Fall is coming up on us and guys who are planning that holiday engagement are doing their homework and trying to figure out what the various engagement rings there are to consider. Or at least they should be thinking about it right now.
Getting her the ring she really wants
This is one of the most popular times during the year to be making that engagement ring purchase so, guys, be sure that you work quickly, thoroughly and covertly as you attempt to get all of the information needed regarding the engagement ring that your girlfriend wants. Remember, due to the fact that so many people will be purchasing engagement rings during this time of the year it is important that you get your orders in pronto! You don’t want to be running up against a time snag as the big moment arrives right? I mean you have enough on your plate working out the proposal strategy. Get the ring early and hide it away. Don’t procrastinate and wait until the last minute; too much can go wrong.
Here are some tips that should help:
- Find her ring size. Don’t dilly dally! Ask a friend for hers. If you have access to her jewelry box or if you can get a hold of a ring that you know she wears on her left hand put it on your pinkie and mark wear it stops. Remember that if you make it a little bigger it can always be re-sized down. Your best bet will be talking to someone who knows her well enough and who also won’t spill the beans
- Decide on a budget. Industry people seem to think that the ring should cost you two months of salary. The bottom line is spend what you are comfortable spending after all you know what she is worth to you.
- Find a jewelry store. Ask married a friend where he or she went to get their rings. Get a good referral. If you know that she prefers a specific designer then go to that designers website and look up local retailers through their store locator. If you know that she likes RITANI you can find a store at ritani.com.
- Choose a stone. Buy her a diamond. Keep in mind the four C’s: Cut, Clarity, Color, Carat. You will want to consider all of this but paying careful attention to the Cutsince this will be the first distinguishing characteristic that she will notice when you give it her. Find out what shape she most prefers. Again consult a friend or a family member. The next obvious characteristic is Carat. Determine how large the stone will be. Cost will have something to say about how many carats you go with so again feel it out. You know how much she is worth to you and be sure you get something that you will be proud to give her. Diamonds typically start at 0.5ct for $1,500 up to 3.0ct for $22,000. After Carat you will want to decide on Color. You want a diamond that is as colorless as possible. The closer it is to colorless the more valuable to becomes. The cost color scale starts at “D” for colorless and goes on up all the way to “Z”. The average diamond for cost efficiency vs color falls somewhere in the G – J range. Again as was mentioned you need to figure all the cost together and determine what she is worth to you. The last thing to remember about the diamond before you buy it is Clarity. Similar to color this refers to how easily you can see any imperfections in the diamonds, be they on the surface (“blemishes”) or inside the diamond (“inclusions”). Why does it matter? Because fewer flaws = more light reflected = more sparkle. And we all want the sparkliest diamond we can get. The scale for considering clarity goes like this: flawless, internally flawless, VVS1, VVS2, VS1, VS2, SI1, SI2, I1, I2, I3. Flawless diamonds mean that you can’t see any imperfections under 10X magnification, and I3 diamonds are ones where Mr. Magoo would see the imperfections. So what does this mean? It means that when you go to the jeweler and ask about a diamond and (s)he tells you its clarity grade, you’ll know what you’re getting. Now here’s the most important thing to know: unless you’re an oil tycoon or want to blow a lot of cash, get a VS or SI diamond. While technically imperfect, you cannot tell these diamonds are flawed unless you look at them under a microscope. In fact, we bet that if you looked at a SI2 and VVS1 next to each other after they’d been set in a ring, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. All that matters is that you think it’s pretty.
- Choose the setting and the band. Now all that’s left is to decide on the setting and the band. Fortunately, this is much easier than picking out a diamond. Just go with what you think is pretty and what you think she’d like. This is when having one of her friends with you could be particularly handy; she might know her ring style. Visit RITANI.com to see many of todays hottest settings and wedding bands.
Once you have these elements taken care you’ll want to first find the one you like, then see how scary the price tag is, then bargain the jeweler down to a price you can afford (remembering that your first offer should be less than you’re willing to spend, so that you can still afford the final offer), then propose to your sweetie!
Remember you will most likely only do this once in you life so as best you can try to fun with it. Afterward you can always bring it back to the jeweler for changes and modifications. Good Luck
Twoheartedriver
