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 CHOOSING THE PERFECT RING
“Don’t get caught investing all of your hard earned savings into your wedding ring,” says the ad. “Select a beautiful ring from us, no one will ever know.”
Sounds like something you can live with? After all, the ad goes on, you can take the money you save and invest in your future together, or put it towards the important things like a new home, a new car, a memorable honeymoon, or new home furnishings.
Your ring is not only an important element of becoming married, but it’s also a long-lasting symbol of your love and commitment. For this reason, most people ignore the ad and choose engagement and wedding rings that are timeless and high quality.
Diamonds are commonly used in engagement and wedding rings with good reason – in addition to their beauty, they are the most durable of all gems. If you are looking for a diamond for your fiancée’s ring, find one that is the whitest white. A diamond’s ability to refract light is dependent on its whiteness, and many experts name color as the number one consideration in diamond valuation.
The second criterion in diamond valuation is clarity. Diamonds frequently have inclusions, or small flaws, air bubbles, scratches, or other minerals inside the stone. A diamond can be described as “flawless” only if it has no visible surface or internal imperfections when viewed under 10-power magnification by a skilled diamond grader. Your stone does not have to be flawless to be beautiful and precious, so don’t ignore diamonds in the slightly included (meaning flaws are present, but cannot be seen without 10x magnification) range.
The third criterion, carat, is the unit of weight for diamonds, where one carat equals 200 milligrams, and 142 carats equals one ounce. While some people value carat above all, others prefer a small ring regardless of budget. To choose the best carat weight of diamond, consider your fiancée’s style, the size of her finger, the size of the ring’s setting, and, of course, the cost of the stone.
The last of “the four Cs” of diamond valuation is cut, which refers to the way the diamond was faceted to allow light to reflect from it. Cut can be difficult for a layperson to evaluate, so it is important to get an AGS or GIA Certificate verifying the quality of the diamond. Cut is the most important factor affecting a diamond’s beauty and cost, and it can also affect its durability.
When buying the diamond, shop around to educate your eye, to learn what appeals to you, and to familiarize yourself with current styles. If you consider size important, try an oval or pear-shaped diamond, both of which look larger than the classic round shape. Also, consider a design that uses several stones rather than one large diamond. Using wider, innovative designs can create a very impressive look for smaller diamonds, especially for fingers that are very large or unusually long.
Today most couples select rings that either match or have common elements. The best way to determine which ring is best is to get an idea of what your fiancée is expecting. If you plan carefully, you can get some answers without raising her suspicions!
Astrid Bullen runs the Sweet Grenada website, where she offers free information on destination weddings and honeymoons. Her site can be found at www.sweetgrenada.com
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Blueberry