What do you think of this engagement ring please

[miche8]

www.barbaratipple.co.uk/index.php?category=Rings#

bottom right, called classic sculpted.

The setting is different, my partner is worried i'll hate it in a couple of years, what do you think?

OP have you looked in Bulgari, they had a similar ring which was nice too
I liked it because the diamond was incorporated into the ring ( iykwim) I think it was around 10K for 1 carat but that was 2 yrs ago

My engagement ring is a pear shaped diamond in a bezel (aka "rub over" setting) and it definitely sparkles, so you don't have to have a claw setting to guarantee sparkle.

Agreeing with all who say that with a budget like yours, you could certainly do better. If you went to Hatton Garden you could easily buy a loose diamond and get something custom made.

I like it. I think the reason it costs that much is because it is a D diamond, which is very clear and sparkly.

I have a similar size, clarity and setting (a very plain rub-over setting) - the stone is bright enough to take it, and I get quite a few compliments.

Don't assume that getting a Hatton Garden ring will necessarily be a fantastic deal though - I had mine set there (stone bought separately) and the setting now needs fixing.

I like the style, I have one very similar but only 0.5ct. I didn't want a bigger stone because then I would need a much thicker band due to the style of the ring. If you go for a 1ct stone the band will be pretty wide, can you try it on beforehand to see if it suits? If you get a wedding band to match you will be wearing a lot of metal!

And 12.5k is far too much to pay, don't go via a retailer, get yourself to the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham or local equivalent and pay less than half that.

The main thing is if you like it

I'm not keen on the style and I do think that you may wonder if a claw/ classic style was better, in years to come. To really sparkle I think you need more light entering the stone.

Have you tried www.cooldiamonds.com ? You can play around with the 4 cs on their website and see what your DPs budget would buy. I think you might be able to get a little bit more carat for that budget .... or what about a ring and some matching earings?

The other thing, you can easily drop down by one on the clarity and colour scale and see no difference in the stone itself. It's a good idea to see the stone itself and look at it using a loupe. It's really only when you are looking at the ends of the spectrum that the differences in the colour and clarity are really obvious. It depends as well on the type of occlusion. Eg you could go from D to E easily and VVS2 to VS1.

Think I'd prefer a cheap one and blow the rest on a shopping spree

Its very similar to mine I think (mine is the one on the bottom of this link, but mine is a 1 carat VVS1 F colour stone www.johnlawrencejewellery.com/round_brilliant/index.html and I really love mine. Had it for 5 years now, and had my wedding ring made to fit underneath. Its simple, but elegant (all my opinion of course).

I bought mine in John Lawrence in Hatton Garden, and although I am incredibly happy with it, I know now that I could have got better value elsewhere. DH bought me an eternity ring earlier this year which is a half band, 2 carat, pricess and baguette diamonds F colour. It is second hand, sorry vintage, and it was a real bargain. I don't know if I would have felt differently if it were my engagement ring that had been worn by someone else before though.

I do know that I will probably never buy brand new again!

I like it.

I have chunky/fat fingers and prefer a chunky ring as a delicate ring would look lost.

However I certainly think that it is far too overpriced :)