Good morning, TPFers. I wanted to share my upgrade journey with you. You can see my original e-ring and band set in Post #9408 linked here: https://forum.purseblog.com/threads...yours-look-like.662246/page-628#post-30234160
My original rings were purchased on a whim with no forethought or research, so my original e-ring diamond is a rather poorly cut (which I only recently discovered in my research) 1.01ct., I color, SI1...though has a tremendous amount of sentimental value. For our ten year anniversary we kicked around a few upgrade ideas, including (a) changing my original setting into a 3-stone using my original e-ring diamond, or (b) upgrading my e-ring all together to a solitaire with a 1.79-1.99 ct stone and pairing it with my original wedding band. After trying on several 3-stone options and realizing they didn't sing to me, we decided on option b (though I was not in love with the thought giving up my original diamond, despite its shortcomings). Being the "over researcher" that I am, I wracked my brain gathering info on getting the best diamond for our budget and found a lot of great info on PriceScope and other sites. I was a somewhat apprehensive about purchasing online, but after talking to several local jewelers (and a few while traveling), I quickly realized online was the way to go to get what we were looking for. After weeks of searching, I found a diamond that ticked all the boxes...1.85ct, G color, VVS2 GIA Triple X (with AGS Ideal specs), 1.8 HCA Score, 1B Grade AGA/NAJA Cut Class. I would have been satisfied with an H color and VS1 or VS2 ("eye clean") clarity, so I was pleasantly surprised by my find and ordered it immediately and it didn't disappoint. I had it set in a 6 prong, slightly knife edged solitaire setting customized to 1.8mm in width with softened prongs (was going for a very delicate, classic Tiffany look). My ring size is 5.75 for reference. The setting is rather low, which I quite like since my original one was very high and constantly banging into things and snagging; however, it is too low to accommodate my original wedding band, so we ended up going with 2 micro-pave bands from our local jeweler and I adore the look! Oh....and we decided to keep my original e-ring diamond and for stud earrings!
I do have to say my husband gets major kudos for tolerating my madness through all this. He is really the best and I am still very lucky after ten years.
For anyone buying diamonds, I would highly recommend doing some independent research...the "4Cs" only scratch the surface and a GIA Triple X alone does not guarantee a high performing diamond.
Thanks for letting me share! Threw some Chanel props in there to keep with TPF theme
My original rings were purchased on a whim with no forethought or research, so my original e-ring diamond is a rather poorly cut (which I only recently discovered in my research) 1.01ct., I color, SI1...though has a tremendous amount of sentimental value. For our ten year anniversary we kicked around a few upgrade ideas, including (a) changing my original setting into a 3-stone using my original e-ring diamond, or (b) upgrading my e-ring all together to a solitaire with a 1.79-1.99 ct stone and pairing it with my original wedding band. After trying on several 3-stone options and realizing they didn't sing to me, we decided on option b (though I was not in love with the thought giving up my original diamond, despite its shortcomings). Being the "over researcher" that I am, I wracked my brain gathering info on getting the best diamond for our budget and found a lot of great info on PriceScope and other sites. I was a somewhat apprehensive about purchasing online, but after talking to several local jewelers (and a few while traveling), I quickly realized online was the way to go to get what we were looking for. After weeks of searching, I found a diamond that ticked all the boxes...1.85ct, G color, VVS2 GIA Triple X (with AGS Ideal specs), 1.8 HCA Score, 1B Grade AGA/NAJA Cut Class. I would have been satisfied with an H color and VS1 or VS2 ("eye clean") clarity, so I was pleasantly surprised by my find and ordered it immediately and it didn't disappoint. I had it set in a 6 prong, slightly knife edged solitaire setting customized to 1.8mm in width with softened prongs (was going for a very delicate, classic Tiffany look). My ring size is 5.75 for reference. The setting is rather low, which I quite like since my original one was very high and constantly banging into things and snagging; however, it is too low to accommodate my original wedding band, so we ended up going with 2 micro-pave bands from our local jeweler and I adore the look! Oh....and we decided to keep my original e-ring diamond and for stud earrings!
I do have to say my husband gets major kudos for tolerating my madness through all this. He is really the best and I am still very lucky after ten years.For anyone buying diamonds, I would highly recommend doing some independent research...the "4Cs" only scratch the surface and a GIA Triple X alone does not guarantee a high performing diamond.
Thanks for letting me share! Threw some Chanel props in there to keep with TPF theme
