But there may be something holding you back from making your purchase. Popular culture tells us the bigger the ring, the better it is – but that’s not always true. Unless you have a massive budget, a bigger diamond engagement ring is going to cost you a serious amount of money (think in the five figures and up).

If you’re looking for a cheaper large diamond engagement ring, you’ll need to think about the fact that the ring won’t be flawless – and that’s something that’s just not acceptable for some women who’ve been waiting their entire lives for their dream diamond rings.

So when it comes to diamond rings, what should you pick: quality or quantity?

The answer is a maddening “it depends.” Ultimately, the final decision should rest with the person who is receiving the diamond ring. If your honey has a keen eye for diamond quality and won’t accept anything less than the best, then you may only be able to afford a smaller diamond ring. If your sweetheart is more about the show-stopping size, it makes sense that she wouldn’t necessarily care about the flaws and blemishes within the diamond.

But you’re not about to ask your sweetheart how she feels about diamonds – that will just give the game away!

So how can you find a happy medium between these classic debates? The answer is simple: opt to prioritize the cut of the ring. Many women may not have a firm idea about the flaws and blemishes they’re willing to accept within a diamond, but they’re certainly able to point out the cut that speaks to them. Additionally, the cut of a diamond ring can make all the difference in terms of shine and luster. The better the cut, the more the diamond will sparkle, even with small blemishes and flaws.

Whether you’re ready to propose to your sweetheart or want to give her a gift she’ll never forget, remember that the quality vs. quantity doesn’t always matter as long as you’re getting her a ring that speaks to her unique and beautiful personality.

It might seem challenging to propose to your man, but it doesn’t have to be. In fact, with a few steps, you’ll be able to let your man know just how you feel about him – and you’ll be walking down the aisle in no time.

1. You may think that you’ll need to propose with a men’s wedding band; however, diamond engagement rings exist for men as well as women. These diamond men’s rings usually have more stable settings, like channel settings and tension settings. These diamonds will typically be smaller on these rings, but make sure that they’re just as beautiful and flawless as a single diamond on a women’s engagement ring.

2. Once you have the diamond engagement ring in hand, don’t feel pressured to do things the traditional way. You don’t have to get down on one knee to propose to your boyfriend (unless you want to, of course!). Consider going for a walk with your man where you can confess how you feel about him, and present him with his diamond engagement ring. Keep in mind that your man might be a little embarrassed by any public proposals, as he may feel as though it’s his job to propose to you.

3. Make sure you plan out the proposal. Just because he’s a man doesn’t mean he doesn’t want a sweet proposal! Plan out a few lines to say to your future husband, letting him know just how you feel about him. You can make it sentimental or sweet, but above all, make sure it’s true to you.

4. Your man may want to take you diamond engagement ring shopping after you propose, so make sure you have a clear idea of what you want. That way, the two of you can immediately sport all of your gorgeous diamond jewelry.

The days of waiting for your man to propose are over. Consider popping the question with a beautiful diamond ring for your man!

Picking the right kind of metal.

Many men have needs for their diamond rings that might be different from women. For example, if your boyfriend works in the construction industry, he needs a more durable ring that can withstand the daily labors he’s involved in. When you’re picking the diamond ring that you want your man to wear for the rest of his life, you don’t want him to be uncomfortable or have to take the ring off every time he has to work (that’s a recipe for losing the ring altogether!).

If you want to find a durable and strong metal that enhances the look and feel of your man’s diamond ring, it’s time to opt for palladium. This is a unique type of metal that looks a lot like platinum, and for a very good reason: it’s actually related to platinum. This means that palladium is nickel-free, resistant to tarnishing, and more durable than white gold and just as durable as platinum.

What makes this an excellent choice for a man’s diamond ring is that palladium is a less expensive option than platinum. Considering that palladium looks just like platinum and is less expensive, it’s no wonder more people are opting for palladium when picking out men’s diamond engagement rings and wedding bands.

With regards to wearability, a palladium diamond ring or wedding band is a perfect option for men who work with their hands. The metal is strong and durable, which means it can withstand the labor that’s involved in several industries. In addition to these benefits, palladium is also hypoallergenic, which is crucial for men who might have an allergy to nickel. Since nickel is incorporated into many metal alloys, this means that palladium is an excellent choice for any man who might need to avoid white gold and other metal types.

If you’re selecting a metal for your man’s diamond engagement ring or wedding band, turn to palladium for the perfect base.

However, 2013 is set to change to change all that by introducing new wedding ring styles. These types of wedding bands are so unique and gorgeous that they’re starting to steal the spotlight back from diamond engagement rings. So if you’re ready for a show-stopping ceremony that people will talk about for years to come, consider integrating one of the best wedding ring styles of 2013 into your wedding:

Vintage Wedding Bands: Heirloom and vintage wedding bands are becoming the biggest trend for 2013, thanks to the rising popularity of vintage and traditional wedding ceremonies. This is a perfect touch for the bride who loves the look and feel of traditional jewelry, or simply wants to honor her family by incorporating an heirloom wedding band into her ceremony.

If you want to opt for the vintage wedding band look but you don’t have an heirloom ring, look for wedding bands that feature tiny diamonds, raised beaded edges, and scroll-like engravings around the band.

Custom Designed Wedding Bands: Modern couples are looking to incorporate their own styles and ideas into their wedding bands, which means custom designed jewelry has become a big trend for 2013. If you have a specific design you’ve always wanted to wear on your ring finger, look for a jewelry retailer who offers in-house custom design jewelry services. This service should provide you with multiple milestones where you can review the ring before approving the final product.

Colored Stones: The Kate-and-William effect is still in full swing; however, 2013 has seen the popularity of colored stones move from engagement rings to wedding bands. Canary diamonds, blue sapphires, and even pink diamonds are being incorporated into wedding bands, which is perfect for the bride that wants to stand out from the crowd. If you want to make your colored stones look more modern, opt for a four-prong setting or tension setting, which will highlight your beautiful stone without making it look like costume jewelry.

Let 2013 be the year that you embrace some of the most unique and surprising wedding band styles to come out in decades!

Struggling to think of the perfect gift for your mother? Not to worry: we have a collection of great Mother’s Day gift ideas she’s sure to love. What’s more, these gift ideas are perfect for every style and budget – so you’ll be able to find something perfect for that special lady in your life.

Give Her the Gift of Jewelry

This Mother’s Day, consider giving your mother the gift of gorgeous jewelry. When it comes to letting her know how much you love her, nothing does the trick quite like jewelry. From silver pendants to diamond stud earrings, your mother is sure to love anything you choose for her. So what are some ideas that can help you find the right style of jewelry at the right price?

Take a look below:

➢ If you’re shopping with a bit more of a budget, consider getting your mother some diamond stud earrings. While they certainly aren’t as expensive as diamond rings, they still add some serious sparkle to your mother’s life – and we can bet she’ll be overwhelmed when she opens this Mother’s Day gift! When shopping for diamond stud earrings, be sure to know exactly how much you’d like to spend. Carat size will inevitably have a large influence on how much you’ll be expected to pay, so do your research before making the purchase.

➢ When it comes to meaningful jewelry, angel wing pendants can make a remarkable gift for that special mother in your life. Angel wing pendants are unique because they stand for love, protection, and strength – in other words, all the qualities your mother possesses! What’s more, these pendant necklaces can often be purchased in an array of gorgeous metals. Whether your mother is a fan of rose gold or loves the look of sterling silver, these angel wing pendants will make for an unforgettable gift.

➢ Finally, consider giving your mother the gift of a Mother’s ring. These rings are unique because they incorporate all the birthstones of her children, which are then arranged around her own birthstone. If this jewelry gift idea sounds intriguing to you, make sure you give yourself a few weeks to order this special ring. After all, it will take some time to personalize the ring with all the relevant birthstones – so it’s certainly not a jewelry gift idea to leave to the last minute!

Moreover, designer Sara Blaine‘s beautiful color stone silver collection can be very trendy and fashionable for your mother. These beautiful silver necklaces, earrings, bracelets and rings are great for a fashionista mother.

This upcoming Mother’s Day, let that special woman in your life know just how much you treasure her with these great Mother’s Day jewelry gift ideas!

Your wedding ring is going to be the one piece of jewelry you’re going to wear for the rest of your life. Therefore, you want to make sure it’s reflective of your relationship with your future hubby – not to mention absolutely stunning!

So when it comes to shopping for a wedding ring, what do you need to know?

Narrow Down Your Options

Because this ring is so important to your future, you’ll want to have a very strong idea of what you want to select. This means flipping through wedding magazines and looking online to see what appeals to you the most. Don’t focus just on designs – think about what type of metal you want to wear. Will the metal match your engagement ring, or do you want to try something different?

Have a Budget in Mind

When it comes to buying rings, you may think that you should spend all your money on engagement rings. However, you’ll need to keep money set aside for your wedding ring. If you and your future husband opt for a plain yellow or white gold band, you can expect to spend anywhere between $100 and $300 each. For platinum or palladium bands, you can expect to spend approximately $500-$700. Diamond wedding bands will cost more depending on the carats and metal of the ring.

Give Yourself Time to Shop

You don’t want to leave your wedding band shopping until the last minute. Give yourself time to select, buy, and size your wedding rings. Experts recommend leaving at least two months from your wedding date to shop for bands. If you leave it any later than that, you may end up feeling pressured to buy a wedding band that isn’t your dream ring.

Be Practical About Your Wedding Ring

If you work outdoors or love being active, you’ll want to keep this in mind as you shop for your wedding ring. After all, you don’t want to buy a diamond wedding band if you spend every waking hour going rock-climbing – the chances of losing your ring are extremely high.

Keep these tips in mind when shopping for your wedding band, and you’ll find the perfect ring!

In the first part of this two-part series on diamond-buying tips, you learned about ensuring that you get a warranty for your diamond, having the diamond certified by the GIA, and asking the jeweler if you can see the diamond loose to further inspect it for any flaws and blemishes.

In this second part, we’ll take your diamond-buying knowledge to the next level by giving you the final six buying tips you must use when purchasing a diamond. Ready for the final part of your crash course? Let’s begin!

1. Try to see the diamond before you end up buying it. If you’re buying a diamond ring from an online retailer, this might not always be an option. If this is the case, make sure that you’re working with a reputable online jewelry vendor. Check out customer service reviews to ensure that you’re buying from a retailer that will provide you with the quality and customer service you need.

2. Only buy a diamond ring or diamond jewelry from a retailer who offers you some kind of refund policy. Look for the magic 30-day return policy, as this will give you enough time to get the diamond ring, propose to your sweetheart, and determine if she’s absolutely in love with it. If not, the return policy can seriously come in handy!

3. Try to see if the diamond ring comes with a price guarantee. You want your diamond ring to be appraised for the same value that your jewelry retailer provided you. If there’s a difference, be sure to return the ring.

4. Looking for the ring to be customized? Ask the jewelry vendor if they offer this service before you end up buying.

5. If you’re buying online, look for a diamond jewelry retailer that’s based in a known diamond area, like the Manhattan Jewelry District.

6. Finally, don’t buy your diamond on just the price. You should look at the quality of the diamond, the return policies, and other factors that were covered in this two-part article series.

There you have it – the twelve buying tips you MUST use when purchasing a gorgeous diamond ring for the love of your life. So what are you waiting for? Get out there and get her the ring she deserves!

Let’s face it: unless you’re working with an unlimited budget, you want to make sure that you’re getting maximum value for your money. That’s why you should use expert diamond buying tips that are guaranteed to find you what you’re looking for. These diamond-buying tips are so advanced that expert jewelers use them to procure their own diamonds.

Ready for a crash-course in buying your sweetheart a gorgeous diamond? Of course you are – so get ready for the most informative two-part article you’ll find on purchasing a diamond!

1. If you’re after a diamond ring, try to see if you can see the diamond loose. This might be difficult to do, especially if you’re working with a jewelry store that offers rings as they are. However, making the extra effort is worth it. If you want to buy quality for your sweetheart, you should be able to examine the entire stone, not just the top surface that’s being presented in the setting. If you can’t see the stone loose, see if the jeweler offers an inspection certification that demonstrates the diamond’s quality and flaws.

2. See if the jeweler will offer you a free lifetime warranty. It’s not very common, but it’s always worth asking for. Ultimately, you want to walk away from your diamond ring purchase with at least some kind of warranty in hand.

3. Find a jewelry retailer who offers you plenty of choices and options. This way, you won’t feel pressured to buy a diamond ring you don’t love simply because the retailer doesn’t offer anything else.

4. Make sure the ring is sized for her ring finger. Recruit a trusted friend or family members to find out her ring size before you go ring shopping.

5. If you want to buy a ring with diamonds on the side, pay attention to their quality as well. They may be smaller, but they still deserve your attention!

6. Only buy a diamond from a certified jewelry vendor who can show you that the diamonds have been inspected by the GIA.

Ready for more great tips you must use when purchasing a diamond? Then check out part two of our article!

But diamond engagement rings have only been a recent introduction to society, particularly in America. Let’s take a look at a brief history of diamond engagement rings and how they’ve evolved to what they are today.

The DeBeers Campaigns of the 1920s

While the exchanging of rings had always been a tradition dating back several centuries, diamond engagement rings weren’t introduced into mainstream society until the 18th century. Even then, these rings were only a hit among nobility – until the DeBeers advertisements of the 1920s changed all that.

These advertisements insisted that men had to spend at least two months’ salary on a diamond engagement ring. The ads ran so often (and women certainly enjoyed the consequences) that it started to become ingrained into popular culture. It also answered a crucial question that many potential grooms had previously struggled with: how much should be spent on a diamond engagement ring?

Breaches of Contract

Diamond engagement rings didn’t always have romantic notions attached to them. In fact, diamond engagement rings were often given as a contract, in which the women would be promised the ring should the man break off the engagement. While this is sometimes common practice today, this tradition had very sexiest roots. When a man and a woman became engaged, it was often assumed that the woman was a virgin. The proclivity for pre-marital sex often meant that the women was seen as “damaged” if the man broke off the engagement. Although it makes for a poor consolidation prize, the diamond engagement ring was meant to provide the woman with some sort of economic reparation.

Diamond Engagement Rings Today

In the 21st century, diamond engagement rings are as unique and beautiful as the women who receive them. Many women love the looks of traditional diamond rings, while others prefer more personalized and individual looks. Today, diamond engagement rings of all shapes and sizes can be found – and not all of them are meant for just women.

We hope you enjoyed this brief – yet revealing! – exploration into the history of the diamond engagement ring.

But there may be something holding you back from making your purchase. Popular culture tells us the bigger the ring, the better it is – but that’s not always true. Unless you have a massive budget, a bigger diamond engagement ring is going to cost you a serious amount of money (think in the five figures and up).

If you’re looking for a cheaper large diamond engagement ring, you’ll need to think about the fact that the ring won’t be flawless – and that’s something that’s just not acceptable for some women who’ve been waiting their entire lives for their dream diamond rings.

So when it comes to diamond rings, what should you pick: quality or quantity?

The answer is a maddening “it depends.” Ultimately, the final decision should rest with the person who is receiving the diamond ring. If your honey has a keen eye for diamond quality and won’t accept anything less than the best, then you may only be able to afford a smaller diamond ring. If your sweetheart is more about the show-stopping size, it makes sense that she wouldn’t necessarily care about the flaws and blemishes within the diamond.

But you’re not about to ask your sweetheart how she feels about diamonds – that will just give the game away!

So how can you find a happy medium between these classic debates? The answer is simple: opt to prioritize the cut of the ring. Many women may not have a firm idea about the flaws and blemishes they’re willing to accept within a diamond, but they’re certainly able to point out the cut that speaks to them. Additionally, the cut of a diamond ring can make all the difference in terms of shine and luster. The better the cut, the more the diamond will sparkle, even with small blemishes and flaws.

Whether you’re ready to propose to your sweetheart or want to give her a gift she’ll never forget, remember that the quality vs. quantity doesn’t always matter as long as you’re getting her a ring that speaks to her unique and beautiful personality.