How to buy an engagement ring
A quick guide to things you need to consider
If you’ve already started researching how to approach buying an engagement ring, you’ve probably already been overwhelmed by the deluge of online information. So here is my quick guide to the seven most important things you need to consider:
Personal style
Before anything else, if you buy this ring as a surprise, make sure you know your loved one’s style. Observe what type of jewellery she normally likes to wear. Is it Classic? Minimal, Modern? Big and bold? What is her preferred metal – white gold, yellow gold or platinum? Do you know if she has a preference when it comes to gemstones?
These things are essential to consider because, remember, this ring will be worn every day and shown off numerous times, so it is necessary that the wearer loves it.
Budget
If you need to be on a budget (which most of us do), be realistic. I disregard the common ‘two-month salary’ rule and say ‘buy what you can afford. Even if you have a small budget, you can still buy premium quality, beautifully handcrafted rings. Quality over quantity and purchased from a reputable jeweler who can offer a good aftercare service.
Where to buy
Whether you are looking online or offline, make sure that the jeweler you purchase from is also a certified gemmologist. It is necessary to make sure you are getting a genuine gemstone. The diamonds and coloured gemstones offered on our website are ethically sourced and specially chosen by myself to ensure they are 100% natural and provided at the best price for their quality.
Ensure what you are buying with a certificate – a certificate does not represent a diamond’s excellent quality. Instead, the certification reflects a diamond’s characteristics like color, clarity, cut, shape and measurements.
At andrasteine.com, each piece of jewelry comes with a jewelry certification too. Each certificate presents the weight of the ring and characteristics of the centre stone and the side stone (if applicable).
Color before clarity
In general, the highest quality diamonds are colorless whereas lower quality diamonds can have a yellow tint. A flawless (no inclusions) and colorless diamond is very expensive but looking at the ‘color’ grade first can help you select a diamond that is colorless to the naked eye. Graded from D to Z, you’ll find that D, E and F are considered the colorless ‘color’ diamonds whilst the ‘clarity’ grade of SI1 or SI2 are perfectly sufficient yet considerably more reasonable in price compared to a flawless diamond.
Big brands aren’t always better
Be aware that buying from a big brand might mean that some of your budget is going towards buying into the prestige and marketing of that brand. If your priority is the quality of the diamond, but you are on a budget, then many small bespoke jewelers can provide you with your desired engagement ring. At Andra Steine Jewelry, we pride ourselves on being personal and attentive to detail and able to offer handcrafted engagement rings of excellent quality with carefully selected gemstones.
Diamond fluorescence
Many people from the industry consider ‘fluorescence’ a negative but the truth is, it is not always the case. A strong fluorescence can make a yellow stone look whiter. A fainter fluorescence won’t affect the color or clarity of the stone so much but may affect the value. The only time you might want to be concerned is when a strong fluorescence makes the diamond look milky.
