This is very long, but the story behind buying this stone & setting are very special. Feel free to skip to the end to see what the stone looks like
My husband and I met 14 years ago while we were freshmen in college. We started talking via a mutual friend and we’ve been together 14 years now (exactly 14 next week). About a year and a half later we decided we would get married. We were poor and had little money so we purchased a beautiful deep purple amethyst in a nice platinum setting. Let me mention we were young and broke. I loved my birthstone so it seemed perfect to me.
Until the stone cracked. That started the long search for a fitting ring. We had a small marquise diamond set in yellow gold. Our bands matched. Problem is I dislike yellow gold and my husband refused white gold. I gave in. A few years later I admitted to my husband that I disliked the setting and wanted something new.
I decided to go with his birthstone which is a sapphire. I knew then that it was stronger and should last longer than my amethyst did. But I went cheap in order to get a wicked cool iPod set up in my car (that now seems pathetic) and got a ring on clearance. 10K white gold set with a dark sapphire. I wore that for quite a few years.
Then I saw colored diamonds in a store. The first one I saw and drooled over was a dark gray marquise. It was just divine. And then I saw natural yellow, blue and green while traveling and visiting a beautiful shop abroad. I was in heaven. But I was happy with my dark blue sapphire.
For a few years at least. It seemed every year the stone got darker and less sparkly. I didn’t like it much at all. After my son was born I replaced the sapphire with a citrine. I knew it wouldn’t be very strong, but I was doing a cheap replacement while I decided what center stone I really wanted. I was thinking a yellow sapphire for a while to blend son’s color with husband’s birthstone.
In the midst of this, the economy hit our house. My husband’s entire IT group was let go so they could outsource to a cheaper group. 12 days before Christmas. Yay us.
We also have kitchen cabinets that we desperately need to replace so we are saving up for those since a decent chunk of our savings was dipped into due to the job situation.
My husband found work immediately and eventually got a raise, but we are still not quite where we were this time a few years ago. But we’re making it work just fine. My husband does some IT work privately and makes a good amount of money now and then doing it.
So when my citrine ring cracked (setting, not the stone) he gave me a small budget and said have fun and look. I hit the jackpot with a vintage ring (a la 1930) that has about a 40 point round stone. It was a good place holder for a steal of a price at $115 on Ebay. Only problem is that I don’t really like round diamonds as center stones. I love the setting though.
We were slowly looking at my “forever” ring trying to see what settings and stones do I really want. I was looking locally and online for ideas. Locally was a little harder in person because about half the stores I went into when I said low color would show me a J or K. Online I had much better luck and a google search of yellow diamonds brought me to DBL.
Eventually I found a stone at DBL I loved and kept drooling over it. Wondering how I could afford it without selling something big. Then a friend came to me asking for a favor. One of her friends was in need of a specific time share location we happen to own. I have rented out in the past to friends when I was pregnant and not traveling, but not like this. I checked and we can rent to them and still have us vacation as planned without worry. We both made out on this deal in our eyes. He saved over half the cost he would have had to pay and I get the cash.
My husband said to me “spend it on what you want” Which is the nice translation of, go get the stone. So I looked that night and wham, the stone I loved was gone. I inquired about another but it didn’t speak to me.
I spent some of the weekend looking at a local jeweler who does carry more fancy type colors than any others I have seen in person. I did get one quote that would fit, but I knew I had to keep looking.
Then I e-mailed David. He got back to me very promptly and showed me a picture of a gorgeous stone. It was the perfect color and bigger size than I really dreamed of owning. This is *the* stone for me.
Right now we are doing it in a gorgeous cathedral temporary setting. I am torn on what I want done with a dream setting, so this will let me enjoy it, love it and get to know it before we decide. My husband wants to help create the setting whenever I give him a more definite vision and when we know we aren’t taking from the kitchen to do it.
So looooong story close to ending…
I am soooo excited! It’s taken me a while to realize while I like the look of squat stones, longer ones look better on my short fingers. This has a great pattern to me, looks so bright and has gorgeous cut corners. I cannot wait to see this baby in person! It will be my early 10th wedding anniversary present to me.
So thank you so much David! I really appreciate all you’ve done for me. I never thought finding a beautiful stone would be so easy. I cannot wait to see the finished product when it arrives! This ring even in the solitaire setting will be very special to both of us. It will almost be like getting engaged again 12.5 years later!
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