Engagement Ring

[Falloutboy]

I'm going down that path, and done a bit of shopping locally and looking online, when I started looking I went in with the thought that who could really tell the difference between lower end stones and a good one, and I was super surprised there was such a big difference, and that what most local jewelers were stocking were crap compared what i could get online, but something like this I want to see before I buy lol.

A thought I was looking at doing at a suggestion of a friend was trying to find a good ring on Craigslist with a good stone, then reset the stone and sell the setting for scrap gold. Have any of you guys done anything like this before? Found from what I can find a very nice .6 Caret ring (with a bunch of smaller side stones) for 700 bucks (sl1 clarity H Color so its a decent stone) not sure if this plan will blow up in my face.

what have you guys done and what should I be looking at for 700-1000 bucks?

 

[mnewsham]

should be looking at saving more money

Seriously though, it doesnt sound like a BAD idea, but be careful and dont do stupid crap like believe the seller without a jeweler looking at it, or seeing the diamond certification.

 

[Falloutboy]

its not about saving more money its about thats what i'm going to spend. I don't buy into the whole you need to drop a ton of money. I mean I know she would be more than happy with a nice 3/8th caret solitare from Bluenile and thats kinda where i'm leaning, but If I can spoil her a bit for the same money I might. and yes I would defiantly have a jeweler take a look

 

[Zeze]

Bluenile

 

[Gibson486]

I would not buy a stone off of craigslist. Are you kidding me? Unless he lets you take the ring and pay after you get it verified and appraised, I would say no way.

Where do you live?

Also, $700 for a .6ct round diamond tells me that it must be a bad cut or not certified right. For $700, if you go anywhere, you are looking at getting a non diamond ring or a very bad diamond.

 

[Falloutboy]

I would not buy a stone off of craigslist. Are you kidding me? Unless he lets you take the ring and pay after you get it verified and appraised, I would say no way.

Where do you live?

Also, $700 for a .6ct round diamond tells me that it must be a bad cut or not certified right. For $700, if you go anywhere, you are looking at getting a non diamond ring or a very bad diamond.

I would definatly meet at a jewler. and I live in West Michigan.

 

[torpid]

Seller should be willing to go to an appraiser of your choice to determine the cut/clarity so you don't have to take their word for it or do some research on the random "appraisal" that they had done.

 

[ViviTheMage]

Bluenile

I priced out the same ring I got locally at shanes, and shanes was a bit cheaper + lifetime cleanings and whatnot.

 

[GT1999]

you'll pretty much have to get a solitaire in a cheap setting and it isn't going to be a very good diamond. rounds tend to be more expensive so consider getting a princess cut or something.

 

[Texashiker]

what have you guys done and what should I be looking at for 700-1000 bucks?

My opinion,

Engagement ring = one weeks salary

Wedding ring = one months salary

Do you make $700 - $1,000 a week? If so, that should be fine for an engagement ring.

I dont care what style you look at, as long as it has a single diamond in it. I think multiple diamonds should be reserved for wedding rings.

 

[Elbryn]

echoing the statements before, how are you going to manage getting the ratings of the ring from craigslist without getting a jeweler or appraiser to look at it first. with your 700 some budget, if you gotta pay someone to take a look to validate the rock first, say $35.
that's already 5% of your budget. if the first few rings dont stand up, it may be a losing proposition.

maybe only consider posts with certificate proof to sort first pass, then take it to a jeweler to verify.

 

[NiteWulf]

Bought my wife's engagement ring from http://www.solomonbrothers.com. They have a page where you can search their loose diamond inventory based on stats. (Click on diamonds on the top menu.)

If you find something you like, call and ask for Pam V. She was nice to work with.


Edit: Quick search shows over 1000 stones roughly in your price range (I put in 600-800), including a little filtering to eliminate the crappy ones.

Edit2: This post sounds like an ad... Bah.
I'm a data/numbers shopper, so I did some research and became a temporary diamond expert before I bought. I picked this place largely because of the search option, because they had a setting that matched what I designed, and because I'm not spending that much money buying blind on the internet. Actually bought after emailing and talking with them on the phone. They sent me extra pictures of the setting I picked when I requested some, too.

 

[Falloutboy]

My opinion,

Engagement ring = one weeks salary

Wedding ring = one months salary

Do you make $700 - $1,000 a week? If so, that should be fine for an engagement ring.

I dont care what style you look at, as long as it has a single diamond in it. I think multiple diamonds should be reserved for wedding rings.

maybe i'm a bit backwards, but the wedding band always seemed to be the cheaper side of it, just a simple gold band to match the ring is all I was thinking, maybe i'm wrong.

 

[Gibson486]

My opinion,

Engagement ring = one weeks salary

Wedding ring = one months salary

Do you make $700 - $1,000 a week? If so, that should be fine for an engagement ring.

I dont care what style you look at, as long as it has a single diamond in it. I think multiple diamonds should be reserved for wedding rings.

Ummm....the engaement ring cost more than the wedding ring...

 

[alfa147x]

A wedding band that costs more than the engagement ring?!? Lmao


°

 

[Falloutboy]

lmao good I thought I was missing something

 

[Texashiker]

Ummm....the engaement ring cost more than the wedding ring...

A wedding band that costs more than the engagement ring?!? Lmao

Like I said, that is my opinion on the matter.

You spend a lot of money on the engagement ring, the relationship falls apart, and you just lost all that money. She walks away with a good bit of change only to pawn the ring at a local pawn shop, or sell it on ebay, no thank you.

My opinion, if she wants an expensive ring, she has to make a commitment to the relationship. In other words, she gets the expensive ring when we get married, and that way the ring is community property.

 

[seepy83]

Like I said, that is my opinion on the matter.

You spend a lot of money on the engagement ring, the relationship falls apart, and you just lost all that money.

Hopefully you're not at a point where the relationship would fall apart after you're engaged.

That being said, you don't necessarily lose the ring if you call off the wedding. A local radio station's morning show has an attorney on it every once in a while, and they said that the engagement ring goes back to the man unless he gave it to her on her Birthday, Valentines Day, Christmas, etc. If it's not given on a holiday, it's legally not considered a gift. The lawyer described it as part of a contractual agreement to get married.

 

[Macamus Prime]

Whisk 1 cup beer, 1 cup flour, 1/4 cup chopped parsley and a pinch of salt. Let the batter rest 1 hour. Dip 4 cups broccoli florets in the batter and fry in 375 degrees F vegetable oil until golden brown, about 2 minutes.

Drain on paper towels. Serve with sour cream,... and more beer.

 

[ElFenix]

My opinion,

Engagement ring = one weeks salary

Wedding ring = one months salary

Do you make $700 - $1,000 a week? If so, that should be fine for an engagement ring.

I dont care what style you look at, as long as it has a single diamond in it. I think multiple diamonds should be reserved for wedding rings.

you are just full of odd ideas aren't you?

 

[Falloutboy]

Whisk 1 cup beer, 1 cup flour, 1/4 cup chopped parsley and a pinch of salt. Let the batter rest 1 hour. Dip 4 cups broccoli florets in the batter and fry in 375 degrees F vegetable oil until golden brown, about 2 minutes.

Drain on paper towels. Serve with sour cream,... and more beer.

lmao that actually sounds really good

 

[Gibson486]

I would definatly meet at a jewler. and I live in West Michigan.

Bluenile is alright. They cost about the same as B&M in lots of cases. If you go online, and you want to do it all in one place, my recommendation is Whiteflash. They will do a free evaluation on any stone you want (they do limit the amount of times you can do this however). Price wise, they are lower than Bluenile, but the service is better because they do everything in house. If you want to the best price possible or just want to buy the diamond alone, try Eternitydiamonds. The owner is really nice and if you find a lower price on a diamond he lists, he will match it.

If you want to squeeze everything out of your money, look into buying a cushion. It is like a mix between a round and princess cut.

 

[Texashiker]

A local radio station's morning show has an attorney on it every once in a while, and they said that the engagement ring goes back to the man unless he gave it to her on her Birthday, Valentines Day, Christmas, etc.

That "attorney" word is why you do not spend very much money on an engagement ring.

Things fall apart, screw it, she can have the ring and good riddance.

you are just full of odd ideas aren't you?

From an investment point of view, I think its a good idea.

Until the wedding, the relationship is temporary. I would not want to spend a lot of money on a temporary relationship.

 

[Gibson486]

Like I said, that is my opinion on the matter.

You spend a lot of money on the engagement ring, the relationship falls apart, and you just lost all that money. She walks away with a good bit of change only to pawn the ring at a local pawn shop, or sell it on ebay, no thank you.

My opinion, if she wants an expensive ring, she has to make a commitment to the relationship. In other words, she gets the expensive ring when we get married, and that way the ring is community property.

Whatever you say, but no wedding band costs $4k.

 

[seepy83]

Whatever you say, but no wedding band costs $4k.

Try telling that to Tacori.