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Thursday, February 05, 2009

Read Here First Before Buying An Engagement Ring

By Rudiger Petulanze

Your engagement ring can be incredibly beautiful, and is an important part of your life. However, there are lots of rings out there and a lot of terms that you might not be familiar with. That makes picking your engagement ring rather tricky.

There are three main components to any engagement ring - stone, metal, and design. The stone is usually a diamond, and the metal is traditionally gold, but there are also other options.

Picking The Stone One thing to be aware of is the system for grading diamonds. The four components are Cut, Carat, Color and Clarity.

You'll need to pay close attention to diamond quality when you make your purchase, but the highest quality isn't necessarily the best. Lower quality diamonds can look the same as the best ones, but they save you a lot when you use them.

Choosing A Metal The majority of engagement rings are made using either platinum or gold. Gold comes in a number of grades, from about ten karat to twenty-four karat, and in a number of colors from white and yellow to rose.

Eighteen karat gold is the most popular choice for many people's gold engagement rings, though some prefer fourteen or ten karat for their increased durability. These are less pure, but also less prone to scratching and denting.

Platinum is an interesting but costly gold alternative that looks a lot like white gold. However, it's harder than gold and there are a number of differences between the two.

Engagement Ring Design Your engagement ring design is a very personal choice. It doesn't matter whether you pick an existing ring or have a custom piece created to your specifications. Semi-custom rings are also available - you pick the band size and stone, as well as other design elements, to create your perfect ring.

Remember that there are four basic elements to a good engagement ring design. These are practicality and comfort, strength, and appearance. Without these four elements, your ring just won't live up to its potential.

An attractive, durable, comfortable ring depends on the way you live and work. A higher setting looks pretty, but is prone to catch on things, making it a hazard in some conditions.

A mechanic, for instance, is going to put her engagement ring through a lot of rough wear, while an office assistant won't. Think about how you wear your jewelry and what your hands go through every day when you choose a design. More durable rings are made from gold that's been adulterated by other metals or by using platinum or other strong materials.

There's also a design factor - four prong settings are the least secure, six prong settings are stronger, and bezel settings are the strongest. Low, heavy settings take more abuse than high, light ones.

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