Support NeoGAF

[nib95]

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.

We're shallow beings, what can I say? Lol. Same sort of argument could be applied to just about anything. Gadgets, clothes, trainers, watches, cars etc etc.

I have no issue with anyone who is shrewd with their money, so long as they are fair about it when it comes to their own luxuries.

 

[LowEndTorque]

lol, this thread takes me back... I remember researching about diamonds obsessively for months

IMHO, the quality of the cut is the single most important thing, especially for round brilliant. I ended up finding a ring with 3 ideal cut round brilliant Canadian diamonds and it still looks absolutely stunning 7 years later. Clarity would be next most important thing imo.

Obviously you know her tastes and expectations better than anyone but with your budget
1 carat total weight (either solitaire or trinity), round brilliant, ideal cut, vs-1 or vs-2 clarity and you should be golden. She'll love it.

good luck!

 

[Inanna]

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.

That's not what it is about! And its not just women, men get engagement rings too, at least my guy did. It looks almost exactly like a wedding band.

 

[Plywood]

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.)

dat sapphire

 

[lethial]

Looks awesome plus tastes great!

 

[nib95]

lol, this thread takes me back... I remember researching about diamonds obsessively for months

IMHO, the quality of the cut is the single most important thing, especially for round brilliant. I ended up finding a ring with 3 ideal cut round brilliant Canadian diamonds and it still looks absolutely stunning 7 years later. Clarity would be next most important thing imo.

Obviously you know her tastes and expectations better than anyone but with your budget
1 carat total weight (either solitaire or trinity), round brilliant, ideal cut, vs-1 or vs-2 clarity and you should be golden. She'll love it.

good luck!

Check the previous page! Already bought! For the people who are curious, the specification is as follows.

- Centre stone: 3.26c AAA Ideal Sapphire (un-enhanced, natural)
- Outer stones: 1.20c (total) VVS Ideal F/G
- Setting: White Gold 14k (solid) Diana Cluster Cocktail

Maybe the diamond/jewel experts on here can throw predictions on the price or what it should be worth? Not sure I want to announce the price or anything, but I'm certainly curious as to what more experienced GAF'ers think it should cost.


EDIT: Also lol Lethial. Ring of all rings right there!

 

[Devolution]

That's not what it is about! And its not just women, men get engagement rings too, at least my guy did. It looks almost exactly like a wedding band.

But did you read what he posted? I'm not against the rings but some of the intent behind them seems insecure as hell.

 

[nib95]

But did you read what he posted? I'm not against the rings but some of the intent behind them seems insecure as hell.

That's only a small part of it. Personally, there's not really a 'part of it' for the guys at all. I'm buying it for her after all not me. I know deep down she'd love a nice ring even though she'd never say or push for it. That's enough for me.

I say that partly through guilt, since generally speaking I spend a lot more on luxuries than she does. In-fact, come to think of it, she pretty much asks for nothing, bar maybe some groceries or supplies on route to hers or something. I guess in a way that makes me more fond of the idea of actually investing in a half decent ring.

 

[TheRagnCajun]

lol, this thread takes me back... I remember researching about diamonds obsessively for months

IMHO, the quality of the cut is the single most important thing, especially for round brilliant. I ended up finding a ring with 3 ideal cut round brilliant Canadian diamonds and it still looks absolutely stunning 7 years later. Clarity would be next most important thing imo.

Obviously you know her tastes and expectations better than anyone but with your budget
1 carat total weight (either solitaire or trinity), round brilliant, ideal cut, vs-1 or vs-2 clarity and you should be golden. She'll love it.

good luck!

Agreed.

Cut>Carat>Clarity>Colour

And those last two don't matter once you get past the 'noticable to the naked eye' spectrum.

 

[GhaleonEB]

The ring looks nice, I love deep blue. Good call buying a used one.

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

The style of ring my wife got was pretty neat. The engagement ring was a plain, slim gold band with a slight bend in the center. The wedding ring is a thin gold band with (very small) diamond in the center and four small ones on the corners, and the engagement ring slides in and fits against it. The engagement ring literally become part of the wedding ring.

$750 total.

Edit: like this.

 

[ccbfan]

WTF my wife wears her engagement ring out all the time. As do every girl I know who has one.

They wear both the wedding band and the engagement ring. Heck the wife chose a band base entirely on how it would look with the engagement ring.

 

[nib95]

WTF my wife wears her engagement ring out all the time. As do every girl I know who has one.

They wear both the wedding band and the engagement ring. Heck the wife chose a band base entirely on how it would look with the engagement ring.

All the married girls I know also just wear both.

 

[Indrid Cold1]

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

Are you for real? The engagement ring is worn behind the wedding band on the same finger generally. Fucking lol at spending at least 2 grand on something just to keep it locked away in a ring box forever.

 

[Manmademan]

All the married girls I know also just wear both.

Yup. women wear their engagement rings until they're divorced or dead. If they have daughters, they may even pass it on.

In terms of something that may get worn for a lifetime or two, it's not a bad investment, as long as one does not go overboard.

Nice job on the ring btw OP.

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

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?

Well, I think it depends on the price you're talking about. If you're talking about the whole 3 month salary thing it seems a little crazy since even if you only make 30K you get around 1,000 a paycheck, and 2 paychecks a month so after 3 months you would have to spend 6k on a ring. There's no way I've spent close to 6k on gadgets this year or the last couple of years combined, that's a lot of money. Especially all at once to drop 6k if you're going by that seems kind of crazy. If you're talking about 1k-2k then ya, I can see it more as being selfish. I guess it really depends on what you think a fair amount to spend on the ring is.

Yup. women wear their engagement rings until they're divorced or dead. If they have daughters, they may even pass it on.

In terms of something that may get worn for a lifetime or two, it's not a bad investment, as long as one does not go overboard.

Nice job on the ring btw OP.

Are you for real? The engagement ring is worn behind the wedding band on the same finger generally. Fucking lol at spending at least 2 grand on something just to keep it locked away in a ring box forever.

I think I've only ever seen like one, maybe two people wear both. It's either wedding ring or nothing.

 

[mf.luder]

By buddy just proposed. He was going to go for an $18,000 ring. I nearly threw up on him.

To wear that amount of money on a finger is fucking ridiculous.

 

[Manmademan]

By buddy just proposed. He was going to go for an $18,000 ring. I nearly threw up on him.

To wear that amount of money on a finger is fucking ridiculous.

That's probably what I'd call excessive, but it's up to him.

I'm not a fan of going into debt on anything that's not a house or car. If you can't pay it off within 90 days or less, you might be going overboard.

 

[Nemo]

Congrats nib, I like the ring you chose. Seems pretty unique, yet not overly flashy

 

[nib95]

By buddy just proposed. He was going to go for an $18,000 ring. I nearly threw up on him.

To wear that amount of money on a finger is fucking ridiculous.

That to me is definitely excessive. Unless of course he's filthy rich, which would still make it excessive and unnecessary, but it's all relative.

Also, you don't want to get to that point where the ring is so expensive you're actually scared to wear it out. Kind of takes away from the whole wear it proudly thing. Turns more to wear it in fear lol.


On a side note, I've heard of the 3 month rule before, but I don't really agree with it. Seems a bit much if you ask me, especially if you earned a reasonable sum. I'd say two months was perhaps more fair. Bare in mind, as much as a ring is for a lifetime, so's marriage itself. And it's not exactly a picknick. Honeymoon, living, expenses, bills, rent, mortgage, outings, gifts etc etc. All things that will take a heavy burden on your wallet and must also be considered for the entirety of your marriage, especially the first few years where it might be beneficial to enjoy yourselves a bit.

Congrats nib, I like the ring you chose. Seems pretty unique, yet not overly flashy

Thanks dude, appreciate it

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

That to me is definitely excessive. Unless of course he's filthy rich, which would still make it excessive and unnecessary, but it's all relative.

Also, you don't want to get to that point where the ring is so expensive you're actually scared to wear it out. Kind of takes away from the whole wear it proudly thing. Turns more to wear it in fear lol.


On a side note, I've heard of the 3 month rule before, but I don't really agree with it. Seems a bit much if you ask me, especially if you earned a reasonable sum. I'd say two months was perhaps more fair. Bare in mind, as much as a ring is for a lifetime, so's marriage itself. And it's not exactly a picknick. Honeymoon, living, expenses, bills, rent, mortgage, outings, gifts etc etc. All things that will take a heavy burden on your wallet and must also be considered for the entirety of your marriage, especially the first few years where it might be beneficial to enjoy yourselves a bit.



Thanks dude, appreciate it

Not even that, most of the people I know only wear there wedding ring, not their engagement. I would prefer to spend more on the wedding ring and less on the engagement ring.

 

[Battersea Power Station]

If your wife is not a jewelry expert, she'd probably just appreciate you putting thought into something that you think looks good for her.

I got my wife a tension-set ring because it's just so beautiful. The diamond is relatively small (smaller than the one in this picture) but the setting just makes it stand out:

 

[nib95]

Not even that, most of the people I know only wear there wedding ring, not their engagement. I would prefer to spend more on the wedding ring and less on the engagement ring.

That's not really normal though dude. Maybe they do that because their engagement rings are worth too much? As general practise, engagement rings are supposed to be more expensive than the wedding ring. Sometimes by several orders, since wedding bands don't usually have such large single centre piece stones, rather just an array of smaller one's (which are far more common and evidently a lot cheaper).

Plus, you propose to her with the engagement ring. So it is fairly important.

If your wife is not a jewelry expert, she'd probably just appreciate you putting thought into something that you think looks good for her.

I got my wife a tension-set ring because it's just so beautiful. The diamond is relatively small (smaller than the one in this picture) but the setting just makes it stand out:

Nice job. Cute, simple and elegant. I'm assuming it didn't cost the Earth either.

 

[Battersea Power Station]

Nice job. Cute, simple and elegant. I'm assuming it didn't cost the Earth either.

Gelin Abaci is the company. Are you in the UK? Not sure they have dealers there.

Prices will vary wildly with the stone, obviously, but my choice was pretty reasonable, if not thrifty. I think I got a 1/3 carat for 1800 USD, from one of their authorized dealers in NYC, where you can usually find a good deal on jewelry.

 

[nib95]

Gelin Abaci is the company. Are you in the UK? Not sure they have dealers there.

Prices will vary wildly with the stone, obviously, but my choice was pretty reasonable, if not thrifty. I think I got a 1/3 carat for 1800 USD, from one of their authorized dealers in NYC, where you can usually find a good deal on jewelry.

Yeap, UK here. $1800 sounds about right depending on the clarity and cut of the diamond, perhaps a touch steep. But looking at the ring, it probably has more White Gold in it than most normal rings which I'd imagine would put the price up somewhat. Still, a solid buy and quite a unique design.

Saying that, having browsed a lot of rings over the past few weeks, I actually think diamond rings etc might sometimes be more expensive in the US compared to the UK, even after conversion. Even on eBay etc. I was a bit surprised by this, as I assumed it would be a lot cheaper in the US like everything else usually is.

I found a good UK alternative for the ring you chose here.

http://www.diamondsfactory.co.uk/Products/ProductDetail.aspx?103=139&productid=57552

 

[enzo_gt]

If your wife is not a jewelry expert, she'd probably just appreciate you putting thought into something that you think looks good for her.

I got my wife a tension-set ring because it's just so beautiful. The diamond is relatively small (smaller than the one in this picture) but the setting just makes it stand out:

This is incredible. I'd get my wife something nice and unique like this rather than the same old ordeal. Beautiful.

 

[Death Dealer]

- Centre stone: 3.26c AAA Ideal Sapphire (un-enhanced, natural)
- Outer stones: 1.20c (total) VVS Ideal F/G
- Setting: White Gold 14k (solid) Diana Cluster Cocktail

Maybe the diamond/jewel experts on here can throw predictions on the price or what it should be worth? Not sure I want to announce the price or anything, but I'm certainly curious as to what more experienced GAF'ers think it should cost.

The ring looks beautiful. With colored stones, unheated corundum are worth substantially more than treated stones. It's hard to tell from the picture, but if that's considered a top grade "gem" quality, (ideal tone/saturation/hue according to GIA) in that size, the sapphire is probably worth at least $15,000 retail. The diamonds I'm less sure of. At least another couple thousand and maybe around $500 for the ring itself. Did you get a deal ? To me, that ring looks very expensive. I think it would cost at least 20 grand in a high end retail place, maybe twice as much if the sapphire is among the best quality, and with provenance from an old mine in Kashmir.