I'd like to second what pebbles said about GIA certificates. At the higher end of the diamond world, stones are traded based strictly on certificates. They are that important. I'm another one who did a good deal of research a few years back. The way the market is structured, there are cities such as Antwerp and NY and sources in Russia and Israel where the market is centered and the best stones are traded and cut. There are wholesalers who buy stones, make up the rings and then sell them -- even to the high end stores like Tiffanys and Cartier though those often have exclusive styles. Harry Winston has their own workshop upstairs above the store where they make some pieces. But if you are going for a stone larger than 2 carats and with good cut and color -- pebbles again is quite right, chances are you are not going to do very well outside a big market. Even some discounters here have trouble getting larger stones of good quality. Many local jewelers are clueless about diamonds no matter what they say. The industry is structured on fixed pricing per carat, clarity and color. There's a publication used in the wholesale market that determines this and changes weekly or monthly (can't recall). Then there is cut, which is an eye thing developed only by extensive looking and relationships with the 'better" dealers who get the better stones. Point is, there are regional diamond centers in big cities such as Chicago and elsewhere, plus the online folks. With every layer of distance from the source there is an upcharge. Pebbles also makes a really good point about resale. The only fallback anyone has is to buy the best color, clarity and largest carat size you can afford from a name jeweler such as Tiffany, Cartier, Winston, Bulgari etc. as these command a premium if you resell them at auction. But you will pay retail and those brands command premium prices. I had a Cartier engagement ring that I resold at auction after many years and got a good price. But it was registered there with a number and I had retained the original invoice that stated the specs. I had worn it a lot and the engraving had worn off so I took to to them and they reengraved their name in the ring It was a pretty ring and I was able to sell it at auction advantageously because it was a prestige brand. But that's the only reason to pay retail (though styles go in and out of fashion and even values of the prestige brands fluctuate accordingly). If you are going for a larger stone than 2 carats then I would recommend a ton of research and asking everyone you know so you can get through the chain and as close as possible to the source. It might also be a good idea to check around on jewelry auctions where engagement rings are sold with certificates as you can sometimes do a bit better. My youngest brother got engaged two years ago. They had shopped extensively and he really knew his onions, plus the style she wanted and what he could afford. By making the right wholesale connection and shopping in NY (i.e. in a source market) rather than in Arizona or California, he was able to buy a ring that was a carat larger with the same color and clarity, and a better cut within his budget. The dealer was happy to deal with him because he knew exactly what he was buying and knew how good the price was and didn't dither over making the decision.

A well cut diamond is a good stone forever until is gets damaged usually by chipping. Your round cut, brillaint stone is probably a standard cut often referred to as a SRB cut or Standard Round Brilliant. The SRB has 16 sides (girdle facets), Pavillion (bottom part) facets: 16 meeting the gridle plus 8 more mains; and Crown facets: 32 facets plus the table, for a total of 57 facets not coumting the girdle facets. Since its development, this cut have proven to be excellent and is the standard by which other cuts are measured. A 1 caret SRB diamond is an excellent (and expensive) engagement stone. It looks very good mounted on either gold color or white platnium. Diamonds are graded by the 4 Cs: Cut, Clarity, Color, and Caret. Water clear, transparent, with minimum to no flaws are the most desireable with exception of certain colors. Some of world's most expensive diamonds are blue and pale yellow. I suspect that your stones with a brown cast would be downgraded. However, let your jeweler be your guide. One can not grade a stone without seeing it and inspecting it under magnification. The person who grades your stones ahould have trained at, and hold a certificate from the GIA (Gemeological Instutite of America).

Congratulations to them both! I have a suggestion for them, also. While they are on their cruise, suggest that they do a daily journal of what they have seen and done. Even with pictures, they will quickly forget some details. If they keep a dialy journal, they can come home and do it in a word processing document and insert pictures to go with each day. (Or scrapbook it!) I am not a scrapbooker, but a friend showed us their daily journal. They do it every day, even if it's just one sentance about going to the dr. or a visit from a friend. They are full time RV'ers, and it makes wonderfull memories. He then prints the journal at the end of the year, and takes it to Staples or someplace similar and has it bound. He makes two copies, keeps one and gives the other to his mother. I don't do it daily, but do try to do each day of our trips. Boy, has it come in handy! We forget place names very easily, along with people's names. If they take a laptop with them, they can do the journal on the computer and download the pictures daily. I don't put all the pictures taken in the journal, just a few key photos, the rest stay in a file folder labeled for the trip. Tami

This is such a sweet story, Sheila. How lucky your son is to have loving, supportive parents. And he's smart to do his homework too! My first thought is that it really is fun to pick out the engagement ring together, so maybe he should ask her and then they can get the ring. If he chooses to use the family diamond, they should take it to a jeweler who can design a ring, maybe adding some small diamonds around it to give it more "look." Or if he's determined to surprise her, have him take the diamond to a jeweler to see what can be done, and also look around at other rings to price compare and see what he likes. This is so exciting, and you must be very happy that things are moving, even tho' slowly!