Does it have to be a diamond?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a 1 carat equivalent sapphire (the weight is different than diamonds, but it's about the same size as my sister's 1 carat diamond). It's my birth stone and it's gorgeous. It's not the traditional bright blue, so it's unique.

I have sapphire too and it's also not the traditional bright blue. I love it and get compliments on it a lot. It's also my birth stone.

[Anonymous]

There's no way my DH would have been able to afford the ring I ended up getting. My generous grandmother gave us a diamond ring from the early 20th century. Beautiful diamond - one carat of outstanding quality.

To answer your question, OP, it was important to me to have a diamond. That said, a friend has a beautiful large pearl as her center stone, flanked by small diamonds, and I think it's a lovely ring.

[Anonymous]

I told my DH that if we ever got engaged, not to buy me a diamond. So he picked out a beautiful sapphire. It's not very big, maybe one carat or smaller, but it's a natural (meaning not heated or dyed), deep blue stone. I love it!

[Anonymous]

Nope, well there are diamonds in the ring but the main stone is Pearl, which is my birthstone.

Love my David Yurman ring!

[Anonymous]

+2 for moissanite. If I'd known about it when I got engaged it would have been that instead of a diamond. They're sparklier and around half the cost.

[Anonymous]

Another vote for it not needing to be a diamond. (Or prohibitively expensive.) Get what you like for what you can comfortably spend. If you're getting an engagement ring that you're worried about how a ring will look to others besides the two of you or if it will be "enough," then that's worth addressing amongst yourselves to see what it might mean.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:+2 for moissanite. If I'd known about it when I got engaged it would have been that instead of a diamond. They're sparklier and around half the cost.

Me too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My XH's fiancée wanted a conflict free stone and chose an antique opal. She (thinks she) knocked it out of the setting playing volleyball at the beach with DD last summer. She didn't even notice until they were back in MD. Now, she has a small conventional diamond.

Playing volleyball with any ring on could cause a stone to pop out of its setting. It had nothing to do with opal vs. diamond. (Sounds like she's not the brightest bulb.)

An engagement ring doesn't need to be a diamond, but it definitely may need to match the expectations of the intended.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My XH's fiancée wanted a conflict free stone and chose an antique opal. She (thinks she) knocked it out of the setting playing volleyball at the beach with DD last summer. She didn't even notice until they were back in MD. Now, she has a small conventional diamond.

Playing volleyball with any ring on could cause a stone to pop out of its setting. It had nothing to do with opal vs. diamond. (Sounds like she's not the brightest bulb.)

An engagement ring doesn't need to be a diamond, but it definitely may need to match the expectations of the intended.

Yeah, this is dumb. If the stone pops out, it's the setting, not the stone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a 1 carat equivalent sapphire (the weight is different than diamonds, but it's about the same size as my sister's 1 carat diamond). It's my birth stone and it's gorgeous. It's not the traditional bright blue, so it's unique.

I have sapphire too and it's also not the traditional bright blue. I love it and get compliments on it a lot. It's also my birth stone.

I have a dark blue sapphire and love it so much.

I also have friends who did non-diamond rings. One has an emerald (green is her favorite color) in an old-fashioned setting, and another has a lovely custom ring with their birthstones in it. It definitely does NOT have to be a diamond.

[Anonymous]

Mine is an emerald set in the middle with a bunch of tiny diamonds surrounding it. LOVE it, and haven't chipped it yet in 4 years of daily wear.

Another thing to think about is that after you buy a ring from the store, it depreciates terribly. I just don't understand buying a $20,000 ring that loses half its value the second you put it on your hand--it's not like you're investing in something that will appreciate by buying a nice diamond (or so I have been told, as I'm no expert). I think it's much more valuable to get something for a reasonable price that she will love to wear.

Did you see the story recently about the guy who got one of his wisdom teeth set into an engagement ring for his GF? Don't do that, OP.

[Anonymous]

doesn't have to be a diamond in my book. but I supposed everyone is different.

[Anonymous]

My husband and I got engaged while still in college. I told him then that I didn't care if I had a diamond or not, but that as a symbol of our love I wanted whatever he got me to be real. He did get me a diamond, a very small one, but no less precious to me. It was set in a beautiful and delicate band. I would have been just as happy with a different stone, or even no stone, but I love that the style of ring he picked suited me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mine is an emerald set in the middle with a bunch of tiny diamonds surrounding it. LOVE it, and haven't chipped it yet in 4 years of daily wear.

Another thing to think about is that after you buy a ring from the store, it depreciates terribly. I just don't understand buying a $20,000 ring that loses half its value the second you put it on your hand--it's not like you're investing in something that will appreciate by buying a nice diamond (or so I have been told, as I'm no expert). I think it's much more valuable to get something for a reasonable price that she will love to wear.

Did you see the story recently about the guy who got one of his wisdom teeth set into an engagement ring for his GF? Don't do that, OP.

Lucky for her (or me??) mine have been extracted and trashed since I was 20. ;-p

After doing some comparisons with local jewelers, Costco, and Blue Nile I am thinking that I will go with Blue Nile only because there's no overhead and I can see the stock and GIA certification without having to sit through the annoying spiel that local sales reps run me through. It seems like I have more variety to pick from and I'm looking to stay under $9k for the stone. I think it's more "bang for the buck" ... anyone want to confirm or deny from experience?