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      • Home /
      • Buying Guide
      • The 4 C's
      • DIAMOND
      • RING SETTINGS
      • METALS

      How to Choose the Perfect
      Engagement Ring

      Options are a good thing. Except when you have so many that you don't know where to begin. Well this handy how-to-buy-a-diamond-engagement-ring guide should help.

      Start here.

      Cut

      The cut is and is considered the most important factor when purchasing a stone. It is what gives diamonds that other-worldly sparkle while hiding blemishes and determining the shape, size and facets of the stone.

      When done correctly, diamond cutters pay close attention to proportion and symmetry to allowing for maximum:

      Brightness: the light reflected from the diamond

      Fire: how the light is scattered through the diamond to create a rainbow of light

      Scintillation: the amount of sparkles that cross the surface of a diamond as it moves under light

      How cut is graded:
      Ideal > Near Ideal > Excellent > Very Good > Good > Fair > Poor

      QUICK TIP

      Focus on cut, rather than color or clarity, for the diamond with the most
      sparkle and beauty.

      Color

      Diamonds come in a broad range of colors. Traditionally, white diamonds are used in engagement rings. The top of the scale, boasts "near colorless" or the whitest, and most expensive of diamonds, moving down the scale, you begin to see hints of yellow or brown.

      How color is graded:
      Color is graded on a 23-grade scale ranging from D (near colorless) to Z (more yellow/brown)

      • colorless
      • near colorless
      • noticeable color

      QUICK TIP

      Moving down the color scale toward H or I lets you buy a diamond that still
      appears white, but is more common and thus more affordable.

      Clarity

      The clarity grade is a reminder that, after all, a diamond is a thing of nature — and like most natural things, it's rarely perfect. Most diamonds have flaws, known as inclusions or blemishes. A good cut will hide the blemishes or work around them. The clarity grade measures these blemishes.

      How color is graded:

      • f–if Flawless or Internally Flawless
      • vvs1–vvs2 Very Very Slight Inclusions
      • vs1–vs2 Very Slight Inclusions
      • SI1– SI2 Slight Inclusions
      • I1– I3 Inclusions

      QUICK TIP

      Many inclusions are not visible to the naked eye. Looking to save some cash?
      Choose a lower grade diamond and have a good look - if you can't see the
      blemishes you can probably accept a lower grade and save on cost without
      compromising beauty.

      Carat

      Carat is a measurement of weight. Carat is the biggest factor in the price of the diamond and even small differences can often result in a disproportionate spread in cost.

      How carat is graded:
      Diamonds are graded by carat (ct) and points - with 100 points equalling one carat.

      QUICK TIP

      If shaving off cost on a diamond, start by looking at a diamond 10 or 15
      points less than a diamond you like. It's likely you'll have difficulty seeing a
      big difference, but you may save hundreds of dollars.

      THE CURVES: What's your shape?

      Like people, diamonds come in different shapes - and factor in to the ring's overall style.
      What you choose is based on personal preference. Most common shapes are:

      • Round
      • PRINCESS
      • CUSHION
      • EMERALD
      • Asscher
      • heart
      • pear
      • OVAL
      • RADIANT
      • marquise

      Ring Settings

      Solitaire:
      An elegant, beloved classic, the solitaire features a single stone with a plain mounting. Solitaires are one of the most popular engagement ring settings.

      Halo: Halo engagement ring settings feature a center diamond surrounded by smaller diamonds. The smaller diamonds makes the center stone appear larger and adds to the ring's overall sparkle.

      Three Stone:
      Three stone engagement rings consist of a center diamond flanked by two smaller side diamonds, accentuating the size and brilliance of the center stone.

      Pave:
      A pave engagement ring is encrusted with very small diamonds along the band to give the appearance of a solid diamond surface. The result is such that the diamonds appear to blend together for extraordinary fire and brilliance.

      Diamond Band:
      Diamond band engagement rings have dazzling diamonds set through either half or all the way around the ring band.

      Metals

      platinum

      Appearance

      Soft, white hue

      40% harder than 14k gold; helps engravings look sharper

      Scratches over time but use polish to remove

      Purity

      Must be 95% pure platinum to be sold in U.S.

      Price

      30x rarer than gold

       

      gold

      Appearance

       

      Yellow Gold

       

      White Gold

       

      Rose Gold

      24k Gold is extremely soft

      Can be buffed with soft cloth to keep shiny and smooth

      Purity

      Measured in karats, gold is traditionally alloyed with other metals to add strength and color.

      24k = 100% gold

      Comes in 10K, 14K, or 18K depending on the ratio of metal alloy to gold

      Price

       

      silver

      Appearance

      Pure silver is similar in hue to platinum, but less shiny

      Very soft, like gold

      Needs to be kept in tarnish-proof storage and be taken care of

      Purity

      Must be 92.5% pure silver to be sold in U.S.

      Price

      One of the most affordable precious metals

       

      Metals

      Appearance

      Purity

      Price

      platinum

      Soft, white hue

      40% harder than 14k gold; helps engravings look sharper

      Scratches over time but use polish to remove

      gold

       

      Yellow Gold

       

      White Gold

       

      Rose Gold

      24k Gold is extremely soft

      Can be buffed with soft cloth to keep shiny and smooth

      silver

      Pure silver is similar in hue to platinum, but less shiny

      Very soft, like gold

      Needs to be kept in tarnish-proof storage and be taken care of

      Must be 95% pure platinum to be sold in U.S.

       

      Measured in karats, gold is traditionally alloyed with other metals to add strength and color.

      24k = 100% gold

      Comes in 10K, 14K, or 18K depending on the ratio of metal alloy to gold

       

      Must be 92.5% pure silver to be sold in U.S.

      30x rarer than gold

       

       

       

      One of the most affordable precious metals

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