I am looking for an engagement ring. My girlfriend and I have been together for almost six years and I have finally decided to pop the question. She is beautiful, intelligent, and has a great sense of humor. Last weekend she actually ASKED to shoot my new AK, so I decided that she must be the one.

I know the basic characteristics of diamonds, but I don't know what levels of clarity and color are considered acceptable for engagement rings. I also don't know what is a fair price on a given stone. When I go to a jewelry store I feel like the guy I saw in the gunshop asking for "some clips for his Hi-point."

IIRC, Hatebreed is a gem dealer.

She is beautiful, intelligent, and has a great sense of humor. Last weekend she actually ASKED to shoot my new AK, so I decided that she must be the one.

Sounds like you know plenty about diamonds, you sure picked one.

Yeah buy a "used" diamond, after all they are all a million years old anyway right?

Get quality and as big as you can afford. Women judge her by the ring you buy. Plus 20 years down the road you might want to get her a bigger ring because you have more money. More than likely she won't trade up for you.

Beware of the woman, she sucks and steals your lifeforce.   Buy her a  fugazy.  This way you wont feel like shit after your divorce. And you'd have extra dough for your next gun purchase.


Get her a fugazy and fahgetabout it.

I know that they are a network of carbon atoms in the strongest arrangement possible, making diamonds the hardest mineral known to man, with a hardness of 10.  Being made of carbon, it will burn, though it is difficult.  They come in many different colors, but white is the most used.  While hard, they are also brittle and can be broken by a hammer.  Many people have destroyed diamonds by hitting them with a hammer to find out of they are real or not.

Hope this helps

Congrats
I don't know a great deal about diamonds, but I just got engaged about 2 months ago. The BIGGEST thing about buying diamond rings is STAY AWAY FROM MALLS.
Go to a diamond specialty store, or one that sells you a diamond, and then a ring to go with it. Thats what I Did, and the same ring was 2x as much in the local mall.
For colors, you want closest to C, or D, or whatever letter of the alphabet they start on, with the lowest being the most colorless, and getting more yellow as you go up.
For Other letters, you would probably want a S1 or S2 at the most. That means they have slight marks in them. I got a VS2 or VS1, i dont remember, but that means very slight marks.
A diamond specialty store will help you with all that. I'd pick a price your willing to spend on the diamond, and then try get the best diamond for that price. Remember, a diamond that is smaller, but of better quality is going to look bigger then a larger, less quality one.
At a diamond specialty store you can look at the plain diamond under a micrscope and all that business, its really cool.
Also, you might want to look at a diamond thats GIA certified. Then it will have a number laser inscribed on it, and that will help for insurance purposes, and if it gets lost/stolen.
Hope this helps, and feel free to email me if you have any other questions.
Curt

Quoted: She is beautiful, intelligent, and has a great sense of humor. Last weekend she actually ASKED to shoot my new AK, so I decided that she must be the one. Sounds like you know plenty about diamonds, you sure picked one.

I know.
She was sitting on the deck with a friend and me and a buddy were shooting our rifles. I had just ripped through 30 rounds rapid fire, and she pointed to the rifle and said, "I wanna do that." After dumping a thirty-rounder of her own she turned to me with a mischevious smile, and giggled, "That was awesome." It almost brought a tear to my eye.

there are a couple very knowledgable people from the industry here. stick with the post.

congrats too, of course.

Diamond - noun - Hardest of all gemstones.  Found deep in the earth created from extreme heat and pressure.  Very useful to get women to spread their legs.  

here's a faq section that tell you a little bit of general info:

link

I went to the L.A. wholesale Jewerly District when I bought my wifes.  After looking at hundreds of loose stones I decided to get the biggest diamond I could afford that had the best color.   I was not as concerned about flaws because you really can't see most unless you look at the stone through a magnifying glass.   When you look at a "D" stone next to some lower colored ones the difference is amazing.  My wifes is a tab under 2 carats "D" stone with a small flaw in it.  When she compares it to her friends though all they see is how colorless it looks.  

Wholesale jewerlys sell them by carats within group ranges, at least here in L.A.  A 1.75 carat stone will sell for a lot less than a 2.00 carat stone and the size difference is not that great.   I wouldnt buy diamonds from resalers but I don't know if you have any other options in Kentuky.

I know there is a 300% mark up in them. I set them all day but dont know to much about them. I can get them real cheap and nice clarity

I would check out SAM's Club. Thats where I got my fiance's ring from. It was premounted and IGA certified. Look at there REGAL collection. They have pretty good prices and it saves a little hassel with the whole ring selection + stone selection


here is a link Sams Regal Rings

I got her a 3 stone ring. They don't carry it any more. It has 3 round diamonds in Platnum, 1.45 carats total weight. She likes it and it only set me back about 3G's with tax.

We make and sell the UV microscope objectives that they use to etch the numbers or code into the diamond (high energy laser is focused).  I know they have an index of refraction of ~ 2.42.  High index explains why they sparkle.

Here is an idea....

Make a symbolic ring, give it to her when you pop the question.
Then request that she accompany you to purchase a ring since you would like to ensure that it is one she likes as there are many other styles as well as quality and clarity.

During this shopping experience you will actually get an insight into the type of girl she really is.

Diamonds have a lot of stored power.

Actually we still their lifeforce.  Married women live less then single ones and Married men live longer then single men.  

I'm kind of a quality freak, and the first diamond I bought the wife was an E, VS-1, and just over a 1/4 carat. I had very little to spend and my best friend got me a wholesale price and found the stone. BTW, he's in the jewelry business, I would trust him with my life and money, he may be the most honest person I know, and treats everyone like royalty.  My point is this... she lost the stone. But before she did, I heard a lot of comments on what a "nice" ring it was. Never how big. And, although I knew the quality of the stone, to put it delicately...no one gives a rat's ass.  So unless you really, really worship quality OVER size ... spend your $ on a stone that has no occlusions (flaws) visible to the naked eye, and doesn't have a  yellow tint when compared to fairly colorless stones, and is as big as you want to afford.  She'll like it when/because you gave it to her. She'll like it when her friends like it. And, if you ever want to sell or trade, the large stone will move. Small quality stones have a tiny market for resale.    That's my 2c            Stay safe

Quoted: Diamonds have a lot of stored power.

Go away, and come back when you are smarter

Diamonds.................that'll shut her up.

You might want to add "Paging Hatebreed" to the title, or try to IM him. As I recall he is the real deal - a successful, smart, and honest gem guy, and has given great assistance to some members here.

Forget the ring - get her an AR (since you've already got an AK)!!

diamond rings (the wedding kind) = birth control (or at least what initally starts the process of birth)
Seriously though, congrats!  And as far as the diamond goes, get something at least one carrat .

Quoted: Diamonds.................that'll shut her up.

Damn! I was gonna say that

Quoted: Forget the ring - get her an AR (since you've already got an AK)!!

I've got a couple ARs around as well. They are my first love.


Thanks for all the advice. I put out the call to Hatebreed so maybe I'll get an expert opinion.

She is not a gold digger, and won't be overly concerned with trying to impress everyone. I want to get her something nice, but I can't see spending as much as I would on a select fire rifle.

I know a guy who bought his girl an $11,000 rock. When he presented it to her, she said it was not as nice as her cousin's and told him to take it back and get her something bigger. He took it back alright, and bought a new bike instead.

I'd get one of the new yeallow man-made jobs. Much bigger, cheaper, and more perfect than anything you could find in nature. Screw nature, I'd want perfection and price.

Get something JUST under a carat, BIG price jump not proportional to size increase = waste of money. She wont see the differnence between .97 carat and 1ct.

Go QUALITY over quantity. My wifes ring is .7 ct round cut, but is E in color, VVS 1 or 2 in clarity, perfect polish, cut and symetricly perfect. It LOOKS much bigger than it is compared to here friends ugly ass 1ct rings (they look like piss yellow dime store jewelry) because their "other halves" fell into the 1ct trap and ran out of money to get a good 1ct stone. Hers absolutely sparkles like you wouldn't believe. She gets more ogling and ooohs and ahhhs than her friends.

Go with the classic round cut. It will always be a popular, easier to move diamond compared to other cuts and is more versatile IMO if you want to re-mount later with other stones. I had it mounted in a 6 prong platinum ring as she hates yellow gold and I was not about to put that kinda stone in a silver/white gold ring. The platy looks nice longer between cleanings than the gold but needs a special cleaning to get the shine back over a gold or silver ring.

I did all my research and buying of the ring myself and have gotten numerous comments from differnat jewelers about what a high quality stone it is and wanted to know where I got it. Get the girtle engraved with the serial # when you buy it. It helps protect you from fraud or theft if you lose it or get it stolen and keeps any jewelers honest if you have to leave the ring for a cleaning. You can see it with the naked eye but can read it under a loupe.

Hope this helps. Oh, I got mine from www.bluenile.com Good prices and service. One of the largest non-store sellers.

S.O.

Call this guy:

www.dimendscaasi.com

Call and ask to speak to Issac.  Tell him your budget and what you are looking for.

Totally easy to work with.  The stones were in my hand fedex within a couple days.

Otherwise, I'll be in Antwerp in Novermber and I can pick somethign up for you.

So here is a woman's point of view...
First off..find out what cut she likes, Emerald, Princess, Tiffany, Marquise. It makes a difference..trust me. After the third heart shaped diamond whatever my husband got me I finally told him I didn't like heart shaped. He was not very pleased I hadn't told him $xx ago! Find out if she wants a solitary ring, or multi-stoned ring (baguettes down the side, diamonds in the band, etc etc). You really need to ask her if it is at all possible, or someone that knows her well.
So now you know from the gents here that closer to the beginning in the alphabet is better. A, B, C you most likely will not find for sale out on the market. D - F are good. Above F....eh. Sticking to VS1 or VS2 is safe. We actually saw one IF - internally flawless is that what it is? That was impressive but who the hell cares? How many people are going to walk up to your fiancee with a jeweler's loop and look at her ring?
For me, the colour meant more than the size. Yeah, so my friend has a 1.5 carat ring and I have a 1 carat ring - but if I put my D diamond next to her J, K..whatever the difference is astounding and I get to feel like "Ms. Thing" for a few seconds. Have a jeweler compare two of them side by side for you and you will see that it does make a difference. I personally chose clarity over size.
Also, if you choose clarity over size you pay for the clarity, so you want to show it off. If you set the stone by itself on a band that tapers in towards the diamond then it appears bigger and has a nice "bling" to it. I also found that setting the stone alone just gives it a certain classic look and shows it off better. Baguettes or side stones can detract from the main stone IMO. However if you can afford a big enough main stone then it's all good!
We also went down to the LA Jewelry mart to get the ring. We looked at loose stones. Most good dealers will show you the stone and worry about the setting later. Def. ask to look at the stone through the loop. When we first started looking I had no idea what I was looking at but I figured I would play along. By the end of the day I knew exactly what I was looking for through the loop. Clean cuts, size of inclusions..etc.

Congrats on the upcoming engagement! Can't wait to hear how you decide to propose!

Quoted: So here is a woman's point of view... First off..find out what cut she likes, Emerald, Princess, Tiffany, Marquise. It makes a difference..trust me. After the third heart shaped diamond whatever my husband got me I finally told him I didn't like heart shaped. He was not very pleased I hadn't told him $xx ago! Find out if she wants a solitary ring, or multi-stoned ring (baguettes down the side, diamonds in the band, etc etc). You really need to ask her if it is at all possible, or someone that knows her well. So now you know from the gents here that closer to the beginning in the alphabet is better. A, B, C you most likely will not find for sale out on the market. D - F are good. Above F....eh. Sticking to VS1 or VS2 is safe. We actually saw one IF - internally flawless is that what it is? That was impressive but who the hell cares? How many people are going to walk up to your fiancee with a jeweler's loop and look at her ring? For me, the colour meant more than the size. Yeah, so my friend has a 1.5 carat ring and I have a 1 carat ring - but if I put my D diamond next to her J, K..whatever the difference is astounding and I get to feel like "Ms. Thing" for a few seconds. Have a jeweler compare two of them side by side for you and you will see that it does make a difference. I personally chose clarity over size. Also, if you choose clarity over size you pay for the clarity, so you want to show it off. If you set the stone by itself on a band that tapers in towards the diamond then it appears bigger and has a nice "bling" to it. I also found that setting the stone alone just gives it a certain classic look and shows it off better. Baguettes or side stones can detract from the main stone IMO. However if you can afford a big enough main stone then it's all good! We also went down to the LA Jewelry mart to get the ring. We looked at loose stones. Most good dealers will show you the stone and worry about the setting later. Def. ask to look at the stone through the loop. When we first started looking I had no idea what I was looking at but I figured I would play along. By the end of the day I knew exactly what I was looking for through the loop. Clean cuts, size of inclusions..etc. Congrats on the upcoming engagement! Can't wait to hear how you decide to propose!

Might wanna brush up on the diamond knowledge...The color scale starts at "D". D-F are considered colorless. The fewer internal flaws the better the light will refract and "sparkle", just as important as color.

www.bluenile.com/diamonds_education.asp?track=c1m3&elem=hdr&mod=basic

S.O.

well shit I did say A - C wouldn't be found right!? I never asked why
All I had to do was point at the pretty shiny things and smile  

I know something about diamonds.
I don't have enough.

Quoted: well shit I did say A - C wouldn't be found right!? I never asked why All I had to do was point at the pretty shiny things and smile

Yes but you also said D-F are "good" and above F is "eh".  D is perfect, E-F are essentially perfect. You can still go a few more letters without looking to bad. It was just very misleading.

S.O.

What do I know about diamonds? Don't they come from Antwerp?

Quoted: Quoted: well shit I did say A - C wouldn't be found right!? I never asked why All I had to do was point at the pretty shiny things and smile   Yes but you also said D-F are "good" and above F is "eh".  D is perfect, E-F are essentially perfect. You can still go a few more letters without looking to bad. It was just very misleading. S.O.

so whacha gonna do? spank me?

Quoted: whacha gonna do? spank me?

Here, allow me S.O.

Quoted: What do I know about diamonds? Don't they come from Antwerp?

TURKISH!

That is a great film.

You kept her waiting for 6 years?

Alright, you want to know what kind of diamond you should get, here's your answer: a big one.

BTW, congrats.  I'm just being a punk.