I must say that when i was younger, I really am not a big fan of diamonds and I do not see the big fuss of it. I was like telling myself that I would rather use the money on something else other than a diamond but here I am now... obsessing over my proposal ring.
When I was 21, my mom gave me her diamond. It was initially a diamond ring but she removed it and made it into a heart shaped pendant for me. She asked me what I wanted for my 21st birthday and I have no freaking idea as all I wanted was to spend time with my friends and that made me happy.
I could have asked for money but come to think of it, I am glad that I did not as the money can be easily earned back but the gift from my mom will last forever *singing diamonds are forever.. forever..*
Well actually when I got it from my mom since my 21st birthday, never have I wore it once. I was scared to lose it and kinda wasn't really into it at that time and I still never got to taking it out to wear it yet.
Well all along I fancy a princess cut diamond or even a heart shaped ones but I decided against it and think a solitaire suits better. Back then, I knew nothing about diamonds and not even sure what's good in the market and where can we purchase it except for places like lee hwa, soo kee and the usual stores we see in the mall. I have always heard of the lovely blue box that make most girls' knees go weak but never really dared to walk into the shop to take a look at them.
At times I was quite sure my taste will change when time passes by. I have seasonal preference haha..
Now say you are a guy and you want your girl to marry you. Please at least prepare a decent proposal as you are asking the girl of our dreams to spend the rest of her life with you. At least have some decency to do something for her. It doesn't have to be something fancy. Some girls prefer the private and quiet way. But please.. at least something ok..
To select the perfect diamond ring, most importantly is the 4Cs.
- Cut
- Clarity
- Colours
- Carat
Well different people will treat each C with different importance. Some may treat all with equal importance.
For cut, I personally feel that this is very important as it will play a big part in how brilliant your diamond will shine. A normal cut should have 58 facets for a round standard diamond. The crown angel and the pavillion angel must be of a certain proportion so that it will look good. I believe dada told me before that there is a calculator online (from GIA?) to tell you how your diamond fare when you enter in the different Angles and Proportion of your diamond. The Polish and Symmetry plays a huge part as well as all these will affect the grading of your diamond. My personally recommendation of course will be a triple excellent piece for polish, symmetry and proportions but! A very good rating works pretty fine too.
For clarity, it ranges from Flawless to Included. The closer the clarity gets to being flawless, the more expensive the diamond. The order of the clarity goes like this
1) FL - Flawless
2) IF - Internally Flawless
3) VVS1, VVS2 - Very Very Slightly Included
4) VS1, VS2 - Very Slightly Included
5) SI1, SI2 - Slightly Included
6) I1, I2, I3 - Included
Based on what I know, a VS2 and above is good enough as the inclusions can't really be seen with the naked eye so if you want a bigger rock but not sure where to trim the fat, this maybe a good place to look into.
For Colours, it does not start with A or B but it starts from D to Z. What I am refering here is a pure white diamond. Of course if yours is a yellow or pink one, that I have to say I do not know how to tell hehehe... How are the colours differentiated? The diamond graders just place the diamonds with their pavilion up (bottoms up hehe), and examine them using white light against a white background.
The colour of the diamonds are then compared to the calibration diamonds provided by grading labs. The DEF colours are usually knows as the colourless range, the GHI will be the near colourless range while K-M are faintly tinted and so on. Please take note of the fluorescence of the diamond as well as usually from what I know, they should be stated as none. The higher the fluorescence, the more it affects the value of the diamond... in a bad way that is..
Lastly!!! its the Carat! This I have nothing to say cause it all depends on the budget and the suitability of the diamond for the girl. Most importantly it is the heart that counts coming from the guy.
But be sure at least to sound out the girl what kinda ring they might fancy otherwise they are going to be stuck with it for the rest of their lifes so at least get something they might like. Get help from her family or friends and I am sure there will be people willing to help on this.
Branding plays a big part as well I guess. Of course if it's a designer brand, get ready to pay more. Please ensure to check on the after service. Some places only offer a one time polishing service and that's it. Others will provide lifetime cleaning services to you.
Not forgetting please ensure that your diamond is certified by a reputable lab. Certs from AGS, GIA are the more commonly known ones. Tiffany and Co has their own personal lab to grade their diamonds whereas for Larry Lazare diamonds, on top of the GIA cert, they have another in house cert to ensure that it is indeed under strict grading by Lazare themselves as well.
You all can go to the following website for more information for diamond ring:
http://www.proposalring.com/
http://www.pricescope.com/
http://www.diamondring.com/
:) What else can I say.. we don't call it our best friend for no reason.. *wink*
Up next, I will blog more on my wedding bands! Stay tune!
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