Robo 2nd Gear February 18, 2010 Share February 18, 2010 Ytd i was shopping for a proposal ring... I was walking around tampines mall/one area, after going through all the shops i was deciding on a 0.46carat color D clarity VVS1, EX,VG,VG from Soo kee. the SE quoted me $2499 after resetting and everything. i was wondering i whether or not its a good deal. i suddenly tot of my buddy's gf, who is somewhat a expert in diamonds. she told me a proposal ring is supposed to be 4x my monthly income. and my gf deserve morethan a 0.44 $2.5k ring i was like, like that i must spend more than $10k liao. she also advise that no point gg to the general shops as im actually paying for the brand. she told me she wanna recommend me a few private custom jewellers to custom set for me im wondering how much u guys spend on the ring that make u go on ur knees and whether u all got custom jewellers to intro anot... i dont mind spending but most impt must get best deal ↡ Advertisement Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigerwoods Turbocharged February 18, 2010 Share February 18, 2010 Robo is proposing ! Congrats Brudder! This is what I did last time : Buy a Diamond with GIA, which means the diamond is confirm of the grade by certified body, Tell the Jeweller to set it on a Platinium ring. Most diamonds without such Certification the Jeweller any how hantam the 4 Cs - Clarity,Color, Cut, Carats... Sorry, if your budget $2500 means the above combo will get you a smaller Diamond... so be prepared to pay more for similar 0.46ct. Since this is can be Heirloom, the above combo is the best. Hope this helps Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nostalgia 4th Gear February 18, 2010 Share February 18, 2010 (edited) Since the proposal ring is a western tradition, use their rule of thumb - i.e. 3 months' salary..... but I would probably cap it at 20K or so. Very personal advice..... a) stretch your budget go for size over colour or clarity. You can't tell colour or clarity with the naked eye but size is king when the gals put their ring fingers together to compare!! . i.e. go for more carats and compromise on colour and clarity, rather than the smaller diamond with high clarity and good colour. And I echo the bro above's advice about certification on the rock b) some settings give you good 'size' for the money - i.e. a ring of small rocks surrounding a solitaire. Have a look at those as they're 'bang for the buck', but avoid the ones where the settings are visible. Of course if money's not a problem, nothing beats a large solitaire..... c) Shop around - there are jewellers who offer good value, and treat the exercise the same way that you shop for a car, i.e. visit as many dealers as possible and find out first what you can get for your money. 'Branding' doesn't mean anything with rings; the rock and the workmanship do.... (my wife frequents the jeweller at Orchard Parade hotel, says they're good value for a certain price range. Larry Jewellery offers large solitaires with good settings...and at a price...) d) avoid the little pale blue boxes at all cost.....they're easily double the price for the same thing and the 'future upgrade' option means nothing when you can save the substantial price difference to buy something else.... Edited February 18, 2010 by Nostalgia Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TangoElite 6th Gear February 18, 2010 Share February 18, 2010 (edited) get from tiffany the blue box matters a lot but it will exceed 2.5k the same size as you mentioned can get for about $10k Edited February 18, 2010 by TangoElite Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ichibawa 5th Gear February 18, 2010 Share February 18, 2010 Diamond is worthless. I used to tell my gf (now wife) if I can get her a Rolex which she can use to bail me out if I ever got myself into the lock ups. Anyway... you have to look at how big her fingers are. Too big a diamond will not look good. It has to be just nice. Also the number of cuts actually helps to magnify the size. I got my wife the Rosella series which others commented it look bigger than its stated size. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robo 2nd Gear February 18, 2010 Author Share February 18, 2010 Robo is proposing ! Congrats Brudder! This is what I did last time : Buy a Diamond with GIA, which means the diamond is confirm of the grade by certified body, Tell the Jeweller to set it on a Platinium ring. Most diamonds without such Certification the Jeweller any how hantam the 4 Cs - Clarity,Color, Cut, Carats... Sorry, if your budget $2500 means the above combo will get you a smaller Diamond... so be prepared to pay more for similar 0.46ct. Since this is can be Heirloom, the above combo is the best. Hope this helps heeehheeee... keeping my fingers crossed! Can buy direct from GIA??? actually after listening to my buddy's gf. i upz to budget to $7k. can get smth ard 0.5 and above the one from sookee i almost bought got the GIA cert also. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robo 2nd Gear February 18, 2010 Author Share February 18, 2010 get from tiffany the blue box matters a lot but it will exceed 2.5k the same size as you mentioned can get for about $10k I Went to tiffanys the other day.... knn... 0.50C abt $10.8k! i think im really payingfor the brand... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TangoElite 6th Gear February 18, 2010 Share February 18, 2010 d) avoid the little pale blue boxes at all cost.....they're easily double the price for the same thing and the 'future upgrade' option means nothing when you can save the substantial price difference to buy something else.... yes theirs is over price but buying proposal ring is not about value for money, it is about how the "wow" factor... specs like size, color, and clarity really not as important as wow factor for proposal ring size color clarity will matter more for daily jewellery etc or for birthday gifts etc Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robo 2nd Gear February 18, 2010 Author Share February 18, 2010 Since the proposal ring is a western tradition, use their rule of thumb - i.e. 3 months' salary..... but I would probably cap it at 20K or so. Very personal advice..... a) stretch your budget go for size over colour or clarity. You can't tell colour or clarity with the naked eye but size is king when the gals put their ring fingers together to compare!! . i.e. go for more carats and compromise on colour and clarity, rather than the smaller diamond with high clarity and good colour. And I echo the bro above's advice about certification on the rock b) some settings give you good 'size' for the money - i.e. a ring of small rocks surrounding a solitaire. Have a look at those as they're 'bang for the buck', but avoid the ones where the settings are visible. Of course if money's not a problem, nothing beats a large solitaire..... c) Shop around - there are jewellers who offer good value, and treat the exercise the same way that you shop for a car, i.e. visit as many dealers as possible and find out first what you can get for your money. 'Branding' doesn't mean anything with rings; the rock and the workmanship do.... (my wife frequents the jeweller at Orchard Parade hotel, says they're good value for a certain price range. Larry Jewellery offers large solitaires with good settings...and at a price...) d) avoid the little pale blue boxes at all cost.....they're easily double the price for the same thing and the 'future upgrade' option means nothing when you can save the substantial price difference to buy something else.... when i shopp ytd my minimum criteria is D, VS1 or E VVS1. im trying to not start so big. cuz this kinda things cannot in the future can only go upsize cannot go downsize. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TangoElite 6th Gear February 18, 2010 Share February 18, 2010 I Went to tiffanys the other day.... knn... 0.50C abt $10.8k! i think im really payingfor the brand... yup its the brand and thats the brand to really sweep them over their feet and have a memorable proposal just personal opinion lah, best of luck on your proposal bro Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robo 2nd Gear February 18, 2010 Author Share February 18, 2010 yes theirs is over price but buying proposal ring is not about value for money, it is about how the "wow" factor... specs like size, color, and clarity really not as important as wow factor for proposal ring size color clarity will matter more for daily jewellery etc or for birthday gifts etc gers compare among themselves... sadly... i do agree the pale blue boxes do have the quality.. i m hoping to compare more first... i was told custom jewellers can achieve that with much lesser dmg Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robo 2nd Gear February 18, 2010 Author Share February 18, 2010 yup its the brand and thats the brand to really sweep them over their feet and have a memorable proposal just personal opinion lah, best of luck on your proposal bro keeping my fingers crossed.. tmr.. i shall take half day go shopping Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vextan 1st Gear February 18, 2010 Share February 18, 2010 (edited) Ytd i was shopping for a proposal ring... I was walking around tampines mall/one area, after going through all the shops i was deciding on a 0.46carat color D clarity VVS1, EX,VG,VG from Soo kee. the SE quoted me $2499 after resetting and everything. i was wondering i whether or not its a good deal. i suddenly tot of my buddy's gf, who is somewhat a expert in diamonds. she told me a proposal ring is supposed to be 4x my monthly income. and my gf deserve morethan a 0.44 $2.5k ring i was like, like that i must spend more than $10k liao. she also advise that no point gg to the general shops as im actually paying for the brand. she told me she wanna recommend me a few private custom jewellers to custom set for me im wondering how much u guys spend on the ring that make u go on ur knees and whether u all got custom jewellers to intro anot... i dont mind spending but most impt must get best deal nonsense. who say the proposal ring must be 4 times the monthly income. your friend is clearly seeing you as a carrot, albiet not for herself. i noe you dont mind spending but the size and cost of the proposal ring has no bearing at all on how blissful your marriage will be lor. Surely your fiance wouldnt mind a decent ring, since she loves you and not the ring, and $2500 is about right. i am sure she would rather you be financially prudent and sound during marriage, than to see you splurge on such symbolic materialism. you dont have to prove to her this way. serious, save the money and go for a diamond not too extravagant, and keep the money for both your future. And tell your that friend dont bullsh*t. This is not India and you dont have to give a cow as a dowry so to speak. btw, personally i'd buy a Lee Hwa as their cut is superb. Edited February 18, 2010 by Vextan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TangoElite 6th Gear February 18, 2010 Share February 18, 2010 nonsense. who say the proposal ring must be 4 times the monthly income. your friend is clearly seeing you as a carrot, albiet not for herself. i noe you dont mind spending but the proposal ring thing is way over rated and over hyped lor. whether or not your marriage will be blissful or not doesnt depend on the size or the 4 Cs of your ring lor. And i am sure your fiance wouldnt mind a decent ring, since she loves you and not the ring surely. i am sure she would rather you be financially prudent and sound during marriage, than to see you splurge on such symbolic materialism. you dont have to prove to her this way. serious, save the money and go for a diamond not too extravagant, and keep the money for both your future. And tell your that friend dont bullsh*t. This is not Indi and you dont have to give a cow as a dowry so to speak actually this is the best advice so far, got to admit happy searching robo Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yaloryalor 5th Gear February 18, 2010 Share February 18, 2010 Congrats bro, I dun believe the proposal ring has to be how many times of your salary. I think most imp is to set a budget tat you are comfortable and she can accept. I think your partner say "I do" not bcos of the cost of the ring. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nostalgia 4th Gear February 18, 2010 Share February 18, 2010 yes theirs is over price but buying proposal ring is not about value for money, it is about how the "wow" factor... That's precisely why you avoid the blue boxes - all the price premium goes into the little cardboard box and you end up with a tiny ring for the same spend.....a large rock has it's own wow factor and speaks for itself. The logo doesn't show on the top of the ring from the blue box - - where's the wow factor when the gf has to take off the ring to show everyone it's actually a 'T' ring hahahaha Robo: again this is purely personal advice and experience, do buy whatever brings more oomph to your gf - all that the rest of us can do is second guess... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watwheels Supersonic February 18, 2010 Share February 18, 2010 Largely depends on your budget. How much you wanna spent on it, just like buying a car. I safely can tell you that piece of rock depreciates just like your car too. When buying new it cost a bomb but when you try to sell it(I'm not saying you are going to), industry players will tell you it's not worth much in value. A lot of what you are paying for is brand. The only that appreciates or have value is the metal(aka Gold or Platinum) ring. For me I dun go for brand. For me, like most guys, size matters and what the naked eye can see. Cos nobody is going to hold your gf's or wife's diamond under a microscope(nobody bring it with them anyway) and say whoa, simi colour, simi grade. Your gf is not going to wear a diamond cert on her blouse/T-shirt anyway. You will realised that industry players put all kinds of gimmicks to sell diamonds. Simi cut lah, simi colour lah etc etc. And most women fall for the gimmicks. When actual fact the piece of diamond hardly holds value unlike Gold. Work within your budget. Dun have to be the kind that what ppl say 10x your monthly salary bull crap. You can blow the price tag out of proportion when ppl ask and nobody knows what the actual price you paid for anyway. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robo 2nd Gear February 18, 2010 Author Share February 18, 2010 nonsense. who say the proposal ring must be 4 times the monthly income. your friend is clearly seeing you as a carrot, albiet not for herself. i noe you dont mind spending but the proposal ring thing is way over rated and over hyped lor. whether or not your marriage will be blissful or not doesnt depend on the size or the 4 Cs of your ring lor. And i am sure your fiance wouldnt mind a decent ring, since she loves you and not the ring surely, and $2500 is about right. i am sure she would rather you be financially prudent and sound during marriage, than to see you splurge on such symbolic materialism. you dont have to prove to her this way. serious, save the money and go for a diamond not too extravagant, and keep the money for both your future. And tell your that friend dont bullsh*t. This is not India and you dont have to give a cow as a dowry so to speak. btw, personally i'd buy a Lee Hwa as their cut is superb. Lee hwa... i personally find their setting very very bad... thats y i wanted to decide on Sookee.. i do very much agree with u...but she does make a pt also. but i surely wont go 4X. mayb 2X is abt right. any jewellers to recommend?? ↡ Advertisement Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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