Buying the Engagement and Wedding Rings

Asking someone to marry you is a very eager thing as well as somewhat frightening. What if she says no? You would be devastated and wouldn’t know where to go from there but when you finally make that choice to ask it’s freeing of the spirit. The only problem now is to buy the rings. We don’t want to let the cat out of the bag so asking her mother or best friend would leave us worrying they would spill the beans. First thing first is finding out her ring size. You have to be crafty and here are several ways to go about finding out her ring size without giving away too much:

1. Go through her jewelry box and grab a ring she doesn’t wear much and take it with you to the jeweler. If borrowing the ring isn’t a good idea then you could lay the ring on a sheet of paper and trace the inside. They should be able to work with that.
2. If your intended is a heavy sleeper you could try to tie a string around her finger and mark the overlapping ends.
3. If everything else fails you can attempt to estimate her finger size by comparing it to yours. The jeweler may be able to give a rough sizing for you.

Before purchasing though make sure to ask if the ring can be re-sized just in case it doesn’t fit properly.

We’re men. We don’t know a dang thing about diamonds, but women do and don’t you ever think they don’t. Even women who aren’t too girly know about their best friends. Do we have a clue? Of course not, but soon you will.

Diamonds: The 4 C’s

Color

This is probably the simplest of the C’s. Color is one factor that really determines worth. The less color in the diamond the more valuable it is. Jewelers have a grading system that goes from D to Z with D being colorless and Z being a light or pale yellow. Fancy colored diamonds are an exception to the rule. Yellow colored past D means more value.

Cut

Cut is not shape. That’s your first mistake. The cut refers to how the diamond was laid out in order to catch the light. If a diamond is well cut light will enter it then reflect right back into the person’s eye. Some jewelers will poo-poo the cut so that the diamond is larger. The light will “leak” out of the diamond and not fully reflect back.

Normal people can’t truly evaluate the cut well. For this reason you need to acquire an AGS or GIA Certificate which verifies the diamond’s quality. The grades of cut are Ideal, Premium, Very Good, Good, Fair and Poor. Ideal and Very Good are your best choices but for the budget conscious you can pick up a Good rated diamond.

Clarity

Here is one of the more confusing aspects of diamonds. Diamonds have small imperfections such as tiny bubbles, scratches or minerals that have found their way into the diamond and the less imperfection the better the diamond.

F: Flawless. No internal or external imperfections.

IF: Flaws are found inside the diamond, but are very slight.

VVS1-VVS2: Just slightly flawed. Mini imperfections that are hard to find under 10X magnification despite the ability of the experience of the graders.

VS1-VS2: Very slightly flawed. You can not see the imperfections without using magnification and are visible within 10X magnification.

SI1-SI2: Slightly flawed. The imperfection is not visible with the naked eye but is easily seen with magnification.

I1-I3: Flawed. The imperfections can be seen by the naked eye and affect brilliance.

Diamonds graded with VVS2 to F are incredibly rare not to mention expensive. Most people will seek out SI2 and VS1. You’ll never know the difference.

Caret

This is the size of the diamond. While caret is sometimes valued more than any other aspect of a diamond some people prefer smaller rings with better clarity, cut and color. Consider your intended’s wardrobe. If they’re flashy then perhaps a larger diamond, if not then smaller.

Whichever your choice keep in mind that buying a diamond ring is an investment, but that doesn’t mean that the value will increase over time. And remember to ask to see the AGS or GIS certificate.