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Colored Engagement Rings (a fun post for once!) :)
So of course I'm super excited that my Beau & I are starting to look at engagement rings... but I had no idea they were SO expensive.
I'm a pretty thrifty, fashion-forward individual so I find myself more attracted to colored rings (Aquamarine particularly) but am also considering white stones (Sapphire, Morganite) that aren't quite as expensive as diamonds.
To me, the colored ring would be cool because in 5-10 years when I can afford to upgrade it'll still make a sweet cocktail ring. But a girlfriend of mine recently got engaged with a yellow diamond (more expensive than white, I know, just her preference) and tells me people keep asking if it's her birthstone.
I def. want the world to know I'm taken (isn't that the main point of the ring?), I want to love wearing it, and I don't want it to break the bank.
Can anyone weigh in? Ladies with colored gems, small diamonds, diamond look-alikes? Just would LOVE some feedback.
Thanks so much!!!
Re: Colored Engagement Rings (a fun post for once!) :)
Congratulations on your impending engagement!
I think that everyone will (or should) know you're married because of which finger the ring will be worn on, plus of course when you add the wedding band it will be clear you're married.
You have a good point about how it is easier to turn a colored stone into another sort of ring if you end up getting a diamond later.
Also, there are plenty of fake diamond rings these days that look good, made with gold or platinum. After my divorce I bought a small eternity band with CZ in it for my pinky.
I love it and people are always surprised that it is not real. Some women have even taken it to compare with their real eternity bands and they like mine better.....so maybe that would be an option?
I have a black diamond that I absolutely love and adore. It's very different and people still recognized that it was an engagement ring. My wedding band is white diamonds, very small, but with the same detail as my engagement ring.
Thanks Ms Sapphire (another gem I adore)!!!
I thought the CZ's looked GREAT online. I'm pleasantly surprised to hear they are lovely in person as well. Thanks so much for giving me another option.
Why wouldn't your boss assume that your boyfriend picked the ring rather than you? Or more importantly, why would your boss assume that your engagement ring is any of her business?
My mom's ring was CZ, looked great, and lasted until she replaced it when I was in high school or college. I told DH I was fine with CZ myself, and I would have loved one (and the extra money we would have saved), but he insisted on a diamond.
"You know you're in love when you don't want to fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams." - Dr. SeussDon't go for aquamarine; it won't hold up well and will scratch and chip. Sapphire is a great choice (and I'm not just saying that because I have one) and comes in a rainbow of colors: blue, red (called ruby, of course, but it's the same mineral), pink, orange, green, black, purple, light blue, white... not to mention it's practically as hard as diamond AND less prone to fracturing when struck. Plus, lab-created sapphires are extremely affordable and internally flawless.
I do get asked about my ring frequently, but everyone has realized it's my wedding set (sapphire solitaire on a floral band plus a filigree band with diamonds and sapphires) and it does happen to be my birthstone. I have to bite my tongue to hold back my anti-diamond rant, though no one has really suggested I should have gotten a diamond, and I've been married two years and engaged for one before that.
My favorites: blue topaz, followed by sapphires followed by opals of all kinds.
I particularly love the oversized stones -- I have quite a few of them in my collection -- the stones that are 12 carats and up. You can find these on sale at many stores --- and there are plenty of the "princess di" settings with sapphires. Great look for any finger of any kind.:)
Emeralds are soft --- I think aquamarines are, also. So are opals.
Call me crazy/old fashioned/ paternalistic but pretty much anytime I e a ring on a lady's left ring finger, I assume it means she is spoken for... Whether it is a sapphire, diamond, plain band, or artsy piece.
GO with what you love. I personally didn't want a colored stone engagement ring, so I guess I am pretty traditional in that way... but I do love them and have several friends who have them. When they got engaged, never once wondered if it was "actually" an engagement ring or "why" they didn't do a diamond instead. With the 2 particular friends I am thinking of who have sapphire rings, I wasn't surprised at all actually. It was like "oh wow, that is so 'you'.. what a perfect ring"... They are both happy! One has been engaged/married for a total of almost 10 years and the other for engaged for about 1 year. Both are just as thrilled as they were on day 1.
I have a three stone ring (the center is diamond and the side stones are sapphires) I love it. And I love that I get a ton of compliments from people because it's different. Sapphires definitely very durable, and as PP said there are a ton of color options. One of my good friends has the opposite for her e-ring. She has an aquamarine center stone and the side stones are diamonds. Her ring is gorgeous!
I think as long as you wear the ring on your left finger, regardless of what the ring is made of, I think people realize what it means. I know I do.
I went with tricolor gold an no gemstones. I just got a band as my engagement ring that I also wear as my wedding ring. DH got me a solitaire ring for my birthday almost a decade later. I always figured by this point in our lives, when he finally gave me a solitaire ring, it would be a diamond... but it turns out we still have other things we'd rather spend our money on.
Some people gave me grief about not having a diamond during my engagement, but now that I'm married, nobody seems to care in the least.
Part of the reason I decided against a colored stone was the birthstone thing. I'm not a big fan of my birthstone, and I didn't want to constantly get that question and have to answer no. I have a Claddagh ring that my (half-by-adoption) sister gave me when she got married. I don't wear it that much because people often ask me if I'm Irish, and that makes me feel weird. My sister is half Irish, but that's the half that we don't share.
I personally do not care for diamonds because I'm too thrifty and I'm just to colorful. My first engagement ring was a smokey topaz surrounded by diamonds and more smokey topaz. I loved it but the guard broke and when it was sent to be repaired the designer melted it down and my stones were gone. After the whole terrible ordeal the store we bought my ring from made us a custom engagement ring by Princess Jewelers. I would highly highly recommend them to anyone because the work is too beautiful for words. I'm going to try to post a picture of my two engagement rings with the one on the left being a Chad Allison smokey topaz and diamond ring, a bad replacement of the original, and the one on the left is by Princess Jewelers it's a custom made citrine center stone (first red one I've ever seen) surrounded my more citrine and emeralds on the side to make it look like a flower.
I can't seem to post the picture right so any help would be greatly appreciated but here's the link to my picture if you'd like to see;
http://i1319.photobucket.com/albums/t662/ChelleT2982/902036_10200888553234545_640147227_o_zps387f47fe.jpg
You may have already got your rings (I was too excited about this topic to read all the responses :-S ) but my hubby and I ended up going to a local jewelry maker and had him custom make my rings. Personally, I find diamonds boring. Sure they are sparkly but they don't give me the wow factor I want for the cost. For my engagement ring, I have a large Pink Tourmaline with two small rubies to either side and three more pink tourmaline for my wedding band. I love it! It helps that they are a fraction of the cost of diamonds. Let your personality shine - we did and I love them so much more!
P.S. No one has ever asked me if it is my birthstone!
We got my ring from I DO NOW I DONT.com
The ring is so unique and my favorite color is yellow. I don't mind the juju that may have come with it and it helped that it costed less than a third of the retail price. It was made by brilliant earth which used conflict free stones and recycled 18k gold so that just was a cherry in top.