What did everyone start out with?

[kaylagee]

Date: 3/17/2005
Author: sjz

I love garnets, too. They are my birthstone. I just bought a new one this week!

I had thought about having a round garnet set into my original ering mounting, which is a yellow gold tifanny style. I thought it would look pretty in my ring guards.

I think red garnets look great in YG! I put a garnet in my yg Sepkus ring when i moved the diamond.

My favorite garnet piece is a Gil et Jean bracelet that I got for my birthday. It''s not my birthstone though. I''m Nov. 25th. Dh is Jan 8th, so it''s his. I read somewhere that it''s bad luck to wear other Bstones..d''oh. I''m not crazy about citrine and good luck finding ''imperial'' topaz at a decent price.

I''d love a large oval garnet cocktail ring with diamonds surrounding (like the Lady Diana sapphire e-ring..I think Bagpuss has a similar one too?). This is after I get the earring project finished.

My husband might flip one day with all of these jewelry plans. OTOH, He has his giant, ever-expanding record library/DJing equipment habit-hobby.

 

[Patty]

I started out 26 years ago with a 5/8 carat solitaire in yellow gold. VS clarity, J color.

 

[sjz]

Ok, it''s like after 11:30 PM. I just got home a little while ago, and saw all the replies! I''m too tired right now to read them all, but I can''t wait to read them tomorrow. I had a 2 hour rehearsal tonight, then I went to a Styxx/REO Speedwagon concert...LOL! I am both pooped and deaf. Thanks for all you guys who replied and told about your ering stories. I hope more of you will post as well (I''m not greedy am I?) NITE!

 

[Momoftwo]

25 years ago my original engagement ring was .46 ct rb set in white gold with a baguette on each side so total was somewhere around .7 ctw. My current stone, (received after 12 yrs) , is 1.06 rb set in yg with 4 round side stones .75ctw. We're currently looking for our 25th anniversary for 1.5-2 ct range stone. This time shopping for quality so it may be more 1.5 than 2. I also think the demographics on this site are well educated people, not necessarily wealthy, but good money managers and informed decision makers. In my experience, people who research and use the web tend to well informed and consciously look for the best investment and/or deal. There are a few people I work with who do not use the internet at all and are somewhat afraid of it. They tend to be less educated and very set in their ways. They also tend to not have the interest in learning anything new and feel that computers are out of their grasp except at work where they have lots of technical support. I see a lot of post graduate educated posters here.

 

[elepri]

Well, I''ve only been engaged for 8 months so it''s my first diamond. It''s a 1.6 H SI1 ideal cut RB. I did all the research and decided I wanted 1.5 and fiance thought it was about how much he wanted to spend. We happened to find a stone that was just a touch bigger. I''m still very happy with the size and don''t think i''ll ever want to upgrade although that recently posted Mark Morrell ring made me seriously think about adding small sidestones to mine. Friends'' stones really vary, with the smallest about half a carat (she was also the first of my friends to get engaged at 23) and the largest 2.5. All original erings, no upgrades, all engaged in their 20s.

 

[Ann]

Oh, man I got engaged in 1976, married in 1977. At the time, a solitaire on a wide yellow gold band was the rage. We went to my husbands uncle who was a partner in an upscale jewelry store. Thinking we were getting his loving attention and a good deal, we had him bring in some 1 carat pear stones. I picked one out, selected a wide brushed yellow gold band and then selected 2 plain polished thin bands to act as wedding bands that flanked the wide band. The diamond is a .96 Pear, and probably is J-K-L in color. And you can see a carbon spot if you look real good. $1500.00 for the stone. It now bothers my husband and myself that his uncle did not do enough to see that we got a decent stone. We were so ignorant.
I do not wear the ring. Have not for about 8 years. It bugs me knowing it is a crummy stone. I am thinking of ways I can set it. I love what it represents, but would rather wear my new simple Tiffany 16 stone. We are working on my upgrade and when it warms up in NYC, I am going to see Mark at EngagementRingsDirect for a cushion or radiant.

 

[fortheloveofdiamonds]

I started out with a 0.17 ct diamond solitaire set in yellow gold with small channel set diamonds (maybe 1 pointers) 2 on each side of the center stone. My husband proposed to me without an engagement ring and I picked it out myself. Fast forward five years, he decides that he wants to get me a grandiose gift, suggests a new e-ring and gives me a very hefty budget. I ended up with a 1.5 carat H VS2 set in a Michael B. three-sided pave ring weighing about 1.5carats.

 

[jaysonsmom]

We got engaged 6 years ago with a .81 ct round brilliant F/SI2 that belonged to M-I-L. She passed away before we got married, and my husband was her only son. About a year into our engagement, my husband decided that I should pick out my own stone, so I got a 1.25 ct Princess E/VS2 which I still wear today. Since we''ve been married, my mom has also given me 2 rb stones that she has. She NEVER wears diamonds because she lives in a country were diamonds are not worn everyday....her''s were sitting in a safety deposit box, so I have a 1.12ct H/VS2 (very poorly cut.....a HUGE 65% table) and a 1.53 F/VS1 (excellent, though not ideal cut). Needless to say, I wear the 1.53 rb, and my 1.25 ct princess the most these days. I don''t wear them at the same time tough. Both are sized for my e-ring finger, and don''t fit my right hand.

 

[ForteKitty]

JM~ did you ever post pictures of your new ring?

 

[jaysonsmom]

Hi Fortekitty,

I haven''t had a chance to take clear pics of my actual ring, but after all those polls about what setting to get, I decided to get this ritani with a 4mm shank, and bead-set sidestones .65tcw. I thought I wanted a ring with a wider band so that it could stand on it''s own without a w-band, but after I got the ritani, I really don''t ''love'' it, so it''s $3K down the drain. I really think that a thinner chank would have made the 1.53 ct look bigger. I''ve attached the picture from the webiste: