Newventurer
Recycles dryer sheets
Got my DW's from Blue Nile 10 years ago. Diamonds have certificates if that matters to you.
My wife hit me up for a BIG diamond last year and she bought one from an independent diamond broker she knows.
She has for sale a 1.41 round solitare mounted on a very substantial setting with a number of diamonds on each side of the big diamond. And she has all documentation on the ring.
Please PM me if interested.
Markup is tremendously high on Diamonds. This is one of those purchases that I just had to find a comfortable number to spend in correlation with the size and clarity of the Diamond.
A 3/4 carat is significantly less than 1 Carat and you could get a setting that accents the Diamond.
I might try Blue Nile dot com and compare prices versus retail stores. Or, look up Estate Sales dot net for estate sales in the area you live. I'd contact companies that were listing the estate sales and ask them to steer you in a direction for a reasonably priced engagement ring.
Michael
James Allen is a very reputable internet site for engagement rings. My son just bought one there after researching for months. They have 360 degree views of the actual stones. Pick a stone, pick a setting and in a week the ring is delivered. Much cheaper than physical stores. JMHO
Alternate gemstones are another option. Your after 3daughter could consider a ruby or a sapphire instead of a diamond. These are actually rarer than diamonds, don't have the deBeers market distortion, and are probably less environmentally and ethically damaging.
Fast forward 3 or 4 years at a family reunion, we met some family members who told a story about the patriarch and matriarch when they immigrated long ago, put their life savings into diamonds, and baked them in a loaf of bread when they came over on the boat. They were told no one would steal one's last morsel, but thieves would steal the shirt off their back if they needed one.
The Romanov (Russian Czar) family had diamonds under their clothes when they were executed.DH's first wife was Armenian and when her family fled Armenia an uncle smuggled a stash of diamonds in a linen bag hidden in... umm, a body cavity. What she remembered was that one of the little girls had her shoes stolen. Desperate times. The diamonds made it safely.
The last to die were Tatiana, Anastasia, and Maria, who were carrying a few pounds (over 1.3 kilograms) of diamonds sewn into their clothing, which had given them a degree of protection from the firing.