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Engagement Ring
Quid
Definitely not a bananaRegistered User regular
Definitely not a bananaRegistered User regular
So my SO and I have made it pretty clear to each other that we want to get married. To the point that even though I haven't gotten her a ring I still want to make it official. We've talked about it and she is picky about certain things if I do get her a ring. She would defintely want it being white gold and would prefer, though not require, a diamond involved somewhere.
I've been looking around at various sites but only a couple have offered something genuinely unique that I want to give to her. So I'm asking for ideas on engagement rings under 1k that can fulfill her preferences. Stress settings in particular intrigue me but I've seen very few.
I've been looking around at various sites but only a couple have offered something genuinely unique that I want to give to her. So I'm asking for ideas on engagement rings under 1k that can fulfill her preferences. Stress settings in particular intrigue me but I've seen very few.
Quid on
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1) Buy her a ring online (what you described)
2) Go to a store and look at them in person, where a sales associate would be able to help you.
3) Propose to her without a ring, then let her pick one out.
If she's picky, you might want to go with #3... but of course that might not be as special for you, so I can certainly understand if you didn't want to do that.
I can't really help you specifically for ideas, but if you're looking for a store I would recommend Helzberg. I once bought an engagement ring there, and had a good experience buying the ring. Good luck!
Also, since you said money was an issue, a lot of people go with a really, really beautiful band that costs a fair amount, and then fill it with a zircon or synthetic until they can afford a nicer, actual diamond. This way you wouldn't have to budget and sacrifice just to get the diamond.
That's just me though.
I've been a fan of this idea for awhile, and I'm probably going to go with it when the time comes. After all...the ring is probably going to be a huge deal for her, and she's going to be wearing it all the time. For something so expensive AND sentimental, I'm not sure I trust my own knowledge of jewelry enough to risk going off my perception of which ring is the perfect ring.
Also, if there's any "mom and pop" jewelers left in your area, you can sometimes convince them to craft you a custom piece of jewlery. It might come at a hefty premium, but I had a friend who did that and it came out really neat and exceptionally unique. (he had them make this interesting ring which consisted of four extremely small bands that interlocked together to form one full-sized ring)
So definitely see if there's such a jeweler in your area if you're looking for something unique... but you'll probably have to go with at least a sketch or clear idea in your mind of what you'd want the custom piece to look like.
Second the suggestion about created diamonds - heck of cheaper, and non-exploitative of third world workers. Yay!
Diamond cuts that are pretty and nice: round, marquise, oval. Diamond cuts that will make you look like you have zero taste: emerald, asscher. Diamond cut that will make you look like a total hack: heart-shaped.
As much as I agree with respect to synthetics I'd like to point out that there're many companies who handle natural diamonds in an entirely ethical manner, most of which operate out of north Canada.
In fact, iirc even De Beers set up quite a big place in Canada not so long ago.
So yeah, there's lots of options, and if you're not averse to shopping online there's even more options. Heck, if you talk to most any local jeweler they'll be happy to create something custom for you, and you can even provide the gem.
Also, what about a vintage ring? There's some really beautiful pieces around that could give a unique feel to her own ring, and while I know white gold might be hard to come by in older pieces, maybe even just looking could spark some ideas.
Aye, that's what we're afraid of.
In truth, it's hard to find a company that IS: because the vast majority of the world's diamond supply is sold exclusively through the questionable De Beers company. So even someone who is "selling" diamonds is often just re-selling lots that were purchased from De Beers wholesale.
De Beers is... less than pleasant to companies who find ways to get diamonds outside of their monopoly. But it is that ruthlessness and exclusivity that begets the entire "unethical diamond" black market in the first place. It wouldn't exist if it wasn't for the fact that De Beers played a heavy hand (what was it now, a century ago?) to basically seize all of the known diamond mines by any unsavory practice.
We ended up going to Jarred's, and have been extremely satisfied. We had a loose diamond that was passed down to her already, so ours was cheaper, but we got a really nice ring with little diamonds in the band, had them put a bracket for the diamond on it, and set the loose diamond for a little more than $600. I also paid a little extra to get the lifetime warranty thing.
Overall they made it really easy to shop, buy, and finance (three months no interest!). As far as man made diamonds are concerned, make really sure thats what you want. Again, originally thats what my fiancee and I were going to do, but now I think we both are glad we went with a "real" diamond. But we are both pretty traditional as well.
Oh, and Im sure she'll love it no matter what, but I agree with "letting her help pick it out". Thats what we did, and I still managed to make the proposal a suprise. Good luck!
No one will ever know the difference
They cost what diamonds are actually literally worth
and you don't have to worry about your funds going to perpetuate the industry that creates the infamous blood diamond situation. For some people this matters. For others, not so much.
We're not going to debate whether it should or not.
The fact is, you want a diamond, right? There are diamonds that came out of a lab instead of the ground but are still diamonds (and not zirconia) and cost a fraction of what a mined diamond would. If you buy a mined diamond you're pissing money away. The moment it's yours it's worth a tiny fraction of what you paid and no, that value is never going to appreciate back up. It's gone. The lab diamonds? Always gonna be worth more or less what you paid. Think about it.
Also, a really gorgeous ring with no diamond is always going to be a better bet than a cheaply made ring with a diamond which is still always going to be better than maxing out a credit card on a ring.
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH
Admittedly, it's hard not to turn it into an ethical debate.... well, at least an economic debate. Because whenever diamonds are concerned, people need to know pretty much exactly what you said: diamonds from a lab are exactly the same as diamonds from the ground, but their cost isn't inflated by an artificially maintained monopoly.
There's this really big lie perpetrated by De Beers and furthered by those who resell De Beers' diamonds, that somehow a lab-created diamond "isn't the same". Speaking in terms of physics, it is. In fact, a lab-created diamond can be less flawed and contain less imperfections than a natural diamond. They've been selling us on that "natural diamonds" line for years, basically blindsiding so many people. It's always good to let people know that the cheaper alternative happens to be just as good, and all you're paying for with a natural diamond is the marketing.
I'm glad it was brought up, because people need to know. The lies about natural diamonds somehow being better are pretty well saturated in our society, and it's good to be able to bring this up (and hopefully save Quid a bunch of unnecessary money loss in the process).
First google hit for "lab diamond".
First google hit for "buy lab diamond":
http://sonadiamondjewelry.com/
Both seem about as reputable as anyone who's going to sell gem stones on the Internet. I'd recommend calling around based on your local yellow pages as well.
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH
I was and still am very picky about jewellery, specially about a ring I wear 24/7, we went to a jeweller (http://www.davidmrobinson.co.uk/) who had a sign in their window saying they would make up customers' designs, they didn't charge any more than they would have , we gave them our budget, they stuck to it. The rings were/is gorgeous.
Congratulations on the engagement!
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"The power of the weirdness compels me."
Would she prefer a diamond because she likes white stones? As was mentioned in the D&D thread nearly all true lab created diamonds are coloured; if I wanted a white diamond I'd probably either go antique or look for an alternative.
I appreciate wanting to find something unique; I don't have any specific recommendations, but searching around for small jewellery shops can yield some rather unique designs; there are a lot of artists creating hand-made/custom-made rings out there. If you have an idea for a design it might be worth drawing it down and finding someone who could create such a design.
A lot of the lab diamonds I've seen online are white, although I think the coloured ones are probably more common based on my admittedly brief googling. If it's difficult to get a white lab diamond locally, you could go the antique route. In fact, I would strongly suggest buying a used diamond over new from a dealer. You'll still save quite a good bit of money.
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH
How old are you? I'm 27 and getting married in October. My finances allowed me to spend 4 grand on her ring. If i could spend more i would have but that was my range. Maybe 10 years from now i can afford to get her a ^ grand ring..or maybe i'll be dirf fucking poor. Either way if i'm with her i'll be happy.
I eventually settled on this
You also have to be careful, because if you get a more uniquely shaped band for the engagement ring, then you have to worry about how it will fit with the actual wedding ring. We ended up just having the original engagement ring modified.
edit: It was a bit over what I wanted to spend (also around $1000 at the time) but they offered a 12 month no interest option and it was paid off in the twelve months.
with the proper machinery, absolutely
My worry about getting a lab diamond is, well, technically it ain't a diamond - it's not squished carbon like real diamonds are. There are a couple sites (apollo diamond and gemesis for example) that make real diamonds in the lab, but they're only about 25% cheaper than regular diamonds and gemesis only makes coloured ones.
Titanium and platinum and can't be resized, so you better make sure it's the right size first
Honestly... go look at a couple jewelry stores with her. Get a sense of what styles she likes. Ask her best friend what her ring size is (and swear the best friend to secrecy). If she doesn't want diamonds that's cool, but a lot of us chicks do want a real diamond and if we found out we got a fake/simulation one instead.... less than ecstatic might be a reaction (no you usually can't tell teh difference from sight alone but still). Hell, tell her you're thinking of buying something nice for your mom and stop at the engagement ring and make a joke of looking at them if nothing else, then go over to the earrings and say you need to think about it after shopping there for 5-10min
Mokume'Gane can be made of nearly any precious metal/alloy. Gold, white gold, silver, sterling, copper, brass, bronze, nickel silver, ect. ect. The problem is, you will probably pay quite a bit for one, outright, depending on the metal, stone, ect. This type of ring is difficult to produce, and the price reflects that. It also isn't something you will fine in your local jeweler.
Heres a guy that has been making them for a while.
Heres another site with some beautiful work.
Alternatively, you can look at Damascus steel (technically not true Damascus, but 'pattern welded steel') rings, which have similar patterings, but are made in W2, Nickel Steel and various other steel alloys.
This guy specializes in both!
Also, gold and silver aren't the only metals out there. Palladium is a metal that has been gaining in popularity in the jewelry field. Whats the point on paying more for a white/silver metal that are nearly unidentifiable from their fellow metals. Ultimately, if it is important to your significant other what metal it is, and what type of stone it is then get them what they want, or take them shopping if they want something so specific, that way you know they will be happy.
If you're looking for one of a kind unique rings, you can even have rings made of each others bone if you are interested in that. They take a sample of your bone material, and grow a chunk of it in the lap. Then a jeweler carves the ring from the block. Creepy eh?
Platinum can be resized just fine... maybe you're thinking of Tungsten Carbide, the "new titanium ring?"
For the record, that's what I had my ring made in, and I'm a huge fan of Tungsten Carbide. My fiancee's wedding ring is white gold. The engagement ring is gold, but we had it plated with platinum to match the wedding band (we don't have tons of money).
Fair warning on these rings: they are beautiful, but many of them have a rough feeling, and will annoy the hell out of your fingers. We took a look at some when we were ring shopping (the local jeweler carried them) and I almost bought one, until I wore it for a moment.
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Properly polished steel shouldn't feel rough. And even if it is, precious metal shanks should be put in place where the skin touches the metal.
@ Nexus: If you read the fine print, be advised, it has the physical properties of a perfect diamond, but not the chemical properties... it's not a 'real diamond' - if it matters to you. Or if she's a chemist or whatever.
Grats on finding a keeper!
What I did was ask my mother for a family ring. This went down an absolute treat, and allowed me to take her shopping for the ring.
Protip: tell her you have less money for it than you do... then you get to play the old "No, dont put that one away. If she wants it, then thats the one she gets" card. I was very popular.
Also: My lady wanted white gold - but platinum is better. Apparently, white gold needs resurfacing every now and again.
I got recommended a place (www.cooldiamonds.com) here in the UK. They have no storefront, so you make an appointment. you go into an office that has steel enforced walls and a "window" build to withstand a RPG! The rings and diamonds came in a pneumatic tube, with a really cool "shoomp" effect. We chose the style, then the diamond unset in a ring. We had to wait for it to be made and couriered to us, but the whole thing was an awesome experience - and a LOT cheaper than a highstreet shop.
Its a VERY expensive metal.
White gold only needs resurfacing if it's cheaply made. True white gold is an alloy and will always be that color. However, some places will make pieces that are just regular gold, and then plate it with a thin white gold coating, which can wear off over time and need resurfacing.
The problem is in finding places that don't do this, as they're obviously not going to tell you (if the salesperson even knows themselves).
This is why you buy from trusted jewelers and independent artists.
Good luck and congratulations!
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I hadn't considered checking out local shops and had, in fact, thought I should avoid them. So hearing advice to the opposite will definitely get me to check the one I saw near by. Also, thanks to Grace since I hadn't even considered the cut of the diamond.