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How to buy an engagement ring
By Jeff Salway
If you're planning to propose to your girlfriend this Valentine's Day, the chances are you won't be feeling like diamonds are your best friend. Buying a diamond ring - as 75% of men do when they propose - can be a minefield.
Where do you start? What should you look for? Where do you get it from? How do you know if it's the real deal or a fake? And most importantly, is she going to like it?
Then there's the cost. Of course, you'll want to impress your girlfriend (and possibly her mother, sisters and friends), but with the average wedding now costing in excess of £15,000 and more couples footing the bill themselves, you need to remember that the ring is just the start of the spending.
How much?
There are many theories as to how much you should pay. You may have heard the popular one about one-and-a-half or two months' salary, but this idea has been promoted largely by the big diamond companies, so it's hardly a reliable benchmark. The only realistic guideline is that you should spend only what you can afford - your fiancée doesn't want to be paying the bills for the next five years while you continue paying for her engagement ring. So, before you go anywhere near a jeweller, work out your budget.
Traditional rings
If you opt to buy the ring before you propose, you'll need to know what your partner likes. Take your cue from the jewellery she already has. It may be worth asking her friends for tips. You can play safe, however. The majority of engagement ring sales are fairly traditional, according to Gina Davis of Jay's Jewellers & Diamond Merchants in London's Hatton Garden. "People still go for the classic platinum ring with a round solitaire cut," she says. "You don't tend to get different trends when it comes to engagement rings."
The solitaire is popular because its round shape is symmetrical and capable of reflecting nearly all the light that enters it. If you fancy something different, you'll also find shapes such as pear, emerald, oval, heart, marquise and princess.
You also need to know the size. The best bet here is to sneakily get hold of one her rings, if she has any, and take it to the shop with you. All is not lost if you can't do this and you buy the wrong size - most jewellers will happily resize it for you at no, or very little, extra cost.
How to choose a good diamond
The main factors to think about when you're looking at rings are what those in the trade refer to as the 'four Cs' - clarity, colour, cut and carat. The clarity of a diamond refers to how pure it is. In fact, there are very few really pure diamonds, so those that are considered flawless command sky high prices.
A diamond gets it sparkle from its colour - the brightest (and the most expensive) tend to be the ones with the least colour. The scale starts at D, the most colourless and goes down to Z, the most coloured (usually yellowish), and prices will differ massively. Try to avoid going lower than G if you want quality.
The carat of the diamond is its weight, with one carat being 0.2 grams. There's little to distinguish size-wise between 0.75-carat and 1-carat diamonds, so the untrained eye won't spot the difference. But while the carat always seems to be highlighted when you read about diamonds, there's no point in having a big diamond that's badly cut or doesn't sparkle.
A well cut diamond will shine brilliantly. If the cut is too deep or too shallow the light will seem to go through it, instead of reflecting. Unlike the other Cs, the cut is not determined by nature, but by craftsmanship, so it's open to error.
When it comes to reassurance about quality, the most important thing to look out for is a certificate - preferably from the Gemmological Institute of America (GIA). Chris Haddon, manager of Fine Jewels in Hatton Garden, says: "You can get local certificates, but they're based on personal opinion. The GIA-accredited diamonds are laboratory tested."
Quality jewellers
This may also help you differentiate between the quality jewellers and others, although it isn't a blanket rule. In Hatton Garden, Moneywise discovered big discrepancies in terms of the knowledge of jewellery shop staff and the types of certificates offered - some claimed the GIA was not particularly important, although the majority emphasised it.
There is of course a fifth C - cost. The average amount spent on an engagement ring is about £1,200, but the quality and range of costs varies hugely. The good news is that you can buy a good diamond ring without breaking the bank. The most expensive tend to be the heaviest, but if size doesn't matter, you can buy a smaller one that has the quality of cut and colour to make it shine brilliantly.
It also pays to shop around. Some independent jewellers - especially in Hatton Garden and in Birmingham's jewellery quarter - buy their diamonds wholesale, so they can often knock up to a third off the price of the average high street store. If you're prepared to haggle, you could get an even better deal.
You can also buy online and benefit from some impressive discounts, but this has its disadvantages. You're unable to assess all the factors, such as cut and colour, so you will have to rely on the supplier's certificates. You can conduct a pretty comprehensive search online, however, at sites such as thediamondshop.co.uk and jewellerywebshop.co.uk, before buying in person.
Get insured
Once you've decided on your ring, get it insured. Check first to see if it is covered by your home insurance. The value covered by standard insurance policies varies, but is usually between £1,000 and £2,500. Norwich Union's standard home and contents cover, for example, insures individual items of jewellery up to £1,500. If this is not enough, your insurer will usually insure it for an additional premium. All an insurer usually needs is a valuation certificate, which can be provided by your jeweller, but it may also be worth taking a photo of the ring to keep as a record in case it's stolen. Finally, remember to check the small print: the ring may often only be covered while it's worn or left locked up in a safe.
So, buying a diamond engagement ring doesn't need to be too painful. Set a budget, get an idea of what you want, shop around, ask questions and keep the four Cs in mind. Then all you have to do is get down on one knee.
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