Proposal!!! What is a big diamond?

[boobsboobsboobs]

My (soon to be) brother in law has asked for my help picking a ring for my sister for a post lock down proposal!

Obviously, we can only look online at the moment but it seems that some sites like blue nile offer quite good value and we hope to visit Hatton Garden when we can.

I know that she wants a big solitaire on a platinum band... but what is big?!

One carat? Two carats? Somewhere in between? Just looking for a general consensus.

I don't want to bring up rings now as it would be so out of the blue over the phone / FaceTime and I don't want to alert her

He has a decent budget so it would be balancing the size and the quality!

@oochie woah the 50k one must have been insane! I’m with you on the emeralds, id love an emerald or sapphire.

One other thing I thought of @boobsboobsboobs was you could look at moissanite or lab grown diamonds. You’ll get a bigger size for the same price although I know a lot of women prefer diamond, just worth thinking of - size might be the most important thing to your sister.

For me, the thing I didn’t want was a diamond that sat too high, and a lot of them did, I chose one that sat quite low in the setting.
There’s a lot to consider, I wouldn’t want anyone choosing a ring I was going to have to wear for the rest of my life.

@oochie I had a 5ct Emerald as my original engagement ring and I loved it, but I was told I had to take it off to wash up, put on hand cream, shower, etc. Emeralds are soft and porous. I lost it once when putting on had cream and then after finding it the jeweller cracked the stone when changing the setting! I sent it back.

They are great as occasional jewellery, but as an everyday piece not practical.

I wash up in my diamond ring, garden, bake, everything. Diamonds are one of the hardest materials so really practical.

Yes @Bristolbitsandbobs that is what I told. I don't take my rings off at all. Still would love an giant emerald for parties 😁

Why does he want it to be a surprise? Why do you get to do this fun part of researching and selecting and she doesn't ?

I'm afraid that would not work for me. Hope she is OK with it but honestly, why would anyone not involve the person who will wear it every day hopefully for the rest of their lives.

What is a big diamond

(a) a lump of super compressed carbon
(b) a waste of money

Both

Buy secondhand.

@oochie buy a green dress ring. Nobody knows if it’s an emerald or not.

Why does he want it to be a surprise? Why do you get to do this fun part of researching and selecting and she doesn't ?

Totally agree with this. She should be given the chance to post a thread like this and go to jewellers and choose with her DP, not be presented with a fait accompli.

@ExpletiveDelighted I think she'd love that he'd gone off and put all the effort in.

If she wanted something less simple and more open to interpretation, I'd agree but I know the style and the metal so it's not much of a gamble.

This one looks good.

www.bluenile.com/uk/build-your-own-ring/diamond-details/LD13267305

Does anyone who knows diamond know if it looks like a decent spec?

Surely a 'big diamond' is an ethical diamond - if there is such a thing

That's just the diamond isn't it? If his budget is £10k then it doesn't leave much for the band.

Personally I'd want to pick the ring/diamond in person for that kind of money.

Hatton Garden or Birmingham jewellery quarter would be good starting points.

I have platinum and it hasn't dulled at all, I wouldn't want anything else. White gold to me feels light and flimsy to me and I couldn't be bothered with re coating it every few years. Plus the higher quality the gold, the softer it is and more easily bent and scratched. Platinum is sturdy. Palladium is also a good alternative to platinum but less choice.

Have a look at Katherine James jewellery, they've got an Instagram page and a website. Some gorgeous pieces on there and some big diamonds!

@keepingbees

I just went on Instagram to search her and her page came up as a recommended one!

Those rings are beautiful! I love some of the gemstone ones - they are all incredible - I think I will end up getting distracted whilst browsing...

Haha I know they're amazing! I'm not even looking for a ring and I keep browsing... a girl can dream
Good luck in your search anyway, I hope she loves whatever you find!

You won't get a quality big diamond for £10,000 sorry... Much better to go for high clarity/colour and a slightly smaller diamond.
Mine is almost flawless and cost £25,000 - but I went for a 2 carat so not HUGE but wearable for sure.
I'd go for the best quality 1 carat available.

@boobsboobsboobs I put your diamond into the Holloway Cut Advisor calculator & it returned a score of 1.2 which is a very well cut diamond.

You need to see it in the flesh but mathematically it’s cut to perform well.

www.pricescope.com/tools/hca

You won't get a quality big diamond for £10,000 sorry... Much better to go for high clarity/colour and a slightly smaller diamond.

That’s just wrong and a line peddled by British jewellers to sell expensive small diamonds. Focus on cut, clarity and colour are a secondary consideration (within reason).

@jcurve thank you - that's a v good tool!

I agree with others that have said let her choose her own ring. I would have missed the fun of picking my own. But then, I'm a fussy mare - about the setting, the Cs etc. There are so many variables. I'm not sure spending 10K without your sister being there is wise.

I also would not look at a ring as an investment. Buy it for what it is - a ring to mark a very special time. Whether it goes up or down in value is a little irrelevant I think. You're hardly going to sell it.

My rings are platinum and they are fine.

Am I the only one that would hate to have discovered that my sister helped pick out my engagement ring ? Best thing is for your sister’s boyfriend to being your sister ring shopping.

I would love this as it would be a lovely surprise but with a ring I'd like.