STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

If you are thinking of having the ring custom-made, I think you should be involved b/c the whole point of doing that is getting exactly what you want.  If you are thinking of getting a ready-made ring, I would suggest going ring shopping together so you can try on different styles with different sized/shaped diamonds and see what you like best.  Then, he can pick one for you having what you like in mind. 

This is my diamond and ring:

Except we had my diamond set on an angle, because that's the way it kept falling (see how the prongs are set?) when I was trying it on and we decided we liked it better that way.  If you go to www.shaneco.com you can try different rings with different diamonds to see what you like.

-- Edited by LMonet at 13:01, 2005-01-26

I thought I knew what I would want (something vintagey and antique-looking) but I am so glad my husband got me something different. My ring is very simple and modern and suits me so much better. I did know I wanted white gold, which I got. This is my ring:



Also, tell him to go with color/clarity over size. Even if it's smaller than you'd like at first, you will be much happier with a clearer, smaller stone than a cloudy larger one. (This is especially important if you are choosing a shape other than round for your stone.)

Moral of the story: I would give him a general guideline (i.e. if you like white/yellow metals, shape of the stone, etc) but I think it's much sweeter when they pick something out for you.

PS- I love sapphires like nobody's business, but I don't like them on wedding rings or e-rings. A co-worker of mine has one, and when you look at her ring, all you see is the sapphire part -- the color really detracts from the diamond, IMO.

Good luck! I am so excited for you!

quote:

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Originally posted by: halleybird
"PS - Lmonet, is your ring from ShaneCo too? I loooooove ShaneCo. I am also a big fan of getting your e-ring from a non-mall jeweler, btw. Their metals are usually heavier and their care programs better. JMO."

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Yup!  Do you have one near you?  They do have an awesome care program, though I do wish they were able to customize.  They have a trade up policy too, so if you ever want to upgrade your diamond, they give you what you paid for your first one toward the upgrade.  They also have a nice insurance/replacement policy.

I agree with what everyone has said about going and trying on various shapes and styles.  You will never really know what you want until you actually try it on your finger.  Try on different shaped stones, different settings (definitely try on both a plain solitaire setting and a more ornate setting), and different widths of bands.  I think you'll be surprised at what you like when you actually see it on your finger.

In my case, my husband had some idea of what I wanted but wasn't sure, so he got me a solitaire - a gorgeous radiant cut stone with a very thin platinum band.  And he said that whenever I was ready, I could take the stone out of the setting and put it in a setting that I chose.  I wore it as a solitaire ring for about 10 months, then found my dream setting (very vintage-y) and had the stone put in that.  To be honest with you, I think I like it equally in both settings - in both cases, it was the meaning behind it all that meant the most!