The proposal is an important milestone for you and your partner. You’ll spend ages picking the right location and perfecting your speech, not to mention trying to select a sparkler that your soon-to-be fiancée will adore.
As the subject of that all-important ring selfie, your choice of engagement ring will be admired (and even scrutinized) by friends and family members. But it’s your partner you’ll want to impress the most.
Their engagement ring will after all be one of two pieces of jewellery (the other being their wedding ring) that your partner will wear for the rest of their married life, so no pressure! Here’s how to pick an engagement ring your partner will love.
Complement their style
An engagement ring is one of the most sentimental pieces of jewellery your partner is likely to own. With this in mind, choosing the right style is important. Contrary to popular belief, it doesn’t matter how big the rock at its centre is and you don’t have to blow your budget trying to pick a suitable engagement ring.
Choosing a design that suits her personal style is more important than the size of the stone. Your bride-to-be has to feel comfortable wearing it every, single day. The ring should also be an expression of her personal style as well as your commitment to each other.
You may have heard of the 4 Cs of engagement ring buying, but it’s the ring’s shape that should take precedence over cut, colour, clarity and carat. You can choose from pear, marquise, princess, emerald, and round. Take a hint from the rings that she wears regularly to gauge what shape will suit her best.
Go for quality
This engagement ring will be worn for the long term, so you should aim to choose high quality metals and settings. The setting is the metal framework that the stone of the ring is mounted upon.
Modern ring designs tend to be mounted on bezel settings, whilst traditional rings use four-prong settings. The shape of ring you choose will often dictate the setting.
There are also a variety of metals to choose from, each of which offers their own pros and cons. Platinum is particularly popular at the moment, thanks to its durability and hypoallergenic nature. You can choose gold (which comes in a number of colours including yellow, white, rose and green), sterling silver or palladium, to name but a few metal options. If you can’t choose one metal, why not opt for a two tone ring? Two tone designs generally use two varieties of gold to ensure a captivating and unique engagement ring look.
Get the size right
There’s nothing more disheartening than donning a new engagement ring after the most romantic proposal to realise that it doesn’t fit. Try to get the size right to make sure your new fiancée can wear her ring right away. Don’t risk guessing the size, instead measure the size of a ring she wears regularly or if needs be, be a little sneaky and measure her ring finger while she’s sleeping!
See designs in person
Shopping online may be convenient and provide the best comparison for prices but seeing an engagement ring in person is the only real way to judge its quality and appearance.
Just like shopping for a wedding dress, you’ll know when you find ‘the one’ so it’s worth hitting the shops and searching in person. If you’re still not sure about your ring choice, make sure you check the jeweller’s returns policy.
Why not shop together?
One way to make sure that you pick the perfect engagement ring is to shop for your sparkler together. It may be a little underwhelming to propose without a ring or with a temporary ring, but it’s an approach taken by many modern day couples. Here Weddingbee explains why:
“Not every bride-to-be knows exactly what kind of ring she wants. Some won’t really know until they’ve actually tried on several designs! Buying the ring after you propose is a unique opportunity to treat the love of your life to EXACTLY what she wants. She’s going to be wearing it for the rest of her life, so it should be a ring she absolutely adores. But you probably won’t be certain that you’ve picked the right ring unless you work together.”
So you’ve got the ring, now it’s time to insure it! Find out why taking out ring insurance is a great idea here.
