Engagement Ring Buyers Guide

Establish budget –  Go to your jewellers with a clear idea of price so you can narrow down the search. You will generally have the option of Interest Free Credit should you want to spread the cost.

Surprise her/Let her pick – Suss out if she will appreciate your efforts at choosing a ring yourself, or is she a girl that knows what she wants…? If so she will thank you for allowing her to choose her ideal style, if she loves surprises she will be bowled over by your romantic gesture.

Find out her size – “Borrow” one of her rings to take to a jeweller to check the size, it’s much better to propose with a ring that fits perfectly.

Select right style/colour – Try to determine colours of metal and styles of jewellery she wears, your choices will most likely be - yellow gold, white gold, rose gold or platinum. Check what’s in her jewellery box to find out if she prefers the modern look or something more traditional…while you’re there try and get an idea if she likes diamonds or coloured stones.

Consider The 4 c’s

Colour- The preferred colour of a diamond is bright white, anything with a slightly yellow/brown shade is usually lesser quality, however price does reflect this so the whiter the stone the higher the cost.

Cut - The cut can come in many different shapes; square, round, triangular, rectangular and more, the cut usually defines the style of the ring i.e. the round cut is more traditional and the square cut is more modern.

Clarity – This describes how clear the diamond is, the less visible inclusions there are the better the clarity of the stone; the fewer inclusions the more expensive the diamond.

Carat – This is the weight/size of the diamond, the average carat weight of an engagement ring is between half a carat and one full carat. This can be one single stone e.g. a solitaire ring, or spread across a number of stones e.g. a trilogy/three stone ring. You can also consider what is called an “illusion setting” which will is ring that features smaller individual stones set together to give the impression of one large stone, this can reduce the cost but maintain the look of one large diamond.

The Proposal  - Make it the most special and memorable  moment of his/her life….think of their favourite place, or thing to do and take them there for the question.

Congratulations you are now engaged…! The next step is the wedding band, look out for our Wedding ring buyers guide coming soon!