All right folks.... I am seriously thinking about getting hitched. For those of you that have taken the big step, What advice do you have for a good purchase?
I'd go with a Ukranian or maybe Belaurussian. Asian girls and Russians have gotten quite a bit expensive. Oh, you mean the ring. It's maybe less romantic to do it this way, but I went to a jeweler with my (then) fiancee, and we had a ring custom made (white gold w/ a sapphire). It's a very pretty and unique ring. Also: if you get her a big diamond, people will notice the size of the rock. If you get a nice piece of jewelry, people will notice the beauty of the ring itself.
First of all, congratulations. Secondly, the best thing you can do is do a lot of research into what constitutes good diamonds. It will probably save you a couple hundred dollars by knowing when the salesperson is trying to snow you. Also go to a reputable jeweler. I went to a small town place that was fantastic. I imagine that your girlfriend already drags you into jewelry stores, but if she doesn't, I would let her and listen to what she likes. A friend of mine went out and just bought a ring and his wife(now) hates her ring and wants a different one. Good luck!
http://www.adiamondisforever.com/ http://www.debeers.com/ The 4 C's Color, cut, clarity, carat (don't own a ring, don't need a ring. I just have seen the ads on tv) K
Congratulations. Steal one of her rings so you know what size to get. Go to www.bluenile.com and learn about diamonds. They also are one of the cheapest places to buy decent diamonds. Interestingly enough, so is Costco. If you were a DC United fan, I'd get my cousin - who wholesales diamonds - to set you up right. He put together a hella good ring for my wife. But since you're not, you get to pay retail. Sachin
Decide how much you want to 'suprise' her vs. how much you want to risk her not liking the damn thing.
See what she likes. Luckily my wife didn't care what she got so it was easy for me to pick. I think platinum is the way to go for the band, then get whatever sized diamond you can afford. Don't kill yourself for it.
I was really happy that my fiance asked me what I liked before he bought the ring - I didn't know what I wanted yet, but I certainly knew what I didn't want. We looked at rings together online. The actual proposal and final ring choice were a surprise, but he knew what direction to go in picking it out. And he did a great job! If you are afraid of ruining the surprise, take a look at what she wears now - silver jewelry? Yellow gold? You can try and sneak questions into the conversation. Regardless, enjoy! Congratulations on finding someone you like so much.
I say make her wait. Get her the diamond after about twenty years of service and dedication. That way you know she's earned the damn thing. Only slightly kidding. Seriously, we were broke when we got married and I didn't have any money to buy her an engagement ring. But when we finally had some dough, she didn't want me to waste it on a ring. Instead, she buys diamonique from QVC. You can't tell the difference with the naked eye. I sh!t you not. Besides, We'd rather go on vacations or invest in our daughters' college funds. But I won't knock a guy for dropping serious coin on a ring for his lady. If that's what you and her want, great. I'm just lucky that I've got a woman that isn't into expensive jewelry.
Great responses, all of them....... The great thing about our relationship is that I can be very up front with her. And... as has been discussed in this forum, she definitely is a sugar mama and is fantastic with money. I already know what she wants. I know it's not that romantic, but we have already gone to a jewelry store. She wants an Asscher cut, platinum band, with some diamonds on the band. Nothing too fancy really. I told her that I would get her something she would like but (and this is imortant) AT MY PRICING..... which means I'm going to shop around for a quality diamond at a great buy. I already know about color, clarity, cut and so forth so I'm good there. Now for the comparison shopping..... I will try bluenile, debeers, and a diamond is forever, but I bet you fine loyal bs users know of others.... keep them coming.
I got an Asscher-cut platinum band with diamonds. You will be marrying a woman with good taste. Or I'm marrying a man with good taste. Or something.
Other fun stuff for you to start thinking about: http://money.cnn.com/2005/06/08/pf/best_honeymoons/index.htm?cnn=yes
Ah, I forgot to offer my congrats! Nothing wrong with that. Right now, platinum is ridiculously expensive. Our jeweler told us that there have been no significant "finds" in terms of mining. I can definitely tell the difference between fake and real diamonds, but the difference between platinum and high-quality white gold is hard for me to detect. One thing about white gold: European white gold is different from American white gold, and some persons are allergic to the American stuff. Whatever you do, make sure that your jeweler can provide 100% assurance that no conflict diamonds are being used. I'm pretty certain that it's technically illegal to buy or sell conflict diamonds in the US, but I don't know for sure.
Just so you know, white gold is gold coated with rhodium. Also, do NOT, repeat, do NOT get this engraved on her ring: One ring to rule them all One ring to find them One ring to bring them all And in the darkness bind them She won't like it. Sachin
My recommendation.... Don't get special cuts or colors of diamonds. A plain ol' round cut is the right one. If it's really clear, it will always look bigger. I've seen 1/2 carat round cuts that look almost as big as a full carat. They're also the easiest to find a nice setting for. My wife has a really nice rock. She has a "whoa... nice rock" type rock... and it's a marquise cut... but I'm not a big fan of the setting. If you get a ring with baguettes on the side, make sure they're straight. If they're not evenly cut and placed, it'll look like the diamond equivalent of snaggletoothed. Emerald cuts and princess cuts don't have as many facets as marquise or round... so they don't get that sparkle effect. No matter what, though, I would say that the color is the most important one as far as other women looking at it. You could have a giant 11 carat diamond... but if it's yellow, it's going to look bad. The clarity is the next most important... too many imperfections make the rock look bad. Then I'd say cut... then carat. I've seen smaller diamonds that are ten times as beautiful as big ones. Sorry that was rambling. Oh... as far as metal goes... don't get white gold. Don't get platinum. Get plain ol' yellow gold. It's nice... and it always looks like gold. On second thought... get adamantium. Stuff sure is strong. Makes mutants invincible! Or maybe mithril!
Okay, I'm late to this party, but as someone that just got engaged three weekends ago, I can probably give you at least a little help. ~Ask her what she wants. It's probably the most important thing you can do. This is a present for her. Make sure it's what she wants. That's not to say that you should get her whatever she wants at any price, but you can guage the cut and size of the stone from her and find something in your budget. ~Know the exact weight of the stone. not all carats are the same. a one carat stone is any stone that falls between .91 and 1.1 grams. So while you may be paying for a one carat diamond, you may be actually getting a lower weight stone - which is not a bad thing, really. You get to save money, while she gets to say she's sporting a certain sized stone. Also, if they can't give you the exact weight, then leave. You don't want to deal with anyone that doesn't know the weight of their diamonds. ~Know what all the abbreviations mean. It's important to know what the salesmen are talking about in order to know if you're getting a good deal. Look it up on the internet and make him explain it to you. That way you know he knows what he's talking about. ~If the salesman offers you a hand held magnifying glass to inspect the stone, leave. Don't think about the price he's offereing, don't care even if you love the ring. Leave. There's a reason you're not being offered a desktop microscope. ~Figure out what is most important to her in the ring and keep to that list. If she's hell bent on a giant stone that you can't afford, explain to her that the price she'll pay for a giant rock is cut, clarity and color. If she wants a crystal clear one, then it's not gonna be as large. Figure out the priorities. But you gotta look at it this way: If you're looking to get married, she knows your budget already. She knows what you're able to spend and she'll take that into account when looking at rings. If you bus tables for a living and she's demanding a 2.5 carat Tiffany diamond, then chances are you're not both on the same page in the first place. ~And speaking of Tiffany - it's a brand name. It's a very, very good brand name don't get me wrong. But a brand name nonetheless. You're paying for the name on there. Sure, they don't sell crappy Tiffany stones, but that doesn't mean there aren't better ones out there cheaper if you're in the market for a top notch diamond. ~Ask to see top of the line, middle of the line, and low quality stones all at the same time. This allows you to understand color better. Also, make sure you look at them all on a white, not black background. You can see a lower level color by itself and think it's glorious. But next to the high end ones, there's a huge difference. And that difference doesn't make itself known till the sunlight hits the stone - and trust me, you can't test drive your ring outside first to see how it looks. ~Find a jeweler that is also a diamond wholesaler, if you can. This greatly reduces the price right off the bat. Even if you get totally raped on your ring, you can take solace in the fact that you were raped for about a thousand dollars less than when you get raped by a mall jewelery store. ~Ask questions. Ask a lot of questions. ~There are categories for color and clarity. Don't buy a stone from a guy that doesn't differentiate an VS1 high from an VS1 low. But within the line of categories, there is a spectrum of different colors and clarities that still fall within the category. Now you would rather have the high end of a VS2 than the low end of a VS1 because the price is less, but the quality is very similar. ~Make sure they take care of you after the sale. AFLette gets a free ring cleaning anytime she wants and gets the band redipped (she opted for white gold) whenever she needs for life. This place also offers a trade-up program that accounts for the exact price of the ring plus inflation. So when we want to get a big ol' rock like for our twenty fifth anniversary or something, we can trade that in towards the price. Which is nice. These aren't deal breakers by any stretch of the imagination, but it's nice to know that going into the sale the guy already knows you'll be back to talk to him in the future. It kinda makes you at least feel like he's okay with his sale if he's willing to face you again. ~Some personal suggestions: Put cut at the top of your priorities list. Cut is what makes the diamond sparkle the best - regardless of color and clarity. Cut is what makes your diamond sparkle when you're taking a walk in the dark under the moonlight. Cut is what most people look at (unbeknownst to them) when they make your future wife show them the ring she just got. When the cut is right, it looks gooooood. Go for a 65%-75% in the Table-to-Depth ratio. ~Avoid FL and IF catagory stones. These are the top 1% of all stones in the clarity class. You don't need them. They're great if you can afford them, but you simply cannot tell the difference between a VVS and an IF. You just can't. Likewise on the color scale, avoid the D, E, and F categories. These are the top 2% of stones and again, their price shows it. ~I suggest staying between SI2 (low) and VS1 (high) in clarity and between K (low) and G (high) in color.
Blue Nile is indeed pretty much the cheapest place you can go to get a diamond. Unfortunately that's because they offer no service. You don't get any after sale perks like the cleaning and the maintenence and absolutely no trade-in calue whatsoever. What you buy is your for life. You also get an insurance estimate that's the exact cost of the ring - which is fine if you lose the ring the day after you add it to your insurance. But when the ring is stolen in five years and your insurance company takes out depreciation costs, you're left with nothing.
The band is really important. Most guys want titanium because they love that it will never break and it's heavy and just all around manly. But it has its drawbacks. While titanium is really really strong, it also is very muchso suseptable to dents and nicks much moreso than gold. I like this aspect of the ring, actually. I'm getting me a titanium wedding band cause I like the character these nicks and dents hold. But many women don't look at those as 'character. They want gold because it's tough like glass - it may not be as strong, but it will never nick or dent. Remember, though, if you get white gold, it will need to be redipped once a year or so to keep it looking great. Make sure you buy from a place that does this free. Most places will, but many mall stores won't.
You're already saving money off the bat. Many people think that rings are priced acording to how many cuts are made to the stone. Not true. Stones are priced on demand. So two identical stones in terms of color and clarity are brought in to the cutter. One is destined for an Asscher cut and one for a Princess cut. The Princess cut is significantly more expensive because it is the most highly demanded cut along with the round. Assher is somewhere in the upper middle. Heart shaped, with the most cuts, is one of the least demanded so it's one of the cheapest.