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You want to buy diamond engagement rings.

This can be a difficult emotional and financial decision that deserves careful consideration.

That is why this concise guide wants to offer you:

• solid knowledge on the basics of diamonds
• guidance for selection and purchasing a diamond engagement ring

It is said that each year, around 80% of young men who intend to make a proposal choose to buy diamond engagement rings for their fiancees. This is one important financial decision they have to make!

To make this a successful achievement there are some steps to be followed:

Establish Your Budget

First of all you'll want to do some research or “snoop around” on the diamond engagement rings market just to see what's out there. You can now set your options having in view your income, how much you can afford to spend.
After finding out more about diamonds' characteristics (information you will find reading further on) you will be able to choose the price/quality proportion that fits you best. Make sure you keep within these parameters lest you be swayed by sparkling jewels or persuasive jewelers.
None of these deviations will do any good:

• going drastically under your budget: you might be tempted to give in to a so called “bargain” — that will happen only if you have poor knowledge on the matter and you will eventually find out that there was something “fishy” about the whole thing.
• going drastically over your budget: don't let yourself convinced by “specialists” that you will not get the “real thing” unless you spend a lot of money (more than you have already planned). Read this guide and you will know just about enough to be your own specialist.

Learn About Diamonds

To begin shopping for a diamond engagement ring, you need to understand the four Cs of diamond evaluation:

1. Carat
2. Color
3. Clarity
4. Cut

By understanding these qualities you can determine which traits are most important to you, and you can find a balance between them that best suits your needs.

Learn About Settings

The setting is the so called “ring” portion — the band, accent stones, the prongs, everything except the gem.
Settings come in a variety of metals and styles.
Most diamond engagement rings are set in gold (yellow, white, or “two-toned”, and various karats) or platinum.

Make Choices

Shape and Cut, Mounting

You're not alone on this, you must find out her preferences. There are three options:

1. talk to her directly
   • advantage: you get the most accurate information
   • disadvantage: you lose the romance
2. surprise her: you might ask her sister or her mother details about her preferences and ring size. You can obtain her ring size by taking one of her rings (without her knowing it, of course) and have it measured.
   • advantage: it might result as expected in a very pleasant surprise. Besides getting the information you want, you win a “white ball” by showing consideration and that you care for their opinion.
   • risk: even her closest kins might not be able to provide reliable information, and also there is the Don't involve the mother! thing. As some would say, she might try to talk you into getting her something really expensive!
3. Try to know her better: find out what she likes by paying attention to the setting that catches her eye while window-shopping. Have the subject brought into discussion as by chance.
   • advantage: when you actually buy the ring, it will be the ring of her dreams
   • shortcomings: you might be mislead if you haven't got enough information or she might see right through you and guess your intention spoiling the surprise.

Diamonds abound at Jewelry Television™.Browse our wide selection of diamond rings today.

Whether to Buy a Ready-Made Ring or to Customize Your Own

After you have acquired all the information mentioned above, you can balance these options:

1. Buy a ready-made ring. If you find the ring that fulfills all your requirements you can just go buy it!
   • advantage: instant delivery
   • limitations: ready-made rings are available in a more limited range of sizes and options than the custom rings.
2. Customize your own ring
   • advantage: offers you more possibilities, frees your imagination in combining shapes and settings or engraving stone or setting
   • disadvantage: it takes a while until ready and implies a more costly procedure.

Find the Most Suitable Store to Buy

On-line Shopping

• advantage: shopping on-line gives you a wider variety of products in a shorter time. You can compare and put together the best choice of a product with the best offer within the same safety conditions (certification of products, safe on-line financial transactions, money back guarantee).
• disadvantage: you have to choose based on pictures.

Traditional Shopping

Off-line shoppers usually go to persons and stores they already know, or prefer to see the actual product.

The most convenient would be to consider all these aspects when deciding on the store.

If after you have read these quick directions you are able to cover these steps in a glimpse then the role of this guide is fulfilled. It is meant to give you a general view on the matter, hints, tips to help make up your mind based not only on intuition/supposition or jeweler's advice but also on your own judgment and knowledge.

The final decision is yours!

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