Ok, so ladies, engagement ring questions...?

Question

As far as the diamond goes, list in order what's most important to you of the 3 c's - cut, carat, clarity, color...

I meant 4 c's...hit the wrong key...

Answer 1

Let me tell you

1) Color - is your love old and yellowed or bright & young
1)Clarity - Clear and honest, or Cloudy and lies
1)Cut - Does it match her or did you just point and say that one's good enough
2)Carat -

No girl who loves you will care about the size, you can always buy a bigger stone later, just get what you can afford right now. SOme girl claim that unless it's 3 carats or bigger he don't love you, but trust me you do not want to marry one of these girls (they're usually spinsters in old age anyway)

Rule of thumb: Spend 2-3 Months pay on the ring. Buy the most perfect diamond you can afford size is that last thing she'll care about. "It may be small, but it gets the job done and it's perfect in every other way"

Answer 2

I just went through this with my fiancé and honestly, it came from him so I love it above any other ring in the world!

Sit down and talk together about some things - girls LOVE this kind of stuff, even if it's just talk. Don't worry, or sweat any of it, it'll come together.

To me, I was just head over heals with the idea of an oval cut because it isn't a pop cut, it compliments my man-hands and seems a bit vintage-classic to me, but I wasn't going to die if that wasn't meant to be. The cut really should try to compliment her hand, but sometimes she's stuck on an idea: a princess cut on short, wide hands isn't helping... while a marquis (pointed oval) makes svelte fingers look even sticklier.

The next 2 are tricky, but I put it up realistically. No one outside the 2 of you is going to put any ring up to the light, pull out an electron microscope, or even get closer than 12 inches to it. Inclusions - the clarity - weren’t as important to me as the color. When I walk into a room, no one yet has said anything about a feather under one of the prongs, but I have heard many an “OMG it's sparkly and shiny and beautiful!” Putting a yellowish diamond on that has a perfect cut and is absolutely flawless, 'pales' in comparison to a great cut with speckles that shines like hell and is clear as day.

Once you figure out what your priorities are (asking her opinion is never a bad thing), then you can have an idea of this or that cut, with a color of [letter] or better, and a clarity of [VVS2, SI1, whatever] or better. This is the time when you budget for carat and get the biggest one you can afford that is set within your ideals. Sometimes that's .25 carats, other times is 2.5 carats or 25 carats!

Don't be afraid to browse eBay to see what things may cost - but don't trust it completely either - it's just some easy shopping from home without a salesperson’s pressure. They have a great diamond search that lets you narrow it down by the 5 C's (don't forget Cost!) so you don't have to shuffle through things that are absurd to you.

I've also included a link to Tiffany & Co.'s website on their diamonds and settings. I'm NOT trying to sell you a Tiffany ring! Oh goodness, no! But they do have very strict standards and do something almost no other jeweler will do - explain WHY it is a standard and WHY this tiny little part of the ring is important to have a standard. It will help you exponentially when shopping on your own and being able to see when you're being hosed or when you've stumbled upon a great thing!!

Lastly, please consider how long you'd like her to wear this ring. My grandparents are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary this July and my grandmother's rings have been rubbing together for just that long... over the years it has ground the 18K yellow gold down on the touching sides to create 2 "1/2" rings! While my grandfather has always wanted to get these replaced, she would have no other ring than her actual engagement ring and their actual wedding bands - of course! There are 2 solutions to this: having the bands welded together (it's a lot classier than it sounds; a decent jeweler can make it look like a magic trick that they're not coming apart) after the wedding, and would be cheaper than option 2... A sturdier metal like platinum, titanium or something of the like that will stand the tests of time.

Take a deep breath and don't worry. It's from you; she'll love it!!

Answer 3

My fiance let me pick out my ring (which I LOVE!). It has over 60 diamonds (small of course) and one big one. It's 3 carats and brilliant! There are a few of the smaller diamonds that are a little off color and pretty dark, but I just think of it like our love life. Not every moment is going to be good, but we always work through them. I think as long as you do your best to pick what you think she will love, she will adore it (and you!). I guess it's really a matter of personal taste. Does she want bling or does she want a perfect diamond? Hearts on fire diamonds are gorgeous (but pricey) maybe try asking the jeweler if they have any surplus rings that you can get for cheaper? That way you could get bigger stones for cheaper!

Answer 4

Color (must be white) cut (in my opinior princess cut) clarity (not really important at all) and carat (no one really even knows what carat means, much less can look at a ring and tell the diamond carat)

Answer 5

For me..

Cut: it has to at least appeal to me in the shape, or else I wont be inclined to wear it.
Clarity: A pretty cut with no sheen isn't pretty at all.
Carat: I prefer small diamonds to large ones - a tiny round diamond in a marquis setting is really nice
color: If it has a bit of color, it adds a unique feel to it. It doesnt have to be a white diamond...as a matter of fact, I'd prefer something a little darker.

Answer 6

My fiance told me the most important thing is the cut. Then color, then clarity and then carat. I got a 1.05 ct. beautifully cut V V S1 color F, and although it is not as big as some of my friends (who got bigger diamonds), mine is definitely prettier, clearer and sparkles in any light.

Answer 7

I really wanted an oval cut... and I wanted at least one carat. So that was the most important to me.... my color of my ring is really high but it does have a tiny flaw in it but you can't see it unless it's magnified by 100.

I would say cut is the first most important.

Answer 8

While I can certainly understand the reasoning for your question, I can only answer for myself.

For me, none of it matters. I have had the big, fancy ring and I have had the small cubic zirconia.

Guess which one meant more to me. The small one because of the sentiment behind it.

It's nice to have the big one, but does that really define your feelings? I would hope not. Why not get a small, perfect diamond and save the rest for a wonderful, one-of-a-kind honeymoon to celebrate your first days as husband and wife.

Answer 9

Honest to gosh, what mattered was that he chose it, and it was the symbolism of the whole thing. You can get huge diamonds that are flawed, or small diamonds that are near perfect. There are cubic zirconias that look better than diamonds.
My husband got me a solitaire with two smaller shoulder stones, with a "flat" yellow gold band. I love it to pieces.
Only get what you can afford; don't go into debt over jewellery, for gosh' sake.

Answer 10

Some women would rather have a perfect diamond with no flaws even if it is smaller. Some want the biggest and figure no one will notice.