Don’t you wish there was a survival guide for everything in life? Luckily for you, we can at least cover the basics of the engagement ring shopping process! While there is a lot to know before you buy “the ring”, it doesn’t have to be an intimidating experience. We’re tackling a few of the biggest issues guys have when they first start shopping!
Jonathan’s Engagement Ring Survival Guide for Men:
Set Your Budget
Don’t listen to all of that noise out there about spending three months of salary on the ring. It’s a suggestion, not a rule (and it’s pretty old-school thinking nowadays). We’ve found that our customers have a wide range of rules that they use to set their budget – but at the end of the day it’s about what you can realistically afford and what you feel comfortable spending. A good tip? The best strategy is to set a price range instead of a hard number. This allows us to give you several diamond options to choose from at different price points in your budget.
Get Educated (Ask Questions)
We have a lot of guys that are loaded to the teeth with Google research when they come in to the store. While that’s great, you’d be surprised that it’s probably not enough! The diamond buying process can be complex, and a lot of people out there have different opinions about what you should be searching for. Obviously, you need to be aware of the 4 C’s, but only a certified gemologist will know little details about table depth or cut that you will have a hard time finding on a search engine.
When you come in for an appointment, don’t be afraid to ask questions about the diamonds we show you. Heck – don’t even be afraid to ask us to let you use our sweet evaluation tools in the store either!
The more you know, the better the process is for everyone involved. Just be open-minded and ready to learn about diamonds.
Be Sneaky
One of the hardest things about engagement ring shopping is figuring out what the heck she actually wants. There are a few great tips you can use to get an idea what type of engagement ring she would like:
- Pinterest – If you weren’t aware, women basically pin everything they have ever liked about anything to their Pinterest board. Figure out what her username is and start looking around. If you have been together for a decent amount of time, there is a 99.9% chance that she has pinned her favorite engagement ring styles so she could come back and look again later. You’ll have to wade through a lot of shoes, recipes, and dress pictures…but it is worth it later on. Just trust us.
- Ask her – This one only really works if you have a long time to go before you pop the question, but women love talking about engagement rings. And diamonds. And jewelry. See the trend? Chances are that if you ask her what kind of engagement ring styles she likes, she will give you more information than you’ve ever heard before.
In addition to knowing the style of diamond and setting that you’ll need, you also would be smart to figure out the ring size beforehand. Don’t panic – if you can’t figure it out, you can always get the ring resized at a later time.
The easiest trick is to find a ring in her jewelry box that she doesn’t wear very often (this means you will actually have to pay attention to her jewelry for a few days :)). When you schedule an appointment to design your engagement ring, bring the ring you found in and we can size it in the store.
Check Diamond Prices
You probably haven’t heard that advice before, but it can be a lifesaver for your budget. Diamonds are the same as any other commodity – prices fluctuate with market supply and demand. For example, right now diamond prices are at 10 year lows. While that doesn’t have a big effect on the mall jewelry store prices, smaller diamond buyers like Jonathan’s Fine Jewelers respond to the market quickly and adjust our prices accordingly. Doing a little bit of research on diamond price trends can help you plan the best time of the year to buy a diamond! Check out our recent diamond price post here for a heads-up on how the diamond market works.
To Insure Or Not to Insure?
Believe it or not, ring insurance is actually simple and affordable. If you are concerned about your finance’s engagement ring getting lost or stolen and don’t want to cough up the cash to buy another, go ahead and get the insurance. The general rule of thumb is that it costs about $1 for every $100 that it would take to replace the ring. So if you buy a $10,000 ring, you are looking about $100 to insure it for the year. Honestly, that’s not too bad for the peace of mind that you’ll have with the insurance!
If you have questions about ring insurance, be sure to ask when you pick up your ring. We can help point you in the right direction and explain the benefits.
Want to learn more tips and tricks about the engagement ring process? Schedule and appointment with Jonathan’s Fine Jewelers or give us a call for more. Check back soon for our proposal survival guide if you are popping the big question soon!
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