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So my boyfriend and I are looking to get engaged very soon, and right away i felt uncomfortable with a traditional (in my opinion boring) diamond ring. Not only are they out of our budget, but I think that yellow sapphires and aquamarine stones are even more gorgeous. Does anyone know any good (lower price) places to look for either of these stoned rings?Any Advice? Pictures? Help!!
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I love sapphires. The one you are considering is beautiful. We went to Shane company and got aPadparadscha/Orange Sapphire.
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i kind of envisioned a really neat emerald or even a black sapphire, but alas, i chose a solitaire princess cut diamond. i still absolutley love it, but i may end up dressing it up with a nontraditional wedding band. with me, it's wierd cause either i want something completely different and colorful, or extremely simple and traditional. i suppose i like the extremes. :)
i LOVE non-diamond rings! We went for the emerald...
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I'm looking forward to an emerald e-ring. :) Pricescope has been invaluable in learning about gemstones and jewelry in general. They have a list here of sites that sell colored gems/jewelry. What I'd watch out for is the treatments that have been used on the stone. If the price for a nice looking stone is really low, make sure it doesn't have fillers and the like.
From what I've learned, a lot of women have this emotional connection with diamonds. It's the "traditional" stone, it's what their mothers and grandmothers wore, it's sparkly, etc. But I never got that thrill from them. Emeralds do it for me. They knock me dead every time I see their silky green color. :)
Good luck finding a stone and a ring you love!
@miss oasome: Where did you get your ring? I love it!
I love other gemstone rings as E-rings- I collect gemstones. ALthough, I did choose a "boring" diamond for my wedding rings.
Just wanted to give you some info as you are in the process of choosing a gemstone for your E-ring. One of the reasons that diamonds are typically used in E-rings/Wedding rings is because they are meant to be worn every day in every situation and this is possible due to their extraordinary "hardness" on the Mohs Hardness scale. Diamonds are at the top (level 10) of the hardness scale. Sapphires are level 9 - but diamonds just one level higher are 4 times as hard as sapphires.
Some other gemstones are much softer and are much more susceptible to breaking, cracking, scratching, and clouding with every day wear and tear.
When you are determining which stone to choose I would do two things. 1) Consult a jeweler about your stone choice. 2) Look at the Mohs Scale to see where your choice falls. Here is a link: http://www.gemselect.com/gem-info/gem-hardness-info.php
I have a yellow sapphire e-ring, and I love it. It's beautiful, and different. I went through Shane Co. and looked through their selection. They have an online inventory and will find a variety of stones in the price, color, size range you are looking for. I would also recommend Pricescope.com, they have a lot of really good gemstone vendors on there!
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My E-Ring is from www.mysolitaire.com (mine is a Morganite)
They have a ginormous range of non-diamond e-rings and they are all very well priced. Mine has since been valued by a jeweller at $1000 more than what FH paid for it.
FI picked out an individual sapphire for me, and then had a ring custom made. Going to an independent jeweler may work really well, as it will allow you to get EXECTLY what you want, without paying the mark-up for a mall or ad campaign.
I have an emerald cut sapphire! i love them and like you, I also did not want the traditional diamond :) Good luck!
I got my wedding ring set from the Shane Company! Woot woot!! LOL
My centerstone is a lab created white sapphire. I adore it!
Another great idea would be moissanite, I was reading about it in another thread and drooling, LOL.
Rubies are cool, and I should mention that they are actually....red sapphires! (Chemically and structurally!) Cool huh?
My blog post went up yesterday about my non-diamond engagement ring! It's an aquamarine and I LOVE IIIIT.
I didn't see either of those rings at the Shane Co. website? They didnt look nearly as nice or seem to have all that many options?
Another option that I haven't seen anyone bring up is natural color diamonds. While they are diamonds, normally champagne color and yellow color diamonds cost less per carat than white diamonds. There are some phenomonal design choices out in the market today. To read more about natural color diamonds, visit http://www.ncdia.com/
As a retail member, one of the things I like best about the Natural Color Diamond Association (NCDIA) is that they promote today's designers that are using natural color diamonds in their jewelry. The hues and intensity vary, created an unlimited palette of color for the jewelry designer.
Please keep in mind, the value of a natural color diamond is determined by its lack or enhancement or treatment. There are treated diamonds on the market, so beware. And, labs like GIA will certify a color diamond as "natural". It pays to have a color diamond certified because the difference in price of a natural v. treated diamond is significant.
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I suggest you see if you can find a local jeweler (not a chain) who is a gemologist. He or she may be able to introduce you to fabulous gems you didn't know existed. It helps if you have a color or color range in mind. And we definitely noticed that the quality of the stones that our jeweler got for us to consider were head and shoulders above the colored stones we saw in mall stores. We know NOTHING about gems, either---the difference was just that obvious!
I bought a solitaire setting from them in store, and ordered the stone separately through them. The setting I have is this.
http://www.shaneco.com/Catalog/ProductDetail.aspx?X=41001322&C0=1&C1=3&C3=4
The wedding band isn't a matching one, I just liked the way they looked together.
I did the same as cbott, I ordered the ring set on shaneco.com, but added a centerstone later (from an online retailer).
@Minutaie: Okay, girl, you've posted so many drool worthy emerald rings in different threads that now I'm starting to want one as an e-ring myself and it's my birthstone, so I must have one! lol...
@AnyWhos: I got a yellow sapphire from The Natural Sapphire company. I got the sapphire loose and had it set into white gold. I can't remember the exact cost, but I want to say it was like $350 for the ring -- 1.25 carat emerald cut sapphire and white gold setting. On their site, you can search by carat weight, color, etc.
Also, although not natural, there are synthetic sapphires, which are grown in a lab, but real sapphires. They also do this for emeralds and rubies and because they are "man made," but molecularly the same as the land-mined ones, they are cheaper. Better Than Diamonds sells synthetic sapphires and emeralds in differnet colors and cuts.
HTH!
My e ring is a blue topaz. We were looking at diamonds but i just like this one so much more. I guess it suits my personality.
The bottom one is my wedding ring. Its a pariba tourmaline. So far im happy with the choice not to go traditional!
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WOW! I love all of the beautiful stones! I have a traditional e ring, but would have actually loved to have a colored stone. What a great idea!
@noritake- i love it!!!
One of my good friends got a beautiful yellow sapphire in a diamond halo with a pave band from diamond cellar and she was thrilled with the service. not sure if you have one of those near you :)
I got my aquamarine from an estate jeweler - Bela Dora. They have a small online selection, but they have more in their store if you call and ask for pictures.
Also Fay Cullen has a ton of aquamarines on its site.
Gorgeous stones ladies. I really love the emeralds. I wanted one so badly, but was scared I would scratch or chip it. Rubies can be super stunning and sapphires are also drool-worthy. Sapphires are great because they come in so many colors. The choices are endless :) I would check out Pricescope to see all the gorgeous colored gems.(For example, I found out about green garnets that are just gorgeous through Pricescope.) Another possibility is going to a local jeweler or even looking for an estate ring to find something unique. Keep posting the pictures ladies, I'm drooling.
Another option is colored Moissanite- it comes in yellow, green and blue and they are very sparkly and sturdy :)
@kristij - I love your rings!
I have titanium and aquamarine, from Etsy. I love my ring and am so glad I went with something that suited me and my lifestyle.
Mine's aquamarine, but I wanted an ice-blue stone, not a bright blue. The one I got is so ice-blue that it just looks like a diamond under most artificial light-- it really only looks blue in the sunlight. Here's a pic with (one of) my wedding bands-- the sides of my e-ring and my wedding band are both round and baguette diamonds.
It doesn't look blue at all in this pic but I swear it is! Haha. I LOVE my aquamarine!
For us, we did the same thing a few other bees have done-- bought the setting minus the center stone and then bought the stone later, separately. We got a great deal on the setting because it was custom ordered and refused on arrival by whoever ordered it. It was 80% off as a result!
As far as pre-made rings go, Apples of Gold has some really neat ones-- here's their link:
http://applesofgold.com/Gemstone-Rings-GEM.html
Good luck!
@esrockhold: I try to avoid associating this word with myself...but I am indeed an emerald whore. I go out looking for them every night, hoping to find my next fix. Unfortunately, there isn't much to see out there in terms of emerald jewelry. The world is consumed by diamonds, and you can't search for emeralds without finding five $#%@#$^ billion hits of emerald cut diamonds! Ergh.
@CurlyDreamer: Muahahaha! I'm starting to convert people! I'm a May baby too. Unsurprisingly, green is my favorite color. And the place I've always wanted to visit is...wait for it...Ireland, AKA the "Emerald Isle." Go figure.
There are other great non-shopping network videos here, here, and here, if you're interested. :)
A site I really enjoy looking at is GemSelect. They have well priced stones, not really the best quality, but if you'd like to treat yourself to some gemstone jewelry, it would be a good place to pick out stones. The boulder opal is really, really cool looking.I want to make a necklace out of this one:
I also really like star gemstones, like this star sapphire:
Wouldn't they make for awesome alternative rings?
100% agree with ostara72
A local gemologist, independant jeweler will have better quality and better value.
Plus - you'd be supporting a local business rather than a corporate chain. Always good karma!
@Minutiae: If you're an Emerald Girl, you should plan on visiting Colombia. I was there last year and they have a fantastic selection of emeralds (of course since they are one of the largest worldwide suppliers). I have several emerald items I bought down there that has been appraised at double the price I paid. Hopefully BabyMighty is born in May and I can pass the emeralds down to her!
i love the idea of using a non-diamond e-ring. Its not my personal style, but my sister has a blue center stone, and it's stunning. go with what you want, even if its not the norm.
Non-diamond engagement rings were very popular up until about 30 years ago, so antique jewelry stores are a great place to look. I have a sapphire engagement ring from 1981...the year that Princess Di wed Prince Charles. She had an amazing sapphire engagment ring, which made sapphire e-rings very popular that year!
There are some sellers on Etsy that have gorgeous gemstone rings! Just do a search on Etsy for "gemstone engagement ring" or "aquamarine engagement ring".
Mine is Tanzanite, and i love it.
Having done a bit of research since recieving it, it is actually the rarest gemstone in the world, because there is only one very specific spot that it has been mined in.
that and due to its chemical make up, it changes colour depending on the light.
its much softer than diamond, but boy its gorgeous! (i am doing my best to be careful with it, but i have bashed it acouple of times, anf its honestly fine!)
i honestly wouldnt change it for the world!
sorry for the crappy quality, using my cell phone.
but it does change colour, right now its a beautiful lavender in the sun, in the dark its quite a deep blue, and in artificial light its quite ice blue!
Thanks for all of your help ladies!! Found this ring a few days ago..FELLLL IN LOOOOVE!!!!! It's not in the setting yet in this picture, but its 2.9 carats! Etsy is the place to go!
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_1&listing_id=18456914
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That is stunning. I clicked the link and am checking out the designer's other rings. Many of them are so lovely! Yellow sapphire is a smart choice because it's a 9 on the Mohs scale.
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