<p>There is no need to get D quality for stud earrings, for a ring, yes. G will suffice for earrings. I would also not buy diamonds or pearls from Tiffany and Cartier, even though I have quite a few pieces from Cartier, because I do not believe quality of their diamonds would be better. Living around NYC, I’ve had quite a few options of working with some local jewelers. Blue Nile is a good place to find out how much diamond should cost. I think .5 (total 1.0) carat would be a good size. D1 took my original pair and they look very good on her.</p>
<p>I would pay for GIA certified rather than for “from Tiffany.”</p>
<p>I would strongly recommend Blue Nile. We used them for diamond stud earrings for D’s 16th bday (she was getting her ears pierced then so it was a pretty big deal). You will get a far, far better price than at Tiffany’s. We had some pretty high expectations for quality and with Blue Nile, you can set your color, clarity, etc specifications as you like and see what going up or down a level costs. D’s earrings are among the prettiest diamond studs I’ve seen. Nicer than mine, hmmmm…</p>
<p>I believe they are 1 carat total, though i would have to look it up to be sure. D is petite and anything bigger would be too much on her small frame. She’s not a big jewelry person, but these are perfect for all occasions and we are pleased with the purchase. We saw it as an investment.</p>
<p>Although the thrill of the blue Tiffany’s box is wonderful, I’m not sure it is worth the price. Make sure what ever you get has a screw back on them. My first pair if diamond studs were quite small, probably less than a 1/4 ct. Dh upgraded them years ago to something a bit bigger and in yellow gold. They are my favorite piece of jewelry! Your daughter will be so thrilled.</p>
<p>You can get the thrill of the blue Tiffany box for the silver jewelry, which is nice “transitional” jewelry for a young girl.</p>
<p>My problem with Tiffany’s is that their esthetic has gotten so modern and ‘spare’ that I feel no excitement when I look at their pieces. I like jewelry that is art but I am not a modernist. And as studs are pretty much all ‘Tiffany-mounted’ – they invented or popularized the prong-setting which gets as much light as possible into the stone – I don’t think you need to pay Tiffany prices. </p>
<p>Now vintage Tiffany is a different story…I love that stuff! Can’t afford it but it sure was beautiful. </p>
<p>Bonnie in NJ – Love upgrades! I’m on about my 3rd wedding ring…still with the 1st husband!</p>
<p>I say “I do” (fall in love) all over again with every new ring.</p>
<p>Get her some vintage earrings - address the sociopolitical concerns, avoid paying “brand” money to Tiffany et. alia. For example: [Art</a> Deco Diamond Stud Earrings in 18K](<a href=“http://www.beladora.com/viewitem.asp?idProduct=1445&priceRange=0x999999]Art”>http://www.beladora.com/viewitem.asp?idProduct=1445&priceRange=0x999999).
Full disclosure, this store sponsors my blog, but I know the woman, and know of several people who have been very happy with what they purchased.</p>
<p>Wow. $7000, even $1000. Not sure that was the OP’s budget… If it is, FOR SURE get them converted to screw backs as they likely will not come that way.</p>
<p>COSTCO! They have incredible quality jewelry and very reasonable pricing. DH presented me with diamond studs from Costco several years ago. If in doubt, purchase a Costco set and take them for independent appraisal. If your unhappy with the report…hey it’s Costco, just take them back.</p>
<p>DD has her grandma’s diamond earrings. They are the tiniest things I’ve ever seen…they are cut diamonds but I’m quite sure they are the smallest cut diamond that is possible. </p>
<p>I asked her about these earring options. Her comment…“my future husband can buy me something from Tiffany’s IF HE CAN AFFORD TO DO IT”. She agreed that expensive diamond earrings needed screw on posts. She HAD beautiful Swaroski (oh that’s not spelled correctly) crystal earriings that truthfully looked like diamonds…and lost one…it was not a screw back.</p>
<p>DD was given some Mikimoto earrings and necklace (family jewelry) for her college graduation. They are in a safety deposit box because of their value. </p>
<p>My daughter age 23 says…get your college grad something they will WEAR, not something that is so valuable they will need to put it in a safety deposit box and get an insurance rider to protect it if it’s stolen.</p>
<p>dietz – Costco has some very nice studs. They have been working for a while to bring their quality up to stand-alone jewelry store quality. Didn’t they have the most expensive diamond available at retail recently? </p>
<p>thumper1 – Consider letting her wear the pearls. Pearls are happiest if they are worn. They will eventually discolor if they are not used from time to time. I am not terribly knowledgeable about pearls (that’s a whole ‘nother field of study)…but I have sold Mikimoto so know a bit about cultured pearls. The other thing about pearls is – it’s hard to tell the really good ones from the not-so-good ones. There are classes of Mikimoto pearls, as there are classes of diamonds. Size, nacre quality and depth is hard to judge for a layman. You can usually tell what the company thought of the pearls’ quality by the clasp – 18k vs. 14k. Diamond decorated vs. pearl decorated vs. plain gold. If they have a relatively plain clasp, let her wear them. </p>
<p>Besides, every young lady looks nice in pearls. Esp. pearl stud earrings. As long as she keeps creams and sprays away from them, she can’t really hurt them.</p>
<p>I agree with Novelisto that many of Tiffany’s styles are rather “blah” and too spare. However, I have many friends who would love nothing more than opening that “little blue box.” My favorite jeweler is Bulgari because of their distinctive, old world styles. I also like Van Cleef for elegant, beautiful pieces, and I would never turn down a piece from Buccellati or Verdura.</p>
<p>My daughter wears her pearl stud earrings much more than her diamonds, and as long as she doesn’t use sprays or solvents, they do improve with wear. How about the classic pearl with diamond earring? This is a classic earring from Mikimoto that will last a lifetime:</p>
<p>[Cultured</a> Pearl and Diamond Stud Earrings - Mikimoto](<a href=“http://www.mikimotoamerica.com/categories/earrings/stud-earrings-with-diamond-123.html]Cultured”>http://www.mikimotoamerica.com/categories/earrings/stud-earrings-with-diamond-123.html)</p>
<p>I do like the diamond & pearl setting more than the studs- the TIffany setting is used even in zircon earrings from Fred Meyer & to the casual eye don’t look much different.</p>
<p>Of course I like this combo, which isn’t in my budget this month.
[Classic</a> Elegance Diamond and Pearl Earrings - Mikimoto](<a href=“http://www.mikimotoamerica.com/categories/earrings/classic-elegance-earrings-white-gold-and-diamonds.html]Classic”>http://www.mikimotoamerica.com/categories/earrings/classic-elegance-earrings-white-gold-and-diamonds.html)</p>
<p>Novelisto, My DD is in the Peace Corps in Africa. She is NOT wearing Mikimoto pearls there. The earrings she has have gold and diamond setting and are tear drop shaped. They are lovely for a wedding but NOT something she would wear on a day to day basis. The necklace is beautiful too…but not for DD right now. While she was “touched” that her grandmother gave her the great grandmother’s jewelry, the reality is it will be YEARS before she is in a position to use it.</p>
<p>I guess the question to answer here is…do you want to buy an heirloom that is something your daughter will have for years…or do you want to buy something the daughter will use now. For some…the same piece of jewelry would work to answer yes to both questions. In our case…not so. </p>
<p>As another example, I’m a teacher…I have kids grabbing by earrings all the time. I would never wear expensive jewelry of any kind to work. NEVER.</p>
<p>I also struggled with the choice of whether to give my DD a family ring for graduation – or something else she’d be likely to wear more often. The antique ring is fairly large and “fancy” looking although it’s not terribly valuable: amethyst and sterling from the 20s. I love it, and DD borrows it for special occasions. She’d appreciate having it, but she wouldn’t wear it very often, especially since she works in a science lab and can’t really wear rings that would interfere with gloves. So I’m keeping the ring for a few more years. Meantime, for graduation I bought her one of those silver ‘bean’ Tiffany necklaces. (She’s the type of girl who really gets a thrill from that blue box.) It wasn’t very expensive, and it seemed fitting – she’s moving from Boston, ‘beantown,’ to NYC, home of Tiffany. I’m very pleased to report she loves it and has been wearing it almost non stop since graduation. I just love it when a gift is such a hit.</p>
<p>I’ve heard great things about that Tiffany silver necklace. It’s not all that expensive and it’s a style that many young women find attractive.</p>
<p>For our DD’s graduation, we gave her some family jewels (they happen to be rubies and diamonds) and a gift of having them set into a piece of jewelry of her choice. We know a jewelry designer who will work with her to do this. The rubies are currently set in a pink gold setting and she is hoping to use that in her piece as well. The stones will be the “heirlooms” but the jewelry piece itself will be something unique. This will happen when DD gets OUT of the Peace Corps!</p>
<p>I am not a huge jewelry person but what I have and use is all of good quality. I am not certain that you will get the best value in buying diamond studs from Tiffany;s but… their service is really incredible. Both of my d’s have lots of the silver jewelry that was so popular for their bat mitzah gifts and my older d just began wearing one of those pieces again this year. The clasp needed replacing so I took it to the main Tiffany store for repair. They treated me like a queen as if I was bringing in the royal jewels. You wait in a lovely sitting room, you are taken into a private room, the repair was ready when they said it would be ready, they cleaned the jewelry and lovingly wrapped it even though it was not a gift in the lovely blue box and white signature bow. I have also sent gifts from the Tiffany catalogue and they are just a pleasure to deal with which is something I value.</p>
<p>^^^ I couldn’t agree more. They are absolutely first-rate.</p>
<p>Alumother and Consolation, those are both lovely choices.</p>
<p>Here’s a nice hint for those who can’t afford diamond studs. My mom gets lovely vintage pins online (I think from ebay). Sometimes she will buy a group sold together, each one averaging under $2. She keeps the high value one(s) for her collection and sells or gives away the others.</p>