Things that you need to know before buying a ring

A ring is an investment. That’s what my boyfriend has been telling me. A man should always splurge on the diamond which would reflect the value of the woman he is marrying. Well, I shall assume a big rock on my fat stubby fingers then!

My friends and I are now entering the age where they are learning about wedding rings. There are plenty of guys which are looking to propose and are searching for more information about these little expensive rocks.

Here is some information on buying an engagement ring:

Know Your Cuts

Round Cut: The most common design for engagement ring. Its 57 facets bring out the most brilliance, fire and sparkle of all the shapes.

Emerald Cut: This design highlights the clarity of the diamond more than any other shape. It has a flat surface and long and lean lines by its side.

Princess Cut: The second more popular shape after round. Princess cut diamonds are square with pointed corners to increase the sparkles.

Heart Cut: This fancy shape is for one who is full of romance and acts as the symbol of one’s love. This design would be difficult to look for because of the lack of demand.

Clarity

Clarity goes by a range of alphabets which describes the diamond when observed under 10 x magnifications for blemishes or inclusions. F class shows that the diamond is perfectly flawless. This is extremely rare. IF indicates that the diamond is internally flawless but with minor blemishes. VVS1 and VVS2 indicate very, very slightly flawed which is hard to see even under 10 x magnifications. VS1 and VS2 means the diamond contain small form of intrusion such as small crystals, clouds or feather when observed with effort under 10 x magnifications. SI1 and SI1 are obvious intrusions which may be possibly be visible to the naked eyes. I1, I2 and I3 are obvious inclusions.

My advice is to buy a diamond somewhere between VVS1 to VS2 because the rest would either be way too pricey. F is way too expensive and I is expensive because of a graded low quality rock. If clarity is not important, then do not buy a certified rock. This would save you a bomb.

Colour

The colour chart below works for a white diamond ONLY. A good diamond should be perfectly colourless and should not have a tinge of yellow.

Carat

The term “carat” is commonly used to describe the size of the rock by its weight. A carat is weight approximately 0.2g. People often mistakenly assume that a diamond’s size is synonymous with its weight. This is not necessarily true. The way the diamond is cut can actually affect its true size and weight.

Setting

The diamond can be set alone, known as the solitaire. This provides full focus on the colour and clarity of the ring. Or, it could be supplemented with smaller rocks to grow the size without burning a hole in your wallet.

Price range

I would advice for buyers to wait for the Habib sales to get the price rate and promotion for both engagement and wedding ring. Every girl’s dream is to have a Tiffany engagement ring which starting price would be at least RM50,000. *wink*

Hint: Habib sales are always good. Prepare the ring/rock in advance by buying them during these annual sales.