How to Buy an Engagement Ring [Ultimate Guide]

If you are feeling anxious and unable to shake the feeling of worry off of your mind because you need to start looking for Engagement Rings, worry no more because we have compiled the steps to buying diamond engagement and wedding band rings for both you and your partner.

After you and your partner have gone through the romantic and exciting moment of the surprise proposal, the prospective bride will be filled with joy from the engagement she received and the prospective groom may feel relief – that he and his partner have finally reached this happy point. But actually, the proposal and the engagement is only the starting point of preparing everything for the wedding, there are many steps to come!

One of the most important components of a wedding that you and your partner must find before the date arrives is finding a pair of couple engagement and wedding rings that are appropriate as a symbol of you and your partner’s love.

Some couples may feel unsure about buying engagement rings because they do not know where to start looking. Only a few select minorities will have previous experiences in dealing with this subject matter, but do not worry because today we have compiled the steps to selecting the rings. This guide will enable you to find and select wedding rings that are truly suited to you and your partner’s upcoming marriage.

But before we take a look at the mentioned steps, let us take a look at the differences between engagement rings and wedding rings.

The Differences Between Engagement Rings and Wedding Rings

In simple easy-to-understand terms, the differences between both types of rings are:

• Engagement rings are used during the proposal and engagement period, it is a ring that you or your partner will receive before a wedding happens.
• Wedding rings are exchanged between the bride and the groom on the wedding date. Wedding rings that come in a pair will usually have similar characteristics, they will also look wonderful when worn with the engagement ring. Most wedding rings will have a simpler look than the engagement rings.

However, this tradition is considered a Western one. For most Thai couples, buying 2-in-1 rings is the norm. What that means is that the engagement ring and the wedding ring are the same ring, therefore you will have the option to design your wedding ring to fit your own style, neglecting the usual simpler style of most wedding rings.

When Should You Start Looking for Wedding Rings?

You should start looking for wedding rings at least 2 months before the wedding ceremony. This is so that you and your partner as well as the event organizer will have ample time to plan ahead during the wait for the wedding rings.

But if you are still unsure of what style of wedding rings you want, we recommend to try on the engagement ring for 2-3 months before contacting a jeweler to ordering diamond rings because an engagement ring will usually have similar characteristics to a wedding, after having worn it for a while you will start to see what style of wedding rings you and your partner will want.

And once you are ready to start searching for wedding ring styles, we can start taking a look at the steps to ordering a pair of wedding rings.

1. Set a Budget in Mind

The first thing you must consider when looking for wedding rings is the budget. You should select a budget you feel comfortable spending on your wedding rings so that you will not have to spend time overthinking about the budget.

Even though setting a budget for wedding rings is not a romantic step at all, it is still considered an important step that will dictate the rest of the steps to buying your wedding rings.

Most people will remember the rule of buying wedding rings as setting the budget for them as 2 months of your salary, at the minimum. But actually, this rule does not apply for all situations for all couples, because each couple’s income will vary as well as their money spending behavior.

A better way is to try calculating the costs of the rings and see if it is an amount that you can easily make back within 1 year. What that means is that if you paid for the wedding rings in case, in 1 year you will have enough income to cover the costs of the rings. The faster you can cover this cost, the less you will be stressed out on the long-term financials of your married life.

And so an easy formula to calculate the costs of your wedding rings are as follows:
(Total income per month – Total expense per month) x 12

Or if you want a more detailed way to calculate the costs of the wedding rings, you can take a look here.

2. Select a Diamond Ring Style

Once you have set the budget, it is now time to select the general style of your weddings – what would you prefer, plain rings or ring settings that put their diamond on display.

This is entirely up to your personal preferences, you should select the style you like most and fits your personality best, the ring should be in the style that you feel excited about wearing.

Each style of wedding rings will display the personality of their wearers in these ways:

• Solitaire Rings: Is considered a classic style that will always appear elegant when worn. The style consists of a single diamond at the center of the ring.
• Pavé Rings: This style of wedding rings will have secondary diamonds which will help make the center diamond pop brilliantly, this style is appropriate for modern women who are already fabulous in themselves.
• Halo Rings: This design will help to make the center diamond appear larger and more brilliant, it is suitable for socialites who love fashion.
• Three Stone Rings: With its large center diamond that is accompanied by two smaller diamonds on the sides, they serve as symbols of the past, the present, and the future with their lover. It is suitable for women who have strength in themselves and love adventures.
• Vintage Rings: The vintage style rings will have unique patterns that are like no other styles, this style is suitable for women who are romantic and want to be themselves. The diamonds that are used can be cut in a modern way, making this vintage style diamond rings even more brilliant and outstanding.

Read more: In-depth look at 15 popular engagement ring styles

3. Select the Quality of the Diamonds

Select the Shape of the Diamonds

There are around 10 shapes of diamond, each shape will also show different sides of our personalities – you can select the shape of your diamonds based on your personal liking.

The most popular diamond shape is the round brilliant diamond, which after the cutting process will have the most brilliance and fire.

Browse our selection of certified diamonds: HERE

Other designs that are considered less popular are the fancy shape diamonds such as the Princess Cut which has been designed to have four edges, giving it an extravagant look that can fit with all ring styles – a look of classic elegance.

Or if you want your wedding rings to be completely unique, the Emerald Cut diamonds that have a rectangular shape, giving it a reflection effect similar to a looking glass which is unlike any other effects of other diamond shapes.

Examine the Quality of the Diamond With the Principles of 4Cs

Now that you have decided on the style of your wedding rings, it is time to select the diamonds to be set into them.

At this point, I want to emphasize the budget you have set earlier. Selecting a diamond that is valuable and of high quality will depend on the 4Cs of Diamonds – Carat, Cut, Color, and Clarity.

Carat: 

The first thing you should look at is the carat of the diamond you want. Each diamond carat will have its own pricing. The size of a diamond will have the most effect on its pricing, the bigger the carat – the higher the price and the more eye-catching your ring will be.

Read more: Our 2020 buying guide to 1 carat diamonds

Cut: 

The diamond’s ability to sparkle brilliantly depends on its ability to pass light and reflecting it to create said sparkle. The factor dictating this beauty is the quality of the diamond’s cut. If the diamond’s cut is of the highest quality, your diamond will be able to sparkle more radiantly than any other.

In examining the cut of a diamond, you will have to dive deeper than just the shape of it. You will have to see how the diamond interacts with lights and shadows, a skilled artisan will be able to cut the diamond to proportion so that it is brilliant and absolutely eye-catching from every viewing angle.

The main factors you will have to examine are the white light which reflects from the diamond (Brightness), the dispersion of light from the diamond (Fire), and the amount of sparkle the diamond can produce.

The cut quality may be difficult to examine with just your bare eyes, it would be better if you consult the diamond’s GIA diamond report to see its cut quality.

And we recommend that, regardless of your budget, you should always choose diamonds with the “Excellent” cutting grade to ensure that the diamond you receive will be worthy of the budget you are spending.

As for Above Diamond, we always give priority to the Cut of the diamond.

Read more: What Are Triple Excellent Diamonds? Let’s Get to Know Them!

Color:

The best color grade of a diamond is colorless. Diamonds that are pure in color will be able to reflect light excellently.

The best color grade of diamonds are D Color grade diamonds, as the alphabet progresses down so will the decrease in the diamond’s color grade, ending at “Z” color grade which will have a muddier color of light brown or light yellow. The color grade of a diamond will be clearly stated in the diamond certificate.

Read more: What are ‘D Color Grade’ diamonds and are they worth buying?

Clarity:

Examining the clarity of your diamond is examining the flaws of your diamond. D color grade diamonds that are flawless are considered very rare. The clarity grades in the following order:

• Flawless (FL): Completely without flaws.
• Internally Flawless (IF): Completely without flaws internally.
• Very, Very Slightly Included (VVS1 and VVS2): Slight flaws that are barely visible under magnification.
• Very Slightly Included (VS1 and VS2): Visible flaws under magnification, still considered as slight flaws.
• Slightly Included (SI1 and SI2): The internal flaws are seen under magnification.
• Included (I1, I2, and I3): The flaws are easily visible under magnification and directly affect the clarity and brilliance of the diamond.

Read more: Facts you should know about IF, VVS, VS, SI clarity diamonds

Choose the Ring’s Material

Choosing the different materials to mix and match with the overall design of your diamond will give your ring different looks and styles. The maintenance methods will also vary according to the materials used.

You can select the materials from your budget and likings. They are as follows.

• Gold: Made up of pure 18k gold.
• White Gold: Is also an 18k gold but because of its white color, it will fit with the diamond better than yellow gold. Its price is lower than platinum but its characteristics are very similar.
• Rose Gold: Is an 18k gold that gives off the feeling of warmth and romance. It is made from combining yellow gold and copper together, creating its rose gold color.
• Platinum: Is one of the rarest metals in the world, even more so than gold. With its natural white color, it does not need to be plated with any additional color-changing substances. But because of its higher buying costs and lower resale costs, it is not popular in Thailand.

Read more: White gold, platinum, 90% Gold, 18k Gold… what’s the difference?

Conclusion: Selecting Wedding Rings Is Not as Difficult as It Seems

Once the day when you have to make your decision on selecting your wedding rings arrives, do not be afraid. Set your mind straight and have an honest talk to your partner on what your combined budget is like. Find out what style of wedding rings will mean most to both of you. After that, walk into a distinguished diamond shop, select a high-quality diamond that is up to standards and within your budget.

And just like that, your wedding is coming closer to completion with your wedding rings to symbolize the love you share with each other.

And if you are looking for brilliant diamonds with reasonable prices, you can contact Above Diamond right now.