Save Money On Your Engagement Ring
Engagement Ring and Wedding Ring Money Saving Buying Tips
Precious Metal
Another way to cut the cost of an engagement ring is in choosing the right metal. Consider an engagement ring made with white gold instead of platinum or palladium. White gold is a good alternative as it looks like platinum and palladium but is much less expensive.
Or consider a 10 karat (10k) or 14 karat (14k) ring instead of an 18 karat (18k) or 22 karat (22k) ring. Generally, two-tone rings and those with intricate patterns or etching on the metal are also more expensive than those plain ones.
Buy the Engagement Ring with Wedding Bands
Chances are that if you are in the market an engagement ring, you will be also in the market for wedding bands. Certain ring designers will produce engagement rings with matching wedding bands which are sold as a set. A set would most likely be less expensive that individual rings. Buying a set can save you money. If the engagement ring and wedding rings are no a set, consider buying both rings from the same jeweler. The jeweler will be more inclined to give you a discount if you buy both.
Purchasing the Diamond and Setting Separately
You may also find that buying the diamond and setting separate from one another can save you some money. It also allows you to choose exactly the type of ring that you want and be able to see it before the stone is set.
While there is nothing wrong with buying the diamond and the ring from the same jeweler, don’t make the mistake of overpaying for the diamond or the ring separately by not understanding of what each cost on their own and doing comparison shopping.
Other Tips to Save Money Buying An Engagement Ring: Engagement Ring On The Cheap, Engagement Ring For Less, Save Money When Buying The Diamond, Drop The Diamond For Another Gemstone
Drop The Diamond For Another Gemstone
Consider Diamond Alternatives
Other Gemstones
An engagement ring does not have to have a diamond as its center pieces. There are other gemstones such as sapphires, emeralds, and rubies, besides diamonds that are used for engagement rings. However, if you decide to go with a non-traditional engagement ring and use another gemstone instead of a diamond, make sure the other gemstone hard enough to hold up to being worn everyday.
A gemstone’s hardness is graded on the Mohs scale. When choosing a gemstone for an engagement ring that will be worn everyday, anything lower than an 8.0 on the Mohs scale is unsuitable. Softer and less durable gemstones like pearls and opals are poor choices for an engagement ring.
Man-Made Diamonds
Man-made diamonds, also called synthetic, lab-created, manufactured, lab-grown, or cultured, are true diamonds. Although not formed by nature, man-made diamonds share the chemical, physical and optical qualities of mined diamonds and are less expensive. Like a real diamond, a man-made diamond is carbon crystallized at extremely high temperatures and pressures. Man-made diamonds have been around since the 1950s and have been used mainly in industrial purposes. But in recently years, advances in the process of glowing diamonds have produced gem quality diamonds.
Most of the lab-grown diamonds produced today are still one carat or smaller. Colored diamonds are more common among synthetic diamonds and colorless stones are rare. The prices of man-made diamonds are expected to decline as production increases. Two companies that make synthetic diamonds are Apollo and Gemesis.
Diamond Simulates
Not to be confused with man-made or laboratory-grown diamonds, simulates or imitations diamonds are not diamonds at all. Diamond simulates are made of other materials such as zirconium oxide (cubic zirconia) or silicon carbide (moissanite). The best example is cubic zirconia (CZ) which has been around since since 1976. Moissanite is a newer creation coming onto the market in the late 1990s. Currently, only on company makes moissanite.
CZ and other imitation diamonds do not have the same properties as natural diamonds and are usually very cheap compared to natural or man-made diamonds. A cubic zirconia of the same size as a natural diamond is heavier. The CZ will weigh about 1.6 times more than the diamond because the zirconium oxide is denser than the crystallized carbon of a diamond. A CZ is softer than diamonds, scoring an 8.3 on the Mohs scale. Moissanite comes closer to a real diamond. It scores a 9.25 on the Mohs scale but it cannot quite compete with a diamond’s colorless quality.
The similarities of CZ to a real diamond are so remarkable that even a jeweler or gemologist can’t always tell the difference when viewed with the naked eye. One difference between a CZ and a real diamond is that cubic zirconias are excellent insulators of heat, where as diamonds are good conductors of heat. Tests with the right equipment will be able to pick out a CZ from real diamonds.
Irish Claddagh Ring
The Claddagh ring is a traditional Irish ring and custom believe to have originated in the 17th century outside the Irish city of Galway in the fishing village of Claddagh. The ring is given in as a symbol of promise and engagement but also has the added meaning of friendship.
Claddaghs are still worn today, primarily by those of Irish heritage, as both a cultural symbol and as engagement and wedding rings. However, the Claddagh ring has become popular with many non-Irish couples due to the tradition and meaning behind it.
Simple Gold Band
Consider a nicely carved band in gold can usually be found for under $200.
Other Tips to Save Money Buying An Engagement Ring: Engagement Ring On The Cheap, Engagement Ring For Less, Save Money When Buying The Diamond, Drop The Diamond For Another Gemstone
Save Money When Buying The Diamond
What Diamond Qualities Worth Paying For
The Four C’s
You don’t have to pay a premium to get a quality diamond:
Cut
A diamonds graded very good (VG) is your best choices for quality and value but for the budget conscious you can pick up a good rated diamond.
Color
A diamonds graded G, H and I are near-colorless and look colorless to the naked eye. These are the whitest stones commonly available in the engagement ring market. A diamond rated G and H on the color scale is your best choices for quality and value.
Clarity
A diamond graded SI-1 or above looks flawless to the unaided eye. Even a tiny inclusion visible to the naked eye will bump the diamond to an SI-2 or I-1. A diamond rated SI2 and VS1 on the clarity scale is your best choices for quality and value.
Carat
Instead of buying a diamond that is exactly .50 carat and 1.00 carat weights buy odd carat diamonds such as a .45 carat diamond, a .80 carat diamond or a 1.55 carat diamond. This will save you money because the price of a diamond jumps dramatically when it reaches a true .50 carat or 1.00 carat because that’s how most buyers want their diamonds. And because demand is high for those diamonds, jewelers charge a premium for them. The difference between a .80 carat diamond and a 1.00 carat diamond will not be apparent to the human eye in a side by side comparison. So save money by not doing what most people do and shop for an odd carat diamond.
Other Tips to Save Money Buying An Engagement Ring: Engagement Ring On The Cheap, Engagement Ring For Less, Engagement Ring Shopping Tips, Drop The Diamond For Another Gemstone
Marriage Proposal Ideas
Romantic and Creative Marriage Proposal Ideas
There was a time, when a marriage proposal involved a love struck man dropping down on one knee, in front of the love of his life, professes his love, flashes an engagement ring and asks her to marry him.
Now a day, however, many men seem to feel the need to come up with the most elaborate and expensive way to propose, even if the women being proposed to could care less how elaborate or expensive the proposal is. Unfortunately, these marriage proposals usually lack that the personal and romantic touches that make it something that is disappointing to the woman.
A survey of over 7,000 newly engaged women, a vast majority of who thinks that their marriage proposals could have been better, or more romantic. Over 85% of the women reported that their marriage proposals were not as good as they had always imagined it to be.
Will you make the most common mistakes?
- Where are the three places you should never propose marriage?
- What is the best time of day to propose marriage?
- How long should you get to know a woman before you propose marriage to better the odds of not getting divorced?
If you have questions about marriage proposals, here is your answer… The RoMANtic’s Guide to Popping the Question.
Here are a few more revealing facts from the women about what they did not like about their marriage proposal:
Top Five Worst Destinations
5. At a Family Party
4. At the Work Place
3. In Bed
2. In a Car
1. In a Restaurant
Top Five Worst Words Spoken
5. Do you think we should get married?
4. You know what I want to say – will you
3. Marry me!
2. Lets get hitched!
1. Will you become mine?
Remember, a marriage proposal is a once-in-a-life-time event, so make it as special as possible … a romantic and creative marriage proposal that you and
your wife will be proud to share with the kids or grand kids.
Will you make the most common mistakes?
- Where are the three places you should never propose marriage?
- What is the best time of day to propose marriage?
- How long should you get to know a woman before you propose marriage to better the odds of not getting divorced?
If you have questions about marriage proposals, here is your answer… The RoMANtic’s Guide to Popping the Question.
LifeGem
A LifeGem synthetic diamond may not be appropriate to use for an engagement ring, but LifeGem has a truly unique approach to making man-made diamonds. LifeGem will make custom diamonds from carbon samples of deceased family members. Marketed as a “diamond tribute for you and your family,” the company gets the carbon sample from cremated ashes or the hair from a deceased and use the carbon sample as the seed to create a synthetic diamond.
LifeGem was founded in 1999, and is headquartered in Elk Grove Village, Illinois. They also have offices in Europe, United Kingdom, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, and Canada. LifeGem collaborates with funeral homes and cremation service businesses in those countries to offer their unique synthetic diamonds.
LifeGem uses High Pressure-High Temperature (HPHT) to make their diamonds. Most man-made or synthetic diamonds are usually marketed as being less expensive than natural, mined diamonds, but that is not the case with LifeGem, which uses the emotional and sentimental value of its diamonds to command prices much higher than natural diamonds.
Learn more about Lifegem diamonds at the company’s website: http://www.lifegem.com/
Man-Made Diamonds
If you are considering a man-made diamond as an alternative to a mined diamond for the center piece of an engagement ring, you have some very nice options available to you on the market. Even if you are only looking to buy a real diamond, it would be a good idea to educate yourself about man-made diamonds. The more educated you are about diamonds – mined or man-made – the easier time you will have in buying the best diamond for your money. Here is some information to help you decide on the type of man-made diamond that is best for you.
Man-made diamonds can be divided into two distinct categories: synthetic diamonds and diamond simulants.
Caring for Your Diamond Engagement Ring
Clean your engagement ring on a regular basis. A diamond will look its best if it is cleaned at frequent intervals. If you wear your diamond engagement ring everyday, your ring will be exposed to soaps, lotions, and natural skin oils that can cause film and grime to build up and dull the sparkle and brilliance of your diamond and the setting.
You can clean the diamond at home by using store bought solution or household detergent mixed with water. Do not use bleach cleansers which can damage the setting and mounting. To clean your diamond, you can use a small soft bristled brush – an eyebrow brush is perfect.
The best way to clean your diamond engagement ring and keep it sparkling is to make a bowl of sudsy water with soap or mild detergent and put the ring in the water to soak. After a few minutes take the soft bristled brush and scrub the diamond in the suds.
Rinse the ring thoroughly to remove all the soapy suds. Don’t simply hold it in your fingers under the water. If you do, be sure to put the stopper in the sink so you don’t lose accidentally drop your engagement ring down the drain! You can put the ring in a small strainer and run the water through that to make sure all the soap gets washed off. Finally, take a 100% cotton jewelry cloth and pat the ring dry. Cotton is the only cloth that is guaranteed safe for whatever precious metal your diamond is set in. A clean cotton cloth will not scratch fine jewelry.
You don’t really need any special chemicals to keep you engagement ring looking beautiful, but if your diamond on the ring is really dirty, you may need something stronger than soap and water. In that case, try a mixture of half water and half ammonia. Take off the ring and let the ring soak in the liquid for about 30 minutes. Then gently brush the ring with a soft brush. Rinse and dry as recommended above. You can also dip your ring in rubbing alcohol or vodka prior to cleaning with soapy water to remove excess grease or oily residue.
You can also buy jewelry cleaning kits in almost any department store. These kits have everything you need – the solution and brush and are quite convenient as you can store them away and use them over and over again. Read the label to see if the kit is safe to use on your diamond engagement ring.
If you really want a super clean diamond you can try an ultrasonic cleaning machine. These machines use high-frequency to generate a cleaning motion. Remember to read the instructions before using.
You should also consider having your engagement ring cleaned by a professional jeweler at least once a year. At the same time, have the jeweler check the mounting and prong to make sure that the diamond or other gemstone is securely in place. This can prevent your diamond from coming out of its setting and getting lost.
Don’t Wear Your Engagement Ring
Before doing rough manual work, or when using harsh chemicals, remove your engagement ring and store it in a safe place. Although diamonds are a very hard stone, they can be chipped and scratched easily, no to mention the metal used for settings that hold the diamonds in place. Also avoid allowing your diamond to come into contact with bleach or other household cleansers this can damage or change the color of the settings and mountings, and it may even irreversibly change the color of the diamond.
Storing Your Engagement Ring
When you are not wearing your engagement ring you should store it in its own fabric lined jewel case, or fabric pouch so it can be kept separate from your other jewelry. Ideally, every piece of you jewelry should have its own compartment. This will keep the diamonds in your engagement ring from getting scratched as well as keep your diamond from scratching your other jewelry.
When you are traveling, either leave your engagement ring safely at home or bring a case along to store it at night or when you shower. Don’t leave your diamond ring behind unless your hotel room features a sturdy safe.
Caring for a diamond takes more than occasional cleanings. Diamonds are forever, but they can be damaged if you don’t exercise some care. By learning how to properly care for your diamond, you will ensure that your diamond is indeed forever.