<p>Platinum is not “higher quality” than gold. Platinum is stronger and more scratch resistant than gold - it also has a grayer cast than white gold, which some people don’t like. Many top jewelers use platinum for the prongs on diamond rings, even if the rest of the ring is made of gold. White gold jewelry usually has a rhodium coating which gives it a brilliant, warm cast - so it’s important to differentiate between platinum and white gold - they don’t really look the same. </p>
<p>I love yellow gold - it’s warm and attractive on most skin tones, and certain gemstones - emerald, pearl, topaz, citrine look best in yellow gold. My original engagement ring and wedding band are 18K yellow gold from Shreve, Crump and Low in Boston. I still wear them when I’m wearing warm toned clothes. I have a platinum set that H gave me for our 10th anniversary that I wear with black, gray, and cooler colors. </p>
<p>If you are buying gold, try to buy higher quality 18K gold - definitely not 10K, which is really only used for very poor quality jewelry.</p>
<p>In my day girls with a more “limited” budget bought a cocktail ring. Lots of flash, little bucks. Other girls did alternative stones or a more ornate wedding band. Most of my friends are giving their sons a family diamond (or ring) that can be reset or not. One of my girlfriend’s son bought his fiancee a David Yurman ring.</p>
<p>Get what you like. You don’t need to to have what the generations before you had.</p>
<p>Emeralds scratch more easily than diamonds - does that make them lower quality? Gold and platinum are two different metals, each with certain characteristics. “Quality” is not really a relevant point in choosing which metal to use in a piece of jewelry. I have jewelry made of both, but I certainly don’t consider my gold jewelry to be of lower quality than my platinum jewelry - it’s just different.</p>
<p>Many jewelers will buff out small superficial scratches on rings - either gold or platinum (platinum does scratch) which will make them look as good as new. My H has a small jeweler’s buffing wheel that he uses to put the shine back on things that I wear often.</p>
<p>I really appreciate the rings on Etsy, but they’re just a bit too big for me, because my hands are small. They’re very pretty though! </p>
<p>I think I’d want to go for 14K gold, myself, because I have read that the lower caret gold alloys are more scratch resistant, and I wouldn’t know the difference between the two on look alone. Platinum would be nice if it was even remotely within my price range, but it’s not. </p>
<p>I took the advice here and visited some jewelry stores today in my local mall just to get a size gauge and see what looks good on my hands. One store was a local jewelry chain, and I tried on this very delicate and modern engagement ring and absolutely loved it. It sparkled beautifully and my friend who was there with me was in awe. I just wanted to see the price tag but the next thing you know the sale lady has it on my finger. Gorgeous, but $875. I have the money in the bank for it but I don’t think I can justify the expense. I think I will forgo buying something that I can’t see in person though, because it wasn’t something I think would have caught my eye online.</p>
<p>Best wishes to you, hyperJulie! Enjoy your search for that one special ring that speaks to you and fits your budget and lifestyle.</p>
<p>And thanks, friends, for turning me on to Gemvara. I’d never heard of it and am thrilled with the selection of tanzanite which I’ve never owned but always wanted.</p>
<p>I agree with not buying an engagement ring on line. It is an important investment no matter what your budget
I recall shopping for a diamond ( I used to work for a mom and pop jewelry shop that was amongst many things, the local source for wedding jewelry )
The salesman tried to push off a diamond that had a sizeable chunk missing from it, despite the fact that I told him I had background in the business</p>
<p>I will definitely keep shopping for now, but what do I do if nothing can top that ring I tried on today? It totally blows my budget but I am a sentimental person and I view this as a lifetime choice (no upgrading for me). It just completely took my breath away, and I only wanted to know the price but before I could protest the sales lady had it on my finger. </p>
<p>I have over 4k saved with hopefully another summer’s worth of checks on the way before I start grad school with a reasonable stipend, plus I can expect at least a bit of a second income and can spend some time living at my parents’ during grad school to save money. Aside from that, I have 6k in subsidized student loans from undergrad, but no debt otherwise. Given these financial circumstances, is it reasonable to spend $900 cash on a ring? I’m so torn. </p>
<p>(P.S. It’s a pretty nice quality ring. Local chain store, 14k gold, diamonds pretty small but boy do they sparkle…)</p>
<p>You don’t need to buy your forever ring right now. Get whatever you like, within your budget and wear it proudly.For about $500, don’t worry about 18K, G color or VVS quality because you are not going to get it and you don’t need it now.Don’t stress.
I know many friends who have upgraded from their first engagement ring and still wear it proudly (sentimental value) on their right fingers. Never say you won’t upgrade. There are just too many pretty rings in this world.</p>
<p>Hyper, if you keep coming back to it, yes it’s worth the expense imo. Only because that extra $400 can be made up and I really don’t think you’ll regret it.</p>
<p>Maybe the jeweler with the ring you love will do a layaway? Never hurts to ask. If you think of all the days and years you are going to wear it, it may not hurt to stretch a bit on the price. Try to negotiate a bit. You might want to hold off buying something you “like” until you can get something you “LIKE”. I am married for 36 years–no engagement ring–didn’t want one, and my wedding ring has sat in its box for 36 years. My H never takes his off. I am just not a ring person.</p>
<p>Julie, if you keep coming back to that ring in your mind, then ask yourself if you really be happy with anything else. If not, then that justification should be enough to spend the extra couple of hundred dollars. Can you describe it? Just curious!</p>
<p>Are you on any time schedule? Also, many places will, especially in this economy, work with you on price. Have you tried to negotiate the price of the one you really like? It doesn’t hurt to ask. What would you like to pay? What is your upper limit? There is wiggle room on these items. If they took $100 off would you buy it?</p>
<p>Keep in mind that $875 is still a very good price for something gold and something that has diamonds. You can also try to negotiate the price down some, probably close to 20% off that price. It isn’t like you are buying a new purse that will last a couple years. This is a ring you will wear for 50+ years. That comes out to $.04/day --you can find that 4 cents just laying in the street every day :). If you love the ring, but it, you won’t regret it.</p>
LOL that’s the kind of argument the sales person will try. The response back should be something like “thats true, but its simply not in our budget right now. We like the ring but $900 is more than we can afford. If you would take $750 total (tax included) we would buy it now.” Or, give a number thats actually a bit lower than your budget, giving them room to come back and counter. Good luck!</p>
<p>hyperJulie, I don’t know where you are, but if you can make a visit to something that is similar to the diamond district in NYC, you will find MUCH better values–and not only on diamonds–than at local jewelry stores.</p>
<p>I’ve actually been formulating my haggle plan in my head, if nothing can top it. I have the money in cash to buy it now, it’s just a matter of whether or not I can justify the expense. It’s a local store (two locations locally, nowhere else) so I’ll give it an honest try. Plus, if it the haggling fails at one location I can try the other! I’d like to get the retail price down to $700 tops and anymore than that I think I’ll walk away. I have a feeling they’ll try to bundle the matching band with it for the discount but that’s just not an option right now. </p>
<p>For those curious, I’ll do my best to describe it, but I think why I like it so much is that I just haven’t found anything really all that much like it. The center stone is round cut, I’d guess maybe 1/4-1/5CT, with asymmetrical inlaid diamonds on either side in a pattern kind of like… I guess the best way I can try to describe it is kind of like a really shallow sine wave, but not quite. Then there is an interesting matte, sandblasted type finish on the front of the ring where the diamonds are, and the rest of the band is polished. It is small, and the jeweler has a local reputation for handpicking the best diamonds, so it really sparkles the way diamonds should.</p>
<p>Consolation: Quite certain nothing of the sort exists around here. It’s a pretty dead area - industrial town where the industry has left.</p>
<p>Oh I meant to mention that and forgot all about it. Thanks for bringing that up, Consolation. We dealt with a direct diamond wholesaler when we added some stones to my ring here in our city, and later dealt with someone in the jewelry district in NY when upgrading the center stone. IIRC we traded in the old stone towards a different one.</p>
I think I will forgo buying something that I can’t see in person though, because it wasn’t something I think would have caught my eye online.</p>