Engagement Ring Help

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politicalbear

New Member
Sep 29, 2009
4
0
#1
Hi Everyone,

I would like some input. I don't know much about diamonds. The only factors I am working with is that I know my GF likes two settings from different companies and the brand of the company is more important to her than size, clarity, etc. (it's her thing, I do not judge cause I love her!)

Anywho, the choices come down to the following:

Vancleef and Arpels Spring Setting, .3c, D color, VVS1 for 5500
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_f92HEOB-I...YP7VhC7o/s400/Van+Cleef+&+Arpels+-+Spring.jpg
or

Harry Winston HW Setting, .51c, D color, VS2 for 5100
http://www.weddingstylemagazine.com/images-ws/designers/lg/Harry-Winston-jewelry-01.jpg

Both are round cuts.

Since she likes both settings, the difference comes down to size vs. clarity. The VCA diamond seems almost perfect, although I think it's pretty small (she assures me that she likes smaller diamonds because she thinks big ones look kind of tacky for her - she really likes the butterfly setting). Whereas the HW diamond seems like a good size, but does the size make the VS2 imperfections that more obvious? Any input would be greatly appreciated, thank you!

- Tom
 
#2
First off, congrats in advance!

I don't have much knowledge of engagement rings (yet :smile1:) but I would suggest just one thing to consider, are you sure that she wants you to pick it out for her? I know that if I were to get engaged, I would rather help choose ...
 
#3
Personally if you can get away with dropping to VS2 for both and a lower color (F or G) you can get a much larger stone from both. You cannot tell with the naked eye at all with a VS2, at least with a GIA or AGS graded diamond. Neither show any eye-visible inclusions, and why pay for what you can't see?

Unless you are both very color sensitive, D may be overkill.
 
#4
Hi! First of all congrats on your impending engagement!

I went to pricescope.com to find out all about diamonds when we went looking for my ER-it is chock full of info about color, cut, clarity, etc.

My stone is a G-SI1 GIA certed and completely eye clean. I have learned that the cut is the most important factor, more important than clarity.

I have also had someone ask me if my stone was a VVS (which of course I immediately told them it's SI).

I would choose the one with the better cut and fire, JMHO.

If name is important to her, go with HW. That way she gets the size, too!!

Good luck and let us see what you get!!!
 
#5
ame said:
Personally if you can get away with dropping to VS2 for both and a lower color (F or G) you can get a much larger stone from both. You cannot tell with the naked eye at all with a VS2, at least with a GIA or AGS graded diamond. Neither show any eye-visible inclusions, and why pay for what you can't see?

Unless you are both very color sensitive, D may be overkill.
Click to expand...

I agree. If you are sure she wants a brand name ring, maybe look at Signed Pieces or other places were you could buy a second hand ring and get more for your money (if you are not averse to it). At times various designers pop up and sometimes pieces are brand new.

This is really pretty as an example:

http://www.signedpieces.com/item.cfm?item_id=8923
 
#8
Hiya....wow....what an exciting time!!! Future congrats to you and your GF!!

OK, will the proposal be a surprise to your GF? HAs she done any research on diamonds?

I was thinking maybe you could both look through some websites like pricescope and goodoldgold.com (am I allowed to mention websites like these?). These are both sooooooo eduational, I've learnt SO much. I always thought that when my times comes I would like something like a Tiffany or HW ring but after reading, reading and more reading I've learned that you are paying for the brand rather than the stone. Don't get me wrong, high end brands generally only sell rings with high quality stones but at a really high premium!!!

On the other hand, if the proposal is a surprise and you know in your heart what your GF really really wants then go with one of these. I think the HW is better value. From what I know, the difference between a VVS1 and a VS1 is only distinguishable to a trained professional and with the use of a loupe etc. If it was up to me I would go for the bigger stone in the first setting!! I would also reiterate what a previous poster said.....the cut of the stone is the most important factor. It's the cut that gives a stone it's brilliance (sparkle) and fire (shots of different coloured light eminating from ther stone) and with the brightness of a D coloured stone, you will have one happy fiance!!

Good luck, keep us updated.

PS, even if the proposal is a surprise, I would recommend that you do some reading on pricescope, there are also some really good videos on the good old gold website which show you the differences between the 4 C's of diamonds.
 
#9
Hi Everyone,

Thank you very much for the input. I live in the states and she lives in Japan. Two weeks ago I was over there shopping with her and she favored these two rings and a tiffany one. I left out the tiffany one because everyone over there gets the classic setting, so I wanted something a little bit different.

As for the brand name, that's all on her. She openly admits that she cares about the brand the most, mostly due to that being the norm in Japan. I personally don't mind about brands, I just want to get her what she wants. So we've done as much teamwork as possible, but since I won't be able to see her until Dec. (when I propose), the final decision is on me.

Thanks so much!
 
#12
I think the Van Clef design is much prettier than the H W design - have you asked them about other diamonds available in that setting in your price range? They should be able to find one at another store.

I'm just curious, no Cartier?? I love some of the Cartier rings.
 
#14
you will NOT see any imperfections in a VS2 stone w/ a reliable certification such as AGS or GIA. You really shouldn't even see them in an SI1 either.
 
#15
if you have to choose between the two, i would go with the harry winston even though the setting is better with the 1st one. i think a bigger diamond with a great cut is a better choice over clarity. a vs2 is a good value.
 
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