How to decide on a wedding ring?
 

That's the question I pose to all you married men. This is a big deal in her eyes isn't it. No fucking around or making a bad move on this one. That ring symbolizes your union and how much action you're going to get from her for years to cum (well, maybe not always).

How many of you bought the biggest rock you could afford? How many of you opted for the plastic candy ring bullshit like 'we can show our true love, not by how much bling bling we spend on each other'? How about a shoelace?

Women may not admit it means a lot to them, but if does whether they admit to it or not.

well, if you don't get married, you don't have to worry about a ring... and you don't have to worry about getting your heart trampled on either =P

General rule is spend the amount of 1 paycheck on it.

You don't.....your wife does :winkwink:
And I know these things I'm getting married october 3rd


DynaMite

Congrats dude!!!

Really?

The tradition here is two months salary on the ring. I chose two months of HER salary tho...

Aww Kman, c'mon, it can't be like that for everybody!

That could put a poor chap on skid row.

i wish you'z luck =)

The best one you could buy, Bobo, IS one that would fit your red bobo nose.
poor :girl
I send her my condolences. :thumbsup

Actually Debeers did a study and found the average american spends ONE MONTHS salary on a diamond - therefore - they stated the advertising campaign to INCREASE THIS TO TWO MONTHS.

Debeers is one of the more interesting pseudo-monopolies there is.

If you have ever seen the pictures of the inside of deebers with piles and piles of diamonds on a long table being graded - you would be amazed.

I agree with dynaspain.. I haven't met a girl yet that wouldn't tell you exactly what ring she'd want. lol

The best thing is to get her opinion. Let her go to one of those diamond sites. I'm presuming it's an engagement ring (at least our tradition is that the engagement ring has a diamond or the more expensive one and the wedding is generally a band to simbolize the unbreakable love)

http://www.diamonds.com allows you to design what you like. Make her have fun with it and choose 3 - then you choose what fits your budget, your tastes and what you feel suits her hand.

For a wedding band, I'd go for a simple band - you can have little diamonds on it but I think a wedding band should be simple.

My
:2 cents:

shit, i wonder what i can get for $300....hmm

Best to have her pick it out.
Guys dont know what the fuck is going on, and jewlers know it. You'll get ripped offf, and she probably wont like it.

You dont have to have the ring in your hand when ya propose to her.
How cheesy. If ya want to propose to her with a ring, do it with an engagement ring.

After you've both decided to get married, tell her "lets go ring shopping"

You'll cringe over the event, but she'll love it.
This way she'll get what she wants, and you'll be the greatest guy in her eyes giving her a ring she loves.

I was engaged once... no shit I actually read some infos about buying a ring...

Probably selecting the diamond is the most important thing -- the cut and the band seem to me like personal preference... pretty straightforward... First thing you want to do when you go into a jewelry store -- look up! Many of these stores have like 10,000 special lights in the ceiling -- this kind of lighting will make even the most ugly yellow diamond look gorgeous... So take that into account -- maybe you will have to ask to see the diamond outside of the store or try to use your hand to shade the fucking thing from all the silly lights on the ceiling...

So most important thing is the color of the diamond -- more expensive diamonds are more clear -- cheaper ones have a slight color to them (usually yellowish)...

Also check the clarity -- most diamonds have some natural spots in them called inclusions ... If you're on a budget like I was in college you could get a really good deal on a very nice color diamond w/ some minor inclusion and nobody will notice the difference unless you look at the thing under a microscope.

Here's more info I found on diamond selection:

http://www.diamond.com/learncenter.a...diamondfaq.htm

This is the cut that my GF wanted... <img src="http://diamonds.com/diamondimages/marquise.gif"> -- and she wanted a white gold band...

be sure to give her postive feed back when looking at rings.
This whole event can backfire if you dont seem "into it" when shopping for a ring.

Pretend you are having fun

Fly, trust me, you dont need to know all that shit about the diamond. The girl already knows that shit.

All you gotta know is how you are increase the signups to help pay for the thing.

I thought it was 3 months salary. :1orglaugh

Big rings always get in the way for her 2 years later. A nice smaller ring with a really quality stone is the best way, cause too big and it looks fake

Also, you can take the savigns of a smaller rock and put it towards a nice pad. No matter how nice a diamond you get her, you cant live in it, gotta live somewhere afterall......:thumbsup

No way man -- if you don't step in -- trust me you will get ripped off... If you have a good eye you can go to different stores and compare what kind of color you are getting for what $$$ -- and there's a big difference from store to store...

I agree a smaller rock is good -- but I think it all depends on her fingers... if she has tiny fingers then you are getting a discount ;)

I concur.

Fly, the colored stones cost more money. Go into a store and ask for a yellow diamond. Then come back and tell me how hard your jaw hit the ground!:winkwink:

3 months salary?
Fuck bro you are in trouble if you let her EVER find out how much you make.

Especially before you are married.

besides. its not the price of the ring that is important.
Jewlery is the most marked up purchase you make in your life.

Items are maorked upa as much as 200% when it coems to jewlery. Most the guys I know who picked and suprised thier wife with a ring, payed way too much, and got something smaller than and more $ than the girl wanted.

Like I said its best to have the girl pick it out.
She'll hint as to what she wants, and you can see the price. The ones in your price range simply say to her "that one's nice"

then she'll know your price range, and she'll find one she likes in that range.

Here are a couple tips I learned from selling diamonds for about a year:

1) When looking at a diamond - to see the inclusions - look from the side - you can see them easier.

2) No one except the truly ANAL needsa diamond above SI1 in clarity. Most people will be VERY happy with and H in color SI1/2 in Clarity.

3) If you believe diamonds are a good investment - you are a bad investor.

4) A .99 Carat diamond will cost you alot less than a 1.01 Carat diamond - and doesn't look any smaller.

5) Get PLATINUM prongs to set the diamond in. It looks the same as gold (white gold), but is MUCH MUCH MUCH stronger and you will be MUCH LESS likely to loose the diamond.

6) Round cut is considered the "best" and it is usually easier to find deals in this category for reasons of supply and demand. I really don't care about cut, but those in the know (not me) consider people who buy heart shaped diamonds and other weird cuts to be of a lower class....

Ok maybe you're talking about special colors... this is what I'm talking about...

<img src="http://www.diamond.com/graphics/learncenter/COLORSCALE.jpg">

"A diamond?s color also has a great impact on its value. Since lack of color is the most sought-after trait in terms of color, diamonds that are higher up on the color scale (e.g. D, E, F) are more valuable."

"Diamonds found in nature come in colors ranging from colorless to slightly yellow or brown, to more rare and costly pink, green or blue stones (commonly referred to as 'fancy' diamonds). Excluding 'fancy' diamonds, the ideal color for a diamond is colorless, although this is extremely rare."

1 paycheck = 2 weeks work.

Wow very good tips -- thanks ;) Now I just need a wife LOL...

Fly is right when most people talk about color - I worked for a fairly large Jewelry store and although we had customers ask about them - we never got ONE SINGLE order for a fancy colored diamond (while I was there) - nor have I seen one except at diamond shows.

Colorless is what is considered good. Fancy colored diamonds are an oddity...

I stand corrected. Those are the ones I am speaking of.

ChrisR is a stud!
Nice!

Fly, that diamond color indicator is something everyone should know before shopping for a rock.

Cool post

G-H clarity is the way to go.
Its a quality diamond, and unless your one of those weirdos who "invests" in diamonds its the top of the line.

I suggest colored wire ties.

If the marriage lasts more than 5 years and your still friends then buy a ring. If not your only out 15 cents and she cannot pawn it later.

:thumbsup

That is a lot of good advice - SI clarity, g/h color, good cut -not too deep or shallow. I work in the diamond biz (I set diamonds all day long) also am a GIA gemologist . We suggest that the guy pick out the center stone by himself and have the girl pick out the mounting. Most of the cost is in the main stone and its usually better if the guy determines how much he wants to spend first. Also, we see a lot of guys buy big stones (2-3 carats) then are divorced in a year or two. Probably better to start off small and upgrade later on. Also, platinum is often the best choice for the prongs but avoid platinum bands as they get dented very easily.

Check eBay and online diamond sites to get a feel for prices or send me an email and I'll give you some comparison info.

I'm suprised no one mentioned to make sure to ask if the diamond has been 'enhanced'. Some jewelers will try to sell you a enchanced diamond for the same price as one that isn't. i.e. a jewlery sold you an I1 diamond that was enhanced to SI quality. If you ever need the ring repaired and wasnt aware that it was enchanced you might as well kiss that diamond good bye.

Well I've been married three times and I can say for my wifes the ring was not that important.
They were so happy to get married the ring was secondary.

I am great at getting married, but not so good on staying married
The third wife just left 2 weeks ago after I threw her out. :1orglaugh
She wanted me to quit the biz, she said "your job or me", i said "see ya"
I can always get another women but it would be hard to get restarted in the biz.


So what ever ring you get she will be happy with it. :)

Good point Nerd.

This is very important, ask if any enhancement process has been used on the diamond. If heat is applied to the stone, or if ultra sonic cleaning is used, the diamond may be damaged. Buy only untreated diamonds. Make the seller state whether the stone has been treated in any way IN WRITING before you buy! Colored diamonds are often treated and can look quite unattractive if heat is applied. A simple retip job can make a treated diamond look very bad. Some are filled with glass like material to conceal inclusions - look for rainbow or blue -green colors in the diamond. These are seen only with a 10X loupe in most cases. Deal with someone you can trust, someone that's been in the diamond biz for many years.

I took my now wife, then fiance, to some shops and she gave me a good idea of what she liked then I had one custom made combining what i thought she would like...So it makes her feel good knowing that she has the only one like it out there and and every 6 months or so we add a little something to to it to keep it fresh...i spent about 2 weeks earnings at the time on it...Oh ya...i went to some serious diamond freaks and talked to them all about the dgrees of quality and junk to make sure i would'nt get burned first...very important

Is anybody else amazed at this grown up, serious, bachelor conversatoin? No third world characters or hobbits, just real life info. This is nice to see sometimes.