Choosing an Engagement Ring in 2020

Whether you’re buying an engagement ring for your partner or hinting the ring you want from your partner, there’s no doubt you want to find the one ring that’s going to be just perfect. You don’t want to get a ring that you’re going to feel some pressure to return a few weeks later. Here, we’re going to look at what it takes to make sure you’re getting a ring that isn’t only quality, but worth showing when you’re celebrating the big event with all your loved ones.

The budget

A lot of places will give you different rules on how you should budget for an engagement ring. Do you necessarily need to donate a certain number of months’ worth of wages to an engagement ring? Definitely not. There are a whole range of rings with different price points to fit every budget. The average amount spent on an engagement ring is growing to between $15,000 and $20,000. To some people, it might be worth going the extra mile to have made the ring that you absolutely know your future spouse will love. But the budget isn’t as important as the ring itself.

The band

When it comes to getting a bespoke engagement ring, there are more options for materials than many expect. That’s especially true of younger men, who remain the most common kind of customer of those rings. When it comes to the band itself, platinum and gold tend to be the most popular choices. Platinum is highly durable, but it loses its shine quicker than most metals. Gold is most common simply because of lustre that doesn’t fade easily. However, gold wears away over time. It won’t be noticeable anytime soon after you buy it, but decades later, it may thin enough to require a reshaping. However, while gold isn’t as durable as platinum, that also means that it’s a lot easier to buff it and remove any blemishes, restoring it to how gorgeous it was on the day it was first bought. With a lifetime warranty from Monty Adams, those small issues become no issue at all. Rose gold and white gold have different characteristics to the more common yellow gold, too, so be sure to ask about them when you’re at your choice of jewellery concierge’s. Most important about buying the band is, of course, getting the size right. If you can’t get an accurate size for the ring finger, you’re going to have to spend time getting it resized before the ring can be shown off.

The shine

Diamonds are by far the most popular gemstones in engagement rings, but people are growing more expressive in the stones they choose. If durability is a concern, sapphires can match diamonds much better than other coloured stones, but if practicality is less of a concern for the wearer, rubies, opals, and emeralds are other popular choices.

The quality

When you do choose a stone, you want to ensure that it’s of the right quality. There are four major characteristics of a stone that your concierge can help you navigate:

·         The colour of a diamond changes in grades, too. The closer you get to a colourless diamond at grade D, the more expensive it gets. Most diamonds fall between this range and are known as white, but this is down to preference, mostly.

·         When people talk about carat, they’re most talking about the weight of the stone, which will also be a big determining factor in cost. To some people, having a sizeable carat weight is important, so low-balling it here is a choice to be made carefully.

·         Clarity is all about how many imperfections a diamond has or lacks. When sourcing quality gems, a few imperfections, or inclusions, aren’t always going to be a big deal-breaker because many of them aren’t visible to the naked eye.

·         Most importantly, the better a cut, the more smoothly a stone’s been shaped, meaning that it tends to catch the light better and really get that sparkle effect.

Sourcing quality stones is a point of pride for establishments like Monty Adams. Finding the balance between true beauty and quality for money is what you want to aim for, and knowing the gem characteristics above can help you do that.

The style

There is no accounting for taste, so choosing the style of a ring can often be one of the trickiest parts. There are a lot of different shapes of gems as well as ways to set the stones in the ring that a concierge can offer when creating a beautiful, bespoke piece. More and more couples are talking about engagements long before they happen, so if a ring isn’t being kept a surprise, then find a style that works together. Otherwise, it always pays to have a keen eye, someone who knows the recipient well, to help you steer the right course. If you truly have no idea which way to go, then consider something more conservative and traditional, or you can even think about getting something else as a holdover so you can shop together for the right ring.

An engagement ring isn’t just a “holdover” until you put the wedding band on. It’s an expression of taking the next step, a visual signifier of the relationship, and yes, it’s even something to show off. Since it’s the first step in the most important relationship in your life, it’s worth starting off with the care and attention with which you mean to go on.