How to Choose the Perfect Engagement Ring.
Looking for the perfect diamond engagement ring? You’ll have to know about the 4Cs of diamond ring quality, metal characteristics, setting styles, and more.
Follow these tips for buying an engagement ring to make a smart purchase:
1. Know the 4Cs of ring.
The principal way to buy a diamond engagement ring is to know the 4Cs: Variety, Clarity, Cut, and Carat Weight. Created by GIA, the 4Cs are the global standard for assessing the quality of diamonds and allow you to compare one diamond to another.
In brief, the 4Cs are:
• Variety: Variety is graded on a D-to-Z scale, with D meaning that a diamond is boring and Z meaning that a diamond has light yellow or earthy colored tone. In this variety range, diamonds with less variety are rarer and all the more profoundly pursued.
• Clarity: Diamond clarity alludes to the absence of internal features, called inclusions, and surface irregularities, called flaws. Clarity is graded on a scale from Flawless to Included.
• Cut: The quality of a diamond’s cut determines how well it interacts with light. A diamond’s extent, evenness, and cleanness determine its splendor (or brilliance), scintillation (or sparkle), and fire (flashes of variety).
• Carat Weight: Diamond carat weight determines a diamond’s apparent size. Generally speaking, the greater the carat weight, the rarer and more valuable the diamond, if the other Cs are comparable.
When you understand what the 4Cs mean, the subsequent stage is to ask yourself “Which C is the most important to me?” Prioritizing the 4Cs will assist you with rapidly eliminating a few diamonds from your search and focusing on the diamond that’s ideal for you. It will also assist you with working with your financial plan, knowing which C you are willing to spend more on and which you are willing to compromise on.
2. Know diamond shapes and cut styles of ring.
Before you start shopping for an engagement ring, you ought to understand the contrast between a diamond’s shape and its cutting style. Shape depicts a diamond’s outline when seen face up. The most popular diamond shape is round. In any case, there are other shapes — known as fancy shapes — which include the marquise, pear, oval, rectangle, square, and heart.
*Tip: Round brilliant diamonds will generally cost the most of all the shapes and cut styles. Choosing a fancy shape can be an effective method for saving cash and choose a one of a kind place stone.
Cutting style alludes to how a diamond’s facets are arranged. The brilliant cut is popular because of how it maximizes a diamond’s splendor. This cut style can be seen in a range of shapes, from round to oval to square (princess cut) to marquise. The most popular shape and cut combination by a wide margin is the round brilliant cut, which has 57 or 58 facets.
The step cut is another popular cutting style. Steps cuts have long, smooth lines, which gives them an elegant, sophisticated gleam. A popular step cut is an emerald cut — a square or rectangular shape with concentric columns of parallel facets and inclined corners. In contrast, a radiant cut diamond also has a square or rectangular shape yet is cut in a brilliant style.
*Tip: Step cuts will quite often show their variety and clarity more, while brilliant cuts are better at hiding tone and inclusions. On the off chance that you are purchasing a stage cut, consider going up in variety and clarity.
3. Look at ring diamonds under different lighting
Daylight, glaring light, spotlighting – a diamond looks different under various lighting conditions. Many gem specialists utilize white spotlighting, which brings out a diamond’s brilliance and fire and will make most diamonds look dazzling. Most day-to-day situations don’t comprise such dramatic lighting, nonetheless. Make certain to perceive how your diamond performs under average lighting conditions, like outside in light or shadow or under the diffused, glaring light of office work or the warm, diffused lighting normally in most homes.
Note that fluorescent lighting brings out a diamond’s splendor, while incandescent lighting brings out a diamond’s fire.
4. Pick a metal for the band of the ring.
Popular adornments metals include yellow gold, rose gold, white gold, and platinum. Gold and platinum have different characteristics. Their tones can also change the appearance of a piece of adornment and set off the shade of a ring’s gemstones differently.
Metal Types:
Yellow gold is a classic. It has been utilized in gems for thousands of years. It enchants because of its tone, rarity, and gloss (the appearance of a material’s surface in mirrored light). Unadulterated gold is soft, so it is typically alloyed with other metals. Karat is the term used to state gold’s fineness, which is based on 24 parts. Gold that is 75% unadulterated — 18K gold — is 18 parts gold and six parts of other metals to create an alloy. The most popular fineness in the U.S. — 14K gold — is 14 parts gold and 10 parts of other metals.
*Tip: Metals with a higher amount of gold will have more extravagant variety, be heavier, softer (somewhat more inclined to marks and scratches), and more exorbitant.
Rose gold has been a popular decision for many years. It was often utilized in engagement rings during the Retro era (1935 to the 1950s). It is usually made by alloying gold with copper and silver, which is what gives it its warm, pinkish tone. Companies intently guard their special mixes.
White gold is made by alloying unadulterated gold with white metals like nickel or palladium among others. It is a beautiful and durable decision for engagement rings. White gold is usually plated with rhodium, a platinum bunch metal, to give it a more white finish. This can wear away over the long haul. White gold gems typically require replating, or the marginally yellowish shade of the white gold underneath may start to appear on the other side. This is easy and relatively inexpensive to do, in any case; essentially ask your local goldsmith for this help.
5. Choose the setting
In adornments, diamonds are held in place by settings. The setting has two positions: to hold the diamond in place and to safeguard it from damage. Different settings offer different levels of security.
The following are two popular types of settings:
- Prong: A diamond is held in place with four to six prongs (narrow metal backings). The prongs can be adjusted on top for a classic look or sharp (claw prongs) for a tense, current appearance. Six prongs can give a round brilliant diamond a more adjusted look; it also holds the diamond safely. Four prongs can give a round diamond a somewhat more square look, and they conceal somewhat to a lesser extent a diamond’s area. There are many variations to the prong setting and it very well may be utilized in various ring styles, like solitaire, three-stone, and more.
- Bezel: The bezel setting is quite possibly the most defensive style. For this style, a thin metal strip is pushed or hammered all around the diamond to hold it in place. This means that the diamond cannot be seen from the side, however, it also means that there are no prongs that can snag on gloves (supportive for medical attendants) and that any corners are very much secured. It is an amazing decision for diamonds with sharp points that are bound to chip, for example, princess cut and marquise cut diamonds.
6. Consider side stones
Side stones are a dazzling way to spruce up an engagement ring and make it look greater. Popular decisions include making the ring a three-stone ring, adding a halo, including channel, pavé, or bead set diamonds along the shank of the ring, and adding shaded pearls or birthstones. Assuming you want diamond side stones, choose those with 4C grades similar to that of the middle stone. Having a similar variety grade is especially important if you want the stones to match.
7. Know the Styles and Trends of the ring.
What way of the ring are you looking for — vintage, current, immortal, Bohemian, or romantic? Know your periods and themes or add personalized touches for a stand-out ring.