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[nib95]

I think I've found the ring I'm going to go for. It's actually Sapphire with diamond around it and in the shoulders.

I just have one question. What's actually the difference between 14k and 18k White Gold? I know in normal Gold, 18k is slightly more yellow. But what's the difference in White Gold?

 

[TheContact]

Besides the gold content, I believe 14k is 58.5% gold, the higher the karat you go the softer the material is because there is more gold and less filter materials like alloy and zinc and whatnot. I suggest 14k or even 10k wg but you probably won't find many in 10k

 

[ElectricBlue187]

I might give Gemesis a whirl. How much did the Apollo one set you back, and for how many carats?

Try diamond nexus too

 

[teh_J0kerer]

Im also shopping for an engagement ring, and here's my advice:

Get an excellent cut, because it's not that expensive.

For color get either G or F, since anything better than that is hard to notice by eye.

For clarity get whatever has occlusions which aren't visible to the naked eye. Depending on the specific diamond, that's either SI-1 or VS-2.

For shape, whatever you like I guess, but round seems to sparkle the best.

Then choose the size based on whatever looks good in the design you like, cutoff by your budget.

It seems like bluenile.com has the best prices online, though you might be able to beat it if you know the right independent jewelers.

 

[replicashooter]

Read this and understand why the "lifetime investment" they sell you for 2.5k is only worth a 1/8th of that if you wish to sell it back later...

 

[Kwhit10]

Here is my advice pretty much what I did.

Know how much you are going to spend right off the bat.

Use that money to buy the biggest/best quality diamond you can. Personally I wouldn't waste money on the multiple diamond sets, buying many smaller diamonds to accompany a central one and whatnot.

buying diamonds is like buying lobster, the bigger they go earns you a bigger jump in price range at each level.

Primo quality is not necessarily worth it. Look at the diamonds yourself with the naked eye and a jewelers lense. If you can't notice any defects like discoloring or markings than don't go to a higher quality diamond. Most everyone who looks at it will look at it with the naked eye.

It's all about maximizing what you get for what you want to pay. Get the biggest single diamond you can that has no naked-eye visible defects or discoloring. It will also hold the most value in the long run.

Also get it appraised right after you buy it and insure that shit immediately.

 

[mernst23]

So is it still a rule of thumb that it should cost 3 months salary?

 

[FrontalMonk]

When I bought my girl her ring about 3 months ago, I ended up getting a tri-stone ring with accent diamonds down the sides. Don't remember the 4 C's off the top of my head, but it ran me just under $1k for 0.5 Total CW and it looks great. Don't listen to the jokers telling you not to touch anything under a 1ct Solitaire. Go shopping around and see what looks good, but even more importantly, understand what she wants/likes. My girl *hates* solitaires, but really loves tristone designs, only wanted a round or princess cut, etc.

Basically don't just go off your gut - you only really want to surprise her with the timing of the question and the exact look of the ring anyway, you should have talked out plans together already, and ring talk is part of that. She knows what she wants, and it's up to you to find what she's looking for at a reasonable price.

So is it still a rule of thumb that it should cost 3 months salary?

my ring was just under 2 weeks' salary and she loved it, so not necessarily.

 

[Deleted member 1235]

first determine your price, then go somewhere you heard of by word of mouth.

make sure it comes with a certificate.

the 4 criteria you have are correct, just base your purchase of those.

Now you know that you just have to work in your price band. I found you can drop some quality on the clarity, the one I got my fiance has 1 or 2 'minor inclusions' that you cannot see without a minimum of x10 magnification.

Colour you can tell the diff. Make sure the sales guy shows you some different colours and you can see the difference.

 

[Manmademan]

So is it still a rule of thumb that it should cost 3 months salary?

hahah NOOOOOOOOOOOOO. that's total bullshit.

What are GAF's recommended diamond shops? Tiffany's and De Beers seem solid, although on the more expensive end. I get the feeling Zales/Kay's/Helzberg/Jared's are not good ideas?

I live in Philadelphia, and am kind of lucky that we have a "jewelers row" with tons of independent diamond shops that have been around for decades. I shopped around before I settled on one, but all of them absolutely destroyed the pricing and selection from the chain jewelry shops. it wasn't even close.

That being said, some shops have better diamond selection, and some have better ring selection. you may even come out ahead purchasing a loose diamond somewhere, then have it set in a ring at another place that specializes.

 

[luiztfc]

Buy a platinum ring.

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1982/02/have-you-ever-tried-to-sell-a-diamond/4575/

Excellent article. And I was surprise to see that it was written in 1982! I was waiting for the author to comment on synthetic diamonds and then I saw the date.

This is a nice article as well: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.09/diamond_pr.html

 

[replicashooter]

This is a nice article as well: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.09/diamond_pr.html

Interesting. Gemesis do what Debeersdon't.

 

[BertramCooper]

First GAF Gold and now GAF Diamond?

These membership tiers are out of control.

 

[POWERSPHERE]

My friend gave his wife an engagement sword. Genius.

 

[krpiper]

I think I'll be in the market in a while so, this is a good read.

Thanks GAF

 

[Wubby]

What are GAF's recommended diamond shops? Tiffany's and De Beers seem solid, although on the more expensive end. I get the feeling Zales/Kay's/Helzberg/Jared's are not good ideas?

Yeah stay away from any of the big name shops. I went to Tiffany, Robbins Brothers and a few other name stores to look. Tiffany you are really just paying a premium for the name. Robbins Brothers was the worst experience I remember, like used car salesmen that store.

first determine your price, then go somewhere you heard of by word of mouth.

make sure it comes with a certificate.

In the end one of my wife's friends recommended an independent place she had bought some stuff from. Nice old Korean guy had what we wanted at the price we had set. Came with proper certs from one of the accredited agencies and if I recall right we had it independently verified (it's been a while).

Also unless it's something cheap be sure to buy the stone separate first. If it's already set in a setting/band it's probably hiding some flaws.

 

[Machine]

My brother-in-law and a second cousin both have jewelry stores. It's a pretty crazy business. The retail markup on jewelry can vary from 100% to 1000% depending on the location and piece. More typically I think it's around 300% to 400% so that $4,000 ring you buy may only be worth $1,000. Obviously her happiness is important but try not to get ripped off. Sometimes the best deals are on returns or buy-backs where somebody's engagement falls through or the wedding is called off and they dump the ring for cheap. It's easy enough to get re-sized if you like the piece.

 

[Manmademan]

My brother-in-law and a second cousin both have jewelry stores. It's a pretty crazy business. The retail markup on jewelry can vary from 100% to 1000% depending on the location and piece. More typically I think it's around 300% to 400% so that $4,000 ring you buy may only be worth $1,000. Obviously her happiness is important but try not to get ripped off. Sometimes the best deals are on returns or buy-backs where somebody's engagement falls through or the wedding is called off and they dump the ring for cheap. It's easy enough to get re-sized if you like the piece.

If you're buying a ring, the GIA certification (or whichever agency certified it..there are a couple of others that escape me) will guarantee the appraisal value.

This is what your insurance company will use to determine what your ring is "worth" should it be lost, stolen, etc- so there's not really a danger of a $4000 ring only being "worth" $1000, unless you're buying it off the back of a truck somewhere.

RESALE value of the ring is something else entirely- since when reselling something you can really only get what someone else is willing to pay, and retail shops always need to leave themselves a profit margin. The shop I bought my ring from guaranteed to buy the stone back at full retail if I ever wanted to upgrade to a different or larger stone- but I don't know how common that is.

 

[tino]

Well I hate de beer as much as the other guy, but wife made me buy one anyway. I wish there is an alternative that's equally expensive so you don't look like a cheap ass when you skip diamond.

 

[commish]

So is it still a rule of thumb that it should cost 3 months salary?

I'm not going to buy my girlfriend an $80k ring.

 

[FrontalMonk]

I'm not going to buy my girlfriend an $80k ring.

stealth brag.

 

[Meier]

Did you see his budget? Maybe he could get a friendship ring at one of those places for that. If I remember correctly, anything aproaching one carret started at 10k at Tiffany's.

Anything approaching 1 carat is gonna cost close to $10k.. anywhere. I was absolutely shocked at the cost of the diamond after I'd picked out a band. I personally checked Yelp and looked for a local guy with great ratings and then ended up having excellent luck and service.

 

[commish]

stealth brag.

Haha, if only I made that much

I think I'll find a girl who doesn't want a ring. It's just such a f'ing waste of money.

 

[TommyT]

Haha, if only I made that much

I think I'll find a girl who doesn't want a ring. It's just such a f'ing waste of money.

Good luck with that my friend. I've got about 10 different emails for 'reference' with what my gf wants. At first she wanted something tiffany, and I told her if she got that I got to put it in her ass. She agreed, however later I got emails with the SAME DAMN RING for half the price at other places.

 

[deadbeef]

There's a big difference in price as you cross carat boundaries. Compare prices on similar quality diamonds in the range of like .98 to 1.01 carat. You can save a lot of money by going just under a carat.

 

[williamsan]

Haha, if only I made that much

I think I'll find a girl who doesn't want a ring. It's just such a f'ing waste of money.

I understand the social norm of having one and everything, but they're just so expensive. This is my goal as well, to find a girl who's perfectly happy with a gold or titanium ring.

 

[Stet]

I think I'll find a girl who doesn't want a ring. It's just such a f'ing waste of money.

And this is why diamonds are such a racket. Even if a girl doesn't want a ring, it's so ingrained into our culture now that her friends/coworkers/family will make YOU look like a cheap bastard even if SHE doesn't want the ring and pressure her into pressuring you to get her a ring.

It sounds cynical, but this is the foundation that the diamond industry is built on. It's the only commodity in the world that becomes more expensive the more common they are.

 

[ccbfan]

Its the most expensive thing you'll probably buy your wife that's not a car or house.

Its the physically representation of your love to her.

As shallow as this sound. Its a signification to the world that she's got a good and successful man.

(At least that's how she and tons of other girl I know explain it to me)

Plus, I like her showing it off and having her get complements for it.

 

[luiztfc]

Good luck with that my friend. I've got about 10 different emails for 'reference' with what my gf wants. At first she wanted something tiffany, and I told her if she got that I got to put it in her ass. She agreed, however later I got emails with the SAME DAMN RING for half the price at other places.

Show up with the Tiffany's and claim you didn't receive the other emails.

 

[Inanna]

True. Ignore poor gaf telling you its a waste. You can't really put a dollar figure on her happiness.

I'm posting from a phone so keeping it short, but I stressed myself out online getting caught up in grades and ratings. Nothing really beats seeing them up close to get a feel for what a "g" color or vvs2 grading actually means irl. A lot of its just marketing, and you'll find some amazing rings you may not have considered otherwise.

Yep, I mean like Nib said, men get expensive gadgets as gifts and its AMZING but when it comes to jewellery for women its a big no-no. What's the harm in spending a bit on a ring that you'd probably keep forever?

 

[TommyT]

Show up with the Tiffany's and claim you didn't receive the other emails.

Oh the Tiffany ring is still an option. Fits within the 3-month-salary "rule".


edit: I see only one person has mentioned insuring the ring. Does that work like anything else that is insured or is there anything special about it?

 

[deadbeef]

Yep, I mean like Nib said, men get expensive gadgets as gifts and its AMZING but when it comes to jewellery for women its a big no-no. What's the harm in spending a bit on a ring that you'd probably keep forever?

Because it's the Internet.

 

[Stet]

Yep, I mean like Nib said, men get expensive gadgets as gifts and its AMZING but when it comes to jewellery for women its a big no-no. What's the harm in spending a bit on a ring that you'd probably keep forever?

If someone got you a ring that looked exactly like a diamond, behaved exactly like a diamond and lasted just as long as a diamond but was actually a substance 50 times cheaper, what would your reaction be?

 

[AbortedWalrusFetus]

The FIRST thing to do is decide on a budget. Determining how much you want to spend can have a big impact on things.

Next you want to find out what cut she wants. My wife wanted Princess cut, but most girls I know want a Round. The cut is actually pretty important as it is what determines the sparkle. Round and Princess give the best sparkle, as I recall, because they have the most facets for light to bounce off of. Round is almost always going to look bigger and sparkle more. Princess needs to be cut with a little more depth in order to get the same sort of shine, and from what I saw when I was buying you get more for your money with a Round, at least in the way it looks on her finger.

I would not get anything below a VS2 or a G-H color. You're going to start to see the flaws with the naked eye at that point.

As far as the setting goes, you need to decide if you want it to be a solitaire or if you want something with side stones. I strongly recommend that you do NOT get a band with pave set stones that go all the way around the ring, or even very far down the sides, as it will make it nearly impossible to have it sized. Personally I think solitaire is the way to go if you get her something above 1 carat, because it's large enough that a solitaire setting will give it prominence. If it's smaller than that it may be nice to flash up the ring a bit so that it's eye catching, but make sure the jewels on the band don't overpower the central diamond.

Anyway, I would avoid Tiffany, they're going to charge you like twice as much as you can get at any other jeweler.

I got my wife a 1.5k Princess, VS1, F diamond with a white gold band for around $9k in 2009. I ordered from Blue Nile and I think I got a good deal, but I sort of regret not shopping around the jewelry district here in the city a bit more.

 

[Fenderputty]

I bought my diamond online. I had it appraised at a much higher value too. There's a grace period in which you can have it locally appraised and retured if not up to scratch. I bought a custom band locally. Somtimes the brick and mortar places get upset, but F them. You pay a high price to go through a local shop. The guy I bought the band from tried to slide me a sick price for the diamond I bought online. Just to show what he could have done for me. Didn't come close.

http://www.abazias.com/

If nothing else, it gives you an idea for pricing.

 

[nib95]

Well guys, just pulled the trigger on a ring! It's pre-owned but in absolute like new condition. Deal was just too good to miss out on. Ended up haggling and talking with the dealer for some time, really nice guy. Sort of bought it on the proviso I'd buy more (not as expensive) stuff later (her relatives gifts), which is cool because my parents are forking for that stuff anyway lol (as is customary in Asian tradition). Comes with original receipt, appraisal, insurance documents et all.

Pics of the beauty. (It's close to what she was after, which was the Princess Kate's style.)

 

[Stet]

Well guys, just pulled the trigger on a ring! It's pre-owned but in absolute like new condition. Deal was just too good to miss out on. Ended up haggling and talking with the dealer for some time, really nice guy. Sort of bought it on the proviso I'd buy more (not as expensive) stuff later (her relatives gifts), which is cool because my parents are forking for that stuff anyway lol (as is customary in Asian tradition).

Pics of the beauty. (It's close to what she was after, which was the Princess Kate's style.)

I applaud you for buying pre-owned and I think it's a very lovely ring.

 

[alphaNoid]

I bought my wife a 2 carat diamond for our engagement. She told me not to spend more than $1,000, but she never asks for anything... anything ever, and she deserved to have some bling.

 

[kaskade]

Very nice. I like that you went with a sapphire as the main stone. Something you don't see much.

Tip for you(i'm in the jewelry business). Get the prongs checked, at least yearly. Those outside ones will wear down and then it'll be pretty easy for a diamond to pop out as it'll only be held in by 2 prongs. The prongs do look pretty nice and heavy so they should last a while. But it's better safe than sorry.

 

[EGG]

So glad my wife was morally/practically opposed to diamonds in general and engagement rings in particular.

Lucky you. It seems to me that my girlfriend only pretends to be opposed to the shit that is diamond mining, because she's very materialistic

 

[nib95]

I applaud you for buying pre-owned and I think it's a very lovely ring.

Thanks dude. I managed to knock several hundred pounds off of a Brand New very similar ring. But ultimately, because it was new I just wasn't getting nearly as much for my money, so I opted for pre-owned.

Long as paper works all there and the condition/seller are spot on, I don't really see the harm in it. Though I shall wait till I get the ring before going boasting that notion lol.

Very nice. I like that you went with a sapphire as the main stone. Something you don't see much.

Tip for you(i'm in the jewelry business). Get the prongs checked, at least yearly. Those outside ones will wear down and then it'll be pretty easy for a diamond to pop out as it'll only be held in by 2 prongs. The prongs do look pretty nice and heavy so they should last a while. But it's better safe than sorry.

Awesome dude. Thanks for the kind advice. Will definitely follow through with it.

 

[nib95]

Read this and understand why the "lifetime investment" they sell you for 2.5k is only worth a 1/8th of that if you wish to sell it back later...

Luckily we have things like eBay and Gumtree etc these days. I doubt many would sell back to an actual dealer. If you do you're sort of asking to get worse rates. Having said that, I don't plan to ever sell this back on.

God forbid we ever divorced or broke up in future, honestly, I'd prefer she just keep it. I'm not one of those that really gets bent up on the notion of losing money on a loved one if all goes sour. Money comes, money goes. You just can't live in that sort of fear or insecurity, though I appreciate some disagree and consider that kind of shrewd financial mentality wise.

 

[Inanna]

If someone got you a ring that looked exactly like a diamond, behaved exactly like a diamond and lasted just as long as a diamond but was actually a substance 50 times cheaper, what would your reaction be?

Oh, I'm not saying I want one. I am engaged and I never wanted him to get me a diamond ring but I can understand why some women would want a genuine diamond ring just like I can understand why some guys would want really expensive gadgets. I was just commenting on how double standard-ish it is to say the girls are materialistic if they want to spend money on jewellery but its A-OK to spend thousands on gadgets?

 

[nib95]

Oh, I'm not saying I want one. I am engaged and I never wanted him to get me a diamond ring but I can understand why some women would want a genuine diamond ring just like I can understand why some guys would want really expensive gadgets. I was just commenting on how double standard-ish it is to say the girls are materialistic if they want to spend money on jewellery but its A-OK to spend thousands on gadgets?

I agree. I actually had this discussion with my other half. I did mention that unlike gadgets, there wasn't any real world improvement with more expensive rings beyond the visual aesthetic and value. Whereas with technology the money partially goes towards actually bettering the function (I.e better sound quality, colour accuracy, speeds etc).

Ultimately, they all fall under the luxury and materialistic banner since none are really necessary, not beyond a certain point anyway. But yes, I'd argue that men are often just as materialistic or expensive, just in different things.

 

[Lucis]

My grip about diamond shopping (Im doing it also) is the amount of research needs to go into it.

Why can't i just throw down $10k and buy something relatively decent, hate the research and all the shopping around so I don't get ripped off.

 

[Stet]

Oh, I'm not saying I want one. I am engaged and I never wanted him to get me a diamond ring but I can understand why some women would want a genuine diamond ring just like I can understand why some guys would want really expensive gadgets. I was just commenting on how double standard-ish it is to say the girls are materialistic if they want to spend money on jewellery but its A-OK to spend thousands on gadgets?

I don't think people who are opposed to diamonds are necessarily opposed to jewelry anyway, but the reason I asked you the question I did is because for a large number of people these days, the answer would be that they would get offended. If it's not a real diamond, it's not "special" -- which is absurd, because there is nothing unique, special or rare about a diamond.

 

[Devolution]

Oh, I'm not saying I want one. I am engaged and I never wanted him to get me a diamond ring but I can understand why some women would want a genuine diamond ring just like I can understand why some guys would want really expensive gadgets. I was just commenting on how double standard-ish it is to say the girls are materialistic if they want to spend money on jewellery but its A-OK to spend thousands on gadgets?

I think both are stupid but an engagement ring isn't even the band, it will be put away forever in a box.

 

[Khalifa Jayy]

Oh, I'm not saying I want one. I am engaged and I never wanted him to get me a diamond ring but I can understand why some women would want a genuine diamond ring just like I can understand why some guys would want really expensive gadgets. I was just commenting on how double standard-ish it is to say the girls are materialistic if they want to spend money on jewellery but its A-OK to spend thousands on gadgets?

For us we probably use these gadgets daily if not every few hours. Your ring? Hmmm... ummm... well.... it puts a monetary value on how much my SO loves me?!?!

 

[nib95]

For us we probably use these gadgets daily if not every few hours. Your ring? Hmmm... ummm... well.... it puts a monetary value on how much my SO loves me?!?!

You could argue that she would wear the ring everyday, and thus get satisfaction from it everyday. The nicer it is, the more the potential satisfaction. In the same way we'd get more from wearing nice clothes or whatever.

Plus it is sort of a pride thing. It's your women wearing the ring you gave her to mark yourselves as forever linked. An indirect symbol to all other guys that shes taken. I'd personally not want such a token given diminished importance, but I completely understand the people who are less optimistic about such things.

 

[Devolution]

You could argue that she would wear the ring everyday, and thus get satisfaction from it everyday. The nicer it is, the more the potential satisfaction. In the same way we'd get more from wearing nice clothes or whatever.

Plus it is sort of a pride thing. It's your women wearing the ring you gave her to mark yourselves as forever linked. An indirect symbol to all other guys that shes taken. I'd personally not want such a token given diminished importance, but I completely understand the people who are less optimistic about such things.

Sounds kind of dumb to me. Better mark my woman with something that looks damn expensive so other men will know she's taken care of and mine. If that's an issue, well lol.