Upgrading your diamonds

[DiamondsOnly]

I'm curious to know what you started with carat wise, when you upgraded ( how many years into marriage) and what size you upgraded to. Id love to see pictures too of what you had and what you have now.

Right now I have a center of.75 and the sides are .25 each so a total of 1.25.

I look forward to the posts.

 

[diamondringlover]

I started with a .18ct round H color SI2 in 1985 (first ering was a small band of rubies and diamonds), I "upgraded" by combining those 2 rings into one in 1990 (?) they had a combined ct weight of I think .24 total, then I wore that for years, then in 2002 or 2003 (cant remember) I upgraded to my current diamond 1.01 princess, I color SI2 (ps not the ring in my avatar), I would love to upgrade again, but it is not in near future, if ever

 

[ringabling]

I don't remember exactly what my original had total. It was a princess around 1.20 carats and then had baguettes down the cathedral w/ I'm guessing about another 1 cttw. We upgraded to a 3.67 RB. I'm done! lol! I wanted maybe 3 crts, DH wanted about 2 and we ended up w/ 3.67 so I'm good
We were supposed to do it at our 10 yr mark but he actually got excited and did it a year early.

 

[slg47]

I started with a .18ct round H color SI2 in 1985 (first engagement ring was a small band of rubies and diamonds), I "upgraded" by combining those 2 rings into one in 1990 (?) they had a combined ct weight of I think .24 total, then I wore that for years, then in 2002 or 2003 (cant remember) I upgraded to my current diamond 1.01 princess, I color SI2 (ps not the ring in my avatar), I would love to upgrade again, but it is not in near future, if ever

well going from .18 to 1 carat sounds like a pretty significant upgrade!!!

 

[marcy]

What a fun topic! My first ering was .15 ct with 2 .03 ct side stones. It was GHI Si and I wore it proudly for 16 years. In 2006 I upgraded to a .53 AGS0 E VS1 that I first put with 2 PC side stones then moved it to 2 RB side stones. In November this year I upgraded to a .81 GIA Excellent F VS1 that I put in a solitaire. Let's see if I can find pictures of all of the above.

 

[jaysonsmom]

My husband originally proposed with a 0.81 ct F SI1 RB with a tapered baguette on each side 0.12 tcw. A year after we got married, we upgraded to a 1.25 ct E VS2 princess with a channel set setting. which I wore until my recent 10 year anniversary when I got my 1.81 RB solitaire, and frankly, I'm pretty satisfied with how it looks on my fingers, and I can see this as my forever ring. I don't "think" I want bigger because I'm a low-key kind of person.....but if my husband decided to give me a 3-4 carat cushion or Emerald cut one day, I wouldn't turn it down.....

 

[swingirl]

Original ering 0.5ct in yellow gold.

Upgraded to 1.29ct in platinum.

No more ering upgrades for me because if and when I have the money I prefer RHRs, antique stones, pendants, colored gems, etc.

 

[Dancing Fire]

I'm curious to know what you started with carat wise, when you upgraded ( how many years into marriage) and what size you upgraded to. Id love to see pictures too of what you had and what you have now.

Right now I have a center of.75 and the sides are .25 each so a total of 1.25.

I look forward to the posts.

the basic rule is....1/10 ct per yr of marriage...

 

[Dandi]

My current e-ring is a 3 stone - a .77ct flanked by 2 .39cts. I've just purchased two new sidestones for my setting, one is .35ct and the other is .37ct, and am looking at a .71ct stone to replace the current centre stone. So the current tcw of 1.55ct will end up more in the 1.43ct camp, depending on which centre I decide on.

I love the size and proportions of my ring, but I have simply upgraded the cut and clarity of the diamonds, but kept the diameters and colour (which I LOVE) the same... all of my stones are deep cuts, SI2-I1 clarity, and whilst they are beautiful I have the itch for ideal cut, eyeclean stones. I plan to set my current diamonds into other pieces of jewellery.

Soooo, long story short, I'm upgrading the quality of the diamonds, but keeping the 'look' and size of the ring exactly the same. It's the same ring that is just evolving and getting more beautiful with time, I guess... like our marriage! Gush, gush, gush.

 

[DiamondsOnly]

Thanks Ladies! I"m anxious to see more upgrades...

Marcy I Must say you have a beautiful ring.

I'm not sure what my upgrade will be...we aren't married yet, but will be next year. I have a .75 center stone w/2 .25 sides now so I was thinking over a carat for center stone, but I'm not sure yet. I am a very petite person so I think I will have to be careful with my petite hands.

 

[brellymom]

Well I started off tiny tiny - maybe .2 carat - we were so poor! At the 10th anniversary, I upgraded to a 1 carat with .25 sides and then a few years later, upgraded the two sides to .5. As I approached the 30th, I then upgraded the whole thing to a 1.7 but wasn't happy with the quality - so I upgraded again to a 2.39! I doubt there will be any more upward movement, but I sure would love to break the 3 carat mark!

 

[luv2sparkle]

My first ring in 1980 (gasp! ) was .25, hated it, upgraded in 1985 to .75 with .25 in sidestones plus rubies. I wore that ring for
23 years. In 2008 I did my first starter upgrade to a beautiful 1.70 I vs2, then in 2009 upgraded to my final upgrade to 2.57 I vs2.
It took me a year to decide on the setting, but for my 30th anni. I got my (hope) permanent setting from Leon. Whew!

 

[hoofbeats95]

Oh my! Well we got in engaged in Nov 2008. The initial ring was from Kay's. It was a 1/4 ctw I think. It was princess stones in the band with a bridge set princess. (I hope I described that right) I was highly disappointed that I wasn't involved in the decision. My FI knew I was a jewelry freak! I dreamed of chosing my own ring. Ultimately though while I didn't hate the setting, the overall ring was too small. My hands dwarfed it. I told him my feelings. His feelings were hurt. We took it back to Kay's and went to Rogers and Holland's cause I have a good relationship with them. With the pressure I was under (my FI is not one to go from store to store with me trying on rings trying to make up my mind. AHH!) I ended up getting the SAME ring in a 1/2 ctw. For a much better deal than at Kay's I might add. Within a week of looking at the rings of everyone I could spy, I knew I wanted a solitaire. Might as well have all that carat weight in one rock. At least that was my thinking. So we returned the ring. By Thanksgiving, after a few days of FRANTIC research on PS, we were ordering a WF ACA princess. I got a .728 stone. We had it set by Roger's and Holland's in a plain cathedral. I don't know who the jeweler is, but I could have done better prong work! I was never happy with it. But this was my THIRD e-ring technically. So I dealt with it. The gorgeous ACA was NOT at all showcased well. Well now it's Jan 2011, we've been engaged for just over 2 years and the wedding date is April 2. . . .and I've upgraded to a 1.046 through BGD and am working on a custom ring and band. (with sidestones - funny how I went back to that) This is my 4th e-ring before the wedding - oh my! I hope my fiance knows what he is getting in to. LOL. I like change. . . I like upgrades. And I will post pics as soon as I have any worth posting.

 

[DiamondsOnly]

Here's a question for everyone...when you upgrade do you trade in your old diamond and get a credit toward your new purchase?

I don't have $10,000+ to drop out of pocket for an upgrade (not now at least) so how does that work? I know everyone's situation is different money wise, but thought I'd ask how it works.

 

[DiamondsOnly]

My current e-ring is a 3 stone - a .77ct flanked by 2 .39cts. I've just purchased two new sidestones for my setting, one is .35ct and the other is .37ct, and am looking at a .71ct stone to replace the current centre stone. So the current tcw of 1.55ct will end up more in the 1.43ct camp, depending on which centre I decide on.

I love the size and proportions of my ring, but I have simply upgraded the cut and clarity of the diamonds, but kept the diameters and colour (which I LOVE) the same... all of my stones are deep cuts, SI2-I1 clarity, and whilst they are beautiful I have the itch for ideal cut, eyeclean stones. I plan to set my current diamonds into other pieces of jewellery.

Soooo, long story short, I'm upgrading the quality of the diamonds, but keeping the 'look' and size of the ring exactly the same. It's the same ring that is just evolving and getting more beautiful with time, I guess... like our marriage! Gush, gush, gush.

LOVE it! I like your thinking and love the last part about your marriage. Thanks for sharing! I am not married yet not until next year, but I just can't wait for the years to come.

 

[diamondringlover]

Here's a question for everyone...when you upgrade do you trade in your old diamond and get a credit toward your new purchase?

I don't have $10,000+ to drop out of pocket for an upgrade (not now at least) so how does that work? I know everyone's situation is different money wise, but thought I'd ask how it works.

I didnt but my diamond was bought in 1985 and the other one is 2002-03 and it wasnt at the same jeweler, I actually had my small diamond remounted and my hubby has one pierced ear so he wears it now even though I am thinking about stealing it back and having it reset back into my old setting and wearing it as a RHR

 

[hoofbeats95]

Here's a question for everyone...when you upgrade do you trade in your old diamond and get a credit toward your new purchase?

I don't have $10,000+ to drop out of pocket for an upgrade (not now at least) so how does that work? I know everyone's situation is different money wise, but thought I'd ask how it works.

This is very vendor based. Generally you have to trade up at the same vendor as the initial purchase. A lot of mall stores require double the initial purchase price. You get the initial price off the new price. A lot of the online vendors, like WF, do not require double. That's why a lot of people factor in the trade in policy when they decide where to purchase.

 

[athenaworth]

I started out with a half carat that my mom gave me. I had a picture of it somewhere, but I've searched high and low and can't for the life of me find it. Anyway, about a year later we upgraded to a .9. Then after some major life drama, DH and I decided it was time for my 2.51, I, VS2 with SBF, which is my forever baby. I've attached a really bad photo. I don't know what's wrong with my computer today.

 

[AllyD]

I started off with a G, VS2 1.06 solitare and then 1 1/2 years later upgraded to a G, VS1 1.30 center stone with G, VS2 1.48 setting for a total of 2.78. I think I'll keep this for a long time!

 

[NOYFB]

Hmmm.....let's see if I can remember all of this correctly. When we got engaged in 2000 I had an invisible setting made up of 4 very small princess cuts that totalled .25 ct. It was under $1000 but at the time, it's all he could afford.

6 months after the wedding, a friend of mine who worked at a jewelry store sold me a .51 ct. H I1 princess cut (before I knew anything about diamond clarity and PS) which was marketed as a 5/8 ct. (I found out it was smaller after I had it appraised for insurance purposes). I then took the 4 small princess stones out and had them channel set on either side of the shank with the new .51 in the center.

I wore this until 2008 when hubby suggested an upgrade, much to my surprise and delight. This is when I found PS, so I had done my research and I now have a 1.19 H SI Asscher, which was initially set in a cathedral solitaire. My stone is currently at BGD getting reset into a bezel with bezel side stones that match my eternity ring.

I have removed the .51 princess from my previous setting and have replaced it with a 1 ct. emerald cut sapphire that I wear as a RHR.

Hubby doesn't believe that I won't ever want another upgrade (I dream of a 2 ct. Asscher) but the new BGD setting would have to be destroyed to ever replace it, and I just don't think that will ever be worth it. But who knows...ask me again in 5 years!

 

[athenaworth]

I wanted to show another comparision set of pics that I took with my iPhone some time ago.

 

[DiamondsOnly]

Re: Upgrading your diamonds-LINGO???

VERY pretty ladies!!!

Can someone help me out with the lingo since I'm a newbie as of this week???? I'm not sure what the abbrev. stand for so...HELP!!!

Thanks
DiamondsOnly

 

[NOYFB]

Which abbreviations are you referring to?

 

[DiamondsOnly]

ACA
AGSO
BGD
SBF

All and any abbrev. that might be used frequently. lol Maybe some are abbrev for stores...I'm not sure so any insight would be awesome.

 

[hmr_mama]

ACA-A Cut Above (Whiteflash's signature cut)
BGD-Brian Gavin Diamonds
AGS0-refers to cut, an AGS0 is the finest cut (scores the best) according to AGS-AGS is the American Gemological Society

 

[ringabling]

My jeweler was kind enough to buy my original stone from us even though we had not purchased it from them

 

[hmr_mama]

My original engagement ring is a 0.55 octillion, purchased from Zales. We were young (I was a month from my college graduation) and didn't take the time to research our (his) purchase--we just wanted to be engaged. Looking back, I can't believe how much he spent on that ring! We upgraded my ring for our 5th anniversary to a 1.543/I/VS2/ACA. I kept my original--for sentimental reasons--but made sure I chose a vendor with an upgrade policy for the new one.

 

[SB621]

I started with a .76ct RB when we got engaged. DH and I had just graduated college and just started to work. On our 3 year anniversary he upgrade me to a 2.04ct RB. Hopefully somewhere between our 5-10 year anniversary I will upgrade again to a 4 ct cushion in a harry winston inspired halo setting.

Here are some photos. I apologize I dont' have a better photo of the upgrade.

 

[Love Street]

What a fun topic - I love seeing people's upgrades all in one spot!

My original e-ring was a 3-stone, RB with pears, 0.83 H, VS1 center and .32 tcw H VS1 pear sidestones in platinum. We bought it from Tiffany in 2003. We picked it out after the proposal (b/c I wanted to have the fun of ring-shopping for myself!).

This September I upgraded to a 3.04 ct M SI2 August Vintage Cushion, which I fell instantly in love with. It was chez Leon Mege for over 3 months where he set it with calibrated, K color French cut sidestones in platinum. Since yesterday the ring has been stuck on a grounded Fedex plane in Newark I was supposed to get it at 9am this morning but looks like I'll get it at 9am tomorow.

The upgrade commemorates our "10-year togetherness" anniversary in May, since we first started dating May 2001. There's an inscription on the inside of the new ring so I think this ring will be more sentimental than my first one. Though both DH and myself are most sentimental about the little shared prong wedding band.

I ended up selling my first ring to help finance the Leon setting. I wasn't very attached to my original ring once I got the AVC on my finger though...

In the meantime, here's a pic of my T&Co ring with the unset AVC. You can see the warmth, but I like the color and the tradeoff in size was so worth it to me.

 

[luv2sparkle]

Lovestreet, I can't wait to see your new Leon. I am so loving french cuts, and I love the warmth of your stone. I can't wait to see
the K frenchies. Here's to the weather clearing up asap!

I traded in my first ring. We spent 250. on it and I hated it for a number of reasons. I literally picked it because it was the cheapest
in the store and I just wanted to get the heck out of there and be done with the whole ring business. Long story. Anyway, we
ended up at Zales for the second one, (the first being purchased at the Jewelry Mart downtown LA) and they gave us 900. in trade in,
and the stone was on sale. That is the ring I wore for about 23 years. It is the photo below:

The 1.70 was traded in for the 2.57 and I wish I would have kept it. I just couldn't see doing that at the time. It seems like soooo
much money invested. It was a beautiful stone. Dang it.