Day 1 - Buying an engagement ring
The first step toward any wedding day is the engagement ring. It says romance; "Marry Me"; excitement; but above all it says "cheap and frugal" or "elegant and classy". An engagement ring should never be viewed as an investment. If it is, it is the most non-liquid investment you will every purchase.
While it needs to last a lifetime and choices of quality are paramount, it doesn't need to cost the most moolah either. How do you make your purchase speak "elegant and classy" while being "cheap and frugal"?
Read on for tips to buying well...
- Diamonds Ladies expect diamonds for their engagement ring! Ever since they started talking about getting married they pictured themselves with a big rock upon their finger. So here's the first tip: a 3 carat diamond costs more than three 1 carat diamonds. While it may look more incredible to have just the one stone a good jeweller can make a stunning ring with mutliple diamonds.
Choose a diamond that has more colour in it as well. The naked eye can't notice too much difference between a top class diamond (purely white) and a less white stone but you will notice the change in price. The same applies for the clarity of the diamonds. Those which have very little inclusions compared to those that don't (again big $ savings) aren't visible to the naked eye.
For a more detailed explanation check out .
- Choosing a metal There are possibly 3 legitimate choices to be made here. (1) Gold, (2) Titanium (3) Platinum.
Titanium is the least expensive of the three but it comes with some pretty heavy trade offs. The big one is that it can't be resized which can be very awkward as your prospective wife's fingers will change over time due the effects of pregnancy or perhaps weight loss or gain. It also can't be used for the setting clasps and so a different material will need to be used which may or may not look classy. Probably not the wisest choice especially in the long term.
Platinum is the most expensive of the three and that's really all I need to say about that one.
Gold is the usual choice but it comes in at least three different options as well. 9ct, 14ct and 18ct are the norm while 18ct is the most expected. You need to take into account that 18ct gold rings contain more gold than the other two and are therefore softer. This means that they may be more susceptible to being bent out of shape and are certainly more prone to having clasps that hold precious (and expensive) diamonds, break.
9ct Gold is certainly a lot stronger and cheaper but the middle choice, 14ct gold, may be the most logical. It's cheaper than 18ct and stronger, isn't as cheap as 9ct but can still save you the most money.
- The jeweller Finding a good jeweller isn't the same thing as finding the most expensive jeweller. A jeweller who resides in a shop that has smaller overheads than one that's taken up a superlot in the biggest mall in the city will usually be able to pass these savings on.
However, they won't have as large a range and this could limit your choices and may force you to consider a custom-made ring (expensive option!). A larger jeweller will have more engagement rings to choose from and with economies of scale, hopefully deliver a better price.
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