It is a vast world out there when it comes to choices for engagement rings. There are financial considerations as well as those of style and of course, all of the emotion that goes into the proposal and making the woman of your choice thrilled beyond words.
Vintage Diamond Engagement Ring – All Diamonds & Platinum
Below are a number of tips and suggestions for how to begin.
1. Set your budget. Choose an ideal range, both high and low. Decide whether you can pay all at once or if you need financing options to make payments over time. Think too about a very maximum and look what you can get within your ideal range and what more or less is available at your maximum and compare.
2. Fact find. Don’t hesitate to enlist the help of friends or relatives to find out what type of ring might suit your intended. Her best friend, her mother or sister all can be great sources of information for what she likes and her preferences.
3. Decide if a diamond is the right choice. More than 90-95% of vintage rings that are purchased are all diamonds. However, colored gemstones can be an option or a diamond with accent or small colored stones. If unsure, going all diamonds in white metal is always best.
Vintage Diamond Ring with Sapphire Accent Stones
4. The most popular rings are those of white gold or platinum with diamonds or all white. However, there is rose gold, and yellow gold or a mix of metals. Does she have another rings she never takes off? What metal is that one? Will she keep wearing that once engaged? If so, think how her engagement ring will blend with the other jewelry she wears every day.
Classic Vintage Engagement Ring – White on White
5. If she is nontraditional in style, clothing and outlook, don’t be afraid to choose something entirely different. Maybe a sapphire ring becomes the ideal choice. There is no right engagement ring for everyone, only the perfect ring for her. Many choose rings that look completely opposite from a diamond solitaire ring.
Non Traditional Antique Ruby Diamond Cluster Ring in Yellow Gold
6. Think about her current height, weight and overall build. If very tall, a tiny petite ring may not be the optimal choice. Scale matters. Examine the overall scale of the ring and see if that suits her frame.
7. Use her current jewelry as a guide. If she wears any jewelry at all, particularly if there is some fine jewelry (diamonds, fine gemstones, gold, platinum and other jewelry), then study it. Is it ornate or tailored and simple? What is the scale, tiny, average or showy and dramatic? Do the pieces have color such as set with gemstone? Or are most monochromatic, just fine metals, or all diamonds? Is there a particular color she loves?
8. Ethical diamonds and gemstones – is that important? Will the choice of an conflict free diamond or gemstone be part of the consideration? One option is to choose vintage diamond ring, estate or antique engagement ring. In doing so, choosing a “green” diamond, or those mined long ago, alleviate any concerns of the ethics of buying a diamond.
Victorian Antique Diamond Ring with Yellow Gold
9. Trust your gut. No matter how much research is done, or comparison or prices and search for a good value. in the final moment, she (and you) must love the ring. The best value in the world doesn’t matter if she isn’t swept away. Worn for a lifetime, this is something your fiancée will look at every day for the rest of her life!
10. If a diamond is right, the most common concerns for a woman are twofold, whiteness and clarity of the diamonds. Most want a diamond that looks white and that there are no visible flaws you can see with the naked eye. That leaves a broad range of diamond colors to choose from. Most colors from D to K or sometimes even and L will look white to the eye. Slightly golden in tone, some diamonds at a K or L will have hints of golden in some lighting. And most clarity ranges from an SI2 or better and sometimes an SI3 or above are fine.
Don’t hesitate to ask questions of the dealer you are working with. It is their expertise you should call upon.