5 Things to Consider When Choosing an Engagement Ring

engagement ring

Are you wondering how to pick out an engagement ring?

Choosing an engagement ring for your partner can be an exciting, yet stressful situation. There are many things to consider before making your final purchase.

By following the tips listed below, you’ll be able to choose the perfect ring for your perfect partner.

1. Budget

Your engagement ring budget is a huge consideration when ring shopping, perhaps the most important one.

Your budget is the first thing you need to figure out so you’ll have an idea of what to look for.

There are tons of differing advice about this subject. Some think the ring should reflect a certain percentage of your salary and there are even calculators to help you make the decision.

In reality, your ring budget should be whatever you’re comfortable with or whatever you and your partner agree upon.

2. Lifestyle

When picking an engagement ring, you need to remember that the ring will live on your partner’s hand for many, many years.

You want the ring to fit into your partner’s lifestyle instead of becoming something they have to constantly remove for different activities.

You’ll want to consider:

The height of the setting: Is it going to get caught on things? Will the stone be knocked out easily?
How easy it is to clean the ring: Does your partner’s work or hobbies involve messy hands?
Sharp edges and scratchy surfaces: Does your partner have a lot of contact with other people?

3. Design

Just like you want the ring to fit into your partner’s lifestyle, you also want the design to reflect your partner’s taste.

If your partner has a clean, modern, and minimalistic style, you don’t want to propose with a glamorous, old Hollywood-style ring.

Similarly, if your partners want an alternative stone, like a Moissanite, you don’t want to propose with a classic diamond.

To find the right design, consider the following:

Style
Metal
Stone
Setting

You also want to make sure the engagement ring will complement your wedding rings.

4. The 4 Cs

Knowing the 4 Cs of diamond quality allows you to be able to assess any diamond you’re considering for your engagement ring.

The 4 Cs are:

Color: The degree of a brown and/or yellow tinge in a white diamond. Colorless diamonds are rare and expensive.
Clarity: The amount and severity of blemishes and inclusions caused by heat and pressure.
Cut: How much light the diamond reflects.
Carat: The weight of the diamond.

5. Ring Size

Knowing your partner’s ring size may not seem like that big of a deal. After all, it’s easy to have a ring resized, right?

Wrong.

Many rings cannot be resized, including those with stones that wrap around the band, antique rings, and rings with a tension setting.

For this reason, it’s best to know the size you need from the start.

Not sure what your partner’s size is?

You can borrow one of their favorite rings to take with you to the jewelry store or put on one of their rings, trace around it with a pen and the jeweler will be able to size from the trace.