Ace - It might be good to find out what your girl wants. Some girls want to have a hand in choosing the ring, mostly because they have an exact idea of what they want, and anything else will be a disappointment. That was true for my sister and my sister-in-law, and it might limit your search. In my case, my wife wanted nothing to do with knowing what the ring would be like before I proposed. Makes it a little more nerve-racking for you in my opinion, but you do have a little more freedom. We got married before I graduated from college, so I definitely know what you mean about not being able to afford anything huge. You can find a nice ring for less than $1000, or even less than $500 if you look carefully. I personally got white gold, (not platinum) and rather than a large solitaire, (single diamond) I got three smaller diamonds. (which is actually cheaper) I had a couple of friends who, along with their girlfriends, wanted to do something a little different, and ended up getting non-diamond rings. One got a sapphire ring, and the other got an emerald. That may be too crazy for you, but sometimes other stones are cheaper that diamonds. I don't know if you're really trying to save money or not, but if you're wondering what way too much is to spend, I would say $3000, especially if you're in college. But that's just me. I know people that have spent a lot more, but I think they're just crazy. Most people can't really tell the difference between a $3000 ring and a $10,000 ring. The rocks get bigger and the clarity gets nicer, but unless your girl really cares, clarity isn't going to matter as much as they make it out to be. Just my $.02.
Ditto. Give her a big honking CZ!!! Tell her that before the big day when you are properly employed you will replace the CZ with a real diamond. See if she will buy into this scheme If you gotta buy something now given your current econmic reality, it will be a small diamond of poor quality. For some women, it is the thought that counts, so you might be able to make her happy ith this.
I think the cubic zironium is not a bad option at all. They are not bad gems, but have only gotten a beaten down reputation through negative advertising by the diamond industry i referenced in my previous post. In fact, to the naked eye it is very difficult to distinguish a diamond from a CZ. I think you can probably get a nice stone for a couple grand.
Damn no edit again Just to clarify, cubic zirconium is man-made and really cheap (like a couple hundred bucks). But zircon is a naturally occurring gemstone in finite supply and therefore has real retained value (like a couple thousand bucks). Two posts ago, i meant to say you should get the zircon, not CZ.
Have you had any experience in this? Does anyone here know if it is a good way of doing it? Wondering whether this is a good option. DarkeHorse, I don't think she wants to know as for her she feels it would not be the best option for her to know what the ring is going to look like. She has told me of a few styles she absolutely hates so at least I know that... Thanks for the $3000 figure, I was wondering about someone who had been in my position. I think I will spend about $2000 but definitely not more. I might even spend around $1000. It depends on this upoming months really. But I don't think I will go below $1000... do you think that is reasonable and enough to find something that one can appreciate in terms of a diamond? I mean, I know that you get what you pay for but I'm inexperienced as to what a minimum amount is for a decent ring. Thanks for all the help guys.
I haven't but a friend of mine bought his fiance's 1.45 carat ring there and got it plus a geological report with it for $1700. I also had a friend buy from Wal-Mart and said they have reasonable prices for rings there too.
get her a real/replica houston rockets championship ring...if she can't see the value..she's not worth keeping
Well, there are a few things that drive up the cost. #1 is that platinum is infinitely more expensive than gold - like triple the cost. I don't know if you have something yellow or white in mind, but if you're looking at white, I would recommend white gold. It looks nice, and you can put a lot more money into the stone itself. Another thing that may or may not be obvious is that, as the stone you want gets larger, the cost climbs exponentially. Half carat diamonds are more plentiful than full carat diamonds, and hence, a full carat diamond is much more expensive than 2 half carat diamonds. That's something to keep in mind. I personally went with a half carat as the center stone, and two quarter carats on the side. That way there's plenty of sparkle on her hand, I didn't have to spend $3000 on a stone, and it looks a lot nicer in my opinion. The next most important thing that will drive up the cost is the clarity and cut of the stone. I don't get the impression you're a precious stone expert, so chances are 99 out of 100 this means almost nothing to you. Unless the diamond looks bad to your naked eye, forget about this. The only way anyone will be able to tell your ring has better clarity is if you pull out your certificate and say "hey, I got the one with the better clarity" - at which point everyone oohs and aahs, which they already did when you showed them the ring in the first place. Did I mention cut and clarity are stupid? You might want to see if your girl has any preferences as far as style of cut. (square, round, princess, etc) I prefer round, and luckily so does my wife, but some girls do have feelings on this even if they don't have an exact ring in mind. Anyway, hope some of that helps.
B-freak, do you mind posting the name of this guy you know and his contact info if you have it? I'm interested as well. If you'd rather not post it, e-mail me or I can e-mail you. Thanks.
Is it cheaper to buy the diamond(s) loose and a setting then have the stones mounted on the setting or does buying the ring already together save you cheese?
If anyone else wants my guy's info, lemme know. Not sure what kind of deal you get, but I guarantee you won't have an easier time getting the ring.
I bought my wife her ring about a year ago. You can get a nice 1/2 carat to .75 diamond with out spending an ass load. Remember that carat and clarity is going to be the most expensive parts. You can fool around with the color a bit with out her noticing at all, and the clarity would be the next thing to come down on. An I2 or even an I1 will look nice, and you can afford to get a bigger rock. Remember, a 1 ct, flawless colorless diamond will cost you around 8-9K, a .75 I2 with a K or G color will look great, and cost only about 2-3 K. Always buy the stone and setting seperate, that way you can save money on the setting as well. White gold looks the same as Platnium, and cost a 1/4 as much. Also, go with a single solitaire.............very classy, and cheaper. Hope this helps. By the way, my aunt's a jeweler in Dallas, and I got a 1.7 carat honker that's as clear as a bell, almost colorless, in a platinum setting for 3 grand. It's all about who you know too.....
