Tried on rings together!

[JenStone]

I haven''t written in a loooong time, and this was mainly due to work. Being the end of the fiscal year, June is the busiest month of the year for us. I''m so glad it''s over now.

Anyway, the reason I''m writing is because I finally tried on rings with my boyfriend!!!

If you can recall, although my boyfriend doesn''t mind discussing the ring, he was adamantly opposed to trying on rings together. But last weekend, we were in Chicago for a wedding. While walking up and down the Magnificent Mile, I noticed the Tiffany''s and jokingly said, "Wanna go in?" He replied, "Just as long as you don''t expect me to buy you anything from there."

The lady who was helping us was soooooo nice. From prior experience, most of the salespeople at Tiffany''s were pretty snooty and acted annoyed, even when I was making purchases. However, this time, we made it very clear to the lady that we weren''t looking to purchase.....and she let me try on as many rings as I wanted!

Can I just say, Tiffany''s is very, very overpriced. One of the rings I tried on was a Lucida in a pave setting, barely over 2 carats. Based on that information alone, I guesstimated its price at around $30K. Wrong - it was more than $94K!!!! I still can''t believe I had something that expensive on my finger! I should''ve ran with it.

The one I liked the most was a 1.07 carat H VVS2 oval, flanked by two pears. I had never even considered three-stone rings before, but this was just gorgeous on me. Even my boyfriend was wowed by it. Then we checked the price - $13K!!!!

From my education on PS, I knew that you can get the same thing for less than half the price.

But I am soooo glad we got to try on rings, because they really do look different on your fingers. For instance, I now know that pave rings don''t look very nice on me, but neither do plain solitaire ones. The salesperson, my boyfriend, and I all agreed that 3-stone rings, which I had never even considered before, looked the nicest on me.

In addition, now I also know that I''m super-color-sensitive. I always knew I was color sensitive (I''m an artist), but now I know that I can see the yellow in even G-colored stones. Since mentioning this to my boyfriend, he now knows that I prefer color over clarity.

The only problem now is that I can''t stop thinking about that oval ring! I was dead-set on cushions for a long time now.....does anyone have any pictures of elongated cushions with pear or trilion side stones?

 

[fisherofmengirly]

Hi Jenstone. I''m glad you had a fun trip to try on rings. I just love it!

I don''t know anything about the specific question you were asking about three stone rings with cushion cuts, but I do agree that what you like online or in a magazine doesn''t always look quite right on your finger. I thought I wanted a princess til I tried it on.

Good luck finding a beautiful ring you both love, and at a wonderful price!

 

[FacetFire]

Aw, that sounds like such a great experience. I''ve never gotten to try on rings at Tiffany (probably a good thing LOL). Just so you know, go to www.icestore.com and take a look at their three-stone rings. On the opening engagement ring page, there is a beautiful cushion with trillion sides, and once you click on it, you''ll find an oval with pears and some other pretty three-stone combos. Enjoy!

 

[FacetFire]

Okay, here are the pics from the site: first, the cushion w/ trillions

ETA: that may look more like a radiant, not sure

 

[FacetFire]

And one of my favorite combos, the oval with the pear:

 

[FacetFire]

BTW, I think a cushion would look stunning with pear sides. One of my dream rings is a cushion or oval sapphire with pear diamond sides.

 

[SeattleSparkle]

I''m so glad you had a good time!! And I''m willing to bet that your boyfriend was happy that he did go with you to try on rings ... now he''ll know what you want and not drive himself crazy wondering if he got the right thing.

Good luck on finding that perfect ring. Even though I can''t think of any pictures right now that have a cushion with pear sides ... it sounds like it would be really pretty.

Haha, what did I find out when I went ring shopping with my bf for the first time? Only that my hands and fingers are larger (I don''t have fat hands and I don''t have long skinny hands ... I just have proportionately larger hands) and larger stones look best on me!!! Poor bf!!!

I''ll be interested to know what you finally end up with!!! Maybe more ring shopping trips can be planned ....

 

[IrishAngel7982]

Yay! That''s so much fun! I''ve always wanted to go try on rings but I can''t bring myself to do it...I''d feel like I was wasting their time. I really want to though! Props on going to Tiffany''s, especially on the mag mile...yeah they''re insanely overpriced but there''s something about it you know? Congrats!

 

[laine]

Date: 7/2/2006 4:24:29 PM
Author: IrishAngel
Yay! That''s so much fun! I''ve always wanted to go try on rings but I can''t bring myself to do it...I''d feel like I was wasting their time. I really want to though!

You should go! It is fun. I went with a girl friend, and made it clear that I was just looking to get an idea (said I''d be back with the boyfriend when it was time). Since I was just looking, I just tried what was in the case, and didn''t get picky about specifics. No one seemed to mind. None of the stores were very busy, I wouldn''t have gone in if they were crowded. Anyway, you should go!!

And JenStone, congrats on getting the boy to go looking with you. That must be so fun and exciting to look together, and nice to know he knows what you like.

 

[IrishAngel7982]

That''s a good point Laine...I really want to, but all it will do is feed my diamond obsession. (Which isn''t a horribly bad thing, right?) Thanks for the pointer! I''ll probably have to do it some time since as of now my guy will just have to pick out a setting since he has an heirloom diamond.

Jen~I absolutely love pear sides with any cut diamond, and I think trillions are great (especially with the square/elongated shapes!)

Side note - If you''ve seen The Bachelor on ABC, I think it was the second one...He bought a Harry Winston oval diamond (2 carats I think) with trillion sidestones...I was absolutely drooling! Love it!

Good luck in your search Jen, I''m sorry I can''t really help!

 

[JenStone]

Thanks for all your positive responses! I''m so happy that I found this forum....when I told my girlfriends about this experience, they were happy for me but drew blank faces when I started talking about the specifics.

FacetFire, thanks for the picture. I hadn''t really looked at icestore.com before, and now I have yet another website to drool over settings!

Again, I''m so glad I went because I was sure that I wanted a pave ring....now I know they''re not the one for me. I would definitely recommend trying on rings for any LIW, even if it is by yourself or with a girlfriend.

Now the big question is, would a cushion look better with trillions or pears?

 

[fisherofmengirly]

I vote pears, because a cushion is soft and sort of rounded, as are pears. But either would be cute. I sort of think the triangluar look is cool, so it could totally work either way.

 

[ephemery1]

Hi Jen... sounds like a fun trip!!

So glad you got more of a sense of what you like... I, too, am VERY color-sensitive. My stone is an F and I can still see the color in some lights, whereas my FI can''t tell a difference at all.

Also, my original e-ring DREAM was a cushion center with pear sides... that is actually what my FI spent months searching for, before involving me in the process... at which point I suddenly started considering fat ovals instead. My reasons? Bigger spread, more rounded classic shape, still a cushion-y look but without looking too rectangular when set (I''m not a square/rectangle fan in diamonds). So don''t rule out ovals completely if one speaks to you!

Oh, and my FI hated pears as sidestones (for whatever reason

) so we ultimately went with rounds instead... but I agree that sometimes 3-stone settings are just *right*.

 

[Blenheim]

Sounds like a great trip! My vote''s on pear sides -- mmmmmmmm. But since it will be on your finger, it would probably be best to find examples of both and see which one you like better on.

 

[KristyDarling]

Hi Jenstone -- yay for trying on rings together!!! (my husband makes the same comment about Tiffany''s whenever I suggest going inside, too)

I don''t have a pic for you but I have seen a gorgeous cushion with trillion sidestones before. I was at Derco in San Francisco earlier this year and a lady walked in with a 3.5 carat elongated cushion that seriously looked almost twice the size of my 3.5carat round. I judged it to be around 5carats but when she told me the true carat size, I was floored. It was flanked by large-ish trillion sides, which I think is an unusual choice for a cushion, but it TOTALLY WORKED. It ROCKED. The center stone was very sparkly, though maybe not quite as fiery as a round....but I loved the long, chunky facets. She had it set in an engraved ring, which wouldn''t have been my first preference but again, it really worked together. Gosh I wish I had a picture for you. [sigh] I''ll never forget that beauty.

 

[sk8rjen]

Sounds like a fun trip -- and great progress that you two went in together! My future-cousin-in-law bought his new fiancee an oval with pear sides and I just think it is beautiful -- better in person than any picture! I love ovals and pears, so I can''t think of any better combination.

jen

 

[akw94]

Jen,
So glad you went looking together. Sounds like you had a good time! It is definitely true about things looking different when you try them on. I finally went looking w/my mom, which was really fun and then sent my bf an email w/preferences. Not sure what he thought of that email but at least he has an idea now.

Glad to hear it went well!

 

[JenStone]

After having decided that a 3-stone ring is the way to go, I became a bit discouraged because I couldn't find nice 3-stone settings. And the ones I kinda liked were way too expensive.

I also wanted to see what a cushion would look like with pears and trillions as well. I knew of them vendors' websites where you can choose different shapes with different settings, but none of them had a setting I liked.

Then, by pure chance, I saw Charleston Alexander Jewelry in a google ad. I clicked on it, and voila!

Take a look at this baby:

The best part? It's only $700! (Not exactly pocket change, but A LOT less than the other settings I was looking at.)

I could be a bit biased, but I think it looks the best with a cushion:

A cushion with a comparable pear sidestones setting:

Trillions look so much better, don't you think?

I'm having so much fun with this website - I love how you can mix and match with their settings and diamond shapes!

 

[diamondfan]

Jenstone, that is so great. And, I think it really shows the importance of TRYING rings on in person, because what you THINK you will love maybe end up not looking great on you and stuff you would not consider ends up looking amazing! Congrats on that and the ball is rolling!!!

 

[decodelighted]

I vote PEARS PEARS PEARS ... just softer looking with the sparkly, squishy, cuddly CUSHION.

 

[widget]

Date: 7/10/2006 1:06:52 PM
Author: decodelighted
I vote PEARS PEARS PEARS ... just softer looking with the sparkly, squishy, cuddly CUSHION.

Ditto!

widget

 

[IrishAngel7982]

With those size trillions, I''d have to vote pears also. Much softer. Gorgeous!