Engagement Ring Buy Tips

Take some engagement ring buy tips to answer all your questions and give you confidence when you enter your first jewelry store. How much money should you spend? How much money would SHE want you to spend? Would she like a heart shaped stone, or marquise cut? Platinum band or gold? Tough decisions, but don’t worry. As long as you take your time, shop around, and do a little research, you can’t go wrong.

Engagement Ring Buy Tip for Making the Right Choice

Hopefully, you already have a good idea of her preferences. Maybe you have been ring shopping together and observed her likes and dislikes. If not, an option may be to talk to your future in-laws or her close friends for ideas. You definitely want to give her an engagement ring that she will absolutely love since she will be wearing it for the rest of her life. If you really want to make it special, ask one of her friends to go shopping with her. Have her friend drag her into a jewelry store to see what type of ring she would pick out IF you should ever pop the question. She may not know herself, until she starts to look. And while the friend is at it, tell her to make note of her ring size when she’s trying on rings. Or you could always take one of her rings and outline the inside on a piece of paper. But if you do this, make sure the ring you choose is a ring she wears often and is a good fit.

Make it Her Choice - Best Engagement Ring Strategy

Allowing her to choose her own ring is a very unselfish and caring act. If you still want to make it a surprise, do the research and make several ring selections yourself. When you propose, you can always give her a ring, making sure first that it is returnable (or try a cubic zirconia ring). After you propose, tell her that the final engagement ring buy selection will be her choice (even bring pictures of some of the other rings your liked). Then go ring shopping the next day, taking her to the stores you have pre-visited. If you know your sweetheart would have strong opinions on the engagement ring buy / purchase, you will start your relationship out right by showing her how much you care about her feelings. When she looks at her ring, shows it off to her friends, you will know that she will be thrilled with its appearance.

Become familiar with the Four C’s Before Engagement Ring Buy Selection

Cut determines the brilliance of the diamond and is probably the most important of the four C’s. It refers to the angles a skilled craftsman creates in transforming a rough diamond into a polished diamond ready for a setting. A well cut diamond will allow light to enter through the face, then refract through the sides and top of the stone. A poorly cut diamond will lose light through the sides and base. Cut also refers to the shape of the diamond. Common cuts include heart, round, princess cut, marquise and pear.

Color ranges from colorless to faint yellow. Colorless diamonds are the most valuable. The color grades by the GIA (Gemological Institute of America) range from D (colorless) to Z. Colors are graded under controlled lighting conditions since it is difficult to detect differences in colors close together on the scale (such as D and E).

Carat is a measure of weight, not necessarily size. Since larger diamonds are more difficult to find in nature, a 1 carat diamond costs much more than twice as much as a ½ carat diamond given that all other factors (e.g. clarity, color) are the same.

Clarity refers to the absence or presence of flaws or mineral deposits that would disrupt the flow of light in the diamond. The number of inclusions determine the degree of brilliance lost. The clarity scale ranges from flawless (FL) to Included (I). The range begins with flawless, internally flawless, VVS1, VVS2, VS1, VS2, SI1, SI2, I1, I2, I3 where I1, I2, and I3 are the lowest quality with flaws visible to the naked eye.

Price in the Engagement Ring Buy Selection

The standard budget for your engagement ring buy / purchase is two months salary. However, the average couple spends $2,000 on the engagement ring. This is a personal choice since you need to take into account your own finances. Also, soon your finances will be pooled together with your future wife. So consider her thoughts on this large investment. She may prefer the money be spent on a less expensive ring, so more money will be available for a wedding, honeymoon or house payment. Less expensive rings can be purchased on ebay.com. Another idea would be to look at cluster rings. Smaller diamonds are less expensive, but in a cluster, the ring will appear larger in size.

Take an engagement ring buy tip and always ask for a Diamond Certificate which is an evaluation of the unique characteristics and quality of your ring.