subject: Simple Ideas For Buying An Engagement Ring [print this page] So, you've decided that it is time to leave the single life behind forever and ask for your partners hand in marriage. Congratulations. Now all you have to do is find the perfect engagement ring and not bankrupt yourself in the process. Now the big question is: where to start?
Set Your Spending Limit
The first thing you should do is determine how much you are going to spend. This will allow you to narrow down your options when you begin looking at rings. The old school, traditional notion of spending two months salary is, in my opinion, not reasonable. We all have bills to pay and lives to lead, not many of us can afford to set aside two months wages for a ring. There really is no rule of thumb these days when it comes to deciding how much money to spend. Think of this way: spend whatever you can afford to spend, or whatever amount you feel comfortable with. If you have to borrow a little bit, that's fine--just be sure that you will be able to make the payments over the next few months. Don't obsess over "keeping up with the Joneses", if your partner is truly in love then the amount of money you've spend will not make a difference.
Figure Out Her Style
Once you've set your budget, your next move should be to figure out what kind of ring you are looking to buy. This may come as a surprise to some, but there are a lot of different engagement ring styles. There are solitaire and multi-diamond rings, plain settings and diamond set (or pave) settings, not to mention all the different diamond shapes, also known as cuts. Depending on your partner, you may already know exactly what style of ring they prefer, this making your life a whole lot easier. If you're going for the complete surprise route, you will have to be stealth and use the intimate knowledge that you have of your partner. What type of jewelry do they currently wear? Have they ever dropped little hints or made comments about other people's rings? If not, you will have to casually ask these types of questions without giving away your intentions. Good luck!
More Important to Her: Size or Sparkle?
Now that you've set your budget and figured out the style of ring you're looking for, the next step is to determine how to best spend your money. Diamonds are graded based on their size, color, clarity and cut. A larger diamond that has low grades for colour/clarity/cut may cost the same amount as a smaller diamond with high grades for color/clarity/cut. Do some quick research on diamond grading so that you have an idea of what the ratings mean. Then decide if your partner would be more impressed by the size of the diamond, or the sparkle of the diamond. This is not as straight-forward as you might think: a large diamond that doesn't have much sparkle due to low gradings is often much less attractive than a smaller, more brilliant diamond with higher gradings. Again, these are the types of things that are specific to your partner, so there really isn't a black and white answer.
Where to Look?
You are now ready to make the purchase, but where? This is essentially now the same process that you'd use when buying anything from clothes to electronics. Shop around and compare prices. Find out which shops offer the best warranties and guarantees. If you live in a smaller city or town, you will definitely want to check out online retailers like James Allen--you will most likely find their prices to be 20-40% lower than your local shops. In my personal experience, the shops in my city were offering low grade diamonds at much higher prices than I found online--not to mention the fact that the diamonds I found online were GIA inspected and of a much higher quality.
Conclusion
In the end, everyone is different. There is no right or wrong way to go about buying an engagement ring, but as a savvy shopper you definitely want to find the best deal possible, without sacrificing quality. Put some time and thought into the process. This is most likely the most important decision and purchase of your life, make it count.
by: Adam C
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