Find your diamond
Find your jewelry
shape
carat
color
clarity

Would you trade in or buy new?

blingymo

blingymo

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jun 22, 2012
Messages
192
Sorry in advance for the novel ...... I know there have been a few threads on similar topics, but I haven't seen quite the same thing. I am wondering what people in similar situations have done since so many here on PS have upgraded. Like many of you, I L O V E HUGE rocks. When we got engaged, 27 and a half years ago, I felt like I hit the jackpot. I was 20 years old and got a 1.68 ct., F, SI2 RB solitaire ring. On top of that, I got a diamond wedding ring (7 marquise diamonds that curve around the prongs of the e-ring) when we got married 2 years later. So we have just had our 25th anniversary, and I REALLY want a bigger diamond (DSS I see you all call it! I have it bad). There are a few problems though.

1. I do love the way my set looks and am reluctant to trade it in. I love when people ask if it is my original stone (most people think it is an upgrade) and I can say it is. I have always been spoiled by my husband. :D Also, I don't think I would get as much as I would want for it (at least enough to make it worth giving it up.) I would love to reset into a pendant. We have talked a little about upgrading, but not about his feelings about trade in versus new ring. BUT ...

2. We have 2 kids in college (out of state, of course! - but one is a senior) and our money really needs to go to tuition for the next 3 years. I can't see coming up with the kind of money from scratch that would give me an upgrade from 1.68 ct., so if I want to do this, I probably have to give up my original e-ring and maybe wedding ring.

3. My husband really wants to build a garage and I would like to redo the kitchen (I know, I want, I want, I want). That is kind of on hold until college tuition is over, and I will probably have to wait on my upgrade until then, but that gives me lots of time to have fun shopping, right?? But I still think I would probably have to sell my original. It's so hard to wait when I've waited for a lllloooonnnnnggggg time. And seeing all these gorgeous rings on here is giving me serious bling envy!!!

So, those of you who have upgraded from a ROCK to a BOULDER, did you sell or trade your original stone or did you have the money to outright buy a BOULDER. How many of you have done repeated upgrades to get where you want to be? What was the evolution in size? If you gave up your original stone, did it bother you at first? I guess I am having sentimental and financial worries, and want to know the thought process and purchasing process of those of you who upgrade. Would love to see the process in pictures too :lickout:

One other thing - I have been lurking A LOT - and read the thread about diamanteblu's upgrade shopping trip to NY. I thought I was going to have to call 911 my heart and breathing sped up so much!! :appl: But I can't find anything on what she got!! The suspense is killing me. The thread was like 4 years ago - what happened?????
 
Oh, I wrote you a long post and lost it! ;(

Welcome!!! :wavey: I came here a few years ago in a very similar situation! I kept my 1 ct. diamond because I had just had it too long to consider selling it. I am saving mine for one of my kids to use since I have a diamond from my mother for a pendant. We are both fortunate to have found PS before making a mistake! Of course, I really didn't upgrade to a boulder because my new stone was about the size of your current one! But I went to ideal cut quality and pretty high color and clarity! But there are tons of large rocks on this site, as you obviously have seen! I haven't seen diamanteblu in a really long time, but she did have some very nice pieces! These days you can follow Phoenix, mom2boys, Bliss, ClassyRocks, frankiextah, etc. as some of our current members with fine quality rocks over 3 cts.! There are many more who have stones in the 2+ carat range.

If I were you, I'd try to keep your original stone unless it is the only way to do the upgrade. And trust me, the more you stick around here, you will want to do the upgrade sooner rather than later!

(Definitely keep your wedding band. You can always redo the setting if you want and reuse the diamonds.)
 
It sounds like you have a lot of sentiment attached to your original set so I would definitely vote for keeping it and buying a newer stone for an upgrade if you can swing it. It sounds gorgeous though!!! Care to entertain us with some pictures? :bigsmile:
 
Oh man! Quite a position to be in! If you have such an attachment to your set I'd suggest keeping it. The ugly truth about selling it is you hardly get what you paid or anything close to it. The other thing is that if you want to get an upgrade of what you're hoping, you'll still be stuck paying quite a bit for it. Lastly, this is a dangerous place! If it weren't for this site, I wouldn't have as much as I have as far as jewelry (which is bad for our pocket book) but there are clearly benefits regarding the knowledge we've gained :) . This is obviously a decision between you and your hubby, so good luck whatever you decide! We'd love to see pictures!!
 
I too, would love to see photos of your current set. What size are you thinking of upgrading to?
 
Keep it, no two ways about it...It has been with you for 25+ years which is awesome =)

Some pictures please of your rings.
 
Keep it, find a vendor you trust with a great and workable upgrade policy, and work your way up via five stone / three stone etc to a RHR the size you want. :wink2:
 
I had seriously considered seling a 1.2F but decided against it as i didnt want to sell it at a low price. So if you asked me, I'd say unless you get a good offer, otherwise, keep the current ring, the kitchen can wait.
 
What carat size do you hope to upgrade to? Round or fancy?
 
blingymo|1354066844|3316965 said:
1. I do love the way my set looks and am reluctant to trade it in.?
Click to expand...

If you're reluctant to trade it in, then you don't want to have regrets, so I would say save up the $ for an upgrade and then alternate between the two rings.

I wouldn't sell my ring. If I ever get a larger diamond, my current one would be made into a different ring or a pendant or something. The resale value isn't high enough to justify selling it, plus I've had it for MANY years!
 
Thank you for all your opinions.

Christina - I really haven't settled on a shape - I want to go try them all on to see what I like. I tend to like cushions with trillions on the side - I am always attracted to that style. But I admit to researching which shape looks biggest! Carat size - well, can it ever be too big? LOL I guess I would like to go to 2.5 or 3, and then keep going. :naughty: I am almost to the time in my life that I can be a little selfish and spend on myself ... 3 years to go!

GreenBling - I did put in to get some PS vendor quotes. I only got one back and was totally shocked at how low it was. It was around the price paid 27 years ago!!! And as for the kitchen, LOL. But I want it all (just call me Veruca - the bratty kid from Willy Wonka that wants it NOW!) :lol:

Lara, is that what most people do? Go up in size a little at a time? I guess once you get a vendor that will upgrade you can do it a little at a time as long as they don't require you to go double. Then I'd be stuck:(

You are all right that since I have had it so long I am attached. My husband jokes that I have his corvette on my hand. When he was in HS, his father set certain academic and athletic goals for him, and he "earned" a corvette. (That has not happened in MY house - my kids just had to work because it was expected). Anyway, he went to the Naval Academy, sold the car and invested the money, and that is how I got my original e-ring. He gave it to me at the Ring Dance (traditional time for mids to get engaged). Yeah, I know you guys are right:)

So here are a few pics - like everyone else says, they are not great - the stone looks a little cloudy in the picture but really isn't IRL - just from my cell phone ..... I will have to read up on taking good pics.

photo-57.jpg

photo-58.jpg

photo-59.jpg
 
WOW I love your set!! I've never seen one like that before. That unique set plus your adorable story only reinforces my vote that you should keep it!!
 
Thanks Pandabee. It's funny that recounting the story made me see that I really should keep it. Now to find a way to save up for a new rock. It might be a while :((
 
You could spend 600 bucks on a recut and a new certificate for it and if you keep it above 1.5 carats you would probably be able to get a lot more for it on a trade in (it would move better and would be a good deal for the vendor), that's what I would advise if you wanted to trade it in. You could probably get someone like Yekutiel at ID Jewelry take it in on a trade if you did that.
 
What about a halo??
 
WOW!!

Its is awesome ;)
 
I would probably keep my transtnl. stone and buy the new diamond. My stone is too rare to give up although I would love the extra cash to offset my new diamond purchase!! ;)

If I was sentimentally attached I would keep it and get a new ring. U can always pass your first set down to your kids etc.
 
The diamond definitely looks nice enough to use to make a three stone ring or pendant (or save for one of your kids), so I'd definitely keep it! And when you get your upgrade, you can have those marquise stones reset in a straight bezel setting...it would be gorgeous! Let me see if I can find an example and I'll add it to this post.

Here's a gorgeous one:

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/custom-5-stone-marquise-e-w-u-prong-ring-advice.179746/#post-3266982#p3266982']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/custom-5-stone-marquise-e-w-u-prong-ring-advice.179746/#post-3266982#p3266982[/URL]

And here is a bezel style which could be made with all marquise or however you wanted:

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/wedding-and-anniversary-bands/eternity-bands/the-yogo-platinum-5390p
 
Thanks for more thoughts. I have considered a halo, but my husband thinks that would take away from the center stone. I like the way they look, but would rather have the bigger diamond than put the money into a new setting. It's not a decision I have to make soon, as I have to save up the difference regardless. I'm just pondering choices since he has agreed to the idea of the upgrade - we just are not at the point that we can seriously shop yet. We are going to use one of my savings accts. to have a ring fund and add $ for different occasions. I was reading a thread where someone pointed out that money wise, it is better to save up and invest for the "final" stone than to keep upgrading. I will be so glad when the college tuitions are over in 3.5 years! With my 50th in 2.5 years and our 30th anniversary in 4.5, I have those occasions in mind as the goal.

diamondseeker - I love that eternity band. I never thought of putting the marquise e-w in a band. Great idea! I will keep that in mind.
 
I agree with most of the others that I would not upgrade that set, there is some serious sentiment attached to it and it's beautiful to boot! Personally, I prefer a nice sized 3 stone to just one larger diamond, much more bling impact. I would have the cut evaluated, possibly do a recut if warranted and have nice big sidestones added to make a three stone ring. Either matching RBs or pears.

Someone else also suggested you could reset your marquise band, I really liked that idea as well. Start saving that money so you can have some serious fun!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
GET 3 FREE HCA RESULTS JOIN THE FORUM. ASK FOR HELP
Jewelry Blog
PriceScope-Concierge-Ad
Find prime cuts.
Top