setting, because *that* will bite you on the arse. See a diamond before you set it, and when you *do* set it, set it in something cheap and temporary first. ONLY BUY DIAMONDS FROM COMPANIES WITH GOOD RETURN / UPGRADE POLICIES. Work with people who are patient and respectful with psychotic customers who chop and change.
And there is ABSOLUTELY no such thing as 'a forever ring'. There are only forever lovers. And - God knows - a forever passion for diamonds.
* These are my lessons and may not apply to anyone else. Especially the part about warm colors or halos. I don't wanna get lynched over this!!
Well, no.
Basically, it was just a big circle in an even bigger circle. It didn't follow my finger in an flattering way. If there's one word I've used more than any other to describe pieces I love, it's 'organic'. This was pretty much the opposite of that. Gorgeous tho the workmanship was, it just wasn't me. And I knew it from Day 1.
I said that 2 things happened - the first being the prongs. But secondly, I learnt the truth of the generally held belief that AGS stones are generally one grade warmer that GIA stones. My I - a borderline choice for me in the first place - was clearly a GIA J.
So then I was really stuck. I wasn't going to get it wrong with color EVER AGAIN. AGS F is as low as I will go - maaaaaaybe a G - a white G. A GIA G. But that's it! So I had to bite the bullet, and cap in hand go back to WF and say "I've screwed this up."
There's a thread on my latest ring elsewhere in SMTB, and it covers just how nice WF and DKJ were to me on my road to get *this* ring.
So here's what I learnt....
Don't get het up over jewelry; it's just jewelry - most of the world doesn't even own any. There is no such thing as a unicorn diamond; these are hundreds - thousands - of diamonds out there I would love to own. But I learnt that - for this ring, at least, and at this time in my life, I wanted white. Not a bit white. WHITE. And size wasn't everything to me. And I love solitaires. But I hate halos. And three stone rings are my jam. And small sides are better with large centers. And any diamond over 2 ct is big. And don't ever skimp on the setting, because *that* will bite you on the arse. See a diamond before you set it, and when you *do* set it, set it in something cheap and temporary first. ONLY BUY DIAMONDS FROM COMPANIES WITH GOOD RETURN / UPGRADE POLICIES. Work with people who are patient and respectful with psychotic customers who chop and change.
And there is ABSOLUTELY no such thing as 'a forever ring'. There are only forever lovers. And - God knows - a forever passion for diamonds.
* These are my lessons and may not apply to anyone else. Especially the part about warm colors or halos. I don't wanna get lynched over this!!
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From a girl starting out, trying to build a cohesive collection, thank you for your adviceFirstly, the prongs being soooo tiny, the diamond started to rotate in the setting - which completely freaked me out. So without a lot of forethought, we set it into a yellow gold halo, which virtually everyone on PS saw. Gorgeous, right?
Well, no.
Basically, it was just a big circle in an even bigger circle. It didn't follow my finger in an flattering way. If there's one word I've used more than any other to describe pieces I love, it's 'organic'. This was pretty much the opposite of that. Gorgeous tho the workmanship was, it just wasn't me. And I knew it from Day 1.
I said that 2 things happened - the first being the prongs. But secondly, I learnt the truth of the generally held belief that AGS stones are generally one grade warmer that GIA stones. My I - a borderline choice for me in the first place - was clearly a GIA J.
So then I was really stuck. I wasn't going to get it wrong with color EVER AGAIN. AGS F is as low as I will go - maaaaaaybe a G - a white G. A GIA G. But that's it! So I had to bite the bullet, and cap in hand go back to WF and say "I've screwed this up."
There's a thread on my latest ring elsewhere in SMTB, and it covers just how nice WF and DKJ were to me on my road to get *this* ring.
So here's what I learnt....
Don't get het up over jewelry; it's just jewelry - most of the world doesn't even own any. There is no such thing as a unicorn diamond; these are hundreds - thousands - of diamonds out there I would love to own. But I learnt that - for this ring, at least, and at this time in my life, I wanted white. Not a bit white. WHITE. And size wasn't everything to me. And I love solitaires. But I hate halos. And three stone rings are my jam. And small sides are better with large centers. And any diamond over 2 ct is big. And don't ever skimp on the setting, because *that* will bite you on the arse. See a diamond before you set it, and when you *do* set it, set it in something cheap and temporary first. ONLY BUY DIAMONDS FROM COMPANIES WITH GOOD RETURN / UPGRADE POLICIES. Work with people who are patient and respectful with psychotic customers who chop and change.
And there is ABSOLUTELY no such thing as 'a forever ring'. There are only forever lovers. And - God knows - a forever passion for diamonds.
* These are my lessons and may not apply to anyone else. Especially the part about warm colors or halos. I don't wanna get lynched over this!!
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I just also want to be clear that this journey took 35 years. Altho it reads like it, I wasn't chopping and changing my 'e-ring' every year. The last 3 with WF happened in a cascade while trying to get it right, granted. And the OEC was an 8 day wonder. But all the rest I had for at least a couple of years, and most of them longer.
And that's probably the most important thing I learned. Don't rush. Don't fall into the trap of believing "it's now or it's never gonna happen!" I never in my wildest dreams thought I'd own the pieces I do - and I'm not done yet. Life changes. Be patient.
And that's probably the most important thing I learned. Don't rush. Don't fall into the trap of believing "it's now or it's never gonna happen!" I never in my wildest dreams thought I'd own the pieces I do - and I'm not done yet. Life changes. Be patient.
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@mrs-b, If I may ask, what was your first e-ring like? I apologize if you mentioned it previously, I missed it apparently. You and I were married within 6 weeks of one another. Thank you for sharing your journey with us and your insights. So fun!
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@Bonfire - hallo! 
It's in the post second from the top on this page. I'm pointing you in that direction because it's not straight forward, and informs my ongoing upgrade path from there on. Suffice to say, it was small and 'of its era'. What was yours like?
It's in the post second from the top on this page. I'm pointing you in that direction because it's not straight forward, and informs my ongoing upgrade path from there on. Suffice to say, it was small and 'of its era'. What was yours like?
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How did I scroll by all that?! I’m sorry. My ring was a half carat, F color, set in a 14kt. yg solitaire with a wg 6 prong peg style head. Very common for the early 80s. My wedding band was a half eternity, channel set. It was almost the 1984 wedding set uniform!
I had the half eternity also.
Mine was bead set, tho. And yes - mine was yellow gold with a white gold head as well. It wasn't a peg head, tho. It was sort of swoopy arms that formed a half oval underneath the stone. Frankly, I liked it...and would *still* like it, were it better made. Go figure....And - a half carat?? Wow - you uptown girl, you!!
My sister got .4ct...but then again, she married a doctor.... 
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Have you ever thought of drawing up the design and having DK remake it for you?
AV_
Ideal_Rock
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Hi, I'm Pearaffair, and I'm addicted to Mrs-B's jewelry posts.
----
But seriously, LOVE the collection and beautiful photography! And love love love the method to the madness. I have a plan for my jewelry collection that I didn't really realize I was doing until I read about Mrs-B's very methodical plan for collecting. In it, I recognized my own kind-of plan. Similar, but streamlined:
- RBCs (band, RHR, necklace)
- Old cuts (band, RHR, necklace)
- Casual (sterling silver band, RHR, necklace)
that's my main goal.
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Thank you so much, @HappyNewLife, @MakingTheGrade, @Wewechew and @PierreBear. In a few months, I'll add 'the colored stone collection', which is coming - albeit slowly. I have a yellow sapphire, a red rubellite, a green tourmaline and a grey spinel - all stunning examples of their kind - to set and add. Along with my gorgeous blue sapphire, that will round out and finish off the whole collection, at which point I'll be done. These should all be completed in the next 6 months - which will be a mercy, both for my husband and for me!
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@pearaffair -
I totally understand what you're doing, and why, with your collection. Having a basic collection template is beyond useful for keeping one on the straight and narrow, and making sure everything you get plugs a hole or meets a need. I would love to see photos of your necklaces - do they have threads anywhere?
And thank you for your very kind words.
I totally understand what you're doing, and why, with your collection. Having a basic collection template is beyond useful for keeping one on the straight and narrow, and making sure everything you get plugs a hole or meets a need. I would love to see photos of your necklaces - do they have threads anywhere?
And thank you for your very kind words.
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Thank you so much, @HappyNewLife, @MakingTheGrade, @Wewechew and @PierreBear. In a few months, I'll add 'the colored stone collection', which is coming - albeit slowly. I have a yellow sapphire, a red rubellite, a green tourmaline and a grey spinel - all stunning examples of their kind - to set and add. Along with my gorgeous blue sapphire, that will round out and finish off the whole collection, at which point I'll be done. These should all be completed in the next 6 months - which will be a mercy, both for my husband and for me!
Yaaasss. Come to the CS side
Are you sure you don’t need a pink spinel or nice glowy emerald or purple star sapphire to round things out?
Or a opal with rainbow flashes maybe...
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Yaaasss. Come to the CS side
Are you sure you don’t need a pink spinel or nice glowy emerald or purple star sapphire to round things out?
Or a opal with rainbow flashes maybe...
You're kiling me. You know that, right?
(opals....mmmmm....)
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Wow this was a fun read! And the pictures, amazing! It's fun to see how styles and tastes change, and to know it's ok.
It's more than ok, @ladyonthelake - it's pretty much essential. Like any subject, if increased study and knowledge doesn't change your perspective, you're not really learning. My 'e-ring' changes represent knowing more about diamonds and more about my own tastes. I've thought about bumping up in size, but the proportions just seem so perfect, I can't see anything I'd achieve by it. I'm sure I'll start working towards a new stone - maybe another MRB, maybe an OEC, maybe a cushion or EC - but my 3 stone stays as is.
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@pearaffair -
I totally understand what you're doing, and why, with your collection. Having a basic collection template is beyond useful for keeping one on the straight and narrow, and making sure everything you get plugs a hole or meets a need. I would love to see photos of your necklaces - do they have threads anywhere?
And thank you for your very kind words.
Hehe the necklaces are in the future!! But it feels good to have a template, as you well know!
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