[David]

I've bought a few diamonds over the years and usually end up buying from the same local small jeweler. I was in Tiffany's a few days ago and looked at their engagement rings. Holy cow! They are really nice but $50K for a 1.5 carat ring is definitely not in my budget.

The jeweler I use lays out several diamonds in my size range to pick from and I just keep looking until the price matches the quality I'm willing to accept.

I'm currently in "starting to think about buying an engagement ring" phase. My plan is to pick the diamond and have it set in a plain Tiffany style setting so I can surprise her. Then she can design the actual ring to hold the diamond.