Will my Tiffany e-ring be big enough?

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L

LuckyinLove

Member
Jan 23, 2010
11
0
#1
Hello ladies,

I am a man and I plan to propose to my sweety next month. :D A little bit about us...I am an average income guy, but she makes more money than me. She is used to dating doctors, lawyers, and pro-ball players, so I am amazed she fell for me. Everyone she knows is a professional, and makes very good money. She lives in the wealthiest area of the city.

I plan to get her a ring from Tiffany's (her favorite store). She prefers quality over quantity. It will be in the 0.5-0.6 carat range, princess cut/platinum. I know it will look fine on her because she has small hands and is only 4'11 or 5'0 tall. I know she will love it, but I'm worried that her friends and colleagues might be snobbish towards the ring since they have huge rocks (like 30K-60K in cost). So my question is, how do women feel about that size ring? Should I save for a bigger ring?
 
#2
You sound really sweet, and I think you should get your girlfriend whatever you can afford to pay for comfortably.

That said -- have you asked her if she really does prefer quality over quantity? My boyfriend and I picked out my diamond together (just finalized the sale TODAY actually!), and through our shopping we realized we could get a much much MUCH larger stone if we didn't pay for the Tiffany markup. Also, you might want to ask her if she's comfortable going to a lower color and clarity so that you can get a larger stone for the money.

After my diamond shopping experience, I would never advocate paying the Tiffany markup unless it's truly what makes your heart sing (and if it does, that is a totally valid opinion -- everything is gorgeous there so you can't go wrong!!). I just know that I wanted a nice big rock, and that wasn't going to be in our price range at Tiffany.

We got my cushion cut diamond at Good Old Gold, by the way. You should check out their inventory -- they have gorgeous, gorgeous stuff and the best customer service I've ever experienced.

Good luck with everything! :)
 
#3
I know that she would prefer a smaller stone that is higher quality. Plus she loves Tiffany's and I really want to make her feel special. I got her a sparklers cocktail ring last year ($800) and she screamed in joy! Plus I want to surprise her, so no discussions or shopping together can be involved. I guess we could do that later down the road though.
 
#4
If she prefers quality over quantity, she will probably not be averse to a non-Tiffany ring provided you do your homework on diamond quality.

You could find a similar quality stone for much less with very little shopping around. Or a larger quality stone for whatever you were planning on spending at tiffany.

I would recommend spending some time on the pricescope forums, as well as browsing online diamond sites like good old gold or whiteflash.

I'm about the same height as your lady & my hands are equally small. My e-ring is under 1ct & it does look fine. Would I have objected to a larger ring? No. Do I love my husband regardless of the size of the stone. Of course! Do I care what others think of it? Not at all.

ETA: I looove tiffany also, and I know my hubby was contemplating getting me a tiffany ring because of this before he actually proposed. I actually told him not to get me tiffany ring as I was concerned about the brand markup. I like the styles of their jewelry, but a diamond of quality knows no brand.

Happy hunting!
 
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#5
I would do your homework and get a ring from somewhere else. You can get twice the diamond by not paying Tiffany's huge mark up!
 
#6
I wish I knew how to speak of rdiamond sizes with her without ruining the surprise. But I can tell you ladies like the larger stones! ;) I know there are way cheaper rings out there for the price. For instance, a 1 carat at Kay is $2,200. The 1/2 carat at Tiffany's starts at that price.
 
#7
I think Tiffany's markup is astronomical. That being said, if you think she's going to appreciate that you purchased it there, go for it!

I know for me, I would like a large stone, despite my small hands! It's great to go with quality, but few people will be able to tell where you bought the ring if you get a higher quality one from another store. A high quality stone is a high quality stone, and it's not jut Tiffany's who sells them.

Just my opinion of course!

Jen
 
#8
LuckyinLove said:
I wish I knew how to speak of rdiamond sizes with her without ruining the surprise. But I can tell you ladies like the larger stones! ;) I know there are way cheaper rings out there for the price. For instance, a 1 carat at Kay is $2,200. The 1/2 carat at Tiffany's starts at that price.
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But you're missing the point. We're not necessarily advocating the bigger stones, we're simply saying that you can get high-quality diamonds from other stores besides Tiffany. I think that many women would agree that they would prefer a larger, high-quality, no-name diamond over a smaller, high-quality Tiffany diamond. No one has said that you need to shop at Kay. There are plenty of jewelers that offer quality diamonds that are comparable to Tiffany.
Also, does she have her heart set on a princess cut? Princess stones are gorgeous, but look quite a bit smaller just based on the cut alone. For example, a 1/2 carat round looks quite a bit bigger than a 1/2 carat princess cut.
No one can speak for your sweetie, but if it were me (and I love Tiffany too), I'd prefer a high-quality, no-name diamond over a Tiffany diamond any day. I just can't justify paying the mark-up on a Tiffany ring when all rings of the same quality look similar anyways.
 
#9
LuckyinLove said:
I wish I knew how to speak of rdiamond sizes with her without ruining the surprise. But I can tell you ladies like the larger stones! ;) I know there are way cheaper rings out there for the price. For instance, a 1 carat at Kay is $2,200. The 1/2 carat at Tiffany's starts at that price.
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It's not just about the carat size. Like you stated, you want quality over quantity & tiffany is more selective about the diamond quality they use for their e-rings than kay is.

If given of choice of ONLY a 1ct kay diamond or a .5ct tiffany diamond, i'd choose the tiffany diamond just because i know the cut/color/clarity is likely to be better. But like vhdos said, there are lots of other places that sell high quality diamonds... tiffany isn't the only place to get them, and you could wind up paying a lot more for the same quality diamond at tiffany.

You can do lots of research on your own about diamond quality without mentioning anything to her.

For myself, the minimum requirements I had on a diamond was a preferably round brilliant with an excellent/ideal cut, G or H color, and VS2 clarity.

And ideal cut diamond will provide the most sparkle. G/H color is near colorless and still very white. VS2 is pretty much a guaranteed eye clean diamond.

I left the carat weight up in the air because then with those minimum specs, my fiance could decide up to what carat weight he could actually afford.

What I wound up with was a .70ct ideal/D/VS1 diamond set in a 4 prong platinum ring. He did better than I asked on color, but likely could've increased the carat weight if he dropped down in color. He told me that of the diamonds he was looking at, this one tugged at him the most. I love my ring for the symbolism behind it, not just the size of it.

Just for reference, below is a link to a 1ct diamond and a half carat diamond that meets my minimum specs. You can compare this to whatever prices you've scoped out at tiffany so far.

The 1 carat: http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/Whiteflash-ACA-cut-diamond-2221394.htm

The 1/2 carat : http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/Whiteflash-ACA-cut-diamond-2128697.htm
 
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#10
I guess I should probably go with a 0.6 carat Tiffany ring to be safe (she is a hardcore Tiffany & Co. fanatic). If she decides that she wants a bigger stone, we can go somewhere besides Tiffany's or trade up later down the road.
 
#11
If you're set on tiffany, make sure you ask about the diamond specs. Even at tiffany's I've seen less than ideal cuts on their grading reports.... & you still want to make sure you're getting your money's worth.

T&Co does have a trade up policy, inquire about the details.
 
#12
To answer your question, there are a lot of us who think a .5-.6 diamond in platinum would be a beautiful engagement ring.
there are always so many arguments on this and other forums about whether to buy at Tiffany's or not--I don't think this can ever be settled. I wouldn't buy there--but you say your lady LOVES Tiffany's. So you'd better go with what SHE loves.
You say that she dated men like doctors and lawyers and pro-ball players before who could give her a lot of stuff. But yet she chose you. So obviously stuff is not that important to her. I think you are a lucky man--and you sound so sweet, she is very lucky too.
 
#13
I would get my engagement ring from Tiffany in a nanosecond. It's not just the diamond specs--- it's the setting, service, how the diamonds are sourced compared to those cheaper diamonds AND the little blue box.

I would maybe consider a distinctively Tiffany design like the ribbon engagement ring or the Bezet princess cut!
 
#14
Thank you. She is actually always telling me how sweet I am! But yes, I think a 0.5-0.6 carat is really good because my mom never had a solitaire, and my close friends' parents only have small rings. Plus my friends who are married could only buy tiny diamonds. I guess I am just expressing a silly fear because I hang out with my sweety's friends alot and I have seen their huge rings. :nuts:
 
#15
LuckyinLove said:
I know that she would prefer a smaller stone that is higher quality. Plus she loves Tiffany's and I really want to make her feel special. I got her a sparklers cocktail ring last year ($800) and she screamed in joy! Plus I want to surprise her, so no discussions or shopping together can be involved. I guess we could do that later down the road though.
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Hey guy!

You are so sweet. I think she'll be thrilled no matter what! And if you think that Tiffany's would make her heart sing then go for it! :)

Okay I do have a Tiffany's ring and LOVE it! ... Love the service, the idea of it, the box, (and the bragging rights, just a bit! hee hee)... I do. BUT I wanted to tell you what I'll tell my little brother next week (who is starting to investigate rings to propose soon) - don't get it into your head that ONLY a DESIGNER NAME = QUALITY when it comes to jewelry. When it comes to diamond rings, quality can be found everywhere from Tiffany's to the little shop down the street - the good news is, gold is gold, diamonds are diamonds, platinum is platinum. A Tiffany's ring WILL be great quality... but A "QUALITY" ring does NOT have to be from Tiffany's (or other design house). Know what I mean? Most of the ladies on this site have very high quality rings that were not bought at Tiffany's. Some are higher quality than some you'd pick up at Tiffany's.

Tiffany's has a range in colour/cut/clarity that they stay within which is a nice safety net - it's easy to buy there b/c whatever you leave with will be quality. The colour will be from D-J for example and no lower. The clarity won't go below VS2. The cut (in round anyway) will be excellent. But you can get that ANYWHERE... and the point is, you can get a much BIGGER one if you don't buy it from there.

I think you need to ask yourself: Does she appreciate QUALITY over quantity, or DESIGNER LABEL over quantity? Like would the fact that she could say it's from Tiffany's mean more to her than having a full carat (assuming they were the same cut/clarity/colour)? Because at the end of the day no one but you two will know for sure what box it came in... but if you think size is an issue, buy it somewhere else. Guaranteed you could get her a 1ct for the same price as a .6 one from Tiffany's! :) Just my thoughts!

I lost my original "non-Tiffany's" e-ring and ended up replacing it there... but I can tell you when my DH proposed with a .79 ring with a normal black box, I was OVER THE MOON. She will be too don't worry!! :)
 
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