Hey everyone :)

My boyfriend and I have been together for a few years and last year we bought a house together.

We aren't ready to get married yet, because I'm still in school, but he was talking about getting me a diamond just because of our anniversary.

I was wondering if this would be an acceptable "promise" ring... Tried it on today, wonder what you all think of this ring on my chubby finger lol... Or if any of you have any suggestions I would love to hear.

The ring is regularly $649 but on sale for 499. I wear about a size 6 I think. I think I'd go for yellow gold.



Stone Type Diamond Stone Shape Round Diamond Total Weight (CT. T.W.) 0.20 Center Stone T.W. 0.20 GIA Colour J - K GIA Clarity I1 Stone Setting Channel Gold Karat 10K Standard Ring Size 7 Lifetime Diamond Commitment Yes Metal Colour White or yellow
Metal Type Gold

Originally Posted by the1kayladawn

Hey everyone :) My boyfriend and I have been together for a few years and last year we bought a house together. We aren't ready to get married yet, because I'm still in school, but he was talking about getting me a diamond just because of our anniversary. I was wondering if this would be an acceptable "promise" ring... Tried it on today... Or if any of you have any suggestions I would love to hear. The ring is regularly $649 but on sale for 499. Stone Type Diamond Stone Shape Round Diamond Total Weight (CT. T.W.) 0.20 Center Stone T.W. 0.20 GIA Colour J - K GIA Clarity I1 Stone Setting Channel Gold Karat 10K Standard Ring Size 7 Lifetime Diamond Commitment Yes Metal Colour White or yellow Metal Type Gold

Wait for Ame to weigh in she will give great guidance !

First of all congrats on your anniversary and how sweet that your boyfriend wants to buy such a lovely ring for you!

It is a very pretty ring and looks lovely on your hand.. but the stats aren't great and it is not worth the money, imo. I'm sure others with more detailed diamond knowledge will chime in but J-K colour is very low - I would be looking at least at H or higher if the clarity is SI, let alone I. I clarity is also very low and the price seems very expensive for a ring of 10k gold with these stats. You can definitely find an 18k or minimum 14k gold ring for around the same price with SI rather than I clarity and a minimum of H colour. To be honest, for .20 carats of diamonds you can probably get VS clarity and G/H colour. Have a look on Blue Nile or even Ebay for some other options.

I made the mistake of buying I grade clarity and colour diamond stud earrings with some money I received from my dad last year - when I knew nothing about diamonds. They were cheap and admittedly the cut was ideal (which gave the studs a tiny bit of sparkle at least) but the clarity and colour were so poor that they just looked dull and hardly caught the light at all. The lowest I would go now is SI clarity and H colour, which with an excellent-ideal cut will still look sparkly and fairly colourless, especially on a smaller stone.

Originally Posted by Onebagtoomany

First of all congrats on your anniversary and how sweet that your boyfriend wants to buy such a lovely ring for you! It is a very pretty ring and looks lovely on your hand.. but the stats aren't great and it is not worth the money, imo. I'm sure others with more detailed diamond knowledge will chime in but J-K colour is very low - I would be looking at least at H or higher if the clarity is SI, let alone I. I clarity is also very low and the price seems very expensive for a ring of 10k gold with these stats. You can definitely find an 18k or minimum 14k gold ring for around the same price with SI rather than I clarity and a minimum of H colour. To be honest, for .20 carats of diamonds you can probably get VS clarity and G/H colour. Have a look on Blue Nile or even Ebay for some other options. I made the mistake of buying I grade clarity and colour diamond stud earrings with some money I received from my dad last year - when I knew nothing about diamonds. They were cheap and admittedly the cut was ideal (which gave the studs a tiny bit of sparkle at least) but the clarity and colour were so poor that they just looked dull and hardly caught the light at all. The lowest I would go now is SI clarity and H colour, which with an excellent-ideal cut will still look sparkly and fairly colourless, especially on a smaller stone.

Thank you for the information. I know next to nothing about diamonds; and I know that in the jewelry store the lighting made it really sparkly. But my biggest fear was that it wouldn't look as nice once I took it home.

Originally Posted by the1kayladawn

Thank you for the information. I know next to nothing about diamonds; and I know that in the jewelry store the lighting made it really sparkly. But my biggest fear was that it wouldn't look as nice once I took it home.

Ah yes they are very clever with lighting in these jewellery stores! I replaced the dud studs I bought last year with a pair of VS1/D studs on sale in my local jeweller and even they lost a smidgen of their sparkle once I got them home - the lights in the shop always make them look brighter, whiter and sparklier. They still look lovely but they looked amazing in the shop.

I'm sure Ame will be along with great advice for where to pick up an alternative ring from - she is a font of knowledge on diamonds! I knew next to nothing until my diamond stud fiasco either. I'm still far from being an expert but I have learnt that generally if the cut is excellent or ideal you can afford to go a little lower with both clarity and colour. I have a pendant which is VS2 clarity and I colour (so a lot lower colour than I would normally go for) but the cut is ideal and the diamond sparkles like mad and looks very white and bright. I always try to go for the best cut I can afford now and play around a little with the clarity/colour options to keep the diamond in my price range.

Those stats are not worth the price. An I clarity at that size? NO. Not to mention cut quality.

What is your budget? These are about $1500 or less, and mostly bands, but will have MUCH better stones than that.

DIY a small solitaire, quick and dirty just on blue nile:
http://www.bluenile.com/build-your-o...pid=LD02586633

http://www.bluenile.com/build-your-o...pid=LD02635942

http://www.bluenile.com/build-your-o...pid=LD02464955

http://www.bluenile.com/build-your-o...pid=LD02606673

http://www.bluenile.com/build-your-o...pid=LD02500654

http://www.bluenile.com/build-your-o...pid=LD01692569

then either setting from these, a whole ring under or near 1k:
http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-enga...solitaire_4015

http://www.bluenile.com/solitaire-18...ring-setting_8

This only comes in WG but looks slightly less engagementy
http://www.bluenile.com/fluted-14k-w...-setting_25668


Down for a band you can stack with a wedding set later on?
Here's a few Blue Nile suggestions:
http://www.bluenile.com/white-gold-wedding-ring_21483
http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-ring-yellow-gold_21421
http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-ring...low-gold_21240
http://www.bluenile.com/tri-color-go...ing-ring_21264
http://www.bluenile.com/white-gold-w...-vintage_21488

A few Kwiat (through Nordstrom--VERY nice diamonds)
http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/kwiat-di...esultback=1300

http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/kwiat-st...esultback=1500

could get one of these on clearance (yellow gold with yellow sapphires) and even maybe a diamond one from blue nile or something.

http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/kwiat-ye...esultback=1381

Another idea:
http://www.jamesallen.com/wedding-an...ing-Ring.html4

Ask for Yellow Gold, say you're a pricescoper:
http://idjewelryonline.com/product_i...ducts_id=10547
http://idjewelryonline.com/product_i...ducts_id=21356

Just to add to Ame's excellent suggestions Amazon can also be very good for things like this - lots of third party sellers selling good diamond jewellery (be careful to check the breakdown of the stats though) at often very competitive prices. It was through Amazon that I discovered the company Diamond Manufacturers who made my diamond pendant for me. They are also very competitively priced and have received great press here but I'm not sure if they ship outside the UK.

http://www.diamondmanufacturers.co.u...FWNItAodrGS9_A

Originally Posted by ame

Those stats are not worth the price. An I clarity at that size? NO. Not to mention cut quality. What is your budget? These are about $1500 or less, and mostly bands, but will have MUCH better stones than that. DIY a small solitaire, quick and dirty just on blue nile: http://www.bluenile.com/build-your-o...pid=LD02586633 http://www.bluenile.com/build-your-o...pid=LD02635942 http://www.bluenile.com/build-your-o...pid=LD02464955 http://www.bluenile.com/build-your-o...pid=LD02606673 http://www.bluenile.com/build-your-o...pid=LD02500654 http://www.bluenile.com/build-your-o...pid=LD01692569 then either setting from these, a whole ring under or near 1k: http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-enga...solitaire_4015 http://www.bluenile.com/solitaire-18...ring-setting_8 This only comes in WG but looks slightly less engagementy http://www.bluenile.com/fluted-14k-w...-setting_25668 Down for a band you can stack with a wedding set later on? Here's a few Blue Nile suggestions: http://www.bluenile.com/white-gold-wedding-ring_21483 http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-ring-yellow-gold_21421 http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-ring...low-gold_21240 http://www.bluenile.com/tri-color-go...ing-ring_21264 http://www.bluenile.com/white-gold-w...-vintage_21488 A few Kwiat (through Nordstrom--VERY nice diamonds) http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/kwiat-di...esultback=1300 http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/kwiat-st...esultback=1500 could get one of these on clearance (yellow gold with yellow sapphires) and even maybe a diamond one from blue nile or something. http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/kwiat-ye...esultback=1381 Another idea: http://www.jamesallen.com/wedding-an...ing-Ring.html4 Ask for Yellow Gold, say you're a pricescoper: http://idjewelryonline.com/product_i...ducts_id=10547 http://idjewelryonline.com/product_i...ducts_id=21356

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm going to show the boyfriend and see what he thinks.

I was hoping to keep it around 600. He spends so much on me already that I don't want to set the bar too high... Especially if we'd be getting engaged in a couple years, and we want to get me my "once in a lifetime" ring... So I guess I just want something small as a symbollic placeholder. However, I really don't want to basically throw away 600 just because I want a diamond that isn't expensive.......

I would be worried about buying online just because I can't see it in person. What happens if you order from someplace like blue nile and are unhappy with it? Sometimes I think rings just don't look good on my hand. (Me and my hands have a love-hate relationship... I get so upset when pretty jewelry looks gross on my man-hands lol)

Blue Nile is a site you can return things to within 30 days if you don't like it. You can return or exchange. Their service and return policy is fantastic. That's a site if you're hesitant about online that is worth looking at. I would NOT go through Ebay OR Amazon, as you have no idea what seller you're REALLY dealing with.

If it's to be a "placeholder" Id lean towards a band, bec then you can include it in your wedding and have it as a band you can wear in place of your main wedding ring or set, or add to the set.

Originally Posted by ame

Those stats are not worth the price. An I clarity at that size? NO. Not to mention cut quality. What is your budget? These are about $1500 or less, and mostly bands, but will have MUCH better stones than that. DIY a small solitaire, quick and dirty just on blue nile: http://www.bluenile.com/build-your-o...pid=LD02586633 http://www.bluenile.com/build-your-o...pid=LD02635942 http://www.bluenile.com/build-your-o...pid=LD02464955 http://www.bluenile.com/build-your-o...pid=LD02606673 http://www.bluenile.com/build-your-o...pid=LD02500654 http://www.bluenile.com/build-your-o...pid=LD01692569 then either setting from these, a whole ring under or near 1k: http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-enga...solitaire_4015 http://www.bluenile.com/solitaire-18...ring-setting_8 This only comes in WG but looks slightly less engagementy http://www.bluenile.com/fluted-14k-w...-setting_25668 Down for a band you can stack with a wedding set later on? Here's a few Blue Nile suggestions: http://www.bluenile.com/white-gold-wedding-ring_21483 http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-ring-yellow-gold_21421 http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-ring...low-gold_21240 http://www.bluenile.com/tri-color-go...ing-ring_21264 http://www.bluenile.com/white-gold-w...-vintage_21488 A few Kwiat (through Nordstrom--VERY nice diamonds) http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/kwiat-di...esultback=1300 http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/kwiat-st...esultback=1500 could get one of these on clearance (yellow gold with yellow sapphires) and even maybe a diamond one from blue nile or something. http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/kwiat-ye...esultback=1381 Another idea: http://www.jamesallen.com/wedding-an...ing-Ring.html4 Ask for Yellow Gold, say you're a pricescoper: http://idjewelryonline.com/product_i...ducts_id=10547 http://idjewelryonline.com/product_i...ducts_id=21356

Yes I think a band I could stack with my wedding set would be a LOVELY idea as well.

Originally Posted by ame

Blue Nile is a site you can return things to within 30 days if you don't like it. You can return or exchange. Their service and return policy is fantastic. That's a site if you're hesitant about online that is worth looking at. I would NOT go through Ebay OR Amazon, as you have no idea what seller you're REALLY dealing with. If it's to be a "placeholder" Id lean towards a band, bec then you can include it in your wedding and have it as a band you can wear in place of your main wedding ring or set, or add to the set.

Thank you for being so helpful Ame, you're a GEM.

I guess I also wouldn't want it to look too much like an engagement ring..... I dunno.

I'd definitely look at BlueNile. Also Google for coupon codes before you go.

This promise ring is really pretty and in your budget:

http://www.bluenile.ca/marquise-diam...ise-ring_21287




I just did a quick search and found:


Diamond Details
Stock number: LD02628136
Price: C$387
Bank wire price:
C$382
Price per carat:
C$1,290
Carat weight:
0.30
Cut: Very Good
Colour: J
Clarity: VS2
Depth %:
64.3%
Table %:
53%
Polish:
Excellent
Symmetry:
Good
Girdle:
Medium to Thick
Culet:
None
Fluorescence:
None
Measurements: 4.20 x 4.23 x 2.71 mm


and added a plain band for $200 CANADIAN

Total was $587

Or, if you want a band:

I really love the band suggestion. You could get a nice sapphire band or even small diamond or pave and stack later on. Such a great idea! Otherwise how about one of the 0.30 SI1 solitaires from Blue Nile? Then when you get engaged you can match it and make a nice pair of studs.