Since it won’t let me edit, I just wanted to recommend Fred Cuellar’s book, “How to buy a diamond.” Cheap,short, lots of good info.
Also, look at lots of stones. You might be surprised by the differences you can distinguish in different stones. A loupe helps.
Well, when we get into this league, THAT is just an example of yet another factor at work, which is that some people have far more money than sense.
And congrats Velocity, all the best!
I gave my mother’s diamond and my own diamond to my sons when they got engaged. They and their gals chose the semi-mounts to put them in.
Definitely check with female relatives. Someone may have a perfectly lovely unused diamond in a jewelry box that just needs a good cleaning and a more modern semi-mount.
Congratulations in advance!
If you decide to go the faux diamond route, consider moissanite. After losing two pairs of diamond earrings, I finally bought a pair of moissanites. They are gorgeous. Much prettier than either pair of diamond earrings.
FWIW, excellent marketing by DeBeers is what makes a diamond cost. When I designed my wife’s engagement ring I went with a reputable gem seller and bought an untreated blue sapphire, and flanked it with trilliant cut moissanites. All the shiny/sparkly/pretty and she doesn’t have to worry that she’s wearing the cost of a good used car on her person. Allan Livingstone put it together for me and she loves it. Sometimes it’s the thought that goes into it and not the price tag, just sayin’…
Also, Congratulations and may you have many happy years together!
When someone uses the word “investment” in the process of buying a diamond, know they are full of it. Beanie Babies hold their value much better. Buying a diamond engagement ring is like setting fire to a stack of Benjamins, and the Carat Cut Clarity and Color are just to signify how thick a stack, exactly. It is a rite you cannot get out of, but it has no more rationality than smearing yourself in white clay and jumping up and down under a gibbous waxing moon until exhaustion as a way of proving your love - in fact the latter provides some excersize and you still have the stack.
I used to work in the marketing department of a chain of jewelry stores. The “warehouse” for the stores was in another part of the building. One day, I was walking through a hall and saw a bunch of people on their hands and knees. Someone had dropped a tray full of tiny diamonds. Being mostly clear, finding them was difficult. I joined in the search, and found three, mostly by touch. After a while, they brought in a special vacuum with a filter that would recover the rest.
What do you mean? There are many very simple ways to never have to go through this. The simplest is obviously just don’t get married. If that’s not enough, you can just, maybe, not get expensive jewelry at all. Buy the cheap synthetic stuff that looks identical if your woman wants something glittery. With smaller profit margins there isn’t as much bullshit involved and it ceases to be a “rite” and simply another purchase.