Engagement Rings- What does yours look like?

[snowbunny]

As far as I know "Hearts and Arrows" is a form of marketing "branding" just like the "Hearts on Fire" diamonds etc. You know that when you buy an official "Hearts and Arrows" diamond, it will be ideal cut. But it can only be sold as "Hearts and Arrows" or "Hearts on Fire" (etc) if it's sold by that particular company. It's like the way that round diamonds purchased from Tiffany are sold as "Tiffany Cut".

[snowbunny]

This is the ring my fiancé gave me last week, I love it, weeheee!!!!

He's letting me decide if I want to have two little square cuts set in the sides too, but I kind of like the holes. I have a couple of weeks to decide before we take it in to get resized.

(pardon my messy nails...had I been expecting it, I would have got a manicure!!)

[flexicitus]

Originally Posted by kat99

^ yeah Tiffany certifies their own...they give you a certificate with the value and everything. They also don't do the heart/arrows cut as far as that know, those go to jewelers such as Bailey Banks and Biddle, etc. I think perhaps she meant Tiffany setting? Flexicitus, I am not miss alice but a 3.1 carat can range anywhere from about 80k and above, depending on the quality and cut..I'm sure some of the more experienced girls here can chime in...I'm assuming that you are asking for prices at Tiffany? These are also in American dollars by the way :)

hi Kat99,
WOah. I misread 3.1 ct as 0.31ct!! Schade!! I am still waiting to hear from Tiffany UK to see if the diamonds on offer (ranging from 0.31- 0.5) are with all ideal/excellent cut/polish/symmetry. Those together are the most important factor in my decision-making. I am also facing a choice between an E and a F of the same clarity grade and size. The price is a bit more for the E. Any advice? Does a 0.4 or 0.5 look much bigger than a 0.31 on a size 6? As we are both graduate students, there isn't much flexibility in the budget for the ring. But I would much like to get the best I could afford, though I wouldn't go lower than VVS2 because of brilliance and fire. Any suggestion?

A.

Canadian in UK

[snowbunny]

Originally Posted by flexicitus

hi Kat99, WOah. I misread 3.1 ct as 0.31ct!! Schade!! I am still waiting to hear from Tiffany UK to see if the diamonds on offer (ranging from 0.31- 0.5) are with all ideal/excellent cut/polish/symmetry. Those together are the most important factor in my decision-making. I am also facing a choice between an E and a F of the same clarity grade and size. The price is a bit more for the E. Any advice? Does a 0.4 or 0.5 look much bigger than a 0.31 on a size 6? As we are both graduate students, there isn't much flexibility in the budget for the ring. But I would much like to get the best I could afford, though I wouldn't go lower than VVS2 because of brilliance and fire. Any suggestion? A. Canadian in UK

The problem with Tiffany as you're spending a lot of money just for the name. If you were to get a ring elsewhere, you could get more from your diamond for your money. But if Tiffany is important for you, then go for that. Tiffany also have strict minimum standards by which they sell their diamonds- they are unlikely to sell you anything below a certain grade of cut or clarity as they have a reputation to uphold.

As for the sizing of the rock, the setting can play a great influence in how big the diamond looks- play around with the type of setting, the width of the band etc, and find out which you like best. Some settings can also influece how the diamond sparkles (e.g. bezel settings will never sparkle as much as a prong setting as the bezel covers the girdle and blocks some of the light). The 0.5 will of course look bigger than a 0.31, but the difference is not as marked as between a 0.5 and a 0.7. The chart below will hopefully give you an idea. Also, a thoughtful setting can also give the illusion that the stone in the middle is much bigger (e.g. have you considered pavé?). Funily enough, what makes a huge difference in how big the rock looks is the size of your actual hand/fingers. Myself, I have rather big hands, so any lone rock on my finger looked rather small. So I chose a bigger setting and the same size rock looked much bigger.



The best thing to do would be to go and look at them in person, and try some on. Some rings definitely feel more right than others. You will also get a much better idea of the colour grading in person too. There won't be a huge amount of difference between an E and an F, but it will be slightly noticeable if you were to line them all up in colour scale order. It's only something to be really concerned with if you're getting a ring with pavé or other diamonds, as you will want the colours to match, or at least have the larger stone the same colour or better than the pavé so that the quality of the larger diamond is emphasised.

[LornsD]

Originally Posted by snowbunny

This is the ring my fiancé gave me last week, I love it, weeheee!!!! He's letting me decide if I want to have two little square cuts set in the sides too, but I kind of like the holes. I have a couple of weeks to decide before we take it in to get resized. (pardon my messy nails...had I been expecting it, I would have got a manicure!!)

Beautiful Ring!

You got engaged on my wedding day. I hope you and your fiance are as happy as my husband and I are!

[snowbunny]

Originally Posted by LornsD

Beautiful Ring! You got engaged on my wedding day. I hope you and your fiance are as happy as my husband and I are!

Aww thankyou! I hope so too!!

[annemerrick]

Here is my ring...I have been wearing it now for over 10 years. Had I chosen it...it would have been different...so I am glad that i didn't...because this one is really perfect for me. My DH designed, and had it made....
P.S. please excuse the Pringles and cigarettes in the background...I am really a pretty healthy person!! Also, the black fingernail...I was trying out the trend (it is not for me!!)

[Couturegrl]

Snowbunny--thanks for the charts:)

[4everLV]

mine is in my avatar... lol

<-------

[mello_yello_jen]

^ i saw your avatar and I thought of this thread! i came back hoping to see more pics of your ring because it's gorgeous

and to all the ladies - lovely BLING. i love looking at all the different (and the classic) designs!

[flexicitus]

Originally Posted by snowbunny

The problem with Tiffany as you're spending a lot of money just for the name. If you were to get a ring elsewhere, you could get more from your diamond for your money. But if Tiffany is important for you, then go for that. Tiffany also have strict minimum standards by which they sell their diamonds- they are unlikely to sell you anything below a certain grade of cut or clarity as they have a reputation to uphold. As for the sizing of the rock, the setting can play a great influence in how big the diamond looks- play around with the type of setting, the width of the band etc, and find out which you like best. Some settings can also influece how the diamond sparkles (e.g. bezel settings will never sparkle as much as a prong setting as the bezel covers the girdle and blocks some of the light). The 0.5 will of course look bigger than a 0.31, but the difference is not as marked as between a 0.5 and a 0.7. The chart below will hopefully give you an idea. Also, a thoughtful setting can also give the illusion that the stone in the middle is much bigger (e.g. have you considered pavé?). Funily enough, what makes a huge difference in how big the rock looks is the size of your actual hand/fingers. Myself, I have rather big hands, so any lone rock on my finger looked rather small. So I chose a bigger setting and the same size rock looked much bigger. The best thing to do would be to go and look at them in person, and try some on. Some rings definitely feel more right than others. You will also get a much better idea of the colour grading in person too. There won't be a huge amount of difference between an E and an F, but it will be slightly noticeable if you were to line them all up in colour scale order. It's only something to be really concerned with if you're getting a ring with pavé or other diamonds, as you will want the colours to match, or at least have the larger stone the same colour or better than the pavé so that the quality of the larger diamond is emphasised.

Many thanks for your help and advice! The bad service of Tiffany & Co. (UK) has helped me made up my mind. For the past weeks I have been corresponding with a sales rep who would simply refuse to tell me via email about the cut grades of the diamonds that I was interested in!! Those were basic questions whether they were ideal cuts or not. There were no information on polish/symmetry and I had a feeling that he was expecting me to surrounder my judgement to their fame. Is that their perception of potential Tiffany customers nowadays? I was interested in an E/VVS2/0.32 round diamond on the classic Tiffany setting in platinum. It was on offer for £2150 or $4560 CAD, before taxes. But his response time was at least 2 days, I finally was fed up by this attitude and decided to get exactly the same setting (handcrafted and customised specifically to let the diamond sit very low) with a reputable company for $1250 USD. As for the diamond, I have decided to go for a 0.40, D, IF, H&A ideal cut, GIA ex/ex/ex, with a HCA score of 1.1 for $2600 USD. So the total would be as much as the Tiffany E ring, if not a bit more. But a D/IF H&A is of a different class to an E/VVS2, not to mention the difference in carat size. I would have gone for Tiffany had they have something close to ideal cut or H&A with ex/ex/ex in the E-F/VVS2 range for the same price. Of course I still have the option of getting the Tiffany E ring (as their IF rings are only of G or I for the carat sizes of my choice!). So the choice now is between a 40Ct H&A D/IF and E/VVS2 and may I say that I don't even have the info on the cut/symmetry/polish gradings of the latter! Of course I do give Tiffany a due respect for their success but an H&A is guaranteed for brilliance/fire and the light performance is excellent. Any suggestion for my final deliberation on the rings?

Many thanks for your help.

A.

[4everLV]

Originally Posted by mello_yello_jen

^ i saw your avatar and I thought of this thread! i came back hoping to see more pics of your ring because it's gorgeous and to all the ladies - lovely BLING. i love looking at all the different (and the classic) designs!

aww... thank you...
I just bought a new laptop, so I don't have the pictures yet... I'll have to transfer them over when I have time.

[sekmeht]

this is an awesome post. I love all the beautiful rings that symbolizes all the love......

[Cat]

My engagement ring is kept in our safety deposit box at the bank so I'll show you my 10th anniversary ring.This ring was custom made in 950 PLT-3.47 ct
F-VVS1 stones GIA cert.

[Cat]

On my finger .The center and side stones are ideal cuts and each have their own GIA cert.I picked each stone to my liking before hubby had it custom made.The jeweler found perfectly matched stones to set in the halos.

I've enjoyed looking at everyones rings keep um coming .