Engagement and Wedding Ring Tips

Engagement Rings Should Engage the Beauty of Your Love

As the bride-to-be’s visible symbol of unending love and dedication, the engagement ring holds great significance and should be valued immensely. Little compares to the feeling that warms the heart of a man as his beloved accepts his proposal for a lifetime of happiness. No beauty is more cherished than the bright smile that rushes over the face of a woman as she realizes why her sweetheart is kneeling before her. With such a weighted importance of the engagement ring it is imperative that just the right one is selected. Below are tips for finding the perfect ring to help make your engagement a magical and memorable time for everyone.

Engagement Ring Selection Tips For Guys:

Find a suave way to determine her size. For example, ask her to wear your class ring and keep a mental picture of the finger on which she places it. Another more jocular idea is to ham it up by pretending to propose and placing your ring on her finger. A professional jeweler will be able to help determine size if you know the finger, ease of removal over the joint, and other small information.
Know what your girl likes or you’ll find out the hard way. Ask one of her close and trusted friends for ring type and style information. Be sure to choose a friend that can keep a secret! Also, sometimes female friends can obtain size information more easily.
Consider a family heirloom. The thought will mean a lot to most women especially if the heirloom is from her family.
If your honey wears a lot of rings make a point to compliment the jewelry as you hold or kiss her hand. The sentiment will likely stir up any stories behind the ring as well as score you points as a romantic.
Have a budget in mind and stick to it!

Engagement Ring Tips For Girls:

Don’t stress! If you must select the engagement ring with your beloved let him do most of the selecting with only helpful guidance from you. After all, the engagement ring is his special way of saying that you are promised to him.

Wedding Rings The Symbol of Eternal Love

Wedding Ring Tips For Guys:

Choose a ring or ring set that suits need and function. Most men do not need elaborate diamonds but do want a unique ring that can be worn with pride to every occasion—often including vigorous work. Consider occupation when shopping for a wedding ring. For instance, industrial and mechanical jobs should stray from many stones or metals and shapes receptive to dirt and chemical wear.
Enjoy the time with your beloved. Shopping for the rings is a special occasion and is the first purchase that truly represents your life as a couple. Avoid stress by having a budget and adhering to it, setting aside as much time as possible to view the rings, and having an idea in mind of what you would like before you begin shopping.

Wedding Ring Tips For Girls:

Ring sets are still classic but don’t be afraid to mix and match styles. This is the ring that you will wear for a lifetime. Most important is that you truly like the ring that you select.
Know what you like, what can be worn easily, and what will last. There are several popular ring styles, metals, and diamond shapes from which to choose. Having an idea of what you want before visiting the stores will greatly reduce shopping time and stress.

Engagement or Wedding Ring Terminology—The 4 C’s:Selecting rings may seem difficult when the jeweler, family, and friends begin spouting terminology. Here are a few words that you should definitely know when shopping for wedding or engagement rings. These can be remembered easily as The 4 C’s.

Cut indicates the method of engraving the stones to form a pattern, the depth of the incisions, and the number of incisions to achieve the pattern. A diamond’s brilliance is largely impacted by the number of cuts. Stones may be cut to better reflect, refract, or catch light while too many cuts reduces the size, quality, and clarity of the diamond.
Color refers to the hue of the stone which ranges in diamonds from clear to brilliant colors. Yellow, red, pink, orange, amber, violet, and blue are all common colors. The Gemological Institute of America developed a color guide beginning at D (colorless) and ending with Z (light yellow).
Clarity measures the amount of imperfection in the stone when viewed on the outside with the naked eye and on the inside with a loupe. A loupe is a magnifying glass with a 10x resolution. Diamond quality is higher with “clean” stones.
Carat refers to the weight of the diamond and should not be confused with Karat which is a measure of the purity of gold. A standard carat indicates 200 milligrams. Diamonds may also be weighted in points in which case one carat is equal to 100 points.

Diamond Shapes And Cuts

Asscher—the Asscher and Royal Asscher have extra facets and were created to enhance the brilliance of the emerald.
Cushion—a rectangle with rounded corners, usually with many facets. Similar in appearance to an elongated Asscher.
Emerald—rectangular in shape with rounded but more structured corners than a cushion. Usually has less facets which give it a more understated elegance.
Marquise—an oval with pointed ends, a properly cut marquise may appear larger than actual size.
Oval—perfect for fans of a round but unique cut, a trendy homage to antique design.
Pear—resembling the shape of a teardrop, pear shapes are cut like round shapes with a stiff point at the top. Popular among brides looking for a unique, unconventional cut.
Princess—square shaped with detailed faceting for intricate brilliance.
Radiant—an emerald cut with more facets on the underside giving the stone extra sparkle.
Round—the traditional standard, more than 75% of all diamonds sold are this popular 58-facet cut.

Popular Ring Styles

3-Stone Setting—A large stone surrounded on each side by a similar but usually smaller stone. In conjunction the stones represents yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
Baguette—rectangular stones cut to have step-like facets, baguettes are commonly found sandwiching a larger center stone which gives the illusion of a bigger center stone.
Bezel—A metal rim fully surrounds the perimeter of the stone. The rim may have scalloped or straight edges.
Channel—a row of stones seemingly held in place by a horizontal groove or channel at the top and bottom of the row.
Channel End—differing from channel style in that a thin vertical bar is placed between each stone instead of at the top and bottom.
Pave—Raised metal forms beads between level rows or sections of stones that hold each stone in place.
Prong—pointed, rounded, flat, or v-shaped claws that secure a stone into a metal “head” or “basket.”
Tension—a stone held in place with compression-spring pressure. The stone, being held by nothing else, is given the illusion of floating.