Can someone explain the whole "shopping for an engagement ring" process?

Question

I need to know the steps i take into buying a wedding ring. How much am i gonna have to pay down? Whats a appropriate price range? I was thinking around 7000-8000.

ok the consensus is that 7-8 is too much for a ring. I just thought that was the appropriate range. Thanks for the answers every1...keep em coming!

No i am nowhere NEAR rich. If i was I'd prolly know what i was doing.

If I let her pick the ring, how am i supposed to surprise her with the engagement!??!

Answer 1

first you settle on the price, which you have $7000
next you should only buy 1 carat or bigger, a almost perfekt diamond is GIA Rated about $15,000, try BuleNile.com
worry about the stone NOT the setting
DEpending on your salary you could get a 1/2 carat really nice stone for about $10,000

I agree with Jimena and Kelly below...
...

Answer 2

First, figure out what you can afford. Don't worry about what you're supposed to spend. A lot of people say that two month's salary is good. But if that's too much, then go for less. It is normal for you to have to make a few payments, though;. You'll probably end up spending about $3,000 on a wedding set (both the engagement and wedding rings).

Next, if you want this to truly be a surprise, get in contact with a very good friend of hers that can keep a secret. Get this friend to find out, or tell you, what type of ring your girl would like. For example, solitare or 3-stone. You might already know this already.

Then, go to some jewelry stores and ask to look at wedding sets. In my opinion, sets are the best because you know that the engagement ring will look good with the wedding band, because most women wear them together after getting married. Make sure they don't pressure you into going above your price range. And remember that the naked eye isn't going to be able to see the clarity differences that the salespeople will talk about.

Then, go to another jewelry store. Try to hit about three, and then narrow your choice down. Get the friend to swipe one of your girl's rings so that you know what size to buy. Then order the ring and start making payments.

It's not too difficult. Just remember to not let yourself get pressured into something you can't afford. If your girl is right for you, she'll love the ring that you can reasonably give her.

Answer 3

that's rather expensive, but if that's your salary for 2 months, you have a lucky lady.

I agree that the stone is the most important part of the ring, not the setting. Clarity is important, but unless you just want to impress an IF (internally flawless) isn't necessary. There's a lot of extra expense, and no one will be able to tell between an IF and a VVS2 (very, very, slighty included to the second power).

The cut is rather important. You can get a large, at least 3 carats, low grade stone of SI2 or SI3 (slightly included to the 2nd and 3rd power) if you get it in the brilliant cut, which is typically round. In my opinion SI2 and SI3 aren't very nice, but the brillant cut hides the flaws. The cut that will show the flaws (if any) in the stone is the emerald cut. I have a rather nice, VSI2 (G in color) emerald cut diamond. You need a microscope to see the flaws in my diamond.

Color is also important. D is the highest and clearest grade of color and gradually gets murkier towards J-M. So F, G, and H are nice colors. There are also fancy colored diamonds. Blues, reds (very expensive, and what normal person knows the difference between a red diamond and a ruby?), yellows, browns. Some stones are irradiated to achieve their color, some are not.

There's also a grade of cut in relation to the proportions of the stone. They vary from excellent, to fair, or poor. No one is going to get out a caliper to measure the stone, but a poor cut will have an effect on the sparkle of the ring.

Of course there is the style of the cut to consider as well. Old fashioned people usually like a princess, asscher, or cushion. You probably know what style she'll like by now anyways.

So the bottom line is: You can get a large bad color and grade, or a tiny flawless, or you can get a nice size with very minor flaws that no one can see with a good color.

Or get some other stone. The corundum family (rubies, sapphires, have many different natural colors) Use the same rules of grading diamonds to grade these stones.

Hope this helps. Best wishes to you both, and congratulations

Answer 4

Save up until you have two months salary. And by the way, you can NEVER spend too much on a ring. She has to wear this for life, and if you spent 7 or 8 g's, you would BOTH look pimp.

The process depends on her. If she's controlling, you either better do some research and fin out what she likes, or else let her choose it. Be sure to get a solitaire; it looks bigger and more impressive (and imp, more elegant!) than those tacky 3-stone rings (which, btw, are actually anniversary rings, lol). And most women prefer anything other than yellow gold, and they prefer either a round or square cut. You can't go wrong with this. (My fiance pretty much knew my taste and then chose a gorgeous, square-cut (also called princess cut), simple white gold solitaire. Beautiful!

Answer 5

Your best bet is take her shopping for for the ring. Let her pick the ring she wants to put on her finger. This will save you lots of head ache in the future. As far a price for this diamond? You should not go cheap on a diamond. A diamond is one of the first things that people look at on a females finger. Even women look at other females ring.
The price of 7000-8000 dollars is a good price to start, but it wont get you a good quality diamond.

Answer 6

Hi! The appropriate price range depends on how much you make (and of course, how much you want to spend). Most guys spend around 2-3 months salary. $7K-8K will buy a pretty nice ring. How much you will need to pay down depends on where you buy your ring from.

You can choose whether to purchase a complete ring, or whether you want to buy a diamond and a setting separately, and then have a jeweler mount the stone on the setting. IMHO it's cheaper to buy the stone separately. They mark up those diamonds like crazy at the engagement ring stores. My husband bought my setting at Robbins Brothers, which I think has far and above the best selection of e-rings of all the stores here in San Diego. He bought the diamond from Blue Nile. Of course you could also buy your diamond from a place like the Diamond Exchange or something, just make sure that you get your GIA/EGL certificate and an appraisal after the diamond ships to verify the information that the shipper sends to you (and also for engagement purposes).

If you want to be really secretive and not let any of your fiancee's friends or family know, get one of her rings and press it in between two bars of soap to get a good idea of her ring size. Or take her ring and see where it stops on your finger to guess the size. Hopefully you have some idea of her taste, which will help you to select a wedding band that's right for her. Some girls like a solitaire, others don't...depends on the girl. And platinum versus gold is another thing to consider...platinum is more valuable and more durable, but if you're like me and all of your jewelry is gold, you prefer a gold band because it's easier to match to the rest of your jewelry (and your watch). So just keep in mind what kind of jewelry and watch she already owns when picking the e-ring setting.

Oh! And another reason to be cautious when buying a complete e-ring: it's more difficult to see the inclusions/defects in the diamond when the diamond has already been mounted.

If you buy from a traditional jeweler, there IS room for negotiation. Don't just pay the price they initially quote you.

And do LOTS of research. Find out the best kind of diamond you can afford in terms of the 4 C's. Price will vary depending on the combination of carat, cut, clarity, and color. How sparkly the diamond is depends on a good cut, so be sure to get a good cut. As for clarity, the less inclusions the better. Your jeweler will let you view the inclusions in any diamond you consider buying under a loupe, so you can see the inclusions in detail. In general, the clearer the diamond the better (in terms of color) - unless you're willing to really break the bank and go for an exotic, non-traditional white diamond. For carat, I think if your girlfriend is a professional working at an office and making a decent amount of money, you should strive for no smaller than a carat. My girlfriends who have gotten engaged have all been satisfied with a carat, or disappointed with less. You definitely want to give her something that she'll be proud to show off.

Best of luck with your research!!!

Answer 7

Okay coming from a girl who has a 15000 dollar ring, I don't think 7 to 8 is too much.... You can get your fiance a nice 1 carat ring with that money.... and she would love it.... You only get married once, so the ring is an investment. You can put money down. Most places do financing so you can put a couple hundred or a thousand down and then make payments. YOu can even make payments together after you have given her the ring... but I say go for it... she will love it!!!!! A nice good ring cost's money.

Answer 8

I always heard that an appropriate amount to spend on an engagement ring was the total of one months salary. I believe thats what my husband spent around $3,500 which is about one month of his salary, mines a full carat white gold, and more than I would have ever expected. But if you can afford 7-8k for it and want to give her something like that, go for it. I would think the money down would depend on your credit and the cost of the ring. Good luck and Congrats!

Answer 9

i pass to get a tonne of thumbs downs for this, yet diamonds are a rip off first of all. One reason i do unlike diamonds is by the fact the marketplace has created a "fake rarity." incredibly, they are announcing that diamonds are "uncommon" while in certainty there are vaults of them. This jacks the costs up. you're able to desire to seem around at a kind of shops and ask for evaluations from pals. Spence Diamonds is between the superb places to pass in Canada yet i do no longer understand in the event that they have that save in the U. S.. you will discover sturdy bargains observing the size and the three Cs (decrease, readability, coloration).

Answer 10

I agree with some people above, let her pick the ring She likes, at the end is "her" ring and She is the one that is gonna be wearing it all the time. Price wise? Go with whatever you feel comfortable but be smart. You can find a very nice "ideal cut" diamonds at Jared, they run between 2300 and up, they have lots of sparkles without being to expensive. Good luck!