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WTB Budget Engagement Ring

G

GisellaH

Rough_Rock
Joined
Feb 18, 2020
Messages
6
Hey all,

I'm posting this for my brother who is hoping to find an engagement ring on a budget. He was originally going to save up for some time, but his (hopefully soon to be fiance) is hoping to get married soon. The craziness of this pandemic made them both realize that they just want to become husband and wife, no fancy party or things needed. However, he would still like to buy her something to propose with and has a budget of $1,000 - $3,000 max. I'm hoping to help him find something that is good quality for his money. Any leads would be appreciated.
 
I would recommend having a look at Ivy & Rose they are in Chicago and are a recommended vendor. They have a range of new rings in the vintage style plus some lovely pre loved items. You definitely get better value for money with pre loved. I’m all for value for money.
They also offer through eBay under the name “mydiamondzone”
Here are some examples under $3,000868D07CE-AEE1-4547-8D1B-5B9CDCB5AC10.jpegFD9C75F1-552E-4EBC-9EBC-08264FF2B19C.jpegB266E097-F91F-4045-87DD-282E1347B388.jpeg45F3622B-8A25-40FC-995F-DF6DD0FEEB5C.jpeg879A9DF2-2DCE-4959-AEC4-B379F41397F0.jpegC27AD694-1D52-40C3-8D06-244A1AFC7782.jpegB58B8B48-A872-4CDA-B723-D5BDA92DE534.jpeg
 
The diamond @Snowdrop13 linked is nice. I tried to convince my friend to buy it for her engagement but she wanted 'new':roll:. The cert doesn't have an amazing HCA score, but it is an entire ring set with a really clean really white substantial stone that will fall within budget even after resizing. Plus, it is classic. So even if she doesn't love the setting, chances are she won't hate it either.
 

I don’t know how she feels about older cuts, but stone is already loose, this has a GIA certalready but is being sold with the setting, under 3k. It’s over the magic 1 carat number, and the delta plus selling the setting for metal value would buy a new simple 6 prong setting pretty easily.

Old cuts hide inclusions in ways new MRBs simple can’t. I see the plotting but nothing looks like dark inclusions. Cutters of old knew how to work around their rough.
 
Bron357 said:
I would recommend having a look at Ivy & Rose they are in Chicago and are a recommended vendor. They have a range of new rings in the vintage style plus some lovely pre loved items. You definitely get better value for money with pre loved. I’m all for value for money.
They also offer through eBay under the name “mydiamondzone”
Here are some examples under $3,000868D07CE-AEE1-4547-8D1B-5B9CDCB5AC10.jpegFD9C75F1-552E-4EBC-9EBC-08264FF2B19C.jpegB266E097-F91F-4045-87DD-282E1347B388.jpeg45F3622B-8A25-40FC-995F-DF6DD0FEEB5C.jpeg879A9DF2-2DCE-4959-AEC4-B379F41397F0.jpegC27AD694-1D52-40C3-8D06-244A1AFC7782.jpegB58B8B48-A872-4CDA-B723-D5BDA92DE534.jpeg
Click to expand...

I have never heard of this vendor before. Some of those rings are quite lovely. Personally, I love vintage style jewelry and I think my soon to be sister-in-law has some vintage pieces as well. This could definitely be an option. Thank you!
 
Snowdrop13 said:
I saw this on loupetroop, personally I’d want to see the GIA cert and ask a few questions, but it seems a bargain,

.75 ct D VVS2 GIA XXX Diamond in Tiffany repro wedding set | Loupe Troop

loupetroop.com loupetroop.com

Also, try Jewels by Grace, she has a lot of lovely rings under 3k, including many bands, if that were felt to be an alternative. Good luck with the search!
Click to expand...

That’s a beautiful diamond, for sure. I’ll send my brother the link and see if he wants me to message the seller for more details. Will also look up Jewelry by Grace. Thanks so much!
 
caolsen said:

I don’t know how she feels about older cuts, but stone is already loose, this has a GIA certalready but is being sold with the setting, under 3k. It’s over the magic 1 carat number, and the delta plus selling the setting for metal value would buy a new simple 6 prong setting pretty easily.

Old cuts hide inclusions in ways new MRBs simple can’t. I see the plotting but nothing looks like dark inclusions. Cutters of old knew how to work around their rough.
Click to expand...

I love this ring and it's a great price!
 
caolsen said:

I don’t know how she feels about older cuts, but stone is already loose, this has a GIA certalready but is being sold with the setting, under 3k. It’s over the magic 1 carat number, and the delta plus selling the setting for metal value would buy a new simple 6 prong setting pretty easily.

Old cuts hide inclusions in ways new MRBs simple can’t. I see the plotting but nothing looks like dark inclusions. Cutters of old knew how to work around their rough.
Click to expand...

Honestly, I’m not sure if she likes them. I have seen her wear a few vintage pieces she got from her grandmother, but they’re not “big” diamonds. Just dainty older jewelry. However, I can’t imagine she’s the type that would turn her nose up on a beautiful old diamond. She seems to be the kind of person who is just going to love the thought behind whatever my brother picks out. Thanks for the link! I’ll send it my brother and see if it’s an option for him. I know he definitely wanted something over one carat when he initially started thinking about proposing so this might work.
 
For the low end of the budget, this is a smaller diamond (0.39ct) but a timeless classic that will work well with any wedding band:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/TIFFANY-CO...CERTIFICATE-/362802174955?hash=item5478b1dbeb

For the max budget, go with a 0.70ct H-SI1 A Cut Above diamond from Whiteflash and pair it with one of their simple solitaire settings:
https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-4209282.htm

oops, I accidentally put two links for diamond and no link for setting !

this is the solitaire link: https://www.whiteflash.com/engageme...ffany-style-solitaire-engagement-ring-587.htm
 
Last edited:
marymm said:
For the low end of the budget, this is a smaller diamond (0.39ct) but a timeless classic that will work well with any wedding band:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/TIFFANY-CO...CERTIFICATE-/362802174955?hash=item5478b1dbeb

For the max budget, go with a 0.70ct H-SI1 A Cut Above diamond from Whiteflash and pair it with one of their simple solitaire settings:
https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-4209282.htm
https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-4209282.htm
Click to expand...

Thank you! I’ll check these out now.
 
Just as an FYI regarding the 1.07ct GIA Old European Cut loose diamond suggested above, please note it is a I1 clarity stone with feathers as the first inclusion listed many of which are on the girdle ... while it faces up nicely and is fairly priced, personally I'd be extremely wary about having an I1 diamond for an Engagement Ring which normally gets heavy wear ... YMMV
 
If she's open to a lab diamond, I'd recommend buying a Lightbox Jewelry 1ct diamond pendant and getting it reset in a different setting!

Bloomingdale's is having a sale on Lightbox Jewelry (with 25% off + extra 25% off + 15% off if you sign up for mailing list, PSers are getting close to 50% off) although they are mostly sold out of the colorless, larger diamonds.

You can still get them at a great value on Lightbox's website. I'd recommend getting in a white gold or silver setting as those diamonds "appear" whiter.
 
MRBXXXFVVS1 said:
If she's open to a lab diamond, I'd recommend buying a Lightbox Jewelry 1ct diamond pendant and getting it reset in a different setting!

Bloomingdale's is having a sale on Lightbox Jewelry (with 25% off + extra 25% off + 15% off if you sign up for mailing list, PSers are getting close to 50% off) although they are mostly sold out of the colorless, larger diamonds.

You can still get them at a great value on Lightbox's website. I'd recommend getting in a white gold or silver setting as those diamonds "appear" whiter.
Click to expand...

This is what I came here to say. I just got a beautiful .5ct round from them. I believe .5ct is $230 with the discounts.
 
GisellaH said:
I have never heard of this vendor before. Some of those rings are quite lovely. Personally, I love vintage style jewelry and I think my soon to be sister-in-law has some vintage pieces as well. This could definitely be an option. Thank you!
Click to expand...

I’ve bought from Ivy and Rose, good vendor - lots of folks here on PS have bought from them
 
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