Buying engagement rings online doesn’t have to be confusing or
intimidating. In fact, the nice thing about shopping online is
you browse several online stores without the hassle of traveling
from store to store listening to endless sales pitches. Shopping
for an engagement ring online is no different really than
shopping at the stores. People buy everything online these
days, including expensive jewelry. It’s safe, hassle-free
and less expensive.
When you want to buy an engagement ring, the first thing you’ll
want to consider is your personal taste. Only you can decide
that, so take your time and narrow down the search to rings
that you love, not just like. Most styles come in either yellow
gold, white gold, or platinum, whichever you prefer. Yellow
gold comes in 14K or 18K. 14K has more alloys in the mixture
and is therefore harder than 18K gold. This means it wears
better and doesn’t scratch as easily. This is something to
consider if you work with your hands a lot. 18K gold is more
valuable, obviously because it has more gold in it, but is
softer and more yellow in color. The yellow could bring out
more of the yellow in your diamond if the diamond has some
yellow in it. This brings me to the next item to consider when
purchasing engagement rings online, which is the quality of the
diamonds.
Diamonds are graded according to three main factors, Cut,
Clarity, and Color. Cut refers to the shape of the diamond.
There are many different shapes, but the most brilliant diamonds
are round cuts. That’s because if the round shape is cut to the
proper proportions (i.e. ideal cut), the maximum amount of light
is reflected back to you, bringing out the maximum brilliance of
the diamond. If the round diamond is not cut properly, some of
the light leaks out of the bottom of the diamond causing a loss
of brilliance.
The next grade is clarity. Clarity refers to how many
inclusions, or flaws are in the diamond. Diamonds are rated
Flawless (no imperfections) to VVS 1 & 2 (very, very slight),
to VS 1 & 2 (very slight), to SI 1 & 2 (slight), to I diamonds
(imperfect). I would stay away from I diamonds, because they
tend to be cloudy, ugly looking diamonds that have the potential
to crack in some instances. They may be cheap, but not worth
the money you do pay. If you’re on a budget, stay in the SI 1
to VS 2 range, since the inclusions are generally not noticeable
to the naked eye. You’re definitely going to pay less than you
would pay for a flawless or VVS 1, 2 diamond and the differences
aren’t all that noticeable.
Color is the third grading criteria. Although there are many
different colors of diamonds around the world, most diamonds are
yellow in color if they are not colorless. The grading starts
with D (or colorless) diamonds and works through the alphabet;
E, F, G, H, I all the way down to Z, which is a yellow colored
"canary" diamond. Of course, you’ll pay more for the D, E, and
F colors. When you get past a J color, the yellow starts to
become noticeable. Stick above J in color and you should be
fine.
The final consideration is the design of the ring. If the ring
has a lot of accent diamonds that are set in prongs, it will
tend to snag on things, potentially losing one of your diamonds.
The safest diamond rings settings have channel, or pave set
accent diamonds, which have no prongs. The center diamond will
generally be set in prongs and this is to bring out the maximum
beauty, because it allows the most light in. A cathedral
setting helps to protect the center diamond somewhat by
partially covering the sides of the diamond against sudden
impacts. Above all, pick a design you love while keeping
in mind the practicality of wearing your ring forever.
MEN’S WEDDING RINGS
When shopping for men’s wedding rings and women’s engagement
rings, you want to find quality, a beautiful design you both
will love, and something affordable. Usually one of the first
things couples will look at is the price, which is an important
factor in the decision-making process. After all, you want great
rings to last a lifetime but you certainly do not want to go
into debt buying them.
Therefore, the only guideline regarding price is that you should
not pay more than your income for two months. Obviously, this
means saving for months but planning is all a part of the
process. If you want to purchase something more, then you will
probably need to save for much longer. Just remember, while you
might want the perfect man wedding and engagement ring from the
start, if buying your future bride a diamond, you can always
upgrade years down the road.
Some couples will buy a nice men’s ring, as well as an
engagement ring but not necessarily the largest diamond they
can afford. Then for the first or second anniversary, keep the
original diamond and add a new one so she now has two diamonds.
This way, she keeps the diamond with the emotional attachment
but can also enjoy a larger diamond or even a colored diamond
as well.
DESIGN YOUR OWN ENGAGEMENT RING
For many women, becoming engaged to the love of their life has
been something they have dreamed of since being a little girl.
If this sounds like you, one thing is for sure, you are not
alone. Making the decision to marry your boyfriend is a big
step in life but one filled with excitement and promise.
To take this adventure one-step further, you might consider
doing something unusual for the engagement ring. Perhaps you
could design your own engagement ring, one specific to your
taste and that showed off your personality. You could use
your own creativity and ideas or spend time creating a design
together. Either way, the results could be amazing.
This is the perfect time to bring all those childhood dreams to
life. The key if you decide to create your own wedding ring is
to be logical. Start by choosing the diamond ring setting. If
you want to stick with tradition and keep the cost affordable,
then white or yellow gold would be a great choice. However, if
you want only the very best, then a platinum engagement ring
would be gorgeous.
After choosing the metal, you can then choose the cut of diamond
or other precious stones you like. After you have an idea of
these things, sit down with a pad and paper and start drawing.
If you like, you can pull pictures off the internet or from
bridal magazines and incorporate some of the features in your
own design. The bottom line is that by being original, you will
cherish your ring even more, knowing that every part of the ring
was carefully chosen for your special day.
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