How To Choose The Engagement Ring Of Her Dreams | Engagement Ring Shopping Tips
An engagement ring is one of the biggest purchases you’ll make in your life. It’s more than just a pretty piece of jewellery. It’s a symbol of your love, and a reflection of your fiancée’s personality. It’s understandable if the thought of purchasing one makes you nervous, but don’t worry – you’re not alone! Below we’ll be sharing our top engagement ring shopping tips to boost your confidence and make your experience more enjoyable.
Learn how to choose the engagement ring of her dreams with our helpful guide!
How Much Should You Spend On An Engagement Ring?
You may have heard the “3 months’ salary” rule, but we believe that this is an outdated tradition. Your budget should reflect your personal financial situation instead of catering to an old saying.
At L’Excellence, we believe that choosing an engagement ring that your fiancée genuinely loves is the most important thing to consider. After all, this is a ring that she’ll be wearing for decades to come. The most expensive ring might not be to her taste!
You won’t have to sacrifice quality or style when you shop with us. By selecting our high quality diamonds and gemstones at the source, we eliminate middlemen and are able to offer accessible pricing for our fine jewellery. Give her the beautiful ring she deserves without breaking the bank.
Which Engagement Ring Shape Should You Choose?
The first thing you’ll want to do is choose the shape of your central gemstone, as it will be a direct reflection of your fiancée’s personal style.
There are 12 main shapes you can choose from:
Each diamond shape has its own distinct aesthetic features, and is cut in a specific way to highlight certain features.
- The brilliant cut technique optimises the 58 facets of the diamond for maximum fire, brilliance, and scintillation.
- The step cut style draws parallel lines, creating a high level of transparency and a subtle display of light reflection.
- The mixed cut combines the geometrical lines of the step cut and the intense sparkle of the brilliant round cut.
Not sure which shape your bride-to-be will like the most? Look to her existing wardrobe and jewellery collection for inspiration. Ask yourself the following questions to determine her personal aesthetic:
- Does she like dainty or statement jewellery?
- Does her closet contain a lot of colour, or is it mostly filled with neutrals?
- How would you describe her style in one word? Girly, bohemian, minimalist, edgy, or artistic?
Hopefully you now have a good idea of your fiancée’s style preferences, you can choose the perfect shape for her.
- Brilliant Round Diamond: This shape offers the highest amount of brilliance and light reflection. It offers a dazzling showcase of lights and sparkle, making it the most popular diamond shape for engagement rings.
Best for: Traditional brides who value classic romance. - Brilliant Princess Diamond: The distinctive square princess cut creates a contemporary feeling. It brings out an intense level of sparkle, just like the brilliant round diamond.
Best for: Modern, minimalist brides. - Brilliant Cushion Diamond: The curved cushion shape is a hybrid of the Princess and Round cuts with soft, rounded edges.
Best for: Romantic brides with a vintage aesthetic. - Brilliant Oval Diamond: The oval shape appeals to those who enjoy classic shapes with a contemporary twist. It gives an extraordinary level of shine while elongating the finger.
Best for: Modern, trendsetting brides. - Brilliant Marquise Diamond: The marquise is a boat-shaped brilliant cut diamond with pointed ends. It’s named after the Marquise of Pompadour, and is said to represent the shape of her mouth. Marquise cut diamonds offer a captivating brilliance alongside a regal flair.
Best for: Bold brides who prefer the finer things in life. - Brilliant Pear Diamond: The pear shape combines the soft, round finish of an oval with the sharp end of a marquise, perfect for rich and multifaceted personalities.
Best for: Unique brides that value self-expression over tradition. - Step-Cut Emerald Diamond: For a timeless and vintage-inspired look, the emerald cut enhances transparency and clarity with its open table, elongated rectangular shape and cropped corners. A favourite of Hollywood stars, the emerald cut is gaining popularity amongst couples.
Best for: Chic brides who prefer understated elegance. - Step-Cut Asscher Diamond: An art deco style of the 1920s and 1930s, the Asscher cut evokes an old world elegance. It resembles a square Emerald cut with deep cut corners.
Best for: Vintage lovers and trendsetting brides. - Mixed Cut Radiant Diamond: The radiant cut combines the geometrical lines of the emerald cut with cropped corners and the sparkling brilliance of the round brilliant cut, creating an incredibly harmonious appearance.
Best for: Outgoing, glamorous brides.
Once you’ve determined the right shape, you can focus on the quality of the stone itself.
What Are The 4 Cs?
The 4Cs (Carat, Clarity, Colour, and Cut) play a key role in a diamond’s appearance. They define a diamond’s most important characteristics and make it unique. Here’s what they mean:
Carat
The carat is a unit of weight that determines the dimensions of a diamond. One metric carat is equal to 200 milligrams. The higher the carat size, the bigger the diamond will be.
Clarity
A diamond’s clarity measures how visually clean its surface is. The grade is determined by assessing the number of natural inclusions, or imperfections, as well as their size and position in the diamond.
The clarity scale varies from:
- FL, IF (Flawless)
- VVS1, VVS2 (Very Very Small Inclusions)
- VS1, VS2 (Very Small Inclusions)
- S1, S2, S3 (Small Inclusions)
- I1, I2, I3 (Inclusions).
An expert assessment of clarity is vital. Inclusions cannot be seen by the naked eye for clarity grades above VS1, and even less so when it goes below VS2 on the grading scale. At L’Excellence, we recommend a clarity of VS2 or above.
Colour
Colour rates how “white” or colourless the diamond is, although diamonds can also come in vibrant hues like pink, yellow, or blue. “White” diamonds are graded from D to Z, with D being the purest colourless option and Z being yellow tinted.
- D, E, F – Colourless
- G, H, I, J – Nearly colourless
At L’Excellence, we recommend a colour above G grade for engagement rings.
Cut
The cut refers to the quality of the cutting stage of the diamond. It is an essential criteria to ensure the reflection of lights on the diamond facets. There are four cut grades:
- Excellent
- Very Good
- Good
- Poor
At L’Excellence, we always recommend the triple Excellent Cut hand-selected by our expert gemmologists.
Certification
The diamond 4Cs are included in its certification report from the GIA (The Gemmological Institute of America), the most recognized institute on the global market.
At L’Excellence, we only carry GIA certified diamonds that have been meticulously handpicked by our expert gemmologists.
