For most men, buying an engagement ring is one of the most confusing and expensive purchases you are going to make. Many of us have zero idea of what goes into making an engagement ring other than the fact that it traditionally has a diamond, some metal preference and it costs an arm and a leg.
But the truth is, there is plenty to know about the engagement ring buying process that can help you, make you more comfortable about the ordeal and in some cases, even make the process of buying an engagement ring enjoyable.

The amount of money you spend on your engagement ring is a good place to start. Traditional engagement ring budgets were two or three months salary. I encourage my clients to take a slightly different approach. It’s pretty tough to know what to spend when you don’t know what you can get for your money. So start with wholesale diamond values. Ask the jeweler to show/tell you what today’s wholesale diamond price sheet values diamonds of different shapes, carat weight, color and clarity. Yep… the 4C’s. But there’s a lot more to diamond value than the 4C’s, so we’re just going to use the 4C’s as a start.

Now incorporate any inside info you may have about your future bride’s engagement ring expectations, such as diamond shape and ring design. In other words has she commented on a girlfriend’s engagement ring? If so, what did she notice? This type of information can be a very useful spring-board into the engagement ring buying process. Was there a diamond shape she mentioned liking? Did a ring have characteristics she admired, like accent stones or shank width or antiquing?

Next we need to get a handle on how diamond characteristics translate visually. This is why it is so very important to buy your diamond engagement ring in person. There are many nuances to a given diamond that are difficult and sometimes impossible to locate by viewing specs or photos. We need to see what different carat weights look like, how color affects the appearance of a stone, light return, et al and then ultimately how these diamond characteristics impact your wallet. And this is the good part guys, b/c your engagement ring budget is yours…. And when you understand fair market value of diamonds and why this diamond costs this much and that one costs that much, you can make an educated decision on what you personally feel like spending money on.

Next, we need to take the “budget-range” into account. By “budget-range” I mean #1, that amount of money you’d prefer to spend on your engagement ring (given your new general understanding of diamond value), and #2 the absolute outer limits of what you can spend but you’d really really prefer not to. With this range and with your general diamond spec preferences being known, we can go about searching for all the diamond options available to you that fall within that range. For convenience sake, I personally work with the client to pick the 2-4 best options from the list and then schedule a time for in person hands on viewing to scrutinize stones and pick the winner. This method of shopping for an engagement ring is very deliberate , and while perhaps a different way of going about things than other diamond and jewelry businesses, we feel that it is the only way to ensure the client truly gets the engagement ring he wants and in an open and full disclosure type of environment.