Everything You Need to Know About Buying a Diamond Wedding Band

What You Need to Know About Diamond Wedding Bands

Whether you’re thinking of surprising your partner with a proposal or choosing a ring together, you probably have a lot to learn about shopping for a diamond wedding band. There are many different factors to take into consideration when beginning the process, from your budget to the type of ring you’re most attracted to. If you know what you’re doing, it’s possible to find a high-quality ring regardless of how much you can afford to spend.

Buying a Diamond Wedding Band: Deciding on a Budget

Deciding on a budget is the first thing you should do when preparing to go ring shopping. The traditional belief is that you should wait until you have two month’s salary saved up before you start looking at rings, but there isn’t any real reason you should stick to this rule. Naturally, the more money you can save ahead of time, the more options you will have, but the amount of money you spend on the ring is really a personal decision. Buying a ring is about starting a life together, and it won’t help your partnership if you start that life with a huge debt. Make sure you’re realistic about how much you want to spend. Keep in mind that the wedding and honeymoon will require a lot of saving as well.

Although it’s a tradition for one partner to surprise the other with an engagement ring, many modern couples choose to buy their rings together. If your partner feels confident and secure about paying for a portion of the ring, it will greatly expand your options. It will also help to ensure that both of you love your rings. If you’re interested in this possibility, be sure to discuss it with your partner early on. You will want to be aware of his or her feelings about this long before you ever plan to get engaged.

The Four C’s: Tips for Picking a Quality Diamond Wedding Band

Diamonds are graded by cut, carat, color and clarity, also known as the “four C’s.”

1. Cut

The cut of a diamond represents its shape. Most diamond rings are cut in either a round or princess style, because these cuts tend to create the most brilliance. You have many choices for the cut of your diamond wedding band, including heart, emerald, radiant, marquise and pear.

2. Carat

The carat is a measurement of the diamond’s weight. Each carat is divided into 100 points. The higher the carat, the more expensive the diamond will generally be. However, it’s the total of all four of the C’s that will determine the price and value of your diamond.

3. Color

Diamonds come in many different colors, and these colors are graded on an alphabetical scale that ranges from D to Z. D diamonds have the least amount of color and Z diamonds have the most. This scale is only used to grade typical colorless diamonds. Chocolate diamonds, pink diamonds and other varieties are considered fancy colored diamonds. Although regular diamonds are considered more valuable the less color they possess, fancy colored diamonds are often more expensive due to their rarity.

4. Clarity

Most natural diamonds have tiny imperfections, also known as inclusions, that make them unique. However, these inclusions also bring down the value of the diamond. Diamond clarity is graded on a five-level scale. I-grade diamonds have the highest level of imperfections, and FL-grade diamonds are virtually flawless. The clarity grade you choose for your diamond should vary depending on your budget. More inclusions isn’t necessarily a bad thing, especially if you’re trying to save money.

Ideas to Save Money on Your Diamond Wedding Band

• - Check out a wide variety of jewelry dealers both online and in person. Don’t forget to look at antique stores. You never know what you might find!
• - Watch for sales and specials. Many jewelry stores run sales prior to the holidays, and this can be a wonderful time to pick out an engagement ring.
• - Start saving money early. You don’t necessarily have to be ready to get engaged or even in a relationship to begin saving for your future rings. The longer you have to save, the less of a financial impact it will have on your life.

If you’re ready to begin shopping for your rings, contact Juno Jewelry today. We have over 30 years of experience helping our customers pick out engagement jewelry, and we would love to help you during this exciting phase of your life.