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Helpful Tips For Buying and Giving
Choosing Your Engagement Ring
Unusual/Different Engagement RingsDiamonds/cut/colour/clarity/caratsHere we help you understand a little about the quality of diamonds & how that relates to price. We have some tips for saving money on a diamond ring. You will also find some ideas for unusual engagement rings like Citrine, Peridot, Tanzanite, Pink Tourmaline, Blue & Mystic Topaz, Garnet, Aquamarine, Iolite & Pearl.
Illustrated are A Heart-shaped Pink Tourmaline Ring and A Modern-styled Traditional Diamond. More traditional + unusual engagement ring photos later.
"Your engagement ring should be a reflection of you and your loved one" is one of my favorite quotes. Coloured stone engagement rings are becoming increasingly popular for a variety of reasons. Some feel they can get a larger ring cheaper. Diamonds are still the stone of choose for the majority of people.
The diamond is the age-old symbol of love and commitment. The hardness of the stone-the hardest substance on earth, in fact-has come to symbolized enduring, unbreakable love. Ancient Romans thought diamonds were splinters from falling stars; the Greeks believed they were the tears of gods. Bestowing diamond ring on one’s intended is a time-honoured tradition, dating back to 1477 when Archduke Maximilian of Austria slipped one on the finger of Mary of Burgundy. Today, about 70 percent of all engaged women wear a diamond ring on their third finger, left hand – the finger that ancient Egyptians thought held a vein leading directly to the heart.
An engagement ring can be expensive, so think carefully before buying. Of course it will always hold great sentimental apeal & for this reason will usually be worn by the woman for the rest of her life. Even if finances mean that in future years you are able to afford to buy a larger diamond than you ever imagined being able to buy, you (or your beloved) still want to be able to enjoy wearing your original engagement ring. Some women for this reason prefer a coloured gemstone engagement ring. As diamonds are still the stone of choice; here are some things for you to consider before making your purchase. Also follow these tips when shopping for diamond wedding bands. The same principles also apply to all precious stones such as sapphire.
Determine Your Budget. Don’t go stone-broke–literally. Most jewellers recommend spending about two month’s salary for a diamond engagement ring. Some lucky couples are able to use family heirlooms such as a grandmothers ring. Some choice to have such a ring re-styled & in some cases larger diamonds may even be re-cut to improve their sparkle.
Understand the Four Cs. Two diamonds of equal size and appearance may not necessarily be of equal value. The factors that go into determining a diamond’s quality are called the four Cs-cut, colour, clarity and carat.
Cut: Dubbed the most important of the four Cs because a quality cut is what gives a diamond its brilliance. The diamond is cut, with each facet proportional in exact geometric relation to one another, and then polished.
Colour: The optimum color is no colour! A colour–free stone is the best available to reflect and refract light, adding fire to the diamond. Jewellers grade a diamond’s colour with a letter scale, beginning with a store of D, which is colourless.
Clarity: Flawless diamonds are rare; most have some degree of what jewellers call inclusions, or “nature’s fingerprints.” These inclusions may be visible only through powerful magnification, but in lower grade diamonds "I" are visible to the naked eye.
Carat: This refers to the weight of the diamond. There are 100 points in a carat; a diamond of ˝ carat is 50 points.
The '4Cs' are the same for precious gemstone, although of course for colour the richer the colour the more valuable the stone.
(Our modern style diamond engagement rings are available in your choose of yellow or white gold or two-tone gold.)
One of our Modern Engagement Rings
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Choosing That Special Ring For You
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Now decide on a Cut and a Style. Try on different rings to see what you like. Diamonds come in various shapes (as well as cuts), with some of the most popular shapes being round, oval, marquis, pear, heart, emerald and square (the shape of the recently popular princess cut) Choose the shape you personally like. Some of course are more convential for engagement rings that others. When choosing the style of a ring, also consider the size of your hand. If you (or your darling) have small hands a single stone on a narrow band may look lovely; & some setting may be too wide for you even to consider. Conversely, a woman with large hands may need a cluster of smaller diamonds (if cost prohibits a large sized diamond) or may be better getting a larger cheaper stone. A pearl & diamond ring can be perfect in such a situation. You might also want to try on wedding bands with your engagement ring to get a sense of how the two rings will look together.
Using the above tips can help you get a suitable ring cheaper. eg a diamond which is an excellent colour & cut, but has a large number of tiny flaws can make an fabulous engagement ring, much larger than anything she dreamed of! Also some diamond shapes look larger than others, but they are still priced by the carat. You may decide you can get a much more impressive ring you will treasure in the future by not having a diamond as your main stone. See our suggestions at the end of this article for some unusual, but practical ideas....
Engagement rings are usually made of 14k - 22k gold. 18k being the most traditional, though 14k has become the norm. Some stones are set in platinum for added strength; though white gold gives the best colour. Some brides-to-be (eg. Princess Mary) select a diamond for their main stone with coloured gemstones on either side. Consider offsetting the cool brilliance of your diamond with the richness of sapphire, ruby or emerald baguette side-stones, for instance. Or consider something totally different like:-
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Peridot & Diamond makes a lovely Engagement Ring
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Bold and Different - A Citrine & Diamond Engagment Ring
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Pearls are Tears of Joy in any Colour!
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Amythest, Tanzanite, Iolite + Diamond = Special Ring
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Soft Aquamarine & Bright Blue Topaz & Diamond Rings
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More Beautiful Colourful Gemstone Engagement Rings!
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These are just a few example of different styles & stones that make excellent engagement rings. May they inspire you! Check out all our Gemstone & Diamond Rings pages for more ideas! Plus of course our Diamond Engagement Rings for modern traditional rings at a cheap, cheap price. We wish to help you with your purchase. As mentioned elsewhere we do not list individual stones on this site, but we can obtain them for you. We also can supply white & coloured diamond engagement rings not listed on this site. Email Us with any enquires you have. We wish you a long & happy life together! May your engagment ring become a family heirloom!
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