Engagement Rings (merged)

london00

Update:

I went back today, viewed a few other diamonds and I've upgraded. It's £70 extra but the specs and the cut are much better (plus it looks bigger though it's the same carat size :-) )

I went for a a 0.50ct, vs2, F, round cut, platinum compass setting, very good cut grade.
Depth is 63.2%, table is 56%, polish and symmetry are excellent and fluorescence is none.

TBH, they probably look the same but now I've got a good peace of mind. I'd have always slightly worried I could have got her a better ring for a tiny bit more effort, I think.

Onward with the rest of the plans!

Thanks LEJC for your kind words.

london00 wrote: »

Hi everyone. First post here and I'm looking for a bit of help.

I bought an engagement ring for my girlfriend this weekend and since I've got home, I've noticed the sparkle isn't as vibrant as it was in the shop. That old lighting trick. The cut is only a good. When I was looking online, I wanted GIA Excellent or Very Good and ended up buying under a bit of pressure. I've got a nagging feeling an excellent or very good cut would sparkle much more.

So... some questions:
- Does the shop legally have to offer a refund? I suspect not. I rang them, they said no but they could make me a new ring to my specifications and I pay the difference.
- Can anyone give me more details on 'good' cuts? Would an excellent or very good GIA cut make a big difference?
- Do diamonds tend to sparkle better in daylight or under normal lightbulbs?

Other than my doubts about cut, the ring is lovely and i know my girlfriend will love it. It's just me being the pedantic one because it's so much money and it's for life.

It's a 0.50ct, vs2, F, round cut, platinum compass setting, good cut grade.
Depth is 64.8%, table is 61%, polish and symmetry are very good and fluorescence is none.
It cost me £1460 from Carlo Jewellers in Hatton Garden and I'm worried I paid too much for what I got.

Thanks for any help.

LEJC

Thats great London....Ring sounds FAB...hope the other plans fall into place and you get the answer you deserve...well done on a great purchase!

LEJC

rjtyrell...its good that you've done some online research...both rings have similar specifications..based on the c's the top one on paper is the superior ring but without seeing them it would be very difficult for you to make a true comparison...
every diamond is different and even 2 graded exactly the same will possibly have a differnt appearance when put side by side...
the second ring appears a higher carat but this is because the total inclues the shoulder set stones which will not be graded diamonds but will be included in the total weight.
A lot of diamond purchasing comes down to personal preference so as they say the choice is yours...if it were me I would take your 2 examples to a jeweller and see what they have comparable...that way you get to see examples of what you are likely to be buying if you then take the option to purchase your ring online.....
You have a really good budget take your time with your choice...

CandyApocalypse

To me, it shouldn't be about cost, but about thought. For example, I don't like diamonds personally, my fiancee could have spent the 3 months wages on a massive rock and I would not have liked it.

Instead, he paid £100 for my topaz and diamond ring and I could not love it more. But, what I loved most about it, is that it showed how well he knew me and I wouldn't have cared if it cost 50p or 5 million.

Even if you do want a massive blingy diamond ring, the biggest tip is shop around, both online and in high street shops. Another tip is that small independant jewellery shops might seem much more expensive, but in my experience, they are also much more likely to drop their prices considerably to get the sale as they have the freedom to do so.

PedroOrange

Hi all,

Looking to spend around £1200 on my girlfriend's engagement ring and reading through this (huuuuge) thread, I'm thinking Samara James is the way to go.

Had a look online and one of the ones I like is the Fiona shape (samarajames .com/acatalog/info_r1_145.html) with specifications:
Carat:0.5
Clarity: VS2
Colour: H
Cut: Premium
Metal: 18k Yellow gold (I know she wants yellow gold!)

This gives the following dimensions:
Band width: 2.5mm
Shoulder width: 1.7mm
Height of setting: 5.2mm

Comes to £1270

Any thoughts on this? I am particularly wondering if the setting is higher than average/too high (ie will it be impractical to wear, catch on clothes etc often) and also would adjusting the specifications (eg SI1 and hearts & arrows cut) be better? Or would the extra £200 for hearts and arrows be worth it?

I'd be very grateful for any opinions at all, even if you think it's horrible. Especially if you think it's horrible! Only got one chance to get this right!

Thanks

LEJC

congratulations on taking the plunge on purchasing a ring...
I rarely comment on individual rings and if the purchaser is getting value for money or if the price is good...mainly because I see it as an area of personal choice but I usually point people who are intending to puchase online to make sure they research exactly what they want,usually by backing up research on the high strreet to make sure the spec and overall appearance of the ring is right before they buy online...
You make a very valid point about the height of the setting...and yes this can sometimes catch on clothing etc...but again this is a personal preference I have several rings with high settings and to be honest they dont bother me but I dont work in a job where I use my hands to that extent that the ring would catch my clothes etc...and when I went on to have children I rarely wore anything other than my wedding ring when interacting with them so as not to scratch their faces or skin with the edge of a ring etc..without asking your girfriends opinion straight out you could think about the following things
Does she wear jewellery particularly rings with high settings at the moment ie if she does then there isnt a problem?
Does her job mean that she would catch the ring on clothes...or does she work with children whom she may "knock"...or indeed is she working in an environment where she would be forever having to pick bits of playdoh...ot other substances out of the ring?

I can however tell you about the hearts and arrows cut...but again its your choice as to spending the extra money on it...it is a special cut that I delieve originated in US whereby each diamond is cut so that when you look through a jewellers loupe magnifying glass you can see tiny hearts and arrows...the US company Diamonds International do a similar cut called hearts on fire...again it can only be viewed via a 10x loupe...so it is unlikely that you will notice anything visible to the naked eye when looking at the diamond naturally...most of the differences in this type of cut will only be seen under magnification..some people say the diamond sparkles more because of the extra cut...but in truth unless you really know your diamonds I suspect you may not be able to tell!
H is a near colourless diamond and very nice...you can go higher up the scale and pay more ...you can go lower down the scale and pay less....sorry to keep rpeating myself but again the choice is yours..the beauty of diamonds is that they really do come in all shapes sizes and prices...
If you have read the tread you will know that I am a great believer in lots of research and will always suggest that you take a trip to the high street at least for fact finding....go and handle some rings in your price range and you'll be able to see the settings,stones and overall appearance...an online shop is great if you know exactly what you want ...but there is nothing like looking at the real thing...
Best of luck with your search

Stephb1986_2

The Fiona was my second choice from samara james but I went for the leah ring instead, it looks about the same height as mine which it doesn't catch on anything I iron for a living so I'm working with clothes all day my ring doesn't catch on them. I think it's a good choice of ring. I'm with LEJC with the cut of the ring you won't be able to see heart and arrows with the naked eye so premium would probably better. With the extra £200 you would save by having premium cut you can take her out for a posh meal with it

My ring came from Samara James and I can't recommend them enough, If your not so sure on them and you don't have to take my word for it why not get the sample of it to see what it's like in real life.

Steph xx

rjtyrell

For those reading this thread like myself I came across a really good site for advice etc.

This is not spam but free advice. Useful links to sites that give you colour grading so you can actually see the difference between say G and H for example.

http://www.truthaboutdiamonds.com/

PedroOrange

Thanks for the advice. We were out on Saturday and walked past a jewellers so I just asked her which ones she liked. I think the one I've picked is pretty much perfect from what she was saying. Now I just have to save up for it!

Will stick with the specs I've chosen, don't think she'll be looking at it under a 10 x loupe so should be great. With the £200 I save on the cut I'll take her out for a Nando's and spend the rest on myself!

Thanks again

skypie123_2

Can I ask if you go to a small independant jewellers and find a ring is it ok to haggle a bit on the price or is that only for the JQ in Birmingham? I live in Leeds and my mum says you get more second hand than new (on high st) xx