How To Buy Wedding Rings Online

Buying wedding bands online doesn’t have to be confusing or intimidating. In fact, the nice thing about shopping on the Internet is that you can browse several online stores without the hassle of travelling from store to store listening to endless sales pitches and wasting precious time. Buy shopping online, you can also see different rings side-by-side as you please. Shopping for a wedding ring online is not so different than shopping at physical jewelry stores. Today, people purchase all sorts of items on the Internet, expensive jewelry included. It’s safe, hassle-free and less expensive.

When Selecting A Ring - Consider Your Personal Taste First
When you want to buy an engagement ring, the first thing to consider is your own personal taste. Only you can decide that, so take your time and narrow down the search to rings that you love, not just like. Most styles come in either yellow gold, white gold, or platinum. Yellow gold comes in 14K or 18K. 14K has more alloys in the mixture and is therefore harder than 18K gold. This means it wears better and doesn’t scratch as easily. This is something to consider if you work with your hands a lot. 18K gold is more valuable, obviously because it has more gold in it, but is softer and more yellow in color. The yellow could bring out more of the yellow in your diamond if the diamond has some yellow in it. An important thing to consider when noting the quality of the diamonds.

Pay Attention to Diamond Quality - Color, Cut, Clarity
Cut
Diamonds are graded according to three main factors, Cut, Clarity, and Color. Cut refers to the shape of the diamond. There are many different shapes, but the most brilliant diamonds are round cuts. That’s because if the round shape is cut to the proper proportions (i.e. ideal cut), the maximum amount of light is reflected back to you, bringing out the maximum brilliance of the diamond. If the round diamond is not cut properly, some of the light leaks out of the bottom of the diamond causing a loss of brilliance.

Clarity
The next grade is clarity. Clarity refers to how many inclusions, or flaws are in the diamond. Diamonds are rated Flawless (no imperfections) to VVS 1 & 2 (very, very slight), to VS 1 & 2 (very slight), to SI 1 & 2 (slight), to I diamonds (imperfect). I would stay away from I diamonds, because they tend to be cloudy, ugly looking diamonds that have the potential to crack in some instances. They may be cheap, but not worth the money you do pay. If you’re on a budget, stay in the SI 1 to VS 2 range, since the inclusions are generally not noticeable to the naked eye. You’re definitely going to pay less than you would pay for a flawless or VVS 1, 2 diamond and the differences aren’t all that noticeable.

Color
Color is the third grading criteria. Although there are many different colors of diamonds around the world, most diamonds are yellow in color if they are not colorless. The grading starts with D (or colorless) diamonds and works through the alphabet; E, F, G, H, I all the way down to Z, which is a yellow colored "canary" diamond. Of course, you’ll pay more for the D, E, and F colors. When you get past a J color, the yellow starts to become noticeable. So stick above J in color and you should be fine.

Engagement Ring Design
The final consideration is the design of the ring. If the ring has several accent diamonds that are set in prongs, it will tend to snag on things, potentially losing one of your diamonds. The safest diamond rings settings have channel, or pave set accent diamonds, which have no prongs. The center diamond will generally be set in prongs and this is to bring out the maximum beauty, because it allows the most light to penetrate. A cathedral setting helps to protect the center diamond somewhat by partially covering the sides of the diamond against sudden impacts. Above all, pick a design you love while keeping in mind the practicality of wearing your ring forever.

MEN'S ENGAGEMENT AND WEDDING RINGS
When shopping for men’s wedding rings, you want to find quality, a beautiful design you both will love, and something affordable. Usually one of the first things couples will look at is the price, which is an important factor in the decision-making process. After all, you want great rings to last a lifetime but you certainly do not want to go into debt buying them.

The traditional guideline regarding price is that you should not pay more than two months worth of income. Obviously, this means saving for months but planning is all a part of the process. If you want to purchase something more, then you will probably need to save for a longer period of time.

DESIGN YOUR OWN ENGAGEMENT RINGS
For many women, becoming engaged to the love of their life has been something they have dreamed of since they were little.

To take this adventure one-step further, you might consider doing something unusual for the engagement ring. Perhaps you could design your own engagement ring, one specific to your taste and that shows off your personality. You could use your own creativity and ideas or spend time creating a design together. Either way, the results could be amazing. This process can be a bonding time, and, you can have rings designed that complement or match one another - his and hers.

After choosing the metal, you can then choose the cut of diamond or other precious stones you like. After you have an idea of these things, sit down with a pad and paper and start drawing. If you like, you can pull pictures off the internet or from bridal magazines and incorporate some of the features in your own design. The bottom line is that by being original, you will cherish your ring even more, knowing that every part of the ring was carefully chosen for your special day.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Paul Kozar is an ex-jeweler, with a national organization, and now owner of Engagement Rings Online, where we give advice on purchasing wedding rings online. A1-Engagement-Rings-Planet.com