Starting to save up for wife's upgrade for 10th anniversary

[flurb789]

Her current one is 1 carat, the result of many weeks of pricescope research 11 years ago. She likes cushion, round and asscher. I want it to be noticeably a better ring, but not sure where to start. Would like to be around $7500 total, but that might be a tall ask.

This is her engagement ring.

Thanks for any guidance

 

[Dreamer_D]

$7500 including a new setting? Might be hard to get significantly larger than your current beautiful ring unless you are open to considering a second-hand or estate piece? Something antique or vintage with an old cut diamond perhaps?

 

[flurb789]

Yes, that was my goal. I still have enough time to save up to maybe $10k if need be...

 

[lulu_ma]

What are the specs on the current stone and how color sensitive is your wife?

 

[flurb789]

 

[Dreamer_D]

so vintage or estate piece, as big as you can get but with a killer cut. A nice OEC would be a wonderful compliment to her beautiful ering. Like lulu said, how low in color are you willing to go? Because cushions face up small you would likely notice a big difference even with a 7mm round. But it won’t be near colorless. The most common color range for old cuts is L-M. Are you open to that?

 

[flurb789]

so vintage or estate piece, as big as you can get but with a killer cut. A nice OEC would be a wonderful compliment to her beautiful ering. Like lulu said, how low in color are you willing to go? Because cushions face up small you would likely notice a big difference even with a 7mm round. But it won’t be near colorless. The most common color range for old cuts is L-M. Are you open to that?

hmmm now we're getting into real diamond talk lol
i need to research how different those color levels are to the eye....i really have no clue

i get that something probably needs to be compromised, and the fact that it would be a vintage or estate piece is kinda cool, and might make up for one stat being a little worse.

 

[Lookinagain]

Agree with the others that going to a round will give the most noticeable size increase as both cushions and asschers are deeper. If you can find a nice OEC in L color, that would be my goal. Are you setting in white metal again? When you are comparing colors, if you are considering an old cut, please look at old cuts for color, not modern stones. They really do show their color differently in my opinion. It's not apples to apples for color.

 

[flurb789]

Agree with the others that going to a round will give the most noticeable size increase as both cushions and asschers are deeper. If you can find a nice OEC in L color, that would be my goal. Are you setting in white metal again? When you are comparing colors, if you are considering an old cut, please look at old cuts for color, not modern stones. They really do show their color differently in my opinion. It's not apples to apples for color.

thank you - yes, likely white gold again
i'm excited to research this!

 

[flurb789]

there does not appear to be any of these stones listed on pricescope.
are there any good sources for these vintage/estate stones i should keep an eye on?

 

[Dreamer_D]

Yeah these diamonds are sold by specialty vendors only.

Some places to check:
Old World Diamonds
Jewels by Grace

These vendors have access to many diamonds and can offer guidance in choosing. Jewels by Grace has a lovely website with many pictures of diamonds loose and set in a range of colors. Old World Diamonds doesn’t have such a nice website but their inventory is huge. You would email them and tell them what you want and they would send you examples.

There are other estate sellers on instagram but that way if buying I think is more advanced lol It’s a little Wild West and often you have to jump on things because they sell so fast. This is because they are much less expensive than other vendors.

There is an antique forum here in PS. If you post there you will also get help. Many of the people who regularly check there are also here already posting in your thread (me, lulu, lookingagain) but there are many other experienced collectors of antique jewelry who only hang out in that forum so if you are serious about an antique I’d post a thread there for help.

 

[flurb789]

Yeah these diamonds are sold by specialty vendors only.

Some places to check:
Old World Diamonds
Jewels by Grace

These vendors have access to many diamonds and can offer guidance in choosing. Jewels by Grace has a lovely website with many pictures of diamonds loose and set in a range of colors. Old World Diamonds doesn’t have such a nice website but their inventory is huge. You would email them and tell them what you want and they would send you examples.

There are other estate sellers on instagram but that way if buying I think is more advanced lol It’s a little Wild West and often you have to jump on things because they sell so fast. This is because they are much less expensive than other vendors.

There is an antique forum here in PS. If you post there you will also get help. Many of the people who regularly check there are also here already posting in your thread (me, lulu, lookingagain) but there are many other experienced collectors of antique jewelry who only hang out in that forum so if you are serious about an antique I’d post a thread there for help.

thanks so much for your replies.
i was pretty happy with the end result with her engagement ring...i hope i can do it again!

 

[Dreamer_D]

thanks so much for your replies.
i was pretty happy with the end result with her engagement ring...i hope i can do it again!

Oh I have no doubt we can help you find a real dream ring. It’s obvious from the setting you chose the first time around that you and/or your wife have an affinity for antique styles, so I think you will really love the real thing.

 

[oncrutchesrightnow]

Did GOG have an upgrade policy?

 

[flurb789]

Did GOG have an upgrade policy?

Ooh idk about that!

 

[AllAboardTheBlingTrain]

Are you planning on buying her a second ring in addition to her engagement ring, or replacing her engagement ring?

If it’s the latter, I’d definitely see if you can upgrade her stone through your original vendor first; and sell the setting as an empty mount separately (it looks nicely made, is a designer setting, and is a popular finger size so hopefully you should get a nice bit for it).

If it’s in addition to her existing ring (which I do like the thought of) I’d go with the recommendation of a larger OEC. You’ll get significant bang for your buck if you can get to 7mm-ish even though in terms of carat size it may not be as much.

Here’s what the size difference between your cushion and a 7mm round would look like on her finger size:



FWIW, I did check what was feasible in your budget (which I took at $10k and tried to set some aside for a setting) and OWD has plenty of stones you could consider. If you want to stick to the I/J colour range you would likely get to 7-7.2mm. If you would want to go even larger and are happy to go down a bit in colour, there were some Ls and Ms which were in the range of 7.5+mm. The largest one I saw after a cursory search was around 7.85mm, M colour, nearly 2ct.

You could always get the stone and get a setting made separately.

 

[Bron357]

I’ll address the elephant in the room!
Does she want her 10th anniversary celebration as an upgrade to a new engagement ring?
While surprises are lovely, $10k surprises that miss the mark aren’t recommended.
She may be totally in love with her existing engagement ring and never want to change it. In that case a pair of matching, curved to fit, diamond bands for either side might be her preference.
Maybe a coloured gemstone, maybe yellow gold, maybe lots of things.
So I recommend investigating quietly her preferences before spending up big.

 

[flurb789]

I’ll address the elephant in the room!
Does she want her 10th anniversary celebration as an upgrade to a new engagement ring?
While surprises are lovely, $10k surprises that miss the mark aren’t recommended.
She may be totally in love with her existing engagement ring and never want to change it. In that case a pair of matching, curved to fit, diamond bands for either side might be her preference.
Maybe a coloured gemstone, maybe yellow gold, maybe lots of things.
So I recommend investigating quietly her preferences before spending up big.

Fair point. This isn't really a surprise. I asked her what when would like as an anniversary gift..and she said she would like a 2nd diamond ring, if we could make it work (I always told her she deserves jewelry for putting up with me all the way to anniversaries that end in 0). She would keep her existing ring.

Although the idea of upgrading the stone to her existing one is interesting.

 

[AllAboardTheBlingTrain]

Fair point. This isn't really a surprise. I asked her what when would like as an anniversary gift..and she said she would like a 2nd diamond ring, if we could make it work (I always told her she deserves jewelry for putting up with me all the way to anniversaries that end in 0). She would keep her existing ring.

Although the idea of upgrading the stone to her existing one is interesting.

Good point on having your wife weigh in on whether she would prefer an upgrade or a second ring! I know my mom was quite sentimental about this - she requested my dad give her an additional ring instead of upgrading her ering for a milestone anniversary because she didn’t want to give up her ering.

 

[flurb789]

Did GOG have an upgrade policy?

so apparently they do. i found the old invoice which had this text. it is not clear how much the credit is.....

Question from my side, what dimension diamond could that setting realistically accomodate? Not saying we would go that route, just curious.





Lifetime trade up policy: Under the Lifetime Trade up Policy you can trade in the diamond purchased from Good Old Gold and obtain a credit towards another diamond of at least equal to or greater in value than
your original purchase. The second purchase must be made using the same form of payment as the first purchase was made with. If you used the credit card option for payment on your original order you must
use a credit card for the second purchase. If you used the bank wire option you must use the same for your second purchase Once you trade up for another diamond, there are no refunds and you can only trade
up again at that point.

 

[josieKat]

so apparently they do. i found the old invoice which had this text. it is not clear how much the credit is.....

Question from my side, what dimension diamond could that setting realistically accomodate? Not saying we would go that route, just curious.





Lifetime trade up policy: Under the Lifetime Trade up Policy you can trade in the diamond purchased from Good Old Gold and obtain a credit towards another diamond of at least equal to or greater in value than
your original purchase. The second purchase must be made using the same form of payment as the first purchase was made with. If you used the credit card option for payment on your original order you must
use a credit card for the second purchase. If you used the bank wire option you must use the same for your second purchase Once you trade up for another diamond, there are no refunds and you can only trade
up again at that point.

You get credit for the value of the stone you purchased from them (I’ve upgraded twice with them and it was a smooth process). So if your wife were okay with not having her original engagement ring anymore you could use what the original stone cost you towards a more expensive new stone.

I’m not an expert but the construction of your current ring doesn’t look like it lends itself to any significant size increase.

 

[flurb789]

You get credit for the value of the stone you purchased from them (I’ve upgraded twice with them and it was a smooth process). So if your wife were okay with not having her original engagement ring anymore you could use what the original stone cost you towards a more expensive new stone.

I’m not an expert but the construction of your current ring doesn’t look like it lends itself to any significant size increase.

yeah, does not seem to be made to handle a much bigger one

 

[Ibrakeforpossums]

The original ring is really lovely. She's keeping it, correct? I'd hate to see that go if it were mine.

 

[flurb789]

The original ring is really lovely. She's keeping it, correct? I'd hate to see that go if it were mine.

Yes, in all likelihood. She loves it.
Hoping I can find something in the same style...she mentioned she was interested in a round or asscher.
Asscher seems cooler to me, more unique.

 

[AllAboardTheBlingTrain]

Yes, in all likelihood. She loves it.
Hoping I can find something in the same style...she mentioned she was interested in a round or asscher.
Asscher seems cooler to me, more unique.

Asscher's are more unique but face up significantly smaller because they are cut deeper. If you'd like something that is visibly bigger than her ering, a round would be better. If you'd like to stick to a vintage look, an OEC (old european cut, already recommended upthread) would be your best bet.

 

[flurb789]

Asscher's are more unique but face up significantly smaller because they are cut deeper. If you'd like something that is visibly bigger than her ering, a round would be better. If you'd like to stick to a vintage look, an OEC (old european cut, already recommended upthread) would be your best bet.

Thanks...if you run across any cool ones, let me know! I've been perusing some OECs as well.

 

[Dreamer_D]

How much did you pay for your wife’s current diamond? How does that compare to current market value? Sometimes trading in makes sense, if current value is very close. But if you got your stone for much less than current value I would err towards keeping it as you could not replace it today for the same price. It would just feel like better value to me to hang onto it.