When seeking out an engagement ring, your focus of attention should be on its details and technicalities rather than the trends. That’s because trends can be deceptive sometimes; what worked for a bunch of people might turn out to be a blunder for you. Whether your dream engagement ring is traditional, minimal or modern, the whole idea is to be as precise as possible in bringing your fascination to life. To help you decide better on a jewelry piece that’s the apt representation of your woman’s distinct personality, I’ve assorted a few tips for buying an engagement ring that you shouldn’t shrug off at any cost.
Unless You’re Ready To Splurge, Set A Budget
First things first – when deciding what’s suitable for her, I suggest you set a budget. Because the engagement ring buying process encompasses a dizzying array of options, you find yourself in two minds regarding one of the most special purchases of your life. If you know what you want to spend, settling on an engagement ring sort of becomes a walk in the park. So, it’s good to take the plunge with specific parameters that don’t hurt your budget. This is one of those budget tips for engagement rings that never fails.
What Type Of Engagement Ring Do You Want?
Once you have a price range in mind, the next thing you need to do is to think about whether you want a preset ring, multi-stone creation, or a ring with a single gemstone. Picking a predesigned ring is a cinch compared to deciding on a multi-stone or solitaire ring; designing a gemstone engagement ring embodies learning about the quality and grading factors of its centerstone.
Things take a dramatic turn when you need to put on your creative cap and start fashioning the centerstone of your engagement ring yourself. But not to worry because we have some tips for buying an engagement ring. So, without further ado, let’s get the ball rolling.
Know Her Ring Size
Before you even begin, you should know her ring size. It’s the inception of buying an engagement ring. If you don’t know her ring size, drop the idea of proposing to her because we’re doomed. Relax man! Things are under control. Let me enlighten you on how you can sneakily know her ring size without letting her know.
Get One Of Her Rings
Nab one of her rings and trace the inner circle on a piece of paper. That will help you in describing the ring size of your love to a jeweler. While we’re at it, let me tell you that it’s ideal to purchase a jewelry piece from a reputed jeweler. That’s because a reputed jeweler will give you a certificate of authentication for your purchase. So, you don’t have to worry about the genuineness of your engagement ring.
If She Doesn’t Wear A Ring
In case she doesn’t wear a ring, we’re doomed. Relax already, man! If you can’t nab one of her rings or she doesn’t have one, you can always go by the average female ring size in the US. Based on the fact that the height and weight of the average female in the US are 5’4” and 140 lbs respectively, the average ring size of women in the US is 6. That’s as approximate as it can get. If she’s kind of slender, her ring size will range probably between 4 ½ and 5 ½; if she’s big-boned, her ring size will land somewhere between 6 ½ to 7 ½.
It’s always better to invest in a big ring for someone if you don’t have their precise ring size because sizing a ring down is no sweat as compared to increasing its size. These engagement ring suggestions will more than serve the purpose.
Choose A Centerstone
Next is determining what type of jewelry she likes. Whether she likes something classic or modern, what kind of centerstone does she prefer? All these things matter the most in determining that perfect engagement ring for the woman of your dreams. I’ve got you covered with these tips for buying an engagement ring, but if you don’t know where to begin, let’s start with the centerstone of your engagement ring. Because she’ll be wearing this engagement ring every day, it’s better that you choose its centerstone based on not only its beauty and appeal but also hardness & durability.
In order to choose a gemstone, you can take the help of the below-given picture of the Moh scale of hardness depicting the respective rankings of a few sturdy gemstones. The gemstones shown in the picture are sturdy enough to stand up to the rigors of daily wear, thus, can be surely embellished into an engagement ring meant for daily wear.
The 4Cs
After choosing a gemstone for your engagement ring, you might want to learn about its quality and grading factors, famously known as the 4Cs. These 4Cs include color, cut, clarity and carat weight. Learning about the quality and grading factors or 4Cs will help you in describing the gemstone of your dreams to a reputed jeweler – yes, don’t forget about the reputed jeweler part. So, let’s talk about the 4Cs, shall we?
Color
People in the trade know that a gemstone’s color is described based on its hues, tones and saturation. When most people talk about the color of a gemstone, they are probably referring to its hue. For instance, red, yellow, orange, purple, etc., all these are hues. On the contrary, black and white aren’t hues but tones.
A gemstone’s tone reflects its relative lightness or darkness. Last but not least is saturation, and its meaning is related to hue. Saturation refers to the intensity of the hue of a gemstone. So, this is how you should describe the color of your gemstone to a reputed jeweler.
Cut
The cut of a gemstone is one of its most crucial grading factors. That’s because the cut of a gemstone affects its appearance dramatically. While fashioning the centerstone of your engagement ring, you should check that the gemstone is symmetrically cut in all directions. There needs to be perfect symmetry in every angle and facet of the gemstone. If the gemstone is asymmetrically cut, it will not look appealing enough to excite the curiosities of your woman.
From round and oval to princess and emerald, there are so many alluring cuts that will surely adorn your woman’s finger. You just need to decide on a cut based on her liking. If you’re considering getting a multi-stone gemstone engagement ring, you can opt for a round, oval or marquise cut. That’s because these cuts pair more easily with other gemstones. This is one of those tips for buying an engagement ring that will come in handy for sure.
Clarity
Gemstones contain certain materials that get trapped inside them during their formation. These materials are known as inclusions and can be anything from gas bubbles to crystals. Clarity refers to the absence of these inclusions in a gemstone. The clarity of a gemstone plays a very significant role in determining its value. For instance, gemstones with fewer inclusions fetch great prices.
On the other hand, gemstones with eye-visible inclusions go easy on the wallet. If you don’t want to compromise on clarity and hurt the budget, you can opt for a gemstone with inclusions located under its crown. Inclusions that are located under the crown of the gemstone can be concealed by fashioning it in the bezel setting. Hold that thought right there as we move forward to the last quality and grading factor.
Carat Weight
Because gemstones are priced as per their carat weight, it’s important to learn about this quality and grading factor. The carat weight of a gemstone is often confused with its size, but that’s not the case. As the name suggests, the carat weight of a gemstone is its total weight. On the contrary, the size of a gemstone is its dimensions.
Because the price of a gemstone increases with an increase in its carat weight, you should choose it as per your budget. While I can give you tips for buying an engagement ring, choosing the carat weight of the centerstone of your engagement ring is a personal decision that you need to take based on your budget.
Setting
Now that you’ve understood the quality and grading factors, it’s time to move on to the other important things – the setting and metal of your engagement ring. Because the setting of an engagement ring is what’ll not only highlight the brilliance and fire of its centerstone but also keep it intact in its position, the setting is something you shouldn’t make light of. Of all the engagement ring settings, the prong and bezel settings are the two most coveted settings.
If you’re more inclined towards keeping the centerstone of your engagement ring in the spotlight, you should choose the prong setting. That’s because in the prong setting, the centerstone of a ring is secured with 4 or 6 metal claws that make sure that the centerstone catches the light all the time.
On the other hand, if you want maximum protection for your centerstone, and if you’ve chosen a gemstone that has eye-visible inclusions located under its crown facet, you should definitely opt for the bezel setting. That’s because in the bezel setting, the centerstone of the ring is encased in its metal. So, you can easily conceal the eye-visible inclusions located under the crown facet of the gemstone if you fashion it in the bezel setting.
Metal
While choosing a metal for your engagement ring, the goal should be to disparage what’s in fashion and pick a metal that suits your woman’s skin and skin tone. That’s because certain metal alloys can cause skin allergies, and you surely don’t want to hurt her soft and beautiful ring finger.
The Bottom Line
Love is something that not everyone gets back in return. What makes you special is that you got it back in return. Make sure that you never let the smile on her face fade because she’s the one who has accepted you the way you are. Relax man! You’ve learned it all with these tips for buying engagement rings. Go with your instinct, and by the way, cheers to new beginnings!
