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Got married almost a month ago and just realized that I never posted my wedding rings in here. Here's mine:  18k Rose gold "European comfort fit" I quite like it. The rose gold with my (south east asian) skin tone and the slimmer profile of the comfort fit makes it ever so slightly different from a "standard" gold band. Here is the wife's band:  hand engraved platinum with diamonds and sapphires, that goes with the engagement ring (posted earlier): 
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Nov 14, 2012 05:02
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| # ? Jun 1, 2024 14:26 |
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Whoa, gorgeous!
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Nov 15, 2012 13:12
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Scaramouche, in case you see this thread first, i've sent you a pm a few days ago.
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Nov 19, 2012 01:58
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GrAviTy84 posted:Got married almost a month ago and just realized that I never posted my wedding rings in here. Love the shape of that european comfort fit! And that hand engraving... 
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Nov 19, 2012 02:09
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I like the big rose gold men's band. Heavy gents rings are coming back strong.
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Nov 19, 2012 05:39
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Dumb generic question incoming (I've read the OP): I'm trying to get my wife diamond earrings for Christmas, but I don't even know what a good amount to spend is. I'm comfortable with like a max of $300 to $350, and it seems like I'm going to have to spend that much or more. A few questions: How big of a carat should it be? I want something very simple, so probably like a single diamond stud. I keep seeing reviews for 1/3 and 1/4 ct that are like "this earring is made for a newborn or small child." At what point can I be happy with the clarity? I just don't want it to be visibly awful, and I know at my price point I'm not going to get something incredible. Is it much better to go to a jewelry shop with a request like this? I'm always very hesitant to go into a jewelry shop because I absolutely HATE being sold to, and am never comfortable in a store like that. I'd love to buy online, but am obviously worried with all the problems that entails. If $300 or $350 isn't enough to get a reasonable diamond, please let me know. I'd rather not get one if it's not going to be a good purchase.
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Nov 30, 2012 18:22
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For diamond studs of a nice visible size you want a .50ct in each ear. That's one carat total weight. In those sizes it's "These are diamond earrings" and you get the sparkle that you would expect. Some smaller women look good with .33 (.66 total weight), but the earrings tend to look more casual in that size. It's going to be tough to do anything with diamonds for $350. Even the lightweight gemstone earrings I make up have more than $350 worth of gold in them.
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Nov 30, 2012 20:22
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For us smaller stores that are used to making things up for reasonable prices for people, the earrings themselves are truly only about $40 in parts, for 14k gold. Where you're gonna get held up is the diamonds. You can definitely skimp on the clarity in earrings because nobody will be getting particularly close to your ears- a white I1 stone that faces up nicely will do fine. Still, expect more around say $500-700 if you want half carat stones that are carefully selected for having a poor clarity grade yet still looking good for an earring.. If you're down for smaller, more understated stones...$350 is totally possible, but you're not letting us as a store make much money : ) I just found this, check it out: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-00CT-Diamond-Studs-14K-White-Gold-/321028592777 They really aren't the best color grade and I make no guarantees or even speculation about how nice those I2-I3 stones are going to look (I'd need to see the actual stones, some highly included stones do look okay in earrings), but there you are. dr. blanky fucked around with this message at 21:23 on Dec 1, 2012 |
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Dec 1, 2012 18:40
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This is what gets me, why bother with white gold? Can you explain why it costs so much more than silver or yellow gold?
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Dec 2, 2012 00:38
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dr. blanky posted:ebay link What are the chances the earrings they get are the same earrings as in the picture, though? I've seen a lot of dodgy ebay goods. Omgbees posted:This is what gets me, why bother with white gold? White and yellow gold cost about the same, but with rhodium plating and extra polishing white gold can be a little more difficult to work with. Silver doesn't hold up in every situation. It tends to crack when worked into thin forms. Gold and platinum can be worn for a century.
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Dec 2, 2012 02:04
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Omgbees posted:This is what gets me, why bother with white gold? White gold is an extremely different beast to work with. It cracks easily and often when cold worked, and is very difficult (compared to yellow gold and silver) to set stones in. Gold and its alloys hold a polish extremely well like JohnnyRnR said and will stay shiny for a very, very long time. Silver does not do this, it's okay to work with but to stay looking bright and shiny with everyday wear is pretty difficult without getting it re-polished periodically.
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Dec 2, 2012 02:56
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JohnnyRnR posted:What are the chances the earrings they get are the same earrings as in the picture, though? I've seen a lot of dodgy ebay goods. Slim to none really, I doubt that any I2-I3 stone would look that way. It's always better if you can find a real store with a legitimate, honest owner. That's why they're so drat cheap.
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Dec 2, 2012 10:32
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I have a sterling silver ring (with a very small stone) that is beginning to show some wear. What I'd really like to do is have a version of this exact ring made out of a better material such as platinum as the design has sentimental value. Cost is not really an object. Where would I get started trying to get this accomplished?
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Dec 2, 2012 17:04
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A girl once told me that after you've worn a white gold ring for a while, it'll start turning yellow. Is that true?
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Dec 2, 2012 20:11
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chef posted:copy of this exact ring made out of platinum Any jeweler can do this. They can take a mold of your original ring and produce a copy in platinum. It's a piece of cake. marshmallard posted:A girl once told me that after you've worn a white gold ring for a while, it'll start turning yellow. Is that true? It's possible with some of the older white gold alloys. They used to look yellowish and the stores would plate the ring with rhodium for the bright white finish. But the rhodium would wear off over time and the ring would look dingy. These days it doesn't happen - We have many bright white alloys that don't need rhodium plating and stay the correct color forever.
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Dec 2, 2012 20:40
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So I'm going to be buying "the" ring for the girlfriend soon and want some opinions on how much I should be paying for a ring. She'd like something in White Gold, probably around 1/4 - 1/2 ct(she doesn't want anything huge, rather save the money for our house/etc), in a princess cut and square type setting. Something along the lines of these   She found those at Kohls of all places that she liked although I'm almost positive I should never buy that kind of jewelry from Kohls though. Should I find a local jeweler and take those pictures to them and see what they can do? mattfl fucked around with this message at 15:14 on Dec 6, 2012 |
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Dec 6, 2012 15:10
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The only problem with big box stores are construction. They tend to have items made in large batches by the cheapest bidder. So you sometimes wind up with a piece of jewelry that needs stone replacement or a crack repaired in a year. Your local jeweler may have similar styles available for only a little bit more money. I'd go check them out.
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Dec 6, 2012 19:40
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My best friend got her engagement ring from JC Penney's and loved it until the little pave stones started falling out. It kept happening and eventually the Penney's warranty people said they'd no longer fix it, couldn't replace it since it wasn't in the store anymore, and would only give back what they paid for it, which was something ridiculously cheap since it was on clearance.
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Dec 6, 2012 23:36
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I've got a question, what's the diamond in Blood Diamond worth? How much would a pink diamond of that size be worth in real life? imdb says: "Solomon was offered £2 million for it. Solomon's diamond doesn't look a whole lot smaller than the Hope diamond, which today is valued at nearly $250,000,000. However, the Hope diamond is a rare deep-blue diamond, even more rare than Solomon's pink diamond, and it is cut and polished. Whether Solomon's diamond will remain as one large stone or several smaller ones will largely depend on the flaws in the structure. All of these considerations...size, color, and cut...will determine the ultimate value of the diamond. A pink diamond, such as Solomon's diamond, in the rough is likely well worth £2 million. For Solomon, however, no diamond is worth the lives of his wife and children." So what's it real value? Best guess? Also, what the value of the diamond pile in Lord of War?
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Jan 3, 2013 22:15
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Rough guess? Assuming high quality I would estimate that pile to be worth $10,000,000 at retail.
JohnnyRnR fucked around with this message at 06:14 on Jan 4, 2013 |
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Jan 4, 2013 05:13
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Hey Johnny, could you engrave a ring with symbols/cursive text in a way that would last?
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Jan 4, 2013 05:32
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Sure. Shoot me an email with what you need.
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Jan 4, 2013 06:14
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Might in a bit, need to think if I want to do it. 
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Jan 4, 2013 06:46
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I read through the OP and didn't see anything about pearls. Are they considered precious or semi-precious? Or neither? The specific reason I ask is because I'm considering getting a piece for my wife. I won't post a link to the specific piece because I don't want anyone to think I'm advertising it but it's 23 inches long with 109 round Akoya pearls graduated from 3mm at the ends to 7mm in the middle with a silver clasp. Asking price is $230. Is this fair? Also, is it safe to assume that similar pieces found online from China for $40 are just plastic?
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Jan 4, 2013 06:55
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My fiancée wanted a particular ring style made from a particular jeweler. This jeweler only worked with ethically sourced gems and metals, so it was very important the ring come from there, but it was out of state for us. Their diamond quotes were so expensive though that I started shopping around and ultimately purchased a diamond from another supplier (still ethically sourced, great diamond). I shipped the diamond to the jeweler and had them set it into their ring. The ring: http://bario-neal.com/bn/categories/engagement-rings/avens-ring.html So the jeweler had to make this ring, which isn't particular complex looking or large, and set the diamond in it. It was 14K rose gold. They charged me $1400 to do this. Is it particularly expensive for to set a diamond that justifies this cost or did they throw on an idiot-tax because I didn't buy the diamond directly from them? Summit fucked around with this message at 16:39 on Jan 4, 2013 |
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Jan 4, 2013 16:36
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AJ posted:The specific reason I ask is because I'm considering getting a piece for my wife. it's 23 inches long with 109 round Akoya pearls graduated from 3mm at the ends to 7mm in the middle with a silver clasp. Asking price is $230. Is this fair? All pearls were once precious, then they became semi-precious. The exception being the ultra-rare large perfect natural pearls that sheikhs fight over. That's a fair price for 3mm Akoya. Just FYI, the "Japanese Akoya" pearls sold today mostly aren't. They're identical pearls from China that are imported to Japan, put in new boxes with a Japanese label, and then re-exported. But the Chinese pearls are a fine product. Anything you find online for $40 will be a much lower quality than the photos. Summit posted:So the jeweler had to make this ring, which isn't particular complex looking or large, and set the diamond in it. It was 14K rose gold. They charged me $1400 to do this. Is it particularly expensive for to set a diamond that justifies this cost or did they throw on an idiot-tax because I didn't buy the diamond directly from them? For a large city boutique retailer doing handcrafted work the price is reasonable.
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Jan 4, 2013 17:23
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Nice! It was like a year ago so I wasn't going to throw a fit, just curious. Thanks.
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Jan 4, 2013 17:36
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Hey Johnny, could you suggest some reasonably-priced mens ring styles? They're so hard to track down, especially with small fingers/hands.
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Jan 4, 2013 18:42
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Pearls under $100 definitely aren't necessarily fake. You don't see plastic pearls until you get to, like, Claire's quality. But the price of real pearls has dropped because pearls can be very successfully farmed now. They're still perfectly real pearls, made from natural nacre, but the starting irritant was introduced to the oyster by man and not by chance. I've bought some pearl pieces around the $50 range and been totally happy with them. If you're looking for large, round, and flawless, no, not at that price. If you're looking for pearls where irregularity is part of their beauty -- keshi, dented rice, potato -- or if you're into large quantities of small pearls, I think you can find great pieces. Obviously you also see a lot of dyed pearls in that price range, but you know that no, you can't find 100 undyed pearls in an identical shade of spring green. I think they still look pretty good, and I think the rare but natural-looking colors aren't obviously dyed to a casual observer. JohnnyRnR, do you know anything about cathaygems.com? I basically want a Scrooge McDuck vault full of pearls, and that site is always tempting.
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Jan 5, 2013 00:42
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i like nice words
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Nope, never heard of them. A lot of "real" cultured pearls are ones that took a short cut. They might put an especially large cultured bead in a oyster and process it once it has a paper thin layer of nacre. Pretty, but not durable. wafflehound, something more common like titanium, maybe? Copper and silver are bad choices, and wood is cool but you have to replace them annually if you aren't careful.
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Jan 5, 2013 01:40
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Johnny, do you know anything about rings made from meteorite? My buddy had one made for his wedding band and it looked pretty cool, but I'd never heard anything on it's long term durability.
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Jan 5, 2013 03:00
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It's a great material. For lack of a better descriptor - It essentially wears the same as steel. You can make the rings in straight meteorite or to dress them up set a meteorite strip in a lining sheath of gold or platinum.
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Jan 5, 2013 05:51
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Since there is still some interest in this thread I thought I would post something unique I recently acquired. A large, pure red, Spinel.  This is a little over 3 carats which wouldn't normally be a "huge" gemstone, but in this material it is. It's very rare to find red spinel over 3 carats, and even rarer for one to have a pure Red. Almost all of the red spinel mined has brown, orange, or pink tints. This one has a GIA lab report attesting to the pure red color. Adding to the rarity are two other factors. This spinel was mined in Burma and has not been heat treated. Burmese spinels are the best, rarest, and highly sought after. And because this is unheated the crystal has a pure vivid vibrancy: The color looks "crisp" to the eye.
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Jan 5, 2013 06:39
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JohnnyRnR posted:It's a great material. For lack of a better descriptor - It essentially wears the same as steel. I figured about as much, but wasn't sure. I mean I know what's in a meteorite, but didn't know what the typical ratios of the metals in them were so I didn't know what metal it would most closely resemble. I'm going to be in the market for a wedding band this year so I was sort of curious. I saw one of the strip ones set in platinum that looked really nice. His is solid meteorite.
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Jan 5, 2013 07:04
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JohnnyRnR posted:wafflehound, something more common like titanium, maybe? Copper and silver are bad choices, and wood is cool but you have to replace them annually if you aren't careful. I myself tend to only wear gold. 
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Jan 5, 2013 07:08
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WAFFLEHOUND posted:I myself tend to only wear gold. When we were shopping for our rings we came across something called Argentium Silver. I guess benchmark has a few and they are very reasonably priced. Also they supposedly don't tarnish like conventional sterling.
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Jan 5, 2013 07:14
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Since we're talking about pearls, is there anything to look out for when buying Tahitian ("black") pearls? I've been looking for a Tahitian pearl ring for my wife and found one I really like but it seems like it might be over priced relative to other 14k gold rings with an equivalently sized pearl? Not to mention the corny name...
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Jan 5, 2013 07:28
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GrAviTy84 posted:When we were shopping for our rings we came across something called Argentium Silver. I guess benchmark has a few and they are very reasonably priced. Also they supposedly don't tarnish like conventional sterling. Ah, just so you know I'm not talking about wedding rings. I'm married and already have one. That does it for my left hand, but the right could still use some decoration some day.  e. I don't know much about the jewelry side of things, but I'd worry about a meteorite wedding band simply for the way the metal in them is fused, they could be more prone to wear than ordinary iron. WAFFLEHOUND fucked around with this message at 07:46 on Jan 5, 2013 |
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Jan 5, 2013 07:44
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Saint Fu posted:Since we're talking about pearls, is there anything to look out for when buying Tahitian ("black") pearls? I've been looking for a Tahitian pearl ring for my wife and found one I really like but it seems like it might be over priced relative to other 14k gold rings with an equivalently sized pearl? Not to mention the corny name... It's a little high, but a lot of times that's just the cost of supporting an independent artisan. The difference between a $1,400 ring and a $1,200 ring can mean paying rent for a small independent.
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Jan 5, 2013 15:46
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| # ? Jun 1, 2024 14:26 |
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I'm curious to know if I got screwed on the engagement ring I bought. Not that there is anything I can do about it now since I already bought it and gave it to her (she loves it and thinks it's the greatest thing in the world -- HOORAY!) But, I bought a 0.95 ct. D color SI2 clarity Stone with an "excellent" cut that cost $4000. I had it set in 14k White gold, with 0.5 carats of pave diamonds (but they're small), I can upload a picture later. The total came to $6,000 including tax.
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Jan 6, 2013 07:37
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