Engagement Rings

The reason we buy an engagement rings with a diamond in the center is because diamonds are elegant, timeless, and classic. As one of the rarest materials on earth, it takes diamonds billions of years to transform from elements of carbon into a precious stone, with characteristics of unparalleled strength, durability and beauty. These characteristics reflect the quality of love, so a diamond is often considered to be the perfect symbol of commitment.

First, identify the budget for your engagement ring. Once that has been established ask yourself what shape and cut of diamond she would like. The diamond shape of the stone describes the actual geometrical shape the diamond is cut into – round, oval, square, rectangle, pear, marquise, triangle, baguette, kite, trapeze, heart, hexagon, octagon, or barrel. Overall, the round brilliant cut is the most popular because it is the most brilliant of all the shapes.

Please note the diamond shape is totally different than the diamond cut. The cut of a diamond describes the precision and quality of the actual cutting of the diamond that occurred when it was cut from a rough stone and transformed into a polished diamond. Therefore, the cut essentially translates into how good the stone cutter was when the diamond was cut out of rough stone. This is extremely important to the final beauty of your diamond. Of all the Four C's of diamond buying, the cut plays the biggest part in the brilliance and sparkle of your diamond. Speaking of the Four C's, they are: Cut, Clarity, Color and Carat. We consider there to be Five C's, the fifth being Certificate. You should never buy a diamond without a certificate.

 

Diamond Buying Recommendation

We recommend that you avoid buying a diamond with a clarity rating of less than SI1 and a color rating of less than I. As mentioned above, the cut is where you should focus your attention – always ask for the best cut possible because this is where the beauty of the diamond is.

The carat weight is the size of the diamond – this is the best place to control the price of your stone. Because larger diamonds are rarer than smaller diamonds, the price of a diamond will increase exponentially as the carat weight increases – for example a 1.0 carat diamond is not simply double the price of a .5 carat diamond with the exact same characteristics; it is actually more than double because .5 carat diamonds are much more common than 1.0 carat diamonds.

If you are looking for the best value and beauty in a diamond, ask for VS1 to VS2 in clarity, F to I in color, get the best cut possible, then use the carat weight of the diamond to leverage the price. A 1.5 carat stone that is lifeless because of a poor cut will be much less impressive than a .75 carat stone that has an excellent cut.

A qualified Jeweler will know how to enhance your diamond by designing an engagement ring that compliments it with certain artistic characteristics. Additionally, there is an art to the amount and shape of metal that surrounds the diamond – too much and the diamond will be visually overwhelmed, too little and your diamond won't be secure enough. Smaller side diamonds, or trim diamonds, also require an experienced eye to look their best and are affected by how the jeweler sets them. That's why finding a jeweler with at least 15 years of experience is truly necessary to create a stunning engagement ring.