5 QUICK ENGAGEMENT RING TIPS

Getting engaged?

Good. You’ll need the ring!

So here are 5 quick and easy tips and tricks that will help you buy the perfect engagement ring.

It’s not as difficult as you would think…

1) Set yourself a budget

Don’t go into buying a ring blindly. You could really be taken. Set yourself a budget so things don’t get out of hand. Because you could seriously spend $10,000 searching for that perfect stone in the perfect mounting.

On average, couples spend approximately $3,000 on an engagement ring. Sometimes less, sometimes more (price really jumps when you buy a single stone (solitaire). Solitaires usually require a larger stone with a better quality, since all the focus is on that one main diamond. You don’t want it to look bad, dark, or look small.

To keep the cost down, look into multi-stone rings, where the carat weight is broken up into many diamonds around the ring, like the halo below…

2) Select a metal

Look at what types of metals and colors that your girlfriend wears now. Are they yellow? White? Rose gold? Mixed? Whatever color she wears the most, is probably the color of metal to also get in an engagement ring (unless she’s specified otherwise). You want her ring to match her other jewelry; pendants, earrings, rings.

3) Choose a diamond shape

Most engagement rings come with a larger center stone. Your goal is to decide what shape that stone will be. Rounds are the most popular, followed by princess cuts (square/rectangular). Other cuts are pear cut (also called tear drops), heart cut, oval cut, marquise cut (looks like a football), cushion cut (the most inexpensive cut), emerald cut, radiant cut and so on…

Once you narrow down your shape, your search will narrow down as well. And if you have no idea which shape to buy her, go with round. It’s the default shape and you can never go wrong with the round brilliant cut. Just note that the round is the most expensive cut there is (because of demand). All the other shapes will be cheaper!

4) Decide on quality

Some people want to learn the ins and outs of diamonds and the 4C’s. Others could care less. All they want is something that looks beautiful and blings.

Either route is fine, because many times even lower quality diamonds look fine and shine (it really depends on the size of the stones; the bigger the diamond, the easier inclusions and flaws will stand out).

Do yourself a favor; scope (or loupe) the diamonds before you buy them. Try to stay away from stones that have big black spots in them, look cloudy like a chunk of salt, or have fissures or fractures running through the stone (I clarity diamonds). You don’t want to give her a flaw she’ll see for the rest of her life.

Instead, go for a mid-quality diamond; SI1 clarity, G-H color, ideal cut (like these diamonds here at James Allen).

SI1 clarity, G-H color, ideal, is a safe diamond quality to buy that will face up nice, and have plenty of brilliance, fire, and life.

5) Pick your mounting

The classic mounting is a plain tiffany-style band. But you can get into pave mountings, halo mountings, channel sets, cathedral style, bezel, tension, 3 stone rings, 2 stone, wedding sets, colored diamonds, and many more… It’s pretty endless the styles and designs available on the market today.

Take a peek at some of the most popular engagement ring mountings:

There you go…

Having some idea about your budget, ring design, style and quality before you step into a jewelry store can really save you time, money, and steer you in the right direction.

And if you want to learn more about saving money, or diamond quality, read my posts here:

• Engagement Ring Styles
• Loose Diamond Buying Guide
• 1/2 Carat Diamond Prices
• Compare 1 Carat Diamonds
• Save Money on Engagement Rings
• How to Read a GIA Diamond Report
• What are True Hearts Diamonds?
• 101 Ways to Save Money on Diamonds

And do check out James Allen for loose certified diamonds.

Their prices are unbeatable!

Cheers! :)