How do I determine the ring size of my fiance?
To measure finger for ring size. Click on link the following link. Print chart. and follow the directions. http://www.diamond.com/content/images/ringsize.pdf
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The monthly Engagement Ring Bearer Newsletter offers you wealth of current information relating to engagement rings free of charge, besides you get ideas and suggestion to help you develop a strong lasting relationship with your sweet heart, and sales tips and money making offers to get ahead of the game.
What are the common metals used when designing an engagement ring?
The metal you use in the band makes a big difference as well. Some women prefer certain metals over others, so make sure you know her tastes if you’re surprising her.
Yellow gold. Yellow gold is mixed with alloys such as zinc and copper to give it that golden glow. It’s a soft and may bend or shift shape with time, but will not chip or fade. The amount of gold in a yellow gold ring is measured in karats (not the same as the “carats” that measure weight in a diamond). The more karats of gold in a yellow gold ring, the more yellow it will appear.
White gold. White gold is mixed with alloys such as silver and palladium. In past decades, nickel was used as an alloy in white gold. However, nickel can cause allergic reactions in some people, so it’s best to avoid white gold with nickel alloys.
White gold’s natural color is a bit more gray than white. To give it that cool white sheen, white gold is usually coated in a metal called rhodium. Rhodium plating can wear away with time. To keep a white gold ring looking its best, it must be re-plated once a year or so.
Because all white gold rings are coated with rhodium, the amount of gold in the ring won’t affect the color. A nine-karat white-gold ring will look just as white as an 18-karat ring.
Rose gold. Rose gold is a striking and unique golden-pink color achieved by mixing gold with copper alloy. It’s usually as expensive as yellow gold, and a bit more affordable than white gold. It’s not as common in engagement rings as yellow and white gold, although it can sometimes be found as an accent metal. Typically, the more gold in the ring, the more subtle the color. The rosy blush of this metal can also intensify with age, due to tarnishing of the copper.
Platinum. Platinum is extremely popular as an engagement ring metal because it’s tougher and more durable than gold. It has a bright, metallic color that’s more silvery than white gold. It tends to be more expensive than gold, as it’s more rare. Platinum can acquire a patina over time, which can be removed with soap, water, and a gentle scrub with a soft-bristled brush.
Titaniun. Titanium is the hardest natural metal in the world. You will choose your type of ring. The beauty with titanium is that it gives you the power of choices. You can select titanium with colour, a polished or textured finish.
What are the common diamond cuts used in the design of diamond engagement rings?
The diamond is usually the focal point and sets the tone for your engagement ring. It’s the most obvious and noticeable part of the ring, so it’s important to pick a cut she’ll love. Here are the most common cuts on the market.
Round brilliants are the most common diamond cuts. This multi-faceted cut reflects a great deal of light, perfect for showcasing a diamond’s brilliance and fire. With a good round brilliant cut, you’re sure to get a sparkly stone.
Modified brilliants come in many shapes and sizes. A modified brilliant incorporates roughly the same facet design as a round brilliant, maximizing the amount of fire and sparkle in the stone. However, modified brilliants come in many different shapes, including marquises, hearts, trillions, pears, and ovals.
Step cuts highlight a stone’s clarity rather than its sparkle. A stone loses less of its volume when it is cut in a step style, so many step-cut stones are larger; however, smaller step cut stones are also popular accents to a larger brilliant-cut solitaire. With a step cut, the facets are arranged horizontally to the top of the stone, and are rectangular in shape. Many step-cut stones are square or rectangular, and variations include the emerald cut, the baguette, and the lozenge.
Mixed cuts combine the sparkly nature of the brilliants with the weight preservation of a step cut, making it possible to mold larger diamonds into fiery gems without losing too much carat weight. Mixed cuts are often square, but have more sparkle than the typical step cut square gems. Common mixed cuts include the Princess, the Flanders, and the Barion.
What are some of the common diamond settings we can find in the design of an engagement ring?
Common setting designs you will find when designing engagement rings are as follows;.
Prong settings. The most popular choice for solitaire diamonds, a prong setting involves four metal prongs that hold the diamond at four corners—or at three, five, or six, depending on the shape of your diamond.
The less metal touching the diamond, the more it will sparkle. A prong setting is generally the best for showcasing the diamond’s sparkle and fire—it allows plenty of light into the stone from different angles.
However, your diamond may be at more risk of falling off than it would in another setting. Prong settings also protrude, which can be a nuisance for some.
Bezel settings. A bezel is a collar of metal wrapped around a diamond or other gem. With this setting, the diamond still protrudes from the ring, but it’s set in a smoother, more secure surface. Bezel settings tend to have a traditional look, but can look more modern and creative when the collar of metal is itself set with small, non-traditional gems.
Channel settings. With this setting, diamonds are placed in a narrow channel below the surface of the ring. This setting is often used with a series of small, round diamonds with high brilliance. The stones are not raised in this setting, so they are relatively protected from wear and tear.
Pave settings. The Pave setting involves lots of tiny diamonds, set in a ring so that they look like a paved cobblestone street or a carpet of diamonds. This technique is very striking, but it requires a lot of skill and can be quite expensive—even more so than the diamonds themselves.
Flush settings. With a flush setting, the diamond is sunk so that its top is level with the metal band. This setting does not allow light in as well as a more exposed setting, but some women love the look of tiny diamonds glittering like stars in the sky.
What is a "Blood Diamond" ?
Blood diamonds are mined in a war zone and sold to fund an invading army, insurgent efforts, or the power struggles of local warlords.
As recently as the 1990’s, about 15% of diamonds sold worldwide were being sold to fund war activities. Because of steps taken by the international community to make it more difficult for countries at war to export diamonds, the World Diamond Council estimates that the percentage has fallen to roughly 1%, as of 2004. However, the system isn’t perfect.
In 2000, the diamond industry established the Kimberly Process. The leaders of Africa’s top diamond-mining countries met in Kimberly, South Africa, to construct a process that forced its member countries to keep track of the value of the diamonds they export and import. This makes it possible to determine how much countries spend and earn from diamonds, and to hold them accountable for any illicit diamond sales.
However, any country can join the Kimberly Process simply by sending a letter to the foundation’s president. The country’s diamond trade is not investigated or held to any standards as a requirement of membership. This means that some conflict diamonds are slipping through the cracks in the system.
The loophole has led many countries, including Canada, the U.S., and the European Union, to enact more stringent diamond-buying policies to ensure their markets are not receiving blood diamonds.
A diamond that is “conflict free” is a stone that was mined, cut, and produced under ethical labor conditions. Its sale was not used to fund a war, and it can be traced directly from the sales floor back to the mine.
How can I buy an engagement ring that is "conflict free"?
Despite the measures taken by the diamond industry and your government to prevent the sale of blood diamonds, it falls to you to ensure your diamond is conflict-free. As a consumer, here are some important guidelines to follow.
Buy a diamond that hasn’t crossed national borders during processing. Before it gets to a sales floor, a diamond must be mined, cut, and polished. Many countries export raw diamonds to large cutting and polishing factories across international borders.
The problem is that when diamonds cross borders this way, their identities often don’t cross with them. This makes it easy for illicit diamonds to be slipped into the pipeline. A diamond is much less likely to be bloody if it’s been cut, polished and mined in the same country, rather than following a long supply chain.
Buy a diamond with a laser-engraved serial number. To ensure that diamonds are conflict-free, they must be tracked during every step from the mine to the consumer. To do this, many diamonds are engraved with a serial number that can be used to establish a record of their movements.
Vendors committed to selling conflict-free diamonds will often have a system in place to ensure no blood diamonds get slipped in—of which engraved serial numbers are only a small part. A good system should be free of corruption and include surprise investigations of processing and mining facilities.
Buy a diamond processed under ethical labor conditions. Even if your diamond was not sold to fund a war, it may still be “dirty” if it was produced under unfair labor conditions. It’s important to know the labor practices of the country your diamond is from. Workers for these companies should be paid a fair wage, work under safe conditions, and live in the region so that the company benefits the local economy.
Buy a diamond certified by its regional government. Conflict-free diamonds usually come with a certificate from the government in which they were mined and processed, with a guarantee that they were not processed outside the country’s borders.
Your wedding is an occasion for joy, and your engagement ring should be a lasting symbol of your love. To make it truly meaningful, it’s important that you do everything you can to ensure that your diamond has not been used to finance harm to people in other countries. By buying conflict-free diamonds for your engagement ring, you can do your part to make the world a better place.
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