This is strictly for helping guys pick an engagement ring for those who have allowed themselves to become ensnared by that most dangerous and ferocious of beasts; the female of our species.
I kid you not; choose an engagement ring at your own considerable, personal peril and those around you. If you want the very best advice for choosing an engagement ring it is to take a pull ring from a Coke can, go down on one knee (it used to be two but beheadings are no longer legal) and using your prosthetic engagement ring propose with that on the strict undertaking you will allow her to go choose a ring she wants for herself.
If you are still reading this we can see why you are bent on this path down to matrimonial bliss - you are obstinate, foolhardy, deaf to advice and stubbornly determined; so herewith is the font of our wisdom when it comes to YOU choosing an engagement ring for her and may God be with you!
Rule One: Look at What She wears Now
Yes we know you probably have never done this before but you need to make a start!
Look at her jewelry she owns now and particularly what she claims are her favorite pieces but a hint for you will be to assess what she wears regularly. You should not be overt about this as men taking too close an interest in jewelry tends to unnerve ladies because they are so unused to this attention plus it is a dead giveaway you are planning "something" - be careful!
Consider the types and colors of metal she likes; there is gold, silver, platinum, white gold and other variations. Does she prefer diamonds or other gemstones such as sapphires or rubies; think about the style of jewelry such as whether it is modern, bold or subdued, maybe classical or ornate.
You will also easily get her ring size by using a bar of soap and imprinting one of her rings into it!
Rule Two: Her Opinion
Be prepared for this, once you are married there are two opinions - hers and whatever opinion she gives you.
The best way to find out her opinion is to take her shopping; if this is an unknown concept to you can simply take her to one of the big shopping malls and she will automatically guide you through the process. You are looking to see what catches her eye, what she looks at most closely or tries to wear while she makes up her mind - a great way to engineer the situation is to go to a jeweler and tell her you need some help in choosing a new watch. Nature will do the rest for you as she gravitates to the good stuff on display for ladies and you can sit back and watch; if possible you may contribute by saying something vaguely intelligent but best to keep quiet.
Rule Three: Exercise Your Judgment
Now we are on very dangerous ground here not least because exercising your judgment after you have judged she is the one for you can and will get you into a lot of hot water very quickly.
You will have to judge whether a ring will look good on her hands and fingers and some tips here are if she has short fingers, go for an elongated diamond shape such as an oval or marquise which will accentuate them and they will look longer. Wide ring bands will make her fingers look shorter though if your intended has long fingers she will be able to get away with bold ring styles though delicate ring settings will look lost on large hands.
You will also have to decide on the shape and setting for your engagement ring and most women choose a round diamond above all others. This popularity may not translate to your lady and she may prefer a square cut (also known as emerald cut), oval (pear shaped) or even a cluster of stones as opposed to a solitaire. This is where her existing jewelry will guide you in making the decision.
All that can now be said is "Good Luck!" - you are going to need it!
Showing posts with label engagment rings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label engagment rings. Show all posts
Sunday, 13 December 2009
Thursday, 8 October 2009
On the Hunt For Your Diamond
Hunting for the perfect diamond engagement ring or indeed, a diamond for any other occasion is a task the uninitiated may sometimes feel overwhelmed by; diamonds sparkle but everything that sparkles is not gold! Certainly not "gold" when it comes to making the right decisions on the diamond of your choice!
Before you start looking for a diamond, take a few moments to educate yourself on how to spot a great diamond from a piece of squashed graphite: diamonds and graphite are made from exactly the same element - Carbon - but the process for making each of them is very different deep within the bowels of the earth.
Diamonds are formed at least fifty miles under our feet where the pressures defy belied and at extremely high temperatures which force the carbon atoms into a peculiar lattice structure and it is this atomic formation which gives diamonds their strength and beauty as well as three of the four factors which affect their value and the price you pay - "The Four C's".
The four C's are:
1. Color - this is something of a trick; the most valuable diamonds have no coloring at all which accentuates the brilliance and fire after they are cut and polished; many diamonds have a yellowish coloring and this decreases the luster and sparkle of the stone so the less color a diamond has the more valuable it is. As a side note, there are blue and pink diamonds which are exceedingly rare and these do have an astronomical price tag!
2. Clarity - when a diamond is forming in the earth, other material aside from carbon may be included in the mix - bubbles of gas or foreign matter, or as part of the process the growing diamond may have scratches or faults along the lattice - these may be visible or may not be; if they are visible this will impact the value of the diamond and you will pay much more for a flawless diamond than one with flaws. Even though your diamond may have flaws, there are considerable detailed classifications for how serious the flaws are - visible inclusions near the surface of the stone decrease the value much more than a tiny, invisible to the naked eye inclusion towards the base of the diamond.
3. Carat - this is a measure of weight drawn from ancient times when the seeds of the Carob tree were used as a counterbalance on the diamond weighing scales - one carob became one carat and this is equal to 0.2 grams. Be aware that the term carat is a measure of weight and not shape of size; a diamond may appear to be large from how it has been cut (see the following) but is in fact a lesser carat than another smaller looking stone. The more carats the more you will pay.
4. Cut - The only man-made part of the process which affects the value of a diamond; how it is cut will account for as much as 40% of the final value of the diamond itself. It is a highly skilled process practiced by exceptionally gifted craftsmen. The cut will determine the final shape and appearance of the stone but more importantly, how brilliant and fiery a diamond appears is directly related to how well it is cut. The sparkle of a diamond comes from the internal reflection of light entering the stone; it bounces around the interior of the diamond and this gives an amplified effect when it leaves the stone and enters your eye. Too shallow a cut and the light does not reflect so well as it simply passes through the stone; a good cut will maximize the internal reflection of light and it will enhance its sparkling appearance.
Before you start looking for a diamond, take a few moments to educate yourself on how to spot a great diamond from a piece of squashed graphite: diamonds and graphite are made from exactly the same element - Carbon - but the process for making each of them is very different deep within the bowels of the earth.
Diamonds are formed at least fifty miles under our feet where the pressures defy belied and at extremely high temperatures which force the carbon atoms into a peculiar lattice structure and it is this atomic formation which gives diamonds their strength and beauty as well as three of the four factors which affect their value and the price you pay - "The Four C's".
The four C's are:
1. Color - this is something of a trick; the most valuable diamonds have no coloring at all which accentuates the brilliance and fire after they are cut and polished; many diamonds have a yellowish coloring and this decreases the luster and sparkle of the stone so the less color a diamond has the more valuable it is. As a side note, there are blue and pink diamonds which are exceedingly rare and these do have an astronomical price tag!
2. Clarity - when a diamond is forming in the earth, other material aside from carbon may be included in the mix - bubbles of gas or foreign matter, or as part of the process the growing diamond may have scratches or faults along the lattice - these may be visible or may not be; if they are visible this will impact the value of the diamond and you will pay much more for a flawless diamond than one with flaws. Even though your diamond may have flaws, there are considerable detailed classifications for how serious the flaws are - visible inclusions near the surface of the stone decrease the value much more than a tiny, invisible to the naked eye inclusion towards the base of the diamond.
3. Carat - this is a measure of weight drawn from ancient times when the seeds of the Carob tree were used as a counterbalance on the diamond weighing scales - one carob became one carat and this is equal to 0.2 grams. Be aware that the term carat is a measure of weight and not shape of size; a diamond may appear to be large from how it has been cut (see the following) but is in fact a lesser carat than another smaller looking stone. The more carats the more you will pay.
4. Cut - The only man-made part of the process which affects the value of a diamond; how it is cut will account for as much as 40% of the final value of the diamond itself. It is a highly skilled process practiced by exceptionally gifted craftsmen. The cut will determine the final shape and appearance of the stone but more importantly, how brilliant and fiery a diamond appears is directly related to how well it is cut. The sparkle of a diamond comes from the internal reflection of light entering the stone; it bounces around the interior of the diamond and this gives an amplified effect when it leaves the stone and enters your eye. Too shallow a cut and the light does not reflect so well as it simply passes through the stone; a good cut will maximize the internal reflection of light and it will enhance its sparkling appearance.
Wednesday, 7 October 2009
Diamond in the Sullen Rough
A diamond is the hardest naturally occurring substance known to man and when combined with the brilliant fire of the cut and polished finished product, has made diamonds one of the most valuable gemstones in the world.
Diamonds in all of their glory are pure carbon, just the same way lead pencils used to made from graphite which is also pure carbon, it is the way the carbon atoms are arranged which makes the difference between cheap, dull graphite or brilliant, fiery diamond. Diamonds are formed at great pressure and temperature inside the earth; at least 50 miles below the surface where the pressure is so intense that the carbon atoms are compressed together into an extremely packed formation and which gives diamond its strength. Diamonds are brought to the surface as a result of the natural, geological processes of the earth or more usually, are sought in some of the deepest mines in the world.
Brazil and India used to be the principal sources of diamonds with their gemstones being sourced from rivers and gravel deposits which had come to or close to the surface naturally. In 1870, Kimberlite rock was discovered to be richly laden with diamonds in South Africa and now, huge masses of rock are mined and processed to extract the diamonds it contains. To put it into some perspective, for one carat of polished diamond over 250 tons of Kimberlite ore must be mined and processed - now you understand why diamonds are so expensive!
Once extracted from the ore, the rough diamonds must be sorted and processed further. Processing includes cutting and polishing as at this stage, the diamonds resemble pebbles you would encounter on a beach and are nondescript in appearance. Cutting and polishing the rough diamond brings out the internal fire and beauty of the diamond, however, it is how a diamond is cut which determines the level of light which enters the stone and is internally reflected before exiting the diamond - this level of internal reflection is what adds to the sparkle and brilliance of the stone so cutting a diamond properly is essential or it will appear dull.
After being cut and polished, diamonds are then graded according to a system know as the "Four C's". The Four C's are - Carat (or weight), Cut, Clarity and Color. A carat is equivalent to 0.2 grams but you must take care not to confuse diamond size with weight - a carat is a measure of weight and not size; a smaller looking diamond may very well be a larger weight of a much larger diamond simply because of composition and the way it has been cut. The cut, as we have seen, determines how much light enters and internally reflected within a diamond thus bringing out the fire or brilliance - too shallow a cut, where the diamond is not deep enough to allow the internal light reflection, will mean the diamond looks dull instead of fiery - this is a poor cut and underlines why diamond cutting is a highly skilled art.
Clarity refers to how clear and flaw-free the diamond is; diamonds will contain flaws which may be foreign matter enclosed within the diamond when it was forming in the earth or bubbles of gas and even internal faults where the carbon atoms have not uniformly bonded together. The presence of flaws affects the visual appearance of the diamond but also influences how light will travel and internally reflect within it; for these reasons, a flawless diamond is considerably more valuable than one with flaws.
Finally, color - diamonds can come with a yellowish tinge or at the other end of the scale have no color whatsoever - no color means a brighter and fiery brilliance whereas the yellowish tinge will dampen the brilliance of the diamond. The less color a diamond has the more valuable it is and the more you are going to pay for it.
Diamonds in all of their glory are pure carbon, just the same way lead pencils used to made from graphite which is also pure carbon, it is the way the carbon atoms are arranged which makes the difference between cheap, dull graphite or brilliant, fiery diamond. Diamonds are formed at great pressure and temperature inside the earth; at least 50 miles below the surface where the pressure is so intense that the carbon atoms are compressed together into an extremely packed formation and which gives diamond its strength. Diamonds are brought to the surface as a result of the natural, geological processes of the earth or more usually, are sought in some of the deepest mines in the world.
Brazil and India used to be the principal sources of diamonds with their gemstones being sourced from rivers and gravel deposits which had come to or close to the surface naturally. In 1870, Kimberlite rock was discovered to be richly laden with diamonds in South Africa and now, huge masses of rock are mined and processed to extract the diamonds it contains. To put it into some perspective, for one carat of polished diamond over 250 tons of Kimberlite ore must be mined and processed - now you understand why diamonds are so expensive!
Once extracted from the ore, the rough diamonds must be sorted and processed further. Processing includes cutting and polishing as at this stage, the diamonds resemble pebbles you would encounter on a beach and are nondescript in appearance. Cutting and polishing the rough diamond brings out the internal fire and beauty of the diamond, however, it is how a diamond is cut which determines the level of light which enters the stone and is internally reflected before exiting the diamond - this level of internal reflection is what adds to the sparkle and brilliance of the stone so cutting a diamond properly is essential or it will appear dull.
After being cut and polished, diamonds are then graded according to a system know as the "Four C's". The Four C's are - Carat (or weight), Cut, Clarity and Color. A carat is equivalent to 0.2 grams but you must take care not to confuse diamond size with weight - a carat is a measure of weight and not size; a smaller looking diamond may very well be a larger weight of a much larger diamond simply because of composition and the way it has been cut. The cut, as we have seen, determines how much light enters and internally reflected within a diamond thus bringing out the fire or brilliance - too shallow a cut, where the diamond is not deep enough to allow the internal light reflection, will mean the diamond looks dull instead of fiery - this is a poor cut and underlines why diamond cutting is a highly skilled art.
Clarity refers to how clear and flaw-free the diamond is; diamonds will contain flaws which may be foreign matter enclosed within the diamond when it was forming in the earth or bubbles of gas and even internal faults where the carbon atoms have not uniformly bonded together. The presence of flaws affects the visual appearance of the diamond but also influences how light will travel and internally reflect within it; for these reasons, a flawless diamond is considerably more valuable than one with flaws.
Finally, color - diamonds can come with a yellowish tinge or at the other end of the scale have no color whatsoever - no color means a brighter and fiery brilliance whereas the yellowish tinge will dampen the brilliance of the diamond. The less color a diamond has the more valuable it is and the more you are going to pay for it.
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