How To Buy an Engagement Ring in 3 Easy Steps

So you have found the love of your life, decided that she is the one and now all you have to do is ask her to spend the rest of her life with you. Simple huh? Except for one thing; a massive part of your proposal is the engagement ring, and, let's be honest here, most of us wouldn't have the first clue about how to buy an engagement ring.

Buying an engagement ring is actually quite simple and far less daunting when you know how, so here are the 3 steps you need to know when learning how to buy an engagement ring.

Step 1 - Choose a Style

When you go into a regular jeweler one of the first things that you will be asked is what sort of style and setting you are after. What they really want to know is, what do you want your ring to look like?

You are only limited by your imagination, but as a starting point your most common ones are;

Solitaire - the traditional favorite is to have a single diamond. For this type of style the way that the diamond is set is really important to the look of your ring.
Three-Stone - a main diamond that is flanked by two smaller diamonds representing the past, the present and the future.
Sidestone - your diamond is flanked by two or more small diamonds that are set into the band.
Gemstone - Add color to your ring by using gemstones like rubies, emeralds or sapphires as your side stones.
Designer - From butterfly engagement rings, to antique-style rings to avant-garde rings. There are many fabulous designers who have created elaborate engagement rings and these are a great choice for women who like to stand out.

Step 2 - Choose Your Setting

When it comes to setting, you need to think about what sort of precious metal that you want the band to be made out of. Your usual options are gold, white gold and platinum, but rose gold, palladium and even sterling silver are also used.

You will also need to choose how your diamond or diamonds will be set into the ring. You have three options here;

Prong - this is the traditional setting. Your diamonds are literally securely held in place by a set of prongs.
Bezel - A modern twist, your diamond is surrounded and held in place by either white gold or platinum, giving it the illusion of being bigger and more brilliant.
Tension - Another modern setting, this is where your diamond is squeezed between the two ends of your bands.

Each setting gives the ring a unique look and feel so the best way to choose is to see how the settings work with your style of ring

Step 3 - Choose Your Diamond

The next question that you will be asked is about your center diamond. This will greatly determine how expensive your ring is. This is where regular jewelers make their money, so you need to have some idea of two things in particular;

Shape - do you want it to be round, square, oval, emerald, marquise, pear or heart shaped?
Quality - When learning how to buy an engagement ring, most people focus on the diamonds size or how many Carat it is.

A Carat directly relates to the weight of the diamond, obviously the bigger the diamond, the more expensive it is, but a round 1 carat diamond can have a wholesale value of between $1500 and $20,000. The difference in price is due to the quality of the diamond.

To determine the quality you need to know the;

Cut - this is how the diamond has been processed and determines the 'sparkle'. Your choices range from poor to ideal
Clarity - This indicates how many flaws or inclusions you diamond has - FL or IF are considered to be flawless whereas I1, I2 or I3 are very flawed and not suitable for engagement rings
Color - less is best, diamonds can range from clear (D) to dark yellow (Z)

When you know how to buy an engagement ring you will find that it is so much easier to find the perfect ring and get it at a great price. You even have the opportunity to make your engagement much more unique by designing your own ring!

For a comprehensive guide to buying a diamond engagement ring and to find out how to easy it is to design a stunning engagement ring that she will love, then read Mandy's story at James Allen Reviews

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