To Men: If You Like It Then You Should Put A Ring On It

Like I said earlier, I will be having some posts where I will be mostly speaking to the men. And well from this title, it's to the men. 

Who here took their beautiful bride-to-be ring shopping? My fiancé certainly did, and I am so glad he did. Not that I didn't trust him, but I think he would've picked something out that maybe I didn't like. Especially, since I didn't even know exactly what I wanted, and when you try rings on your finger it looks a whole different than in the case. 

No offense men, but I don't get girls that say, "I'll just wear whatever he gives me and I will love it." That is crazy! Girls don't want to wear a ring on their finger every single day, and not be in love with it. They're going to be showing it off to everyone-even strangers will be coming up to them asking to see it; so, make sure they're in love with it. And the only way to truly know, is to take them ring shopping with you or have a very good idea of what they want.

So in this post, I am going to show you some different ring styles and designers, and give you Diamond101. 

Designers:
-Neil Lane
-Simon G
-Tiffany & Co.
-Tacori
-Demarco

Styles:
-Colored Diamond-the diamond is a different color
-Vintage-diamond and then another square diamond setting around it
-Traditional-traditional diamond 
-Matching Band- has a wedding band that goes with it made for the ring

Diamond 101:

Carat-How much the diamond weighs. 1 carat is equal to 200 mg. This can range from 0.25 carats to 5 carats. 

Cut- A diamond's cut is how well its facets interact with light. This ranges from excellent to poor. 

Clarity- Diamonds are the result of carbon exposed to intense heat and pressure in the earth. This process therefore results in internal characteristics in diamonds called inclusions and external characteristics called blemishes. This ranges from flawless (no blemishes or inclusions) to included.

Color- The color of the diamond. A pure, perfect diamond has no hue-like pure water. The diamond color-grading system is from D (colorless) to Z (light). Many of these color distinctions are faint to the eye. Obviously the closer to D the better, and the more expensive it will be.

Metal- This is where you will either pick from a white gold ring, platinum, rose gold etc.

Stone- This is the shape of the diamond. A princess cut is a popular choice which is a square diamond. There is also pear, round, oval etc.

Now, that you have a better understanding of what you are looking for in a diamond and all the possibilities you can now begin shopping. If you want to save on money I would recommend purchasing the ring and the diamond separately. Many jewelers also offer deals and promotions where if you buy an engagement ring you get a free men's ring or a free wedding band, so I would ask jewelers if they have any deals or promotions like that. My husband bought my engagement ring and wedding band together, and got his ring for free. He also bought my diamond and ring separately from different places and saved a lot of money that way. 

Now I failed when I didn't start off by talking about your budget. It is obviously the most important and first place to start in this process. So men, what is your budget? How much can you afford without going into debt? Be realistic in setting your budget. You don't want to go in debt and make payments on this ring it's best to own it free and clear. Decide what "C" is most important-carat, clarity, color etc. Make sure and research all options before you make your purchase. Most jewelers are willing to work with you, so talk to them, tell them your budget and see what happens. Good luck!