Engagement ring help :)

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Yodabest

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Jan 1, 2016
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#1
I’ve been married almost 12 years and been wearing a ring passed down to me by my grandmother. It’s a beautiful 2 carat stone with baguettes.

We talked about one day getting something new. I’m ready for an upgrade and trying to decide what to do. I imagined one day banging out with a 3 carat diamond but truth be told, I have small hands and live a casual lifestyle and I think the 3 carat stone would just look like too much. SO, my choice now is switch my 2 carat stone to a setting I selected which I LOVE, or switch to that setting with a diamond slightly larger, let’s say 2.5-2.7. I’m not sure it’s worth the money it would cost to upgrade to a whole new diamond, vs JUST getting the setting and using the diamond I already own.

I appreciate all thoughts! This is a picture of the setting, with a different diamond that’s 2.5 carats.
 

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#5
Wow, your grandmother’s ring is lovely.
I think I’m reading that you could afford/be comfortable with getting a new ring altogether. In that case, I
I’d go new setting that you ‘LOVE’ with a 2.5 or 2.75 ish stone. That way you have grandma’s special ring that you can wear when you want, and you have your brand new ring.
 
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#6
missconvy said:
Wow, your grandmother’s ring is lovely.
I think I’m reading that you could afford/be comfortable with getting a new ring altogether. In that case, I
I’d go new setting that you ‘LOVE’ with a 2.5 or 2.75 ish stone. That way you have grandma’s special ring that you can wear when you want, and you have your brand new ring.
Click to expand...

Thank you! My hesitation is I’m sentimental and do feel a little bad about it. Do you think the difference in size is worth the $$? I’m not sure the difference in impact it would make is worth it vs using my own diamond.
 
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#7
PC1984 said:
I’ve been married almost 12 years and been wearing a ring passed down to me by my grandmother. It’s a beautiful 2 carat stone with baguettes.

We talked about one day getting something new. I’m ready for an upgrade and trying to decide what to do. I imagined one day banging out with a 3 carat diamond but truth be told, I have small hands and live a casual lifestyle and I think the 3 carat stone would just look like too much. SO, my choice now is switch my 2 carat stone to a setting I selected which I LOVE, or switch to that setting with a diamond slightly larger, let’s say 2.5-2.7. I’m not sure it’s worth the money it would cost to upgrade to a whole new diamond, vs JUST getting the setting and using the diamond I already own.

I appreciate all thoughts! This is a picture of the setting, with a different diamond that’s 2.5 carats.
Click to expand...
Love this
 
#9
PC1984 said:
Current setting
Click to expand...
If it was me I would keep the ring as is, make my wedding band a full eternity (use the stones and add more to make a full eternity).

And that’s it. I think it’s great and has presence and size on your finger already.

In the future I would maybe get another ring for my right hand instead in 3 carat maybe an emerald cut three stone or something. But I wouldnt mess with my grandma’s ring.
 
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#10
I LOVE your grandmother's ring! As you make your decision keep in mind that after about 20-25 years of wearing a ring regularly the prongs wear down such that they will no longer safely hold the diamonds in place and they will be in danger of falling out. You can have the prongs "tipped" with extra gold but that's only a temporary, fragile fix. I don't know how long your grandmother wore the ring, or what she put it through, but figure that at some point that old setting will need to be replaced. If you haven't already you should have a jeweler (or two) evaluate the prongs.

I say all this from experience with old, well-worn rings. And from seeing friends and their mothers lose their diamonds due to worn prongs. It's always at the 20-25 year mark.

Just something to keep in mind. I had the diamond from my well-worn ring reset into a more contemporary setting after years of marriage and I love it. It is a small stone but the setting makes a big difference. Good luck!
 
#11
BigPurseSue said:
I LOVE your grandmother's ring! As you make your decision keep in mind that after about 20-25 years of wearing a ring regularly the prongs wear down such that they will no longer safely hold the diamonds in place and they will be in danger of falling out. You can have the prongs "tipped" with extra gold but that's only a temporary, fragile fix. I don't know how long your grandmother wore the ring, or what she put it through, but figure that at some point that old setting will need to be replaced. If you haven't already you should have a jeweler (or two) evaluate the prongs.

I say all this from experience with old, well-worn rings. And from seeing friends and their mothers lose their diamonds due to worn prongs. It's always at the 20-25 year mark.

Just something to keep in mind. I had the diamond from my well-worn ring reset into a more contemporary setting after years of marriage and I love it. It is a small stone but the setting makes a big difference. Good luck!
Click to expand...

Thank you for your response! Funny you me mention this because the whole reason a new setting came about was because the prongs in my current setting did wear down and the diamond is wiggles/is loose. It would cost about $300 to get the prongs fixed. Even then, I’m not sure what a long term solution this is. What is your thought on that?

At this point I’m trying to decide between keeping what I have and getting prongs repaired and being open in the future to maybe upgrading the diamond size obviously with a new setting, OR upgrading now to a new setting and keeping my current diamond.
 
#14
I am sentimental as well. I got married when my DH and I were just interns and couldn’t afford any more than 1 ct. Now that we could afford an upgrade, I couldn’t get myself to part with it..

With you, I’d probably just reset your nana’s ring to a setting that you love.
 
#15
Thank you all! The setting I tried and fell in love with was actually very ornate, although that doesn’t come across in the picture. In person it’s a really special looking. Still thinking about what I’ll do but I appreciate all the input!
 
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