Before proposing to your girlfriend, make sure you have the right ring. Many women have a specific ring they have in mind. Always listen to them. They usually gives you hints about what rings they like and want most.
Think of the ring purchase as being something you have to live with for the rest of your life. Don't let your girlfriend trick you, or even trust that they don't want a nice ring. The engagement reflects you as a person. If you buy a ring they don't want, you will hear an earful for the rest of your life.
Make the right decision the first time around in buying an engagement ring. What should you look when going out to buy an engagement ring? Engagement rings are tricky because many people are electing to buy the setting separate. Set rings don't always have the best quality diamonds. The first ring I purchased was from Samuel's Jewelers. It was a 1 ct. platinum diamond ring with princess cut stones.
The mistakes I made was to purchase the right ring. She was extremely excited about the ring. I could remember how happy she was about the ring. What went wrong? Since the ring was from a jewelry store in the mall, it had poor quality diamonds. After a year or so, some black spots started to surface in the center stone.
The ring reflected me as a person. She would judge me for buying something I thought she liked. She was even with me on that day of the purchase. Don't allow them to go with you. Be intrapersonal in carrying out a ring purchase. Your girlfriend may attack your lack of creativity.
On out first Valentine's Day, I bought a really nice Scott Kay platinum solitaire. I wanted to give her something special for our first Valentine's Day. There was one problem. I couldn't afford a diamond. The ring had a cubic zirconium as the center stone. The side diamond were real. The setting cost me almost $2000.
A diamond would have pushed me back another $5000. With being a college student at the time, I couldn't afford to make such an expensive purchase. Believe me when I tell you that I got ridiculed for deciding to purchase that ring.
Since that time, I learned about what to look for in a diamond. You have to listen to what ring you're girl desires most. Why? They will always remember the first ring. Having a good memory is better to trying to forget a bad one. The following will briefly detail how to shop for an engagement ring.
1. Figure out what setting your girlfriend desires most.
2. If your girlfriend like platinum; ask them what they think of white gold
3. Figure out designer they like: Scott Kay, Tacori, and etc...
4) After you figure out the gold setting, move onto the diamond.
5) Choose the diamond wisely. You have to consider the 4 C's - Clarity, Cut, Color, and carat weight.
6) The 4 C's each have equal importance. What to consider? Go with the size of a diamond. I would not go with anything less than a 1ct. Women say they'll be happy with a .50, .60, and even a .75, but don't accept that as being believable.
7) If you're struggling to make a ring purchase, try to save up for it, or even consider visiting online for deals. OverStock.com, and BlueNile.com have great rings - with or without the diamond center stone. Also consider consulting Bill at Topper's Jewelers in Redwood City, California or go to their website at http://www.topperjewelers.com/
8). Now that you have the 1 Carat weight picked out, you should consider the diamond color and the cut as being equally important to bring out the brilliance in the stone. Do not go less than H for color. I would suggest going with G because it's less expensive than D-F color stones, and you still get a quality diamond stone. The diamond cut should be no less than very good. Don't go lower than very good. If you want a nice cut stone, go with excellent cut ones. Very good cut stones are still nice.
9) Lastly, the clarity, which many assume is most important, needs to be no less than SI1. Anything less, then you have to deal with an earful of complaints as to why black spots are forming in the stone. The black spots in I stone are actually hidden. Over the course of time - wear and tear - the inclusions become more visible. If you want a good clarity stone, go with VS2 stones. You get a better value for your money. The stone looks great, and you don't spend a ton on VS1-F clarity stones which are sure to bankrupt you if you're on funds.
10). After considering all the steps, you now either have a platinum, yellow gold, or a white gold setting. Your ideal diamond is at least 1ct, G color, very good cut, and a VS2. To save money, you can go with a 1ct, G-H color, very good cut, and a SI1 stone. Have the diamond mounted into the stone by the same jewelry store that sells you the diamond. Some have deals - Toppers - where the mounting is free. Places like Jareds charge $250 for diamond mounting - even if you buy the diamond there.
11). You now have the perfect ring to propose to your girlfriend. It's one less problem to deal with in the future. Make your girlfriend happy now so she doesn't regret you later when life goes downhill. The ring is always important.
There are many deals for good quality rings. You don't have to go with a separate setting and diamond. Still consider the 4 C's in the center stone diamond. Platinum rings are going to cost more than double that of a white gold rings. Look into possibly purchasing a white gold setting, which gives you more financial flexibility in finding the perfect diamond.
Most women will be happy with a ring because of the symbolism factor. If you're with a materialistic female, then they will complain about the ring if it doesn't meet their expectations. Make sure you listen to what ring they desire most, and then compromise on a good ring. If you want to avoid problems in the future, draft a personal contract to make them accept that ring. If they complain about the ring, then they will be penalized for their gripes. Take away something that they like most.
You don't take the ring purchase that serious, but be sure to purchase a ring they like. If they want round stones, don't go out and buy a pear shape one. Consider the type of diamond. There are many different shapes - princess, round, marquee, and etc.. Now that you have the information for making a ring purchase, consider looking for interest free payment plans, save up the funds, and or get cheap interest loan. Don't be forced into making a huge purchase when you can't afford it.
Lastly, I left out the most important point. I always preach to others about making sure that your diamond is GIA certified. If you're going to spend money in purchasing an engagement or other other diamond ring, you need to be sure that you're receiving what you asked for in return, a certified diamond.
Whenever purchasing any diamond jewelry (earrings, pendants, rings, & bracelets), I always ask if the diamond is GIA certified. I forget to mention the GIA. I have a GIA certificate for every diamond that I bought for my fiance, but it crossed my mind because I was too focused on other aspects of the diamond. Thank you Elle for reminding me about the GIA certificate.
Best of luck to anyone that plans to take the next step into getting engaged.
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I actually have another tip to add to your post! One thing to keep in mind if you're trying to buy a quality diamond for your soon-to-be-fiancee is that you should insist on a diamond that comes with a GIA diamond grading report. The only way to be certain that you're buying a diamond with the 4C's that you've decided on is to get one that has been certified in an independent laboratory by gemology experts. No matter what your budget is, it's probably important to you that you're getting the diamond that you're paying for, whether it's a small high-quality one or a larger one with a few flaws. GIA certification can take a lot of the guesswork out of the (very stressful) engagement-ring-buying process.
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