Buying Tips
Budget
Always have a budget in mind.
It is important to set a budget before you start to shop. There are so many options and choices when it comes to picking up jewellery and the price range can be very wide. Setting a budget will make your choice easier by narrowing down your options.
A budget will also help you as a consumer to prevent yourself from submitting to overspending urges as you are presented with the vast variety of luxurious options. After all, an engagement ring is meant to be a symbol of love, not to break the bank! Once you have determined your budget, we would then be able to share and advise you on the available diamond specifications and ring designs that will give you the most value!
Knowledge
Do your research and understand what you are paying for.
There are tons of things you can learn about a diamond it is important to understand how the various traits of the diamond can affect the overall appearance, quality and price.
The most important aspect of diamond grading to learn is the “4 Cs” – Cut, Colour, Clarity and Carat. Each value will affect the appearance and price of the diamond in their own way and understanding them will help you ascertain what is most important to you when you are choosing a diamond and what you might want to compromise on if necessary to best fit your budget.
You may learn more about diamond and jewellery selection in our Education page or simply Contact Us to let our expert consultants walk through this journey with you!
Cut
The most important quality of a diamond.
Cut is regarded as the most important factor out of all the 4Cs as the allure and beauty of a diamond depends very much on the cut quality. We recommend placing the most emphasis on the cut grade and select the highest possible cut grade that your budget allows.
Colour
Beauty in the absence of colour.
A “Near Colourless” diamond is a safe bet if you plan to set it in a yellow or rose gold setting as the warm colour of the metal makes any colour in the diamond less noticeable. If you want the purest “Colourless” diamond, you may want to set it in a white gold or platinum setting to further bring out the purity.
Clarity
How much can you see?
Many inclusions and blemishes are too tiny to be visible to the naked eye. Therefore, a diamond with grade VS2 and above are considered “eye-clean” diamonds. For assurance that the diamond will display a clean and stunning brilliance, a Clarity grade of VVS2 or higher is recommended for all diamond shapes.
Carat
Does size matter?
Some Carat weight are considered “magic sizes” due to their popularity and as a result much more expensive. Some of these “magic sizes” are 0.5 carats, 0.75 carats and 1.00 carats. For a better value, we suggest choosing a diamond that is slightly lighter that “magic sizes”. For example, you may consider getting a 0.95 carats diamond instead of a 1.00 carat diamond. The difference in size visually will not be significant and you can use those savings to opt for a higher grade in the other factors of the 4Cs.
Find Out What She Likes
This is can be tricky.
Many a times, buying a jewellery or an engagement ring should be a surprise. So how do you make sure she will like what you have chosen without letting her in on it?
There are a number of ways that you can use to try to find out what she likes. Firstly, you may get her family or close friends in on this. They may already be certain of what she likes. They can also find out by either asking her or through a shopping trip together! Alternatively, you may take note of the jewellery that she currently owns and look out for a particular style or preference, if any. Asking her subtly is another option but if it is not done properly, you might give it away!
Also, you have to take into consideration of lifestyle when making a decision on the setting and metal selection. For example, if the wearer has a active lifestyle, it may be wiser to choose a setting with less ornate and a more secure mounting for the diamond with a sturdier ring metal as it less susceptible to damages when knocked against. This is even more important for wedding rings as they are meant for every day usage.
The last option will be to ask her directly or even include her in the selection process! Well, this might not seem romantic to some but you can definite be sure that she will not dislike it (after all, she chose it!) which is actually a very practical solution. For engagement rings, we provide the option for setting the diamond you have selected in a temporary setting for your proposal and you may return with your fiancée to select her ideal ring design.
Her Ring Size
Getting the right ring size.
We are able to provide a ring sizer for you to accurately get the ring size of the desired wearer. You may also instead choose to use an existing ring to estimate the ring size of the wearer by drawing the outline of the inner circle on a paper or simply bring it to us at Cara Lovelle and we will measure it for you.
Fret not, a free ring resizing can be done at Cara Lovelle in the event the ring turns out to be too big or too small for the desired wearer.