Choosing the perfect engagement ring is going to score you major brownie points for the rest of your married life. So, if you plan on popping the question, continue reading because we’ve got everything you need to know, covered...
Image: Affinity Diamonds
1. WORK OUT HER STYLE
When you’re with your girlfriend, make a mental note of what of the type of jewellery she wears. Is it gold, silver or platinum? Does she like understated pieces or is she into bolder or more statement pieces? Secondly, think about her personality. If she’s outgoing and the life of the party, she’s possibly going to love something that’s big and sparkly, to match her vibe. If she’s earthy and spiritual, and doesn’t wear much jewellery, look for rings that are simple, understated and beautiful.
Another, more obvious, way to find out exactly what she likes is to take her to a jewellery store, under the pretense you’re wanting to look at watches or something for yourself. It’s almost a given that she will start looking at the rings. You can watch what she’s looking at to get an idea of what she likes, or actually point out one and see what her reaction is. You’ll quickly get an idea of what she likes and doesn’t like.
Image: Affinity Diamonds
2. WORK OUT YOUR BUDGET
Next, you need to work out your budget. This will help the jeweller show you options that fit within, or close to, your budget. You may have heard of a tradition that says you should spend one to three month’s salary for an engagement ring, don’t worry about that.
Of course, you want to buy your future wife a beautiful ring, but choose a ring that is not going to send you broke, there’s nothing romantic about going into major debt. Besides it’s not the amount of money you spend on an engagement ring that matters, it’s all about the thought and effort that goes into purchasing it.
Image: Affinity Diamonds
3. FIND OUT HER RING SIZE
Don’t leave this to guesswork, put some effort in and do some investigating. It doesn’t matter whether you have the most perfect ring picked out, if it doesn’t fit, it’s going to put a downer on the whole proposal. One way to get your girlfriend’s ring size is to ‘sneak’ a ring that she doesn’t wear very often {and won’t miss}, to the jeweller to get it measured. If this all seems like ‘mission impossible’, ask one of her friends to help find out her ring size for you.
Image: Affinity Diamonds
4. LEARN ABOUT THE FOUR C’S
When it comes to diamonds, you need to know about the four C’s—carat, clarity, colour, and cut, to help you choose the best stone for your budget. Carat refers to the mass of the stone and clarity shows you the stone’s imperfections or fineness. Stones or diamonds have different colours, make sure you have an idea of what your girlfriend likes. And lastly, the cut will determine the sparkle of the diamond when it reflects light from one facet to another.
Image: Affinity Diamonds
5. POP THE QUESTION
Once you get the perfect engagement ring, it’s time to get creative with your proposal to show her how much you love her. This is a once-in-a-lifetime memory-making moment that she will treasure forever – so make it special.
We hope this has helped. All the above may sound daunting, and you may be tempted to just take your girlfriend to choose her ring, but think about how ‘magic’ it will be when you surprise her with a ring she will love, that is her style and fits perfectly. Making the engagement ring a surprise will take some work, but it’s so worth the investment.
Congratulations and good luck!
Image: Affinity Diamonds
Written by our guest writer, Nikki Yazxhi, editor and creator of BellaMumma.
Images by Affinity Diamonds.