A Diamond Shopping Guide For The Groom From A Bride-to-be: 4 Tips to pick your perfect diamond!

Monday, February 04, 2019

As some of you might already know, I'm currently in the midst of wedding planning. Yes, I was engaged this past year 😊


But my engagement wasn't your traditional kind.

Mr. Rowe knew how OCD I was about everything and anything, decided that it was best for me to pick out my own ring. And quite honestly, I think for my personality, it was the best choice haha ...

So I went on this journey learning about diamonds and that's when I realized how awful it is that we've put this burden on men for so many decades!

As women, studies have shown that we are much more at ease when multi-tasking. & picking that perfect engagement ring is exactly that! Multi-Tasking.

Not only you need to pick the right diamond, cut, and size but you also need to think about the setting and top it all of making it within the budget! No wonder when I tried to explain how it all works to Mr. Rowe, there was a haze suddenly glazing over his eyes lol ... Poor guy didn't stand a chance 😆

Given everything, I know most ladies still love that traditional proposal. The joy when he takes the knee in a perfect setting with a ring in hand. So with that in mind, I thought: why not give these poor guys some tips to make that perfect moment even more perfect! Feel free to forward this to your loved ones and give them a little help 😜

So here goes nothing!

TIP 1: Find The Right Jeweler
Before you go crazy and start looking at the actual diamonds and settings, it is important to find the right jeweler. Each jeweler will have their own inventory so it would be useless for you to look at the diamonds if, in the end, you are not going to purchase from them.

I spent a decent amount of time researching which jeweler to go with. In the end, I went with BRILLIANT EARTH.

For me it was important that a) the diamonds are conflict free, b) sustainability of the product.

BRILLIANT EARTH was exactly that. The company strived to be and is 100% conflict free, and all their materials are recyclable even down to the packaging. My ring box was even made out of recycled wood!

But again, everyone's preferences are different so take your time and research the best jeweler suited for your needs.

(FYI this post is in no way sponsored by BRILLIANT EARTH. I wish it was though lol ... would've saved us a lot of $$$ haha )

TIP 2: Pick the diamond cut first. 
Now that you have a jeweler, before looking at settings, first, pick out which diamond cut best suits your lady. It's easier to find a complimenting setting once you know what cut you want. Below are the common cut options:

photo courtesy of BRILLIANT EARTH

For your classic lady: Round, Oval, Cushion, Or the Princess cuts would probably be the safest route. 

For your more fashion-forward lady: Pear, Emerald, and Marquise are popular choices. 

For your more romantic lady: Asscher, Radiant, and Heart are also good choices. 

Additional tip: the Round cut is probably your most popular cut, and most jeweler would have a larger inventory of these diamonds so it can be easier to find a suitable one since you have a larger pool to pick from. 

TIP 3: The 3 big Cs - Carat, Color, and Clarity
Once you've picked the diamond shape, now you need to pick the actual diamond. Below are my tips to get the most out of your $. 

Carat: Most people don't realize Carat basically equal weight. So even if you have two diamonds both weighs 2 carats, one can look smaller than the other depending on the table to depth proportion. 
photo courtesy of BRILLIANT EARTH

As you can see each diamond, information will be given in regards to the table vs. depth.  For the two above, the one on the left will be visually bigger because the table ratio to the depth is more balanced. Whereas the one on the right the table ratio to depth is at a much lower %. So your target is to find a diamond with higher table % and lower depth %. That way your diamond will look bigger for the $. 

Color: The color spectrum is as per below
photo courtesy of BRILLIANT EARTH

"D" is the highest and "J" is the lowest rank. I would say the lowest you should go is probably "H", anything lower will make the diamond look yellow. For those on a tighter budget, it won't hurt to look at diamonds in the "F" - "H" rank. The diamond will still look white to the naked eye but it will save you a lot of $$$. 

Clarity: The Clarity spectrum as per below 
photo courtesy of BRILLIANT EARTH

Honestly, it's hard to find a diamond within "FL"-"IF" without having to fork out a lot $$$$. For most of us, picking one within "VVS1"-"VS2" should suffice. But skip the "SL1"-"SL2" cause then it's flawed that even the naked eye might see. 

Additional tip: Pick which of these you are more willing to forego. If you care more about color then go a little lower on clarity. If you have to have a certain diamond size, then lower the color and clarity slightly to see what your $$$ options are. There are always alternative ways to save but make that ring visually what your loved ones would want. 😉

TIP 4: Pick your setting 
This is probably the easiest step now that you have a diamond selected! All jewelers have many settings at different pricing to suit your budget needs. And if you feel like you're really really lost? reach out to a sales specialist. They can 100% help you on this! 

I find they are a little less helpful when picking out diamonds, cause it takes more time and effort. Often they just look at the pricing and shoot it over to me but doesn't take the time to really look at the 3 Cs. 

Hope these tips helped! if you have additional tips feel free to comment! 

Much Love 
xx
Gi 
(Instagram: gigil4m)


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