You'd think that after all of the hard work of finding the perfect soulmate to spend the rest of your life with, choosing an engagement ring would be easy, right? Unfortunately, selecting the ideal proposal ring is difficult for many of us.
There are seemingly endless designs to choose from (many of which look the same to the inexperienced eye) and new lingo to master. So, it's understandable if you're feeling overwhelmed or even terrified by the thought of choosing the right ring. We get it!
But today’s your lucky day because we put together this handy guide on choosing the perfect engagement ring. You’ll have your Boo saying Yes! In no time.
Photographer: @julesbower
Rings in weddings can be traced back to Ancient Egypt. Back then, couples exchanged rings made of braided reeds and hemp. The ring is worn on the fourth finger of the left hand because people believed that a vein of love ran through the fingers directly from the heart. Pretty romantic, right?
From this epoch time to Ancient Greek to Romans up to today, engagement rings have undergone many evolutions, which provide couples with tons of choices.
There’s yellow gold, white gold, platinum, colored gemstones, and diamonds. Below are some factors that will help answer the question: how to choose the right ring for your soulmate?
Photographer: CHUTTERSNAP
If you walk up to any Jewelry store, the first thing you will be asked after pleasantries is, “what is your budget?” Chances the store has varieties of options and knowing your budget will enable the Jeweler to show you their selection of rings within your budget.
You don’t want to fall in love with a ring only to find out that it is way out of your budget, so knowing how much you can afford to pay before you begin shopping is vital.
Secondly, having a budget saves you from going into debt. Most people like the idea of wowing their partner with an exquisite engagement ring, especially the ones that are jewelry savvy.
But there’s nothing sweet and romantic about going into debt. Some partners would prefer that you be debt-free. All that matters to them is that you love them.
You have probably heard the word “Carats” on different occasions before. But you only have a faint idea of what it means.
A Carat is simply a unit of weight on which precious stones, pearls, diamonds, and more are measured. However, there is no clear-cut answer to how many carats is perfect for a wedding ring.
The average weight of an engagement ring is between the range of 1.8 and 1.2 carats. But, you’ll have to consider your budget to determine how many carats you can afford.
Initially, diamonds were synonymous with strength, health, and love—three essential qualities of a long-lasting relationship. In addition, diamond wedding rings symbolize forever and lifetime commitment.
Diamond rings for weddings became trendy in the late 1400s when Archduke Maximilian of Austria commissioned the first diamond engagement ring on his betrothed Mary of Burgundy. Afterwards, diamond rings for engagements became popular among aristocrats and nobles in Europe.
Much later in 1947, Frances Gerety, a copywriter, came up with the famous phrase "A Diamond is Forever'' for De Beers. And Marilyn Monroe, in the 1953 production of Gentlemen prefers blondes, famously sang “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend.” Ever since then, no proposal has been complete without a diamond ring.
In recent years, colored gemstones have also been trendy for weddings. And there are numerous gemstone ideas you can explore.
They include Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire, Moissanite, Garnet, Topaz, Amethyst, and more. But for this read, we will focus more on Moissanite.
Moissanite is a silicon carbide-based gemstone that is nearly colorless. Although they appear similar at first glance, diamonds and moissanite are not the same.
Moissanites are formed of 100% silicon carbide, which is an exceptionally uncommon, naturally occurring mineral.
Diamonds are made of carbon. One of the perks of gemstones is that they are eco-friendly and much more affordable when compared to diamonds. For instance, the price of a larger Moissanite gemstone could be equivalent to that one a small size diamond.
Photographer: Fallon Michael
Do you want something unique and more memorable? Or perhaps something that suits the lifestyle of your significant other? Then you should try out bespoke your personal engagement rings.
Bespoke rings are unique and custom-made rings for a customer/client by an Atelier.
The engagement ring idea is perfect for people who love to infuse their creativity into producing a wedding ring that represents their whole personality. Unlike ready-made ones, these are unique pieces that give the chance to have a say in the production process.
Photographer: Esther Tuttle
Related: Read the Best Romantic Valentine's Day Proposal Ideas
Now it's time to get you familiar with the 4cs. First, you must have In-depth knowledge of rings.
In 1953, the Gemmological Institute of America (GIA) introduced a grading system for diamonds with the 4cs (clarity, cut, color, and carat weight).
The now internationally recognized system is used globally as a standard for comparing and evaluating a diamond's quality. De Beers was the first Jewelry store in the world to adopt the 4cs to help their clients when choosing diamonds.
This determines how brilliant and sparkly a diamond will be. With excellent cutting coupled with fine symmetric and aligned facets, you will have nothing but a sparkling diamond.
Experts considered cuts as the most important C of all C’s. And that is due to the fact it determines the quality and how the stone is proportioned, polished, and faceted.
The second C refers to internal and natural substances. This is also known as the inclusion in the diamond. It can be seen with the aid of 10x magnification. Flawless diamonds are devoid of any imperfection and inclusion whatsoever. But, when we say a diamond is internally flawless, it has no obvious inclusion.
The C is used to measure the actual weight of a diamond. A Carat is estimated to be 0.2 milligrams. Carat is a phrase that is sometimes misunderstood. It refers to the weight of a diamond, not its size. Another myth is that higher carat weight is always preferable to lower carat weight.
While it's true that a large stone can be a prestige signal (hello, Hollywood), carat weight has nothing to do with radiance. Instead, a well-crafted cut produces beautiful glitter. As a result, a diamond with a large carat weight but bad cut may appear smaller than a diamond with a smaller carat weight but excellent cut.
Lastly, diamond colors are within the scale of D-Z. When it's within D, E, and F, then it's completely colorless. These sets of diamonds are the most expensive. Z means the color is a light yellow hue. But standard diamonds are within D-J color grading.
The key to buying the perfect engagement ring is knowing your partner’s style. They usually drop hints throughout your relationship if you pay attention and listen.
But on the wild chance that your partner hasn’t, leave a few magazines around with photos of rings and see what happens.
Why is it important to know your partner’s style? Well, you want them to love it, right?
Diamond rings are beautiful; there’s no denying that. And most people would love to get one and won’t really care about how it looks.
But, some people in the world have strong opinions on jewelry. So you don’t want to spend your hard-earned dough on a ring that they’ll hate and not be proud of.
Photographer: @fotorighi
Too many people often confuse shapes with cuts. But the truth is these terms are different. The shape refers to the geometric appearance, while the cut revolves around how the facets interact with the light.
Here are the different cuts you can expect to see when you start shopping.
Square-shaped diamond with a high crown, small table, and step facets.
Square cut diamonds with rounded edges.
Rectangular shaped with small, rounded edges and a large, open table.
Diamond in the romantic shape of a heart. These are typically found in solitaire settings.
Princess-cut diamonds are distinguished by their geometric, square shape. In addition, it features a pyramidal shape with four beveled edges and is a contemporary cut with angular, powerful lines.
Photographer: Sabrianna
Choosing a one-of-a-kind ring to symbolize your love story is no easy undertaking, but we hope this guide on the art of selecting the perfect engagement ring will help.
First, talk to your jeweler if you’re still confused about which wedding ring is the right one. Ask them to present a few different colors and cuts to choose from. You’ve done your research now; trust your instincts and let the perfect ring speak to you.
You must be logged in to post a comment.
