Tips for Buying the Perfect Engagement Ring
What a wonderful time – you’ve decided to propose to the one you love! Now you need to select the perfect engagement ring and we’re here to help guide you through this exciting, yet daunting task. Here are our 10 top tips for buying the perfect engagement ring.
1. Do your Research
Keep in mind the style of the person you are buying the ring for as they will be wearing it for the rest of their life. Find out exactly what they would like – if you feel confident with what that is already, that’s absolutely perfect! But if not, take a look at the style of jewellery they enjoy wearing. If you are still unsure, employ the help of best friends or close family. These are the people who will be best placed to comment!
2. Shape
This can be one of the most difficult aspects of the process as there are so many to choose from. If you’ve never thought about the shape of a ring before and suddenly you’re deciding between an Asscher and princess cut, we understand that can be slightly overwhelming!
We would advise a marquise cut ring like these – the diamond has an elongated shape with pointed ends. This is a beautiful and romantic choice as a marquise-shaped diamond makes a dazzling centrepiece to any engagement ring.
3. Sizing
This is an important one! Now you have the perfect shape you need to find out the ring size. Either borrow a ring they wear and take it to a jeweller for help or use a size guide. If you don’t think you can get away with this level of sneaking around then, again, get a friend involved. They could go shopping together, pop in a jewellery shop, and before you know it, your spy has the ring size information without rousing any suspicion.
4. Select your metal
Do they usually wear yellow gold jewellery? If that’s the case it’s probably not a great idea to buy a platinum engagement ring. Choose what you already know suits them and they enjoy wearing. Gold and platinum are two of the hardest precious metals you can use in jewellery and gold is extremely versatile as it’s available in three different colours with a price range to suit all budgets.
5. Invest in quality
Buy the best ring you can for your budget. This piece of jewellery will hopefully be on their hand for a very long time so it will need to be of high quality to withstand constant wear.
6. Research online
To avoid becoming overwhelmed by all the choice you’ll have in front of you, take some time to have a scout around online first. That way you’ll have an idea of what to look out for and what to say when you visit a jeweller. Whatever you do, make sure you see the ring in person to make sure it’s as beautiful as it looks online before you buy it!
7. The Jeweller
This will hopefully be the first and last time you look for an engagement ring, so you’ll want a jeweller you can feel comfortable with. If you can’t ask questions and you feel rushed you’ll be in danger of making the wrong choices.
8. Guarantee
Part of finding a jeweller you can trust is also ensuring they offer a guarantee against manufacturing faults. You’re parting with a lot of hard earned money for an important piece of jewellery, you have to make sure you’re covered.
9. Take out Insurance
The jeweller’s guarantee only covers you for damage caused by manufacturing faults so you will need to take out insurance for the ring. If you lose it or it gets damaged, the only way to cover you is with an insurance policy.
10. Consider a Temporary Option
If you’re still unsure and worried about getting it wrong then consider a temporary ring. That way you’ll have something gorgeous for the proposal and they’ll have something to adorn their hand until you go shopping together to find something perfect.
Many thanks to Debbie Fletcher for this article.
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