Engagement Ring Advice For Dudes Who Want To Propose

You've probably heard her say this a zillion times, but it's true. You need to pay more attention to her. If you want to make sure you pick her out the engagement ring that she really wants, then you need to take note of her personal style, her personal taste, and any hints she might be dropping about what kind of ring she wants.

Metal Style: Have you noticed that she wears mostly silvery-colored metals? If so, then you'll probably want to stick to white gold or platinum for the engagement ring setting. If you notice that she prefers warmer metal colors like yellows and pinks, then go for the gold and do classic yellow gold.

Diamond Setting: Does she like wearing simple, basic, but traditional designs? Is she more vintage-chic? Maybe she has a contemporary, edgy flair? If you can't wrap your head around her fashion style, then go ahead and ask friends and family. This is an essential piece of information to gather. Essential. This will help you choose from vintage style engagement ring settings, contemporary settings, three stone engagement ring settings, and the simple and traditional solitaire diamond engagement ring.

Diamond Size: Many people consider a one carat diamond to be the standard diamond size for a diamond engagement ring, but really, diamond engagement rings range in carat size from 1/4 carat all the way up to 5 carats. The first thing you should do when thinking about carat size is to consider her expectations. Does your girl wear lots of jewelry? Does she already own diamonds? And does she like sparkles and a touch of flashiness? If so, probably she wants the bigger diamond- or at least a full carat.

There is a lot of information out there about diamonds and diamond engagement rings and we are in the age of the internet. where should you get your information, you ask? Well here are some suggestions.

The Internet: You don't actually have to go anywhere in order to get that information. All you need to do is sit in front of a screen and type your questions into Google, Yahoo, or whatever search engine you happen to use. There are plenty of sites out there manned by diamond experts who are happy to give you free advice and free information. Also, most diamond retail sites and online jewelers have educational information about the 4Cs, diamond qualities, diamond prices and various jewelry settings. Look at a number of sites- don't put all your apples into one basket. It's important to get a balanced picture.

The Jewelry Store: To get a true idea of what different diamonds and different diamond engagement rings look like, you should probably go and see one for real, up close, in a diamond store. Do this ONLY after you have a decent understanding of diamond color, diamond clarity, diamond carat weight and diamond cut. Otherwise it will be a waste of time. Once you get there, compare and contrast the different diamonds and diamond rings you see according to price, quality and appearance.

Customer Service: It doesn't matter where you actually plan to buy the diamond engagement ring. All online diamond retailers have customer service representatives that are happy to help you choose a diamond engagement ring. Call them up, e-mail them, or live chat your questions and they will actually help you out for free. You don't have to buy anything from them if you aren't sure.

It doesn't matter what kind of diamond she has in mind, and what kind of ring she expects....if it doesn't fit your budget, forgeddaboutit. Why? As much as she wants a stunning diamond ring, she also wants to be able to pay the rent and pay for a new dress for the engagement party, and more importantly, you'll also be shelling out plenty of dough on the wedding itself. So, make sure you limit yourself to a practical, manageable budget. How do you do this?

Save Up: I know you're really excited that you've found the woman that you want to spend the rest of your life with, but be smart about it. Take a couple of months and save up some good money to buy her a great ring so that you don't have to refinance your car or anything drastic like that.

Plan It Out: You already have an idea of the kind of ring she might want and you also have a basic understanding of diamonds, diamond characteristics and diamond prices(that is, if you took my advice in Tip#1 and Tip#2!). Now, you can get an idea of how much these rings cost and how long it might take you to save enough for a quality ring that fits your needs. Do all this, and plan it out accordingly!

Be Practical: Diamond prices can jump pretty drastically at every round carat weight (.25, .50,.75,1.00,1.50). She might be expecting a 2 carat diamond, but choosing 1.80 carat diamond of the same quality could save you thousands of dollars and she probably won't be able to tell the difference. Yes, you want to make her happy and get her the ring of her dreams, but you should also be reasonable about it.

Buying a diamond ring is more like buying a dress than anything else. It has to be the right style, the right size, the right color and right for the occasion.  An engagement ring is something that will most likely be worn by your fiance for a very long time, if not forever, so the fit has got to be good, it's gotta match her lifestyle, and ideally it will make her hands look amazing.

Lifestyle: If your girl is active,prone to breaking things, prone to loosing things or simply prone to having bad luck, you might want to consider getting her an engagement ring with a more durable metal and a more durable setting. Platinum is considered to be the most popular and most durable engagement ring metal, while the bezel setting is probably the most durable setting. If, on the other hand, your girl is a home-body who isn't out roughing it every day and takes good care of her jewelry, you can consider more delicate settings like a tension setting or a three or four prong setting with pave diamonds in white or yellow gold.

Figure: Certain engagement ring settings are believed to compliment different sized fingers. For women with shorter, stouter fingers, the marquise diamond and the oval diamond can appear to lengthen their fingers. Thinner, simpler and more delicate settings can do the same. For women with longer fingers, a side stone engagement ring with a bigger face and a wider band might be a better choice.

Ring Size: Don't forget to measure her correct ring size. It's such a bummer having to get a ring resized. Try to do it right the first time!

Once you've found the ring of all engagement rings make sure that their policies are fair and appropriate. The following are pretty standard in the jewelry industry today. Try and go for stores that offer consumer perks like the ones below:

Return Policy: 30 day returns. You should have time to get the ring appraised before you decide whether you want to keep it. She should also be able to say, "um, I love you, but this is not my style and you should be able to return it if you got it wrong."

Shipping Policy: Most American retailers offer free shipping to all destinations in the US and Canada. This isn't a must, but you want to check their shipping provider to make sure its someone you trust.

Repair Policy: If something breaks and it isn't your fault, you want to be able to bring it back for a free repair. Make sure they have warranty policies that cover this!