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How do I buy and engagement ring?
Choosing the right engagement ring, as with any piece of jewelry, is strictly a matter of personal style. You can go with the simplicity of a single stone setting (a ‘solitaire’), or a more complex setting with multiple stones. Whichever you choose, you need to consider both the setting (which holds the diamond) and the band (which holds the gem on the finger).

The Setting
Settings are made of metal, and most often that metal is platinum, because of its strength and durability. They can consist of prongs (in 4- or 6-prong configurations), channels, or simple pressure. If you have a prong setting, you need to consider which configuration you prefer. There is much debate about which is better, some arguing that the 4-prong shows more of the diamond, while the 6 provides a more secure setting. Really they are both secure, and the choice should depend on the cut of the stone and your personal taste. What you choose is really up to your sense of personal style.

The Band
When deciding on a band, you’ll need to know the size that you’ll need, and you will need to choose the material it’ll be made of.The size can be determined by having the recipient of the ring measured by us, or you can borrow an existing ring that fits well and have us measure that.The most common materials used for engagement rings are gold and platinum. Gold has been used for jewelry since time began, but it is a very soft metal in it’s purest form, and bends easily. It is usually alloyed with nickel, copper, and/or zinc. It’s purity is measured in karats, 24 being the purest, and 14-karat being 58.3% pure gold. Most gold sold in the US is 14-karat. When worn daily, it will tend to dull. Soaking the ring in warm water and mild soap will renew it’s shine.Platinum is an extremely “hard” metal, and is more rare than gold (and costs about four times what gold costs). It does not tarnish, and is hypoallergenic, and so won’t irritate your skin. It’s purity is measured by a 3-digit number, the first two digits indicating the percent of platinum in the band. The rest is either a palladium or iridium alloy.

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Choosing a Style
When choosing a style of ring, you should know that thousands of styles exist, and if you can’t find one at any of our stores or in a magazine that suits you, you can always have us custom make one to your particular design. In considering the style, you should consider the shape of the fingers and hands. Generally speaking, the size of the ring and stone should correspond to the size of the hand.If you have long, bony fingers, and/or muscular hands, a larger, thicker ring with a more prominent stone (or stones) flatters your hand. If you have large hands and long fingers, you are probably the only type of person who can look good in a large pronged setting. These kinds of rings are often the simplest style and show off the stone over and above the setting. If you have wide and short fingers, a medium sized ring with a large stone can look attractive, so long as it remains flat against your hand (try to stay away from pronged settings, in which the diamond protrudes out from the ring). If you have small fingers that are thin and delicate, thin and delicate settings will complement your hands. And those with short fingers should stick to small stones. Again, the choice of style is up to you, but you should try to keep it simple so that the ring does not swallow your hand. For more clues on style, you can look at other jewelry you wear (or that your partner wears), and determine if it is more modern or antique, gold or silver, etc. If the wearer hardly wears any jewelry, simplicity is the best bet. The more extravagant the style of dress, the more extravagant the jewelry style should be.