Engagement ring advice - what are the optimal C's?

Nick_Nolan · 2 October 2017 at 9:01PM

Hello

This is my first post here, so I apologise in advance if my question is in any way formulated incorrectly.

I am looking to get an engagement ring for my long term girlfriend. She is quite petite, so I have decided that I think that the ideal size diamond is not larger than approximately 1.30 carats (perhaps even smaller).

My question is with regards to the other characteristics, mainly the three remaining C's. I don't have a particular budget in mind and would happily spend a fair amount for the perfect ring, but at the same time I don't feel the need to pay a big premium just to get a certain letter on the certificate.

I guess my question is: what are the ideal C's if I am prepared to pay a premium for anything that makes the ring look more beautiful, but I feel that it is of less importance to pay extra for what can only be seen by an expert under a microscope.

Would for example an E colour, VVS2 diamond look to the naked eye very similar to a D colour, Flawless diamond?

I will of course go into a store and look, but I wanted some unbiased advice first :-)

Many thanks in advance for any help!!

Nick N

paddyandstumpy · 2 October 2017 at 9:08PM

Personally, I bought a loose diamond from a diamond dealer in Hatton Gardens. Cool Diamonds or something like that if I recall. Great experience.

They take you through the 4c's, and a lot more. There are other things to take into consideration like table width, top/bottom ratio (or something like that) and fluorescence.

I wouldn't just focus on the 4 C's.

Also, avoid any certification that isn't GIA, these have the highest standards of certification.

FreddieFrugal · 2 October 2017 at 9:37PM

There's no optimal, just buy a ring that looks nice to you and you think your fianc! will like.

4Cs and all that is meaningless. It's not an investment. Just buy a ring that looks nice.

trailingspouse · 2 October 2017 at 9:46PM

Choose it together. She'll be wearing it for an awfully long time (you hope) - it's extremely important that she likes it. You go into marriage together, as a team - so begin as you mean to go on, and discuss how much you (plural) are prepared to spend on it. If I was spending 4+ figures on anything for anyone, I would want to be absolutely sure that it was exactly what they wanted.

Pollycat · 2 October 2017 at 11:00PM

As colour E is only one step down from colour D, I doubt you or your girlfriend would be able to tell the difference. An expert should but they won't be wearing it.

I too would suggest that you involve your girlfriend in the choice of ring - style, colour (yellow or white gold or platinum) and diamond (if that really is the gemstone that she wants).

LilElvis · 2 October 2017 at 11:07PM

Have you actually looked at how much a diamond ring of that size and quality costs? You're looking at 5 digits.

UKTigerlily · 2 October 2017 at 11:14PM

FreddieFrugal wrote: »

There's no optimal, just buy a ring that looks nice to you and you think your fianc! will like.

4Cs and all that is meaningless. It's not an investment. Just buy a ring that looks nice.

This! I wouldn't want a diamond at all, i'd want us to go out together & choose what to get one another. Has she said she wants a diamond ring? I hope you've told her what you'd like!

Nick_Nolan · 2 October 2017 at 11:41PM

Thank you all for your replies so far, very helpful!

I don't understand how I can reply to/quote individual measages from my phone, so I am just replying to everything at once here...

We haven't directly discussed the ring topic, but we have a lot of friends who have gotten engaged recently, so I have been able to get a good idea what she would like from hearing her talk about other people's rings etc.

One topic that has come up in our friend group is the one of being surprised with a ring that the guy has picked vs. picking out the ring herself, and she has quite clearly indicated that she would want to be surprised rather than pick it out together (she doesn't like to make decisions in general). This is also why I don't want to discuss it with her. I don't think she is expecting this to happen at the moment and I really want it to be a surprise.

I do know that she prefers fairly simple jewellery, so I think that a solitaire diamond is the way to go (I know she would love a diamond ring).

Maybe what I could do is buy a ring that I think that she would like, but then book for us to go to the jeweller afterwards to get it sized and also look at alternative settings and other diamonds? I do really want to keep the surprise element, and I think she will really appreciate the effort if I manage to get it right

Someone mentioned the cost and yes I'm aware.

Again - many thanks for all your ideas!!

StaffieTerrier · 3 October 2017 at 8:42AM

Nick_Nolan wrote: »

Maybe what I could do is buy a ring that I think that she would like, but then book for us to go to the jeweller afterwards to get it sized and also look at alternative settings and other diamonds? I do really want to keep the surprise element, and I think she will really appreciate the effort if I manage to get it right

Someone mentioned the cost and yes I'm aware.

Again - many thanks for all your ideas!!

I'm another person who thinks your girlfriend really needs an input in the ring she's going to be wearing for a long time. My ring is the exact opposite of what my partner thought I liked.

If you really think it needs to be a surprise, could you ask her friends to find out exactly what she would like and report back to you?

Pollycat · 3 October 2017 at 9:19AM

Nick_Nolan wrote: »

Thank you all for your replies so far, very helpful!

I don't understand how I can reply to/quote individual measages from my phone, so I am just replying to everything at once here...

We haven't directly discussed the ring topic, but we have a lot of friends who have gotten engaged recently, so I have been able to get a good idea what she would like from hearing her talk about other people's rings etc.

One topic that has come up in our friend group is the one of being surprised with a ring that the guy has picked vs. picking out the ring herself, and she has quite clearly indicated that she would want to be surprised rather than pick it out together (she doesn't like to make decisions in general). This is also why I don't want to discuss it with her. I don't think she is expecting this to happen at the moment and I really want it to be a surprise.

I do know that she prefers fairly simple jewellery, so I think that a solitaire diamond is the way to go (I know she would love a diamond ring).

Maybe what I could do is buy a ring that I think that she would like, but then book for us to go to the jeweller afterwards to get it sized and also look at alternative settings and other diamonds? I do really want to keep the surprise element, and I think she will really appreciate the effort if I manage to get it right

Someone mentioned the cost and yes I'm aware.

Again - many thanks for all your ideas!!

If you're planning to do the bit in bold, make sure that it's actually possible to resize the ring.
If your girlfriend is petite, it might need making quite a few sizes smaller and that's not always possible depending on the style.

I hope you'll ensure you're very clear on what the shop will allow you to do about mind-changes after you've chosen and paid.

Robin9 · 3 October 2017 at 9:45AM

After my wife and I got engaged we bought a ring between us afterwards. Then we set a date for the wedding 4 months later.

I can't understand this idea of "we'll get married in 2020"

Engagement ring advice - what are the optimal C's?

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