Thursday Afternoon Ring Porn

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Hello lovvveeeeerrrrrrrrrr... 

I saw this ring today on Pinterest, and just couldn't resist... I had to share it in its two carat cushion cut floating micro pave halo glory!  Consider it a Thursday afternoon gift, from me to you!  Well... a gift from Blue Nile, to Pinterest, to me, to you!

xoxo

Stunning Diamond Solitaire

In advance, you are welcome for a little ring porn on this glorious Friday!

One of my girlfriends got engaged recently, and her ring is phenomenal.  The band is way too large for my left hand, but it fits like a glove on my right (yes, I totally tried it on... I'm shameless).

On a separate topic, is it normal that my right hand is a vastly different size from my left??

Bridal Bling

Holy love-of-my-life - I spotted this stunner on Style Me Pretty this morning, and just had to share!  A girl can dream, right?!

All that Glitters...

Ok, are these not absurdly, eye poppingly, jaw droppingly gorgeous?!  Insanity!!

I had no idea that BlueNile hosted such a wealth of engagement ring porn!  One might wonder, what I was doing on BlueNile?  I swear it happened accidentally!  I am on their email list after ordering a pair of pearl earrings, and with my 10% off email, clicked through to the site today.  The sparkly baubles on the homepage had me at hello, and forty-five minutes later, here I am.


Halo Settings:
   

Just look at these bad boys - I thought the halo settings above were really spectacular.  I LOVE the floating setting at the top, and don't even get me started on the Tiffany's Legacy replica.  Rings #2 and #3 are SO close to the Tiffany setting, at a fraction of the price).  The last ring above is so pretty but, it's not one I would have asked for unless I saw it - is that stone an asscher cut?  The channels really make it look deep and beautiful, but I wonder if it would be harder to get a quality cut like that...


Solitaire Settings:
  
  

Oh the classics - like a Chanel suit, these will always be in style.  The round solitaires on a pave band (#1 & #2) are still my fave, but I also love the heirloom band on the square cut asscher stone (#3 above) - it's so unique and delicate.  While it's not my style, that canary yellow diamond is a stunner - so rare, and so pretty, I couldn't leave him out!

For more ring porn, check out the "Recently Purchased Engagement Rings" section.  (I am not getting paid to say this - it's just that amazing)  In my humble opinion, the fact that they show recently purchased rings - not stock photos - is a HUGE selling point!

Ok... I'm done now, but I think I seriously have an illness.  This diamond obsession is borderline clinical, but I just can't stop!  Look how pretty they are.  Look how sparkly they are.... I just HAD to share some of this glittery eye candy for all the other diamond junkies out there.

Amazing Engagement Ring

WOW.  Now THAT is a ring!!

Cushion Cut Engagement Ring

Holy cow!  I'm pretty sure this is the stuff that dreams are made of (at least it's the stuff my dreams are made of)... ahh!  Just a little something pretty to start to weekend off right!

I heading up to Napa today for work - we will be staying the night at the Bardessono in Yountville - possibly my favorite place on earth.  I am really looking forward to some wine tasting, laying by the pool (weather says it should be close to ninety degrees!) and some pasteries from Bouchon Bakery tomorrow morning.

We'll be throwing a big party tomorrow night to celebrate my dad's 60th birthday, so there is so much to look forward to!  Friends, family, wine tasting, warm weather... Happy Weekend!

xo

Dream Engagement Ring

Isn't this ring stunning... I mean STUNNING?!  Love!

Clearly I've got rings on the mind.  It's odd - I go through phases where I don't think about it, and then this wave of engagement fever hits! What's a girl to do?!  Clearly, a girl is to indulge in her obsessions a bit.

Over the past year, my tastes in rings have changed, and changed again... and changed again, but I think I've reached a point where I've settled on two engagement ring types that I love:
    - Ideal #1: Classic...
    - Ideal #2: Classic... with a twist

Ideal #1: Classic
What could be more classic than a round solitaire?  A round diamond has several benefits - one, the way the facets are cut, round diamonds outshine all other diamond shapes, proving to be the most sparkly...  awesome... what else?  Round diamonds also offer the largest surface area per carat of all cuts.  Super awesome!  As a girl who loves everything that glitters, would I settle for a plain band?  Of course not - so there it is... round diamond on a micropave diamond band. Simple, elegant, timeless, and yet... it brings a wow factor that is hard to beat!

         Classic Round Solitaire with micropave band:

     

             

        

        

Ideal #2: Classic with a Twist
Ok, I might need another cup of coffee on this sleepy Monday morning, but I swear this is a category!  I am not talking contemporary settings.  On the contrary, this "classic with a twist" is actually a blend of contemporary diamond cutting and vintage styles (halo settings actually became popular in the 1920's and 30's when glamorous art-deco aesthetic dominated the day).  Becoming popular again, I have sort of fallen in love with the revamped micropave halo setting.  I love them to frame either a very symmetrical cushion cut diamond, or a round stone.  As opposed to the more ornate vintage styles, I am drawn to the cleaner more contemporary halo's, thus the classic... with a twist... ha!

         Round Micropave Halo:
         
         
         
         


Cushion Micropave Halo:
         
         
         
         


So there we have it... a bit of diamond porn to start your week off!  And for any men looking for engagement ring inspiration and / or advice, print out this post, take it to a jeweler and start pricing these babies out!

Engagement Ring Guide: "Virtually" find the one for you!

For all you engagement ring junkies out there, this is your lucky day!  I just discovered the most amazing invention since sliced bread.  Tacori has just released an augmented reality "Try it On" feature on their site, where you can virtually try on the most gorgeous engagement rings.  Um, YES PLEASE!

I am by no means the most technologically savvy person, so trust me when I say, it's so easy!!

            Step 1.  Print out the funky paper ring - this will serve as the marker for your webcam

            Step 2.  Download software here

            Step 3.  Cut out paper ring, and secure it around your finger

            Step 4.  Hold up marker to webcam and prepare to be dazzled

Play around - print out a few pics for your wish list, send it to your mom (definitely going to do that later), or leave them around the house for your honey-bear to find...

I'm not sure which was my favorite... I loved them all!

Clearly, it's been a SUPER hectic day at the office ;-)  Don't judge!

Engagement Ring Guide: Classic is Foolproof

Holy Engagement ring!!  Can we give this stunner a moment of glory?

I fully admit to my obsession with trashy reality TV - the Kardashians?  I'm there.  Beverly Hills Housewives?  Tivo'ed!  Mob Wives? Shhh, don't tell anyone!  BUT, When I watch these shows, I am thrown by the hideous ice rinks they have on their hands, and spend most of the show wondering, how most of these women manage to turn a gorgeous diamond into such a horrific piece of jewelry?!  After 5 micro pave halos, 10 wedding bands, and about 45 carats of bling, it's a status symbal... and an ugly one at that!

Note to my future husband: One halo is nice, I won't throw you out on the street if you surprise me with a 3 carat solitaire, but please keep in mind, I want to wear this ring everyday for the rest of my life.  Don't make it hideous!

xoxo

Engagement Ring Guide Part II: Maximizing Impact

Regardless of budget, every girl wants a ring she WANTS to show off to the world.  While not everyone is a Kardashian with a 17 carat paperweight on their hand, I've learned a few simple tips to keep in mind that will maximize the ring's wow factor.

1. Round Diamonds Look Bigger than All Other Sizes

• It's true - in terms of surface area per carat, the round / brilliant diamonds give you more bang for your buck.  Compare a 1.0 carat round diamond to a 1.0 carat diamond of any other shape.  The average length to width ratio in millimeters for a round diamond would be 6.3 x 6.3mm.  For a 1.0 carat cushion cut diamond, the average length to width ratio is in the 5.5 x 5.5mm range.  That is a significant difference!

2. A Sparkly Diamond Always Looks Bigger than a Dull one

• Look for a diamond shape that naturally reflects the most light.  Round will top the list every time, because of the way that the facets are cut, but close behind the round diamond for "sparkliness" is the marquise (I was shocked by that one), oval, pear, heart, and then Princess.  From there, sparkle tapers off rapidly, but if you are like me, and kind of hate the fancy shapes (marquis, pear, heart, etc) then stick with the round, oval, and princess - all safe bets.  
• Do not sacrifice cut for carat - the result will be a dull, cloudy, or dark diamond.  In the first post, I talked a lot about the importance of a quality cut - going for an ideal or excellent cut will give you the most sparkle - substituting a good or fair cut for a slight increase in carat size is a very bad idea.

3.  Elongated Diamonds can Appear Larger

• A non-symmetrical cushion cut that is rectangular can fake people out for a larger carat.  Especially if you have thin fingers, the length can create the illusion of a larger diamond. Also on this list of elongated shapes are the emerald cut (not a personal favorite of mine), radiant cut, and oval diamonds.  I'm not fully sold on this idea, but if you love this look, go for it!

4.  Settings with Additional Diamonds Enhance the Size of a Diamond

• Extra embellishments on a ring do exactly what they promise - they enhance a center stone, so whether it's opting for a three stone ring, (with two sizable diamonds on either side of the center stone), or if it's having a micropave band that adds just a bit of extra pizzazz to your ring while still leaving the center stone as the main focus, or whether it's going all out for a micro-pave halo setting (having even more diamonds encircling the center stone and band), these are all great ways to enhance an already beautiful engagement ring.

Engagement Ring Guide Part I: Sparkle

Marilyn Monroe sang, "diamonds are a girl's best friend", and lately I have been doing a lot of thinking about the most important diamond a girl will receive... an engagement ring.  Most recently, I have been noticing lots of really different but amazing rings on other women and in the window's of my neighborhood jewelers that are not what I have traditionally liked.  I've been thinking about, how to save money when buying a diamond, what makes it most sparkly, and what the priorities should be...


Deciding to do some research, I think I have narrowed it down to my top "engagement ring essentials".  Because there is so much to learn and think about when buying a diamond, I wanted to break out these essentials into a series of posts to avoid an overwhelming amount of information.  It's really interesting and really helpful in terms of understanding priorities when you are looking since there are SO MANY options, so many things to weigh, and of course since it's costing several month's salary.


1.  SPARKLE:  Bigger is not better if the diamond doesn't shine.  This is not to say that I don't want a big rock flashing about on my left hand, but recently I have seen some women with very large stones, that are dull, and not very pretty.  I've never been a diamond expert, but wanting to know what causes this dullness, lack of sparkle, and even cloudy appearance, I've done some research...  The factors that most affect a diamond's sparkliness are CUT, SYMMETRY, DEPTH, and TABLE. 

• CUT: This one is pretty easy to remember - the better the cut, the more light enters the diamond (meaning more sparkly).  This is probably the most important part to getting a sparkly diamond, so ALWAYS go for  the best cut possible (either ideal, or excellent).  Anything below that, and you will be losing significant sparkle. 

                    

• SYMMETRY: This refers to specific aspects of a diamond's cut; with poor symmetry, light can be lost as it enters and exits the diamond - a good rule of thumb, symmetry and cut go hand in hand, so if you stick to an ideal/excellent cut, you will end up with good symmetry.  This diagram gives a good idea about how this works and why poor symmetry can be a BIG problem:

                  

• DEPTH: This is really a matter of quality control - if the diamond is too shallow or too deep, light is lost and the diamond looks dull - something really interesting that I learned was that a too deep diamond adds carat weight without looking bigger - shady!  The best diamonds are considered to range in depth percentage from 58% - 64%.  Be sure you specify this when looking and you'll be good.
• TABLE: Similar to depth - this is all in the cutting of a diamond, and is more mathmatical than anything; the ratio of the table width to diamond diameter and affects how much a diamond sparkles - the best diamonds range in table percentage from 53%-64%.  Stick to this, and you'll be fine.

So much to learn, so little time!!!  Next up, the how to maximize the impact of your diamond!