Hey guys
I just bought mine so all of this stuff is still fresh in my head
- There is no hard and fast rule about buying a ring. Spend as much as you are comfortable with. There is no reason to go into debt as you still have to plan a wedding
- The most important decision you'll need to make off the bat. Carat or Cut (or for those where money is no matter, than do both). Carat size is by weight, not size. The better the cut, the more "sparkle" the diamond appears. A well cut diamond will look bigger and better than a large carat diamond with an inferior cut. For me, I got the best cut diamond I could and reduce the carat size to .8
- Do your research before you shop. Get a minimum standard for all 4 qualities. For me, I wanted an ideal cut (excellent grade) or higher, F colour (the first category of "Colourless"), VS2 (will need 10x and a trained eye to see any inclusions), and no less than 0.75 carat.
- Naturally, the more higher qualities you seek, the price goes up. Find what qualities you can sacrifice to make it more affordable
- Canadian diamonds will have a markup compared to diamonds coming from else where. The advantage is that Canadian diamonds are laser inscribed so it gives people the confidence that it is not a blood diamond or something shady
- I bought my diamond from Brilliant earth, and online store. Very good service, and their company promotes itself as a environmentally friendly diamond company (my fiance is very into that).
http://www.brilliantearth.com/
- Mine came to be about $8k (damn Ontario taxes) but appraised for almost 17k
Hope that helps