Purchasing Your Ring
How to Purchase a Diamond Engagement Ring
It should be one of the most memorable moments in your life. You pull an engagement ring out of your pocket and ask the love of your life to be your wife. You desperately want her to say yes and fall in love with her ring too, right?
You can make sure that happens if you follow these tips to pick out the perfect engagement ring:
It should be one of the most memorable moments in your life. You pull an engagement ring out of your pocket and ask the love of your life to be your wife. You desperately want her to say yes and fall in love with her ring too, right?
You can make sure that happens if you follow these tips to pick out the perfect engagement ring:
Decide How Much You Want To Spend
You will be confronted with a dizzying array of choices when it comes to engagement rings. Have a price range in mind before you start to shop. Going in with fairly specific parameters will help your jeweler find the right engagement ring to fit your budget.
Understand Her Taste In Jewelry
Pay attention to the kind of jewelry she already wears. Is she more classic or modern? Does she wear more white metals or yellow gold? Do her pieces tend to be more delicate or chunky? Sleek or ornate? Have these preferences in mind when you set out to shop. If you buy something similar to what she already likes, you can’t go wrong.
Know Her Ring Size
If she wears rings, borrow one she already owns. Trace the inner circle on a piece of paper, or press the ring into a bar of soap for an impression. You can also slide it down one of your own fingers and draw a line where it stops. A jeweler can use these measurements to identify her approximate ring size.
Decide How Much You Want To Spend
You will be confronted with a dizzying array of choices when it comes to engagement rings. Have a price range in mind before you start to shop. Going in with fairly specific parameters will help your jeweler find the right engagement ring to fit your budget.
Understand Her Taste In Jewelry
Pay attention to the kind of jewelry she already wears. Is she more classic or modern? Does she wear more white metals or yellow gold? Do her pieces tend to be more delicate or chunky? Sleek or ornate? Have these preferences in mind when you set out to shop. If you buy something similar to what she already likes, you can’t go wrong.
Know Her Ring Size
If she wears rings, borrow one she already owns. Trace the inner circle on a piece of paper, or press the ring into a bar of soap for an impression. You can also slide it down one of your own fingers and draw a line where it stops. A jeweler can use these measurements to identify her approximate ring size.
Know Her Favorite Shape And Cutting Style
If she hasn’t made it easy for you by already voicing an opinion on the subject (or admiring someone else’s engagement ring), keep these thoughts in mind when considering shape:
She will be wearing this ring every day of your married life. It will need to go with everything from jeans to evening wear. If you’re uncertain about her diamond shape preference, it’s sensible to stick to the classics, such as a round shape. It became classic because it appeals to most people most of the time.
Certain shapes pair more successfully with other shapes in multi-stone rings. Round, oval and marquise shapes work well sitting side-by-side. Pear and heart shapes are more challenging.
Preference in shape may be reflected in other aspects. If she prefers clean, modern lines in furniture, for example, it’s likely she’ll react well to the same aesthetic in rectangular or square shapes. If she tends towards the traditional, a round shape rarely misses. Are her tastes eclectic or bohemian? She may favor more unusual shapes, like a triangular or marquise shape.
A diamond’s cutting style refers to its facet arrangement, rather than its shape. Round-shaped diamonds, for example, are cut in the brilliant style − an arrangement of 57 or 58 facets designed to maximize the diamond’s sparkle and minimize the appearance of inclusions. The fewer the facets, the more visible any inclusions will be, so a cutting style such as a step cut (a.k.a. emerald cut), for example, requires higher clarity in the diamond.
Decide On A Setting
Consider her lifestyle and how well a certain setting design will fit into it. If she’s more active or outdoorsy, look for lower profile, less ornate or more secure mountings, which are less likely to get knocked against or caught on things. If she’s more of a glamour girl, look for statement settings, with a higher stone profile, more intricate ring detailing or a unique motif.
While there are endless design choices you can make for her ring, there are some basic setting types you are likely to encounter:
Solitaire
A single Diamond, with or without accent stones, is a classic choice. If prong set, the head secures the Diamond and allows the Diamond to catch the most light. There are a variety of different settings to personalize even a basic setting.
Sidestone
Smaller diamonds or other gemstones that flank the larger center stone for additional sparkle or color. Popular sidestone settings include prong, channel (which protects stones by keeping them flush), and bar-channel (which allows more light to enter the sidestones).
Three Stone
Typically, the diamonds are the same shape with the center diamond larger than the two sidestones.
Halo Setting
The center stone is surrounded by tiny gemstones in a pave (pah-vey) setting, usually diamonds, to add sparkle and to give the appearance of a larger center stone.
Decide On A Metal
A diamond engagement ring is meant to last a lifetime so it is often made of gold or platinum – highly durable metals that can withstand many decades of daily wear. Metal color is a matter of personal preference with gold providing more color options: white, yellow or rose. Metal color is also a consideration since the appearance of a diamond’s color is affected by its surroundings.
Your Most Important Decision
Choosing the right Jeweler is your most important decision. Knowledge and Experience are the building blocks of a successful professional relationship. Each person you meet at Abraham Joseph has a minimum of 25 years experience in the jewelry industry. The purchase of an engagement ring is an emotional milestone in your life; your Jeweler should be a professional but also a partner. What are the most important traits to a successful partnership? Honesty. Integrity. Abraham is proud that his customers trust not just his abilities as a Jeweler, but his character in both his professional and personal life.