Cost of an engagement ring.
A diamond engagement ring is a symbol of your love. Of course, money should not be an important factor, but you do not want an engagement ring to break you completely. So, how much are you able to spend on a diamond engagement ring? This should be a process that you put a lot of thought into.
Find a reputable jeweler.
Before you choose the place to buy the engagement ring from, you should find a jeweler that is reputable. Spend the time and ask them as many questions as you want. Ream Jewelers has been family owned and operated since 1935.
Choose the metal for your engagement ring.
People often think only of the color differences between 18k gold and platinum, but there are other differences. Platinum is the strongest, most pure metal. A platinum engagement ring will last a lifetime. 18k gold is the most common engagement ring setting. Platinum is rarer than gold and is composed of 90-95% pure platinum. 18k gold is composed of 75% gold and 25% metal alloys to give it strength.
Choose a setting for your diamond engagement ring.
The setting of the engagement ring helps make the style of the ring. There are three major setting styles: Solitaire Settings, Settings with Sidestones, and Three-Stone Settings.
Solitaire Setting
This is the most popular engagement ring setting. The prongs position the center diamond to catch the most light, giving the diamond the best sparkle possible. A four-prong setting shows a bit more diamond, while a six-prong setting offers a slightly more secure settings for your diamond.
Settings with Sidestones
A setting with additional diamonds or gemstones adds more sparkle or color. Channel settings protect sidestones from abrasions by keeping them flush. The bar-channel setting allows more light to enter the sidestones, and creates a scalloped edge of brilliance.
Three-Stone Settings
Three stone rings are also known as past, present, and future engagement rings, symbolizing eternal love. These types of engagement ring typically include a center diamond, with two smaller diamonds, or other precious stones, on either side.
Quality of the Diamond
Various characteristics of diamonds are graded and categorized by the diamond industry. Learning about diamonds is first learning about the "four Cs" of diamonds which are considered the most important grades and categories: Cut, Clarity, Color, Carat.
Cut
Cut is the only value factor that can be controlled by human hands. The qualities of a diamond in the rough can only be brought out by the work of a skilled artist. Before you see a sparkling diamond under the lights in your local jewelry store, it has already been shaped to stringent specifications by a skilled artisan, and given its beautiful polish.
The goal of the expert diamond cutter is to fashion a diamond that produces the most satisfying return of light to the eye within a pleasing symmetrical shape. All the while, the cutter is balancing the goal of attaining maximum brilliance and symmetry against the inevitable loss of weight necessitated by the very process of cutting.
Symmetry plays an important role in how light is returned to the eye, but it is also a characteristic to be considered on its own merits. Think of it as how closely the right side of the stone matches the left. Imagine placing a mirror on an imaginary line that runs through the center of the stone. The image in the mirror would correspond exactly to the half of the stone it reflects. In a perfectly symmetrical stone, the left and right side of the stone would be like mirror images of each other.
In addition to proportion and symmetry, how the diamond is polished affects the final cut grade, too. A well-polished diamond produces sharp sparkle and undistorted brilliance and fire. By contrast, even a well proportioned, symmetrical diamond can look dull or fuzzy if the polish is poor.
The most exquisitely cut round brilliant diamond, called the "ideal cut',' earns a 0 cut grade on the AGS Diamond Grading Scale of 0-10. The 0 cut grade is reserved for those round brilliant diamonds which conform to the cut dimensions calculated to produce maximum brilliance with a high degree of "fire" for the most beautiful return of light to the eye. It is a rare diamond that adheres absolutely to these rigorous standards. But the grades between 0 and 10 represent a broad spectrum of cutting characteristics for you to consider.
Clarity
Clarity characteristics are divided into two main groups: inclusions and blemishes. Inclusions are inside the stone; blemishes are on the surface.
There are many kinds of inclusions. Some are quite well-known and may be familiar to you: feathers, clouds, cavities, and the presence of crystals within the diamond.
Blemishes include characteristics such as abrasions, nicks, pits, scratches, and others as well. Since blemishes affect the polish, they are often counted under cut rather than clarity. (If so, they are not counted twice.)
Two tools are used for judging a diamond's clarity: magnification and the human eye. All American Gem Society grades are determined by a professional using a special stereoscopic zoom microscope.
It will be interesting and informative for you to ask your jeweler to show you your diamond under the gem microscope. With some helpful pointers about what to look for, and perhaps a plot map, you'll see the wonders that are hidden within your diamond.
If magnification to the tenth power under a gem microscope reveals nothing-no small feather, no tiny crystal-the diamond earns a Clarity Grade of 0, the grade for the most exquisitely clear diamonds.
If magnification reveals that light returning to your eye may be affected by one or more inclusions, the professional AGS jeweler determines the appropriate grade along the continuum of 0 to 10.
In addition to the microscope, the grader's skilled eye is another tool for judging clarity. If your jeweler can see a clarity characteristic without magnification, you can too. The presence of such a characteristic could cause the grade of the diamond to drop on down below the middle of the scale.
Remember, most diamonds have some inclusions. This doesn't mean that a diamond with an inclusion isn't a quality diamond. It does show that your AGS jeweler wants you to have all the facts necessary for you to make an informed decision.
Color
If you've ever tried to match the colors on the rack in a store with something in your closet at home, you know how deceptive color can be. Distinguishing color is not as easy as it seems at first glance. With diamonds, even small differences in color can make a big difference.
A colorless diamond is graced with that glorious display of light and prismatic colors for which diamonds are so highly prized. The presence of color then goes from barely discernable near colorless to light yellow or brown. Beyond a certain point, or with other colors such as green or red, a diamond is considered a fancy color.
Unless a diamond is a fancy color, the AGS Color Grading System places it on a 0 to 10 scale, to show the range from the rarer colorless diamonds to those diamonds with varying tinges of yellow or brown.
To find an accurate color grade, an AGS member jeweler compares each stone to a set of Masterstones which have been graded according to AGS standards. It is part of an AGS member store's commitment to maintain a minimum of three, and frequently five, masterstones specifically for grading purposes.
Masterstones are diamonds, not cubic zirconia (CZ). Ask any jeweler to show you the Masterstone Set by which their diamonds are color graded. Maybe you won't be able to discern the fine color differentiations between the stones, but you will certainly get a glimpse of that store's commitment to professionalism. If they take the trouble and bear the expense of maintaining a set of Masterstones, you get a sense of their dedication.
Carat
The cut, color, and clarity grades each have an effect on the value of a diamond, but the weight of the diamond has a significant effect on its value, too. The discerning buyer considers all four factors.
You're probably familiar with the term carat, the unit of measurement used to indicate the weight of gemstones. (This should not be confused with karat, the term jewelers use when stating the relative fineness of gold.)
You want to be sure your jeweler is clear about the terms that are used in reference to the weight of a diamond. One carat is equal to 1/5 of a gram. For diamonds less than one carat, weights can be expressed in terms of halves and quarters (as long as they are at least half or a quarter). For more precision, the carat can be divided into 100 points. Thus, a 10 point diamond is 1/10 of a carat.
Since small variations in weight can make big differences in price, you want to be sure that your diamond has been weighed in a precise and repeatable manner. AGS member jewelers weigh unmounted diamonds on an electronic scale capable of weighing as accurately as .002 (two one-thousandths) of a carat. No jeweler should be reluctant to show you how the weight of the stone you are looking at was arrived at.
The most important thing to know about weight is that weight isn't everything. You may come into your local jewelry store with a half carat or one carat stone in mind. That's fine. But you may be faced with a choice between a one carat stone of lesser value than a 90 point stone with higher grades for cut, color, and clarity. Sometimes less is more, even in the world of diamonds. Be flexible-you may get a more pleasing stone.
Of course, a well-cut, high grade, one carat diamond will certainly be more valuable than a similarly cut high grade 90 point stone. And, because of its rarity, a two carat well-cut highly graded diamond will be worth much more than twice what a one carat stone would cost.
Ask for a certificate and an appraisal.
As you are choosing the ring, you should have an appraisal done in order to determine the value of the diamond engagement ring. Ask your jeweler if the diamond has been treated by any type of laboratory enhancements or fillers. If it has not been treated, then the jeweler should give you a certificate of authenticity. If you choose to have your ring insured, then this paperwork will be very important.
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