Buying an engagement ring is a daunting task, especially if you’re more of a traditionalist and looking to surprise your partner.
When scouting for that perfect engagement ring to express your love and commitment to your significant other, be wary of some common mistakes that lovebirds tend to do when shopping for this timeless piece of jewelry.
1) Being A Lone Ranger
Ideally, you want your betrothed to wear this ring until the end of time, so it only stands to reason that you should do some reconnaissance and recruit your closest allies.
There’s no need to embark on this journey alone. Seek the help of your close circle of friends and advice of family members, as they may know a hint or two about what your significant other may have their eye on, act as a decoy, fish for information, and test the ground.
2) Not Prioritize Your Standards
When shopping for expensive jewelry with such significance attached to it, you better know what you’re doing.
You don’t need to take a course in gemology, but you should at least educate yourself as much as to know how to set your priorities, where it is that you are willing to compromise, and at which point you may be overspending on something unimportant.
Here are a few quick pointers to get you started:
- Learn about the 4C’s (Cut, Color, Clarity, Carat). The size of the diamond is important, but carats is not the only factor which will affect the look, price, and quality of the center stone.
- Shape matters! It indicates the actual geometry of the stone (as opposed to cut, which relates to the angles of the facets in the stone), it defines the most crucial aspects of the overall look, as well as which of the 4C’s you should focus on and the design of the ring itself.
- Don’t underestimate the setting. The framework in which your stone is mounted can make or break an engagement ring, in terms of quality as well as design. The style of the ring as well as how the center stone is accentuated will be defined by its setting, which will set the tone, bringing together the final look.
The stone itself, the setting and shape you will choose should reflect your significant other’s personal style and encompass the essence of your relationship.
3) Blindly Guessing The Ring Size
Even if you’re confident you have your beloved’s taste in fine jewelry pinned down, the ring size can be a struggle to determine accurately.
Try to avoid guessing the correct ring size since more often than not, it will need resizing, and with some designs, this may be from hard up to nearly impossible to do.
Panic not! There are ways to get around these hurdles.
You can be sneaky and find out the exact size by checking for other rings in the jewelry box, the nightstand, or wait until the ring is off and then lay it on a piece of paper, tracing the inside and outside with a pencil. If you’re dealing with a light sleeper, you can even use a piece of string and gently loop out around the ring finger, then mark it or cut at the correct length.
If all else fails and you want to be on the safe side then definitely go with a larger size. It’s way trickier to size up than it is to size down.
In case you simply can’t figure out the size or you don’t want to risk it, consider our ‘Try At Home’ option. At Barkev’s, we are happy to offer customers our Home Viewing Program which allows you to try out a sample (exact replica) of our rings for up to 5 days.
4) Not Factoring In Waiting Time
Picture this: You have planned out the perfect proposal, you have researched the ring, set the date, got your crew onboard, and even the stars themselves are aligned! Now all that is left is to go pick up that last ‘pièce de résistance’ of a ring, and you’re off to happily ever after… Only you suddenly find out that you may need up to two months for your engagement ring to be ready so you can slip it onto your beloved’s finger. Now you’re canceling everything and you’re back to the drawing board!
Jewelry is craftsmanship and, regardless if custom-made or not, rings – especially of this caliber of importance – require special care and take considerable effort to be prepared. If you’re set on a particularly unique piece or a custom design, be aware that it may take a couple of months to find the ideal gem and put the ring together.
Not to mention, that you may want to make some final tweaks and adjustments.
5) Diamonds are forever, but so are other gems
If you are on the hunt for that unique engagement ring that captures each fragment of your love and commitment, maybe you should broaden your options beyond the traditional diamond.
Let’s be honest, if an alternative sapphire engagement ring was good enough for Princess Diana and Kate Middleton, then how wrong can you go?
If you’re considering going for an alternative center stone for your engagement ring of choice, have a look at our suggestion to find the perfect stone.