While shopping is something that’s best left to one’s own choice, there are some tips that can guide the buyers towards more effective judgements and decisions. This article explores a tested method to picking an engagement ring that has worked for scores of Diamonds-USA customers before.
Know How Much You Can Spare
It is imperative that all your shopping projects start here. Setting up a budget is the first step towards a successful purchase. With precious items like engagement rings, it’s a slippery slope. If you don’t know where to stop, you may miss your mark, and by a good measure. The engagement ring section, if you haven’t caught a glimpse yet, is inviting to the point of irresistible. A buyer can easily go overboard on his finances and wind up choosing a ring that is well outside his monetary comfort zone. If you stand by your choice and go forth with the purchase, it puts a deep dent on your budget that may take weeks, even months to recover, and with the wedding coming, it’s not the most pragmatic decision. Having a budget sets a limit for you to operate in. So, it is important to find out how much you can comfortably spend out of your pocket at the moment. Keep a little room for overruns, but never stretch it to the point where you know it’s unwise.
Will It Be Gold, Platinum or Just Silver?
Now that you have a budget in mind, the next step is to go shopping. But do not take a direct trip to the diamond section or you will be running the risk of overrunning your budget. Save that for later, and meanwhile pick your metal. There are some choices in this section. Most people go with either gold or silver. Luckily for today’s buyers, there are some very interesting choices in gold. Variants like rose gold and white gold are in high demand, some even at par with platinum. If you want platinum but don’t have enough to spare on it, settle for white gold, which is a bit cheaper than yellow gold and a lot cheaper than platinum, but looks very close to the latter. There is also palladium which resembles platinum, but not as precious. Your last choice, should you fail to meet the price requirements of the aforesaid options is silver. If you go with silver, pick only sterling silver for that is the purest and looks it.
Shapes and Settings
Now that the secondary things are out of the way, whatever money is left from your budget is free to go into the gem. Depending on how much is left, pick away. A diamond is the most obvious pick, as far as an engagement ring is concerned, but feel free to explore the other options too. In diamonds, the right size starts from .50 carat to as big as 35 or more. There is no right size for diamonds, although the bigger the better is true. Regardless, pick anything that comes within your budget. Anything upwards of .50 carat works for an engagement ring, but for an average ring, the most fitting size is between 1 and 2 carats. Upwards of that, the price starts to ascend, and if you are not prepared for it, you may find it hard to afford it. Colored gems on the contrary are considerably cheaper, if not by a lot. Gems like opal, pink sapphire, and turquoise are very affordable and lovely to look at.
The Key Elements Beginning with a C
If you decide to go with diamonds, then take a minute to glance through the 4 most important pointers of diamonds- cut, clarity, color and carat. GIA has a grading system for all the 4 Cs of diamond. We suggest you take a quick look through to know what grade works for you and your budget.
Her Style and Size
The last but a necessary step to buying an engagement ring is to learn what she likes and what her size is. The ring you pick should be in sync with her style and fit her finger perfectly. Do not however directly ask her. Instead, try to get hold of one of her rings and the job is but done.