It is essential to get an accurate measurement of your or your partner's ring finger before you start shopping for an engagement ring. We send out FREE ring sizers to our customers. The ring should fit properly and feel snug yet comfortable. To ensure that you get the right size, you can also visit a jewellery shop to get sized if you're shopping as a couple. However, if you are secretly shopping for your partner's ring, you can measure their finger by asking a mutual friend or taking another ring from their collection to a jewellery shop for an expert opinion.
Determine the Shape of the Gemstone You Want
Once you have the correct ring size information, it’s time to concentrate on the design of the ring. Will your partner prefer a solitaire, a trilogy or an elaborate design and what shape gemstones? Actually what gemstone do you even choose? We'll look at this in our December blog.
Deciding on the shape of the centre stone before you shop will make the process a lot easier. Be sure to familiarise yourself with the different kinds of shapes and identify one or two favourites. From round-cut and princess-cut to cushion-cut and emerald-cut, there are many different cuts of gemstones to choose from.
When deciding on the carat size, if you are looking at Diamonds, for example, consider whether you prefer a larger stone or a higher spec diamond. If you want a bigger stone, you may want to save money by choosing a less common carat size because diamond prices (and Tanzanite prices) increase significantly when they weigh half or whole carats, such as 0.5, 1, and 1.5. Buying a diamond that is just shy of these common weights can save you money, and no one will be able to tell that it's a .97 carat instead of 1 carat.
Once you have an idea of the centre stone's look and feel, it's time to move on to the band metal. Popular hues to consider include yellow gold, white gold and rose gold. To help you decide on one type, take into account what colour metals does your partner tend to wear?
Consider Matching Your Wedding Band
For us this point is THE most important. It’s easy to get caught up in shopping for the perfect engagement ring, but this sparkler is only half of the equation. The wedding band is a very important piece to keep in mind (after all, it is the symbol of your marriage) this accessory is often overlooked. So, when searching for an engagement ring, think about what style of wedding band would go well with the engagement ring as some engagement rings don’t allow a band to fit flush against them.
The alternative to this is to have your engagement ring and wedding ring custom made. and because we can produce a CAD design of your ring(s) they will both fit together like a glove! Next month we will be looking at choices of gemstones for the engagement ring.