I am a guy...Help me with Engagement ring.

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R

Randomguy

Member
Jan 12, 2010
8
0
#1
Hi everyone.
A few things about me:
1) I am a guy
2) I want to ask her the question
3) I am confused after researching rings for days and weeks and hours online.
4) my eyesight is crappy.....I can't really see well enough to notice subtle differences in diamond quality. Better A or B? hell I don't know....they look the same.
5) I have $5,000 total to spend on a ring.
6) I do not feel comfortable with online rings, used rings, mall stores, estate rings, pawn shops, Craigslist, etc.
7) I like simple, but nice things....and she is the same...although she likes nicer things than I do. But the budget is what it is.
8) she has small hands....and I would ideally like to be able to get the ring adjusted for fit in the store if it is the wrong size for her finger....
9) I am old school......we do not talk about rings as a couple, or go look at them, etc... I want the full surprise aspect.
10) Friends are no help...they are all over the board, from $60k to used diamond off Craigslist re-set, etc....Plus I do not want to have the secret slip out.
11) Her Mom has a very simple ring that she loves that she wears alongside some very expensive jewelry...she would never change the ring her Dad bought her when they were broke and poor...i kind of agree with that.

I'd much prefer a simple classic ring that is from a reputable store than a big ring that was aggressively priced shopped. Can I walk into Tiffany or somewhere similar and walk out with a solitaire ring for that amount? I haven't gone in there because they seem really annoying, and I know that 5k isn't much money to them.

Thanks for any and all help that you may have for me.
Oh, and BTW I am fully Cheezy and would like to propose on Feb 14th.....one less date to remember..I am bad with dates....I will ask her Dad for permission first.
 
#2
Hi!!!

Yippee for you!
You'll get lots of advice here, here's mine.

Don't go to Tiffany's. It's wonderful but w/ your budget you won't get nearly as much there and I personally would prefer a stone .50 crt larger w/o a teeny Tiffany's stamp inside :push:
Peruse online and get comfortable w/ what you can get w/ your budget, THEN go to your local jeweler armed w/ education.
I did this. I found my dream stone online for a crazy good price then went to my jeweler and told her to beat it. She did.

Is your girlfriend classic or hip?
Do you know what shape you want?
 
#5
Swanky Mama Of Three: GF is hip, but not trendy or showy...but would probably be into something nice, but simple.....she was a little surprised by some of the "big" rings that our friends gave/received. I honestly think she'll love whatever it is I get...or at least that is what she will tell me? She has a lot of stuff from T&co that she received as gifts from her father....So the little blue box will not be a new experience for her.
I will take your advice and go to the Jewelry stores and see what is out there.......
Do you think better quality diamond, versus fancier setting? I only like the simple settings and i think the round diamonds are the nicest looking.
Having never really thought about rings until recently; I am guessing that 5k is not very much money for a ring? Seems like a lot to me? I doubt my car is worth 5k? oh well. We own our house and we are a bit older (35), but I am currently not making that much money (overall economy) so 5k seems to be the number that makes sense right now...I will continue researching and I thank everyone for their responses so far....
 
#6
forget the $ :smile1: She'll LOVE whatever you pick, trust me.
All of our budgets are relative anyway :D
Tiffany's has a healthy mark up, that's why I said $5k isn't all the much there. You can get the same quality elsewhere for less which means a bigger stone for the same $.

I'd go for a solitaire. A solitaire is great because if a girl doesn't like something about a ring, it'll be the setting. A solitaire pretty much guarantees happiness, you can't go wrong in my opinion.
Now, you seem old fashioned-ish. . . what if you got her the solitaire and for the wedding you let her choose her wedding band/setting to change it to?
My DH and I are pretty old fashioned - same age as well, and we did this. It was great!

Now you just need to decide on shape!
If she's not trendy I'd stay w/ basic shapes, round is always popular. I have round, I had princess before, but round now. Asscher is also really beautiful.

Things to remember, cut is KING. If you find an ideal/excellent cut stone you can afford to go lower in color.
For example, you could get a 1.10crt H COLOR stone if it's an excellent cut instead of a .96 F COLOR.
It's okay to go to SI1 in clarity because these stones ARE eye clean, neither of you will see problems in an SI1.
 
#8
Your gf sounds like a round-brilliant solitaire kind of gal. I would stay with a simple setting... she can always jazz it up with a diamond eternity band later. Spend your money on the DIAMOND! cut>color>clarity.

I'm not sure if it's allowed, but I would suggest going to pricescope.com for ideas. As Swanky said, Good Old Gold has some amazing diamonds. I am planning to eventually buy my upgrade with them. My current stone came from Whiteflash.
 
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#9
How exciting! I think a round brilliant solitaire is a great choice. You can never go wrong with that. If she wants a different setting later then it is easy to change. But I doubt she will. I second the idea of using the website swanky mom said. A lot of people on the pricescope.com forum use them and have been really happy.
 
#11
I'm with the other posters here, we looked at Tiffany and the prices were ridiculous in comparison to what we got at a wholesale jewelry mart here in San Francisco. Basically I got a better quality stone (although a little lesser on the color scale) for 1/3 the price by not going to Tiffany. Sure, their presentation with their blue box is nice, but once it's on her finger you can't tell where it's from.
 
#12
Here's my advice:

Color: F-I color
Clarity: VS2-SI1
Cut: Excellent

I think you should focus mostly on the diamond and get the nicest, biggest and BEST CUT diamond you can and then pick a very simple solitaire setting (Tiffany style is always good).

You'd be surprised, but some of the most reputable jewelers are actually online. Many of them have stores in one state or another but also do online. My favs are:

goodoldgold.com
whiteflash.com
exceldiamonds.com
jamesallen.com

But for even more information and for help picking out actual diamonds and settings, the pro-consumers on pricescope.com can't be beat.
 
#15
I second eckertle's advice about pricescope.com. Read the diamond knowledge section...there is a wealth of info there which is so helpful. Also, there is a loose diamond price comparison where you can compare prices from different vendors. Always remember that cut is the most important "C"
 
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