How To Buy An Engagement Ring

Step 1: What Does She Like?

Unless you know exactly what style of engagement ring your girlfriend wants, buying it yourself before you propose can be risky. You can solve this problem by proposing with a temporary novelty ring or a ring with a cubic zirconium. After she says yes, you can go shopping together for the perfect ehngagement ring.

Step 2: Set Your Budget

Diamond industry ads try to convince us that engagement rings should cost as much as two months salary. The truth is, your engagement ring should cost whatever you feel comfortable with.

So figure out exactly how much you can afford to spend and set that as your budget.

Step 3: Select A Jewelry Store

The best way to pick a store is by word of mouth. Ask married friends and family where to shop. Check their recommendations out with the Better Business Bureau's web site to see if they have any pending complaints, or worse, lawsuits.

Step 4: Educate Yourself

There are "Four C's" in diamond-speak: Clarity, Color, Cut, and Carat.
Clarity defines and grades the number of internal inclusions and external blemishes a stone might have. Clarity is important because the fewer flaws, the brighter the stone.

The Color of diamonds refers to the interior body color of the diamond. This varies from colorless, or "clear", to yellow, brown, and other colors. The less color in a diamond, the more expensive it is. However, if there is a strong, intense color such as rare reds or blues, then the diamonds are far more expensive than colorless diamonds.

Also, consider the shade of your intended's skin as a slightly yellow diamond will look whiter on darker skin than on paler skin. In this way, you might be able to save on your color selection and buy a larger stone with the savings. In the same vein, always view a diamond's color against a white background as a black background will make even the most yellow diamonds appear white.

The Cut of a diamond is not its shape, but how well it's fashioned which affects its reflective qualities and proportions to maximize it's brilliance. In short, the better the cut, the brighter, more brilliant, the diamond.

Diamonds are measured in Carats and points. Points are subunits of carat, like inches are to a foot; there are 100 points in every carat.

Diamonds are priced in different size brackets, such as .50 CT, .75., or 1.00 CT. When diamonds cross over one of these magic price lines, their price jumps considerably. So a diamond of .98 CT is significantly less expensive than one sized at 1.02 CT. Yet, place the two diamonds next to each other and you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Most engagement rings are about 1.00 CT in size. So remember this price bracket information when choosing your diamond and you could save some of money.

Step 5: Choose The Diamond

Diamonds come in a multitude of shapes: marquise, pear, heart, oval, emerald... but the round brilliant is the most popular.

Compare diamonds loose and not mounted in a ring. It's easier to see imperfections this way. If you can see blemishes without magnification, think twice before buying a diamond. Always inspect diamonds under ten power magnification - with a jeweler's loupe or, better yet, a binocular microscope which easier to use.

Make sure that whatever diamond you choose has a "Cert" - a written document from either the GIA, IGI, EGL, or AGS that delineates the clarity, color, cut, and carat weight of the diamond.

Step 6: Choose The Setting And Band

Time to find the setting to complement the perfect diamond you've found. Settings vary greatly - from the simple, classic Tiffany mount... to channel settings. The right setting can even hide a blemish or slight imperfection in your new diamond. Would she prefer the diamond to ride high and be very visible, or would she like a lower profile mounting? Is most of her jewelry yellow gold or white? There are a lot of options to choose from.

Step 7: Close The Deal

Hours of looking at diamonds, settings and bands may have left you numb, but get that blood flowing because now you need to do some negotiating! It's the salesperson's job to get more for their engagement rings. Remember, as in most businesses....all jewelry prices are negotiable.

Tell the jeweler your budget and make sure that figure is actually below what you can afford to spend.

Finally, when you've settled on a price. Make sure that you have the jeweler put in writing on the sales invoice the exact gemological specifications of the diamond, such as the 4C's grading of the diamond.

Wow. And you thought finally popping the question was hard. But it was worth it. Now you have the perfect engagement ring and you know she will love it, always.