Purchasing for Your Proposal: Think First With Your Head, Then Your Heart

You're about to ask the question, the answer to which will determine the course of the rest of your life. You don't need anybody telling you how anxious a time this is; rather, you could do with a bit of self-assurance right now! Here's what jewelers don't often tell you when you're making your big purchase. Knowing these things will ensure that you're confident you have made the best choice.

The value of jewelry is determined by rarity and the consumer's emotional response, so much that sales associates use your anticipating state of mind to make the sale. Indeed, your personal tastes should play a large role in selecting the perfect ring. However, the decision should also be made logically, taking price to heart. Diamonds are expensive because they are a rare, natural, gem and some diamonds are more expensive than others because they have certain characteristics that make them especially rare. The four characteristics of a diamond that determine rarity and value are cut, color, clarity, and carat. You can remember these as "the four C's."

Let's begin with the most important, cut. How the diamond is cut, no matter the other qualities, determines how much light is able to be reflected or how brilliant the diamond is. A well-cut diamond seems to be made of burning fire while a poorly-cut diamond looks milky and lacks in sparkle. A perfectly-cut diamond has been precisely shaped according to a world-wide standard of angles and proportions. The cut of the diamond is determined by how well it adheres to this standard of perfection and grading is as follows: ideal, very good, good, fair, and poor. Because the perfect proportions for maximum brilliance produce a round-cut stone, only a round diamond may be considered ideal.

The color of a diamond varies from colorless to yellow or brownish, with the rarest being closest to colorless. The color grade range of diamonds is usually D through M, with D being colorless and M having a light yellow or brownish tint. Some people may prefer diamonds of a color grade less than N, which are known as yellow diamonds.

The clarity of a diamond is a measure of the severity of inclusions or "birthmarks" in a diamond. Since diamonds form in the earth, naturally there are bound to trace elements of other materials in them. Clarity grading is slightly more complicated than that of the other C's. The rarest diamonds are classified as FL, or flawless, which means that they have no internal or finish flaws. Diamonds of this clarity grade are extremely rare and are most often housed in museums. IF, or internally flawless diamonds are extremely rare as well. The other grades are very, very, slightly included (VVS1 and VVS2), very slightly included (VS1 and VS2), slightly included (SI1 and SI2), and included (I1, I2, and I3). VVS diamonds have inclusions that are difficult to see even under a 10x magnification and I diamonds have inclusions visible to the human eye.

Carat, simply put, is the weight of the diamond. Carats are divided into 100 points so don't be confused when you ask for a quarter-carat diamond and the jeweler produces a 25 point diamond, they are the same.

When it comes to the four C's, you should purchase a diamond as perfect as your price will allow, remembering that the cut is the most important.

If you choose not to buy a diamond or would like another stone as well as diamonds, there are many natural and created gems from which to take your pick. Natural stones are those that formed completely in the earth, while created stones were made in a lab from a piece of natural stone and under the same conditions as natural stones, except sped up by science. For all intents and purposes, they are the same, but many people still prefer natural stones. Created stones, however, are always perfect and have no inclusions. A wonderful alternative to a diamond engagement ring is a sapphire, a dark blue and very valuable stone chosen by Prince Charle's for Princess Diana's engagement ring. The gem and type of stone, whether natural or created, should be a matter of personal taste.

Not to be confused with the cut of the four C's, stones are cut into a variety of shapes that appeal to different personal tastes. The six most popular cuts are round (also known as brilliant), pear, oval, heart, emerald, and marquise. All of these are self-explanatory except for the emerald shape which if looking down on it looks like a rectangular tier of steps, and the marquise or often mistakenly called "football shaped."

The most popular ring style has been and remains today, the solitaire. A solitaire is a simple ring with one stone connected to it by prongs. Endless styles abound for your selection.

Metals are very often misunderstood by buyers. There is no conception of which is better or best, only your needs and your wallet decide which is right for you. Gold comes in white or yellow and is measured in purity by a unit called "karat," which is not to be confused with "carat," the weight of a diamond. Since unadulterated 24k gold is maleable to the touch, it is impractical as jewelry (or much of anything else, for that matter). In order to strengthen the gold, it is mixed with other metals, one of which is nickel. In the United States, buyers will usually only find 10k, 14k, or 18k gold, with 18k being the purest (18 parts gold, 6 parts other). If the ring recipient has had past allergic reactions to jewelry, it is best to go with 14k or 18k. Silver is also an option, however, as it is not as strong as gold it is not often chosen for precious stones. Made popular in recent years as a white gold alternative, platinum never rusts, but it is almost twice the price of gold. Palladium is a beautiful, hypo-allergenic alternative to white gold as well. The newest metal to be used in jewelry is tungsten carbide, the strongest metal known to man. Tungsten carbide never tarnishes, rusts, breaks, or even scratches, but is considerably heavier than gold or its hefty counterpart platinum and has yet to be the object of many designers. For this reason, styles in tungsten carbide are few.

Now that you have the expert knowledge of a jeweler, not only can you make a decision that you can be comfortable with, but you also have knowledge that will serve you well in a lifetime of jewelry-buying for your bride.