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I would definitely ask her what she wants. My SO and I have had the ring talk and I think he was surprised that I am ok with a pretty basic ring. I do not like solitaries, I don't want a big rock sticking up from my finger. I would rather have a band. We actually went online and I showed him the styles that I like. You might try that with her to get a good feel for what she really wants.
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I would say to avoid getting caught up in going "too" high in quality - you're not going to be able to tell the difference between a medium quality or super high quality diamond with the naked eye.
After buying my wife's diamond, I took it to an independent appraiser - Man, do I wish I talked with him as a consultant before buying the diamond, I learned a ton in the 90 minutes he spent with me going over every detail of my wife's ring (we did end up with a beautiful stone, but I would've liked to have known about some of the things I got lucky with before I bought it). Depending on what you're budget is, you may want to consider having an appraiser come along with you to help you pick the best stone for your money.
A few things I learned, unless you are a trained professional, the average person wont be able to see any difference between:
VS2 and VVS1 clarity will look the same to the naked eye
a colorless F will look no different than a slightly less expensive G-color stone
be careful about buying something right at 1.0 carat, go a few points below and save some money by not getting that "1-point-0" factor
spend some time learning about the cut and how the facets reflect light
as far as money goes - spend enough to feel like you're making a sacrifice to show she's worth something extra too you, but obviously be reasonable and don't go massively into debt or anything. You should be happy spending the money also. I knew I was ready when I was happy to drain my bank account, haha.
I would say to avoid getting caught up in going "too" high in quality - you're not going to be able to tell the difference between a medium quality or super high quality diamond with the naked eye.
After buying my wife's diamond, I took it to an independent appraiser - Man, do I wish I talked with him as a consultant before buying the diamond, I learned a ton in the 90 minutes he spent with me going over every detail of my wife's ring (we did end up with a beautiful stone, but I would've liked to have known about some of the things I got lucky with before I bought it). Depending on what you're budget is, you may want to consider having an appraiser come along with you to help you pick the best stone for your money.
A few things I learned, unless you are a trained professional, the average person wont be able to see any difference between:
VS2 and VVS1 clarity will look the same to the naked eye
a colorless F will look no different than a slightly less expensive G-color stone
be careful about buying something right at 1.0 carat, go a few points below and save some money by not getting that "1-point-0" factor
spend some time learning about the cut and how the facets reflect light
as far as money goes - spend enough to feel like you're making a sacrifice to show she's worth something extra too you, but obviously be reasonable and don't go massively into debt or anything. You should be happy spending the money also. I knew I was ready when I was happy to drain my bank account, haha.
Good luck!
If a Hokie's talkin', it's good advice! Go Hokies!
Saw Sex & the City2 over the weekend and at the end of the movie someone got a black diamond ring, because she isn't the average woman. Something to thinkabout.
If I ever get another one, I would like Moisannite instead of a diamond.
I do not advise any man to buy a fake diamond without first talking to the lady. Some women consider this a break-up worthy foul!
However, I've read and heard that A LOT of women are not requesting fakes. Some women might want to change their ring every 5th anniversary or something, and replacing real diamonds is expensive. Some are worried about "blood diamonds" and wars that are funded through the often cruel an inhumane diamond trade. Some women want to stick it to DeBeer's for creating this culture anyway.
Did you know that prior to mid last century women didn't wear diamond wedding or engagement rings? But DeBeer's marketed it so well that it's now the norm. "A diamond is forever."
They used to control a huge slice of the world's diamonds, and they have stock-piles that could flood the market and mess us supply and demand so much they could make diamonds worth only the carbon they were made from... but they release limited amounts to keep the price up.
I've read the they have lost control of big chunks of the market, but they still lead the diamond business.
Some women want fakes cuz they'd rather use the money for closing costs on a house, or whatever.
A good fake can fool nearly everyone (except maybe the jeweler). The key is to get a fake that looks realistic, not the ones from Wally-World for $9.99.
Moisannite can be extremely expensive- even into the thousands.
I would LOVE to get a colored stone.... I'm much rather have a ruby, sapphire or emerald than a diamond... Diamond's do nothing for me. In reality though .. I'd probably just wear the band after I'm married.
I have to agree. I told my husband if he ever bought me a diamond I would smack him upside the head. My engagement ring is an oval deep purple amethyst (my birthstone) in white gold. I absolutely love it. We've been married almost 11 years and I still wear it everyday.
I have to agree. I told my husband if he ever bought me a diamond I would smack him upside the head. My engagement ring is an oval deep purple amethyst (my birthstone) in white gold. I absolutely love it. We've been married almost 11 years and I still wear it everyday.
Mine was a 1.25 ct FIF emerald cut.
(I'd asked for just a band that would do double-duty as engagement and wedding ring, but he wanted to buy an engagement ring. I wore it for the year of our engagement, but after we were married, I mostly only wore the wedding band. I'll admit that when I first saw the ring, my first impression was that it was beautiful, but my second was, "Well, there's the new deck for the house. *sigh*" I didn't tell him that, though.)
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