Carats for Engagement Ring

[Phil Ayesho]

Whatever you do, Don't buy a diamond.

They are dreadfully overpriced, they look like shit, and they are as common as sand.


For the price of a half carat, not very good diamond, you can buy Spinel or spessarite garnet of 3 carats or more, perfectly flawless and a far richer, more dazzling color than any mere Ruby.

Blue sapphire is, like diamond or ruby, very costly... most folks buying one will be forced to accept a mediocre quality stone in order to get something that will be visible...

However, Yellow sapphire is just as hard, and far more affordable.

I suppose it depends on the woman... lot's of women have no sense of individuality and no imagination and would really prefer the plain jane diamond... cause their friends will think it expensive...
But if your woman has a favorite color, you can find an amazing stone in that very color ... and for whatever you might be able to afford in a diamond... you can get most of these stones far larger, far more beautiful and far more flawless .


Fuck cloudy pale rubies and diamonds with inclusions...
There are stones that look just like a fine glass of wine... stones that come in a Sage color... even stones that dramatically CHANGE color ( alexandrite ) depending on the lighting.

And fuck jewelers... you can buy the stone direct from sites like GemSelect and AJ's- both places I have bought dazzling stones..

Check out these links for an idea of what you can get in a stone that is more about how beautiful it is, than it is about being a diamond...

A couple of caveats.... read up on these sites about stone hardness- for a ring, you want a stone that is 7.5 or harder... the harder, the better.

Secondly... fuck the standard solitarie setting... a big ass doorknob of a stone sticking out like a big ass doorknob is NOT gonna wear well...

Keep the setting and the stone such that the stone strikes as low a profile as is possible for the size of stone.- That is a ring she can wear daily for the rest of her life.

5.45ct VVS Azotic Topaz from Brazil
3.19ct VVS-VS Tourmaline from Nigeria
19.29ct VVS Smoky Quartz from Brazil
3.38ct VVS-VS Spinel from Mogok, Burma
1.38ct VVS-VS Apatite from Madagascar
5.03ct VVS-VS Zircon from Tanzania
Alexandrite: 1.07 ct. Gemstone
3.14ct VS Sapphire from Thailand
Fancy Tourmaline: 3.85 ct. Gemstone
Color Change Garnet: 1.33 ct. Gemstone

Imperial Topaz: 5.11 ct. Gemstone
Tanzanite: 1.76 ct. Gemstone

Sapphire is second only to Diamond in hardness... and the blue variety- especially Internally flawless ones, are quite costly... tho beautiful

But sapphire comes in other colors just as gorgeous, and far more affordable...

1.64ct IF Sapphire from Madagascar
3.04ct VVS-VS Sapphire from Thailand
0.97ct IF Sapphire from Africa, Tanzania (Songea)

Spinels are stunning in their variety and a good choice for a ring.
3.46ct VS Spinel from Mogok, Burma
1.27ct VVS Spinel from Tanzania
1.89ct VVS Spinel from Tanzania
5.25ct VS Spinel from Mogok, Burma
2.47ct VS Spinel from Tanzania

3.46ct VS Spinel from Mogok, Burma

 

[eastbaydude]

The exact formula is:

9 minus Your cock size equal Carats in Ring

For example, if you have a:
8 inch cock -- 9 - 8 = 1 carat ring
7 inch cock -- 9 - 7 = 2 ct. ring.
2 inch cock -- 9 - 2 = 7 ct ring.

10 inch cock? She owes you a 1 ct ring.

Seriously, deBeers marketing department came up with the 2 months salary idea. If someone is making $60,000/year ($5000/month) he can't afford a $10,000 ring. One month's salary would be MORE than generous.

 

[hud01]

The exact formula is:

9 minus Your cock size equal Carats in Ring

For example, if you have a:
8 inch cock -- 9 - 8 = 1 carat ring
7 inch cock -- 9 - 7 = 2 ct. ring.
2 inch cock -- 9 - 2 = 7 ct ring.

10 inch cock? She owes you a 1 ct ring.

Seriously, deBeers marketing department came up with the 2 months salary idea. If someone is making $60,000/year ($5000/month) he can't afford a $10,000 ring. One month's salary would be MORE than generous.

Now they are saying three months which is crazy.

 

[jackingoff10]

It is generally the worth of a man's 3 month salary, so however many carats you can get with a 3 month salary!

 

[2322]

Thank you Phil!

I take umbrage to the idea that no woman would want anything other than a giant honking diamond. Were I to marry and some woman told me that, I'd tell her to go buy one and enjoy it, but I'm not giving it to her because I'm not going to marry her.

Either you marry a woman who loves you as you do her or you're marrying a gold-digger who only cares about vulgarity and inspiring envy in others. I don't want to marry someone that.

 

[greatdickismydrug]

Thank you Phil!

I take umbrage to the idea that no woman would want anything other than a giant honking diamond. Were I to marry and some woman told me that, I'd tell her to go buy one and enjoy it, but I'm not giving it to her because I'm not going to marry her.

Either you marry a woman who loves you as you do her or you're marrying a gold-digger who only cares about vulgarity and inspiring envy in others. I don't want to marry someone that.

You are so right Jason. As Spiderrgirl and I have pointed out, not all women want/need the traditional "big rock." Also, it is not always the woman who is trying to impress or inspire envy in others with the engagement ring purchase. Sometimes it is the man. I truly just wanted a nice, unique, band....but got the engagement ring anyway.

BTW, I'll take a big dick over a big diamond any day.

Being the bitter and jaded old bitch that I am, I advise the young girls who work for me to choose non-tradtional settings/stones. This way if it doesn't work out they can still wear the ring. A couple of young girls I know never made it to the alter and now have very lovely engagement rings gathering dust in their jewlery boxes.

 

[2322]

Present her with this idea:

This is a stunning 4.6 carat sapphire that changes color from blue to purple in artificial light. Throw in a few surrounding diamonds to capture the light from the sapphire, mount in platinum, and you've got a stunning engagement ring that would knock her out.

If I were getting engaged to a woman, I'd do it in a heartbeat. THAT would be a ring no one would forget.

 

[hud01]

It is generally the worth of a man's 3 month salary, so however many carats you can get with a 3 month salary!

No it isn't.

I once worked with a girl who bragged that at her pre----whatever for the Catholic church she had the biggest diamond at 4 carats. The funny thing is a girl I worked with called her out one time when she claimed to have a designer bag which the other girl knew was a knock off. The bag dissappeard after that.

The point to this is, if you are going to buy a house, is it better to waste 15,000 on a ring, or to spend 5,000 and put 10,000 in the bank so you can find that house so much earlier.

If the girl you are with is so insecure and money driven that she is more concerned with the size of the diamond, as opposed to marrying you. This is nothing but trouble.

Oh Yeah I have seen plenty of girls from lesser economic backgrounds with half a carat or less. It should be about the love, not the stone.

Edit: You obviously haven't shopped for a ring, because a one carat flawless can cost ten times as much as a very flawed 4 carat stone

 

[nudeyorker]

Thank you Phil!

I take umbrage to the idea that no woman would want anything other than a giant honking diamond. Were I to marry and some woman told me that, I'd tell her to go buy one and enjoy it, but I'm not giving it to her because I'm not going to marry her.

Either you marry a woman who loves you as you do her or you're marrying a gold-digger who only cares about vulgarity and inspiring envy in others. I don't want to marry someone that.

You know, no offense to you or Phil, but you need to pony up for a real ring. In the long and short of it it's a minor cost when you look at the pay off during a lifetime. If you measure every dollar in A/P vs. A/R you will be counting pennies and missing the things that money can't buy by making someone happy!

 

[2322]

You know, no offense to you or Phil, but you need to pony up for a real ring. In the long and short of it it's a minor cost when you look at the pay off during a lifetime. If you measure every dollar in A/P vs. A/R you will be counting pennies and missing the things that money can't buy by making someone happy!

I thought, "the pay off during a lifetime," is called, 'alimony.' :tongue:

No offense to you either, but a real ring is whatever you want it to be. If a sapphire is good enough for the Princess of Wales, it should be good enough for any one else if one cares about the protocol of these things.

I find certain gems just suit certain women. Sometimes it's personality or coloration or spirit in a woman that inspires you to think of certain colors of gemstones. I love giving jewelry, it's one of my big gay regrets that I don't have a wife to lavish jewelry upon. When it comes to gifts like jewelry, it's very much the thought that counts because you really have to think about what suits a woman most and it isn't always diamonds.

 

[DaveyR]

No offense to you either, but a real ring is whatever you want it to be. If a sapphire is good enough for the Princess of Wales, it should be good enough for any one else if one cares about the protocol of these things.

I'm totally with you on this one Jason.

It should be down to mutual agreement on what suits and what is liked.

This idea of having to spend x times monthly salary on a ring is complete and utter bollocks IMHO. I bet it was a Jeweller who started that one off. Can anyone give a link to show where that little gem (excuse the pun) came from.

 

[2322]

I'm not big on colorless diamonds unless they're so well cut that the fire is just about irrepressible. Good diamonds should dazzle and they so rarely do. My one exception to this is a stone you've probably seen. It's in the Gems & Minerals collection of the AMNH and it's the Armstrong emerald-cut diamond. That stone is hypnotic in its depth and clarity. It's one of my favorite gems in the world.

 

[hud01]

You know, no offense to you or Phil, but you need to pony up for a real ring. In the long and short of it it's a minor cost when you look at the pay off during a lifetime. If you measure every dollar in A/P vs. A/R you will be counting pennies and missing the things that money can't buy by making someone happy!

Actually your entire statement is a contradiction. You talk about ponying up the money for a real ring, but then talk about the happiness that money can't buy. Please make up your mind.

 

[2322]

This idea of having to spend x times monthly salary on a ring is complete and utter bollocks IMHO. I bet it was a Jeweller who started that one off. Can anyone give a link to show where that little gem (excuse the pun) came from.

Wikipedia and one other source I've found say it started with DeBeers when they started the Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend advertising campaign.

My mom has a very lovely 2 carat ring from her marriage to my father. She offered it to me if I'm interested in getting married or she'll leave it to me in her will. Given the history that stone represents, I'd trade it in a heartbeat. One of the benefits of being a son of divorce is that there's usually a diamond waiting for you if you need one.:wink:

 

[Phil Ayesho]

You know, no offense to you or Phil, but you need to pony up for a real ring. In the long and short of it it's a minor cost when you look at the pay off during a lifetime. If you measure every dollar in A/P vs. A/R you will be counting pennies and missing the things that money can't buy by making someone happy!

Nude-
The stones I linked to are all THE REAL THING... they just aren't diamonds.
Diamond is one of the most common stones in the world. The pricing of diamonds is dictated by a monopolistic market that FAKES rarity.

Further... anyone who thinks a diamond is an investment is an idiot.
If you are not a gem merchant with connections with DeBeers, you are always paying at least 3 to 4 times the real value of the stone.

You can buy a loose stone from a non DeBeers source direct, and you will pay half to 1/3 what any jeweler will charge you for the same stone.


Here's the thing- any woman thinking her stone is worth what her man paid for it is stupid.

So- if jewelry is ALWAYS bought at inflated pricing, and it can never be a money making investment... what the fuck is it for?


Gemstones are valued for their APPEARANCE. Its about a breathtaking look... not about the money they cost... ( BTW- that's the entire ETHOS of jewelry... that its so much money to spend on something that is good for nothing but being pretty)

But diamonds- which used to be poorly thought of due to the lack of any color,- were promoted as a symbol of the bride's WORTH...
as a way of getting around the fact that they are plain, and lack fire.


And if you like the way a diamond LOOKS... you can get a larger, more flawless cubic zirconia for a fraction of the cost that even a GEMOLOGIST will have to conduct a test to tell is not a diamond.



But beyond all of that--- take a hard look at the pricing on the stones linked to. A color changing sapphire like the one Jason linked to is very rare- almost impossible to find flawless.... that slightly included stone is over 5 grand for the fucking STONE.

But the pale blue sapphire I linked to is far rarer, but not as much in demand... it is internally flawless... just as hard and a tiny fraction of the price- now imagine that that stone happened to MATCH the eye color of your intended?
What woman would not want THAT stone over a bland colorless piece of shit?


And the spinel? MOST of the stones in the crown jewels that are CALLED Rubies, are in fact, spinels.
Ruby is a bright, pale red color... when you see a deep red stone- like a glass of claret... its a spinel.

Gem stone ought to be about COLOR and FIRE... and I am sorry but when I see some woman with a .3 carat ruby on her hand, and its cloudy and has visible inclusions and you KNOW, because its a ruby and she bought it at a jewelers she paid 3 grand for that ring... I want to cry...

For $400 she could have had the most astonishingly deep, clear red-orange spinel with flashes of bronze in a 2 or 3 carat stone and paid for the nicest setting imaginable.


BTW- I MADE my wife's engagement ring and wedding band- with my own hands...
I set a beautiful 2.3 carat flawless red stone - more beautiful than the most expensive ruby you could find...in a setting that no other woman on earth will ever wear...
And, total, I spent $600.

Buying price manipulated stones from jewelers is a foolish waste of money and a missed opportunity at being unique, creative and special.

Diamonds are great for some things... I use them all the time... as an abrasive.

 

[DaveyR]

Nude-
The stones I linked to are all THE REAL THING... they just aren't diamonds.
Diamond is one of the most common stones in the world. The pricing of diamonds is dictated by a monopolistic market that FAKES rarity.

Further... anyone who thinks a diamond is an investment is an idiot.
If you are not a gem merchant with connections with DeBeers, you are always paying at least 3 to 4 times the real value of the stone.

You can buy a loose stone from a non DeBeers source direct, and you will pay half to 1/3 what any jeweler will charge you for the same stone.


Here's the thing- any woman thinking her stone is worth what her man paid for it is stupid.

So- if jewelry is ALWAYS bought at inflated pricing, and it can never be a money making investment... what the fuck is it for?


Gemstones are valued for their APPEARANCE. Its about a breathtaking look... not about the money they cost... ( BTW- that's the entire ETHOS of jewelry... that its so much money to spend on something that is good for nothing but being pretty)

But diamonds- which used to be poorly thought of due to the lack of any color,- were promoted as a symbol of the bride's WORTH...
as a way of getting around the fact that they are plain, and lack fire.


And if you like the way a diamond LOOKS... you can get a larger, more flawless cubic zirconia for a fraction of the cost that even a GEMOLOGIST will have to conduct a test to tell is not a diamond.



But beyond all of that--- take a hard look at the pricing on the stones linked to. A color changing sapphire like the one Jason linked to is very rare- almost impossible to find flawless.... that slightly included stone is over 5 grand for the fucking STONE.

But the pale blue sapphire I linked to is far rarer, but not as much in demand... it is internally flawless... just as hard and a tiny fraction of the price- now imagine that that stone happened to MATCH the eye color of your intended?
What woman would not want THAT stone over a bland colorless piece of shit?


And the spinel? MOST of the stones in the crown jewels that are CALLED Rubies, are in fact, spinels.
Ruby is a bright, pale red color... when you see a deep red stone- like a glass of claret... its a spinel.

Gem stone ought to be about COLOR and FIRE... and I am sorry but when I see some woman with a .3 carat ruby on her hand, and its cloudy and has visible inclusions and you KNOW, because its a ruby and she bought it at a jewelers she paid 3 grand for that ring... I want to cry...

For $400 she could have had the most astonishingly deep, clear red-orange spinel with flashes of bronze in a 2 or 3 carat stone and paid for the nicest setting imaginable.


BTW- I MADE my wife's engagement ring and wedding band- with my own hands...
I set a beautiful 2.3 carat flawless red stone - more beautiful than the most expensive ruby you could find...in a setting that no other woman on earth will ever wear...
And, total, I spent $600.

Buying price manipulated stones from jewelers is a foolish waste of money and a missed opportunity at being unique, creative and special.

Diamonds are great for some things... I use them all the time... as an abrasive.

Thanks for this post Phil. It was an an education.

 

[2322]

BTW- I MADE my wife's engagement ring and wedding band- with my own hands...
I set a beautiful 2.3 carat flawless red stone - more beautiful than the most expensive ruby you could find...in a setting that no other woman on earth will ever wear...
And, total, I spent $600.

I agree completely with your post (except for saying diamonds are trash). Admittedly, one of the few times I ever have.

I just wanted to quote the above because it's so ridiculously romantic I'm sure I'd burst into tears if I received such a wonderful gift.

Jewels are about enhancing a woman's beauty. They should not wear the woman, the woman should wear them. As portable wealth, they're not bad, but not nearly so useful as good antique furniture which appreciates, on average, about 15% a year -- a very solid investment with no capital gains. The problem is a woman can't wear a sofa.

I will never forget my sister's engagement party. She appeared in a stunning pink vintage Givenchy sheath dress covered with crystals. She wore her grandmother's diamond riviere, ruby pendants, and an exceptional cuff bracelet of diamonds mixed with same-sized colored jewels. I couldn't take my eyes off of her. I had never seen her look so good and I was absolutely floored. Her engement ring though, that was something. It's a beautiful Australian fire opal that demanded a second look despite all the other jewels she was wearing. No mean feat when competing with estate jewelry from the days when there was no such thing as too many diamonds.

Diamonds do have their place. They make excellent accent jewels and a diamond with exceptional fire and brilliance is entrancing. The problem is there aren't that many good brilliant diamonds with so much fire you can see it across a room. When there are though, they're spectacular. If I walked into a room of women today, I can almost guarantee I won't notice their engagement rings because they're all badly cut diamonds with poor clarity. This is why flawless diamonds with perfect cuts are so expensive. A good diamond is serviceable if dull, but a great diamond stands head and shoulders above a poor one 10x larger.

 

[B_Dustydo]

Here is the link for the different colored Diamonds produced by the Argyle Diamond mine in Australia.
Their pink Diamonds are stunning.

 

[Phil Ayesho]

Opal is beautiful, but I advise against it for a daily wear ring as it is way too soft- to easy to mar.


Another thing to mention is to suggest everyone take a HARD look at the pricing on the stones on those sites...

Seem Low? THAT is what your Jeweler pays for stones. Find any one of these stones at a jeweler and they will run $500 bucks and up for an unset stone.


HERE's a real beauty
2.62ct IF Spinel from Mogok, Burma

An internally flawless 2.6 ct. spinel in a grayish pink rose color- at 4.3 mm tall . it could be placed in a very compact setting that would not get caught on shit all day...

Imagine this in a platinum band...
If your gal loves pink... how could she not love something so unique and personal...

Or how about for a MAN's ring...
1.82ct VVS-VS Spinel from Mogok, Burma
This is a STEEL GRAY gemstone...
that's right STEEL GRAY.
IN a gemstone...




And Jason... my wife... yeah, she adores her rings... That I made them myself makes her tear up... that the design has personal significance for the two of us floors her... and the fact that no other woman she meets has ever even seen such a distinctively colored and shaped engagement ring is a source of pride.
Other women comment on it often... and ask where it was purchased...who makes it...
She smiles and says that her husband designed it for her and made it himself.
And the women she tells swoon with romantic envy and hide their plain and uninspired diamond solitaires.



And she has never shown the slightest interest in how much they cost... tho- honestly, if I factor in how much I charge for my own time as a designer... that would take it way over the out of pocket expense.

 

[CUBE]

I don't but the hype of three months of salary. It depends on your finacial status and what you can afford. If you are in debt, for example, getting a loan for 10 grand is not wise. I think it also depends on the taste of the woman. Why I would say a diamond is nice. Some women don't wear them and want an emerald. So do some research with the gal, what you can afford, and what pleases you too