Other jewelry instead of engagement ring?

[Christiflora]

$15,000 is a generous budget for a first engagement ring. If you are ok with a non-designer setting, you can get a "decent size", sparkling diamond ring. You can go to the diamond forum pricescope to get advice or you can ask AME here for advice.
My advice is, however, keep your Cartier love ring as your engagement ring until you are financially ready for an upgrade. By then, with a bigger budget, you will be able to afford your dream HW ring. Who knows? Your taste may have become more refined and would have chosen a different, but more gorgeous ring. Instead of settling for something in between and thus wasting money, you can invest the $15,000 in some stock mutual fund or index fund and let it grow for 5 or more years. I am sure the growth rate of the invested money will exceed the appreciation rate of the HW ring and other rings. You will then be able to afford more choices.
I have seen many ladies upgrade their engagement rings several times (me included), so I am sure you will fall out of love with the HW ring in only a few years. This instant gratification will cost you dearly, as it is difficult to resale or trade in an old ring. Do you know how many of us have been stuck with old engagement rings? Thus, don't buy on impulse now unless you are very sure.

 

[liliBuo]

I would suggest you to get a ring that looks both like an engagement ring and a right hand ring, maybe something big with a double Halo. You can wear it as an engagement ring for now, and the day you'll get your dream HW ring you'll be able to wear the double halo as a right hand or cocktail ring.

 

[Winston3043]

Does Harry Winston have an upgrade policy like Tiffany's, where you can trade your old ring in for a new one down the road as long as the new one is twice the price of the old one? It doesn't seem like a very HW thing to do, but it'd be the best way to have a ring in budget now and still be able to put that money towards your dream ring in a few years.

 

[rainrowan]

I'd look into estate jewelry for Harry Winston. I don't know if some department stores still run estate jewelry departments like Macy's Herald Square did when I last looked. If you go with a setting that is similar to HW, you can get one with a larger diamond. You're paying for the brandname... there are jewelers who sell the HW-style setting. It may not be what you want, but it is an option for now.

 

[akimoto]

My response is going to be unorthodox and many might not agree...

In this modern world, I've seen a variety of engagement gifts from love bracelets to watches to Chanel bags. It's really a celebration of a promise two people are making to each other. Get whatever you want! An engagement house is the ultimate gift!

How about getting a diamond Tiffany key that symbolizes the key to the engagement house and then buying the man a gift instead? A watch, a love bracelet, a montblanc skywalker pen whatever.. Then get your dream ring later when he's ready to double his budget since you're quite fixated on that HW ring.

 

[miss argile]

I was in your place just a year ago! What I did was going to HW store, tried the 1.5 carat oval halo ring, and have my jeweler make exactly the same halo (and even further adjust to my liking and make it lower, which is easier for daily wear). Better cost performance for Oval I have to say, and my 1.5ct is D color VS2....DH got the diamond + setting somewhere around ur budget. I love my ring and has been wearing it everyday since. And to be honest, no one really knows if its a HW ring or not, all they see is the good quality diamond and elegant design.

Same thing cant be said for the house! When it comes to property, budget is everything!!

 

[friday13bride]

I say use the budget you have now to get the diamond. $15k should do it for a 1.5 stone. It doesn't have to be a HW diamond. No one is going to ask where the diamond was purchased.
Get a simple setting and then look to upgrade the setting down the road for a milestone anniversary.
Congrats on the new house.

 

[goldengirl123]

My response is going to be unorthodox and many might not agree...

In this modern world, I've seen a variety of engagement gifts from love bracelets to watches to Chanel bags. It's really a celebration of a promise two people are making to each other. Get whatever you want! An engagement house is the ultimate gift!

How about getting a diamond Tiffany key that symbolizes the key to the engagement house and then buying the man a gift instead? A watch, a love bracelet, a montblanc skywalker pen whatever.. Then get your dream ring later when he's ready to double his budget since you're quite fixated on that HW ring.

I'm with you on this one. I have a bracelet that I love. It has colored diamonds that represent my husband and our children and I add a stone for each anniversary. I wear this literally every day - much more frequently than my engagement ring. I also love the idea of the watch which could be engraved on the underside.

 

[Gimmethebag]

My husband and I chose an estate Tiffany & Co. ring, and our budget stretched a lot further. Weddings are ungodly expensive (or ours was), and we were also moving into a new home. I love my ring, and I still got exactly what I wanted. You should be able to service vintage Winston, and during servicing, they'll polish everything, so it's a brand new ring again.

We had a similar budget to yours, came in under budget, and I have a really beautiful 2.07 carat three-stone ring (1.06 + .50 + .51) with H VVS2 diamonds. At retail, my ring would have set us back $28,000. From an investment standpoint, if I ever wanted to sell my ring, I can get all of our money back. Your home will likely be a better investment.

Otherwise, I would wear the LOVE ring and get my dream ring for the 5th wedding anniversary.