Choosing a Diamond Engagement Ring
There are few items that women wear daily, and an engagement ring is one of them. So how do you ensure that you end up with a quality product you love? After all, you’re going to be looking at it for (hopefully) the rest of your life!
Does Size Matter?
Most experts recommend that you always go for the highest quality diamond first, and then size afterwards. However, how the piece looks on your hand is also important. Try several styles and sizes of stones to ensure that the ring compliments your hand.
Choosing a Diamond Engagement Ring
Cut, Color, Clarity, and Carat
Diamonds are classified by the four Cs:
- Color: Graded from D to Z, diamonds can be anything from colorless to a bit yellow.
- Cut: This refers to how the diamond was cut, which affects how “sparkly” it is.
- Clarity: Diamonds range from nearly flawless (VVS1) to stones with noticeable inclusions.
- Carat: This is the size of the stone, with a carat being one fifth of a gram. Anything less than this is sized by “points.”
Choosing a Setting
Trends come and go, but an engagement ring lasts forever. Rather than trying to follow current trends, go for a metal that is high quality and goes with your style and skin tone. The most common choices are gold (either yellow or white), platinum, tungsten, and titanium.
How to Hint
If you’re with someone who’d rather surprise you with an engagement ring than go out ring shopping, you can drop hints as to what you like. Small statements such as “I love the way smaller rings make my fingers look longer,” to more obvious “oohing” and “ahhing” over photos or ring displays can be helpful.