Andrew Moquin asked:


Many people assume that buying engagement rings and economic down turns should not be included in the one sentence. Nothing could be further from the truth. No matter the state of the economy, people will always be falling in love and proposing. For some, the prospect of a smaller budget can just be a case of shopping smarter. For others, it maybe more of a scenario of not wanting to showcase a lot of expensive looking bling. Read on for some handy tips on how to buy engagement rings in a recession.
Online Jewelry Stores.

Online jewelry stores are always going to be competitively priced. The main reason? No expensive stores and sales people to add to the bottom line. Use your research skills and shop around. Look for warranties and recommendations. Valuations are also a must. Compare quotes between your local jeweler and an online jeweler and you may well be astonished at the price difference. Your dream engagement ring may become an affordable reality.

Colored Stones.

Another way to dramatically reduce the cost of an engagement ring is to think about replacing some of the diamonds with colored gems. Precious stones such as rubies, emeralds, and sapphires, can make a dramatic visual impact to an engagement ring. Lesser priced colored diamonds, along with semi precious stones will significantly reduce the final costing. Colored stones can also be a clever way to add a twist to a more traditional setting to end up with a more unique engagement ring. This can be an excellent option for the girl who has a favorite color that she wears all the time.

Family Heirlooms.

Has Great Aunt Gertrude left you her rather old fashioned ring? The engagement ring setting may be tired, worn, or just plain awful, but the stones or diamonds can be put to great use. Without the cost of a center stone, or surrounding stones as the case may be, the price of the engagement ring will fall dramatically. Custom jewelers can be advised as to the best possible use of family stones for an engagement ring setting.

Playing it Down.

Some may feel that is possibly not the best time to be thought to be flaunting their better fortune. This doesn’t mean that couple should have to reduce their budgets. Better clarities, cuts, and colors of diamonds can all be used to create perfectly sparkling diamond engagement rings that are perhaps not quite so big. Hand crafted engagement rings, and intricate settings such as Tacori or Verragio are other great ways to obtain beautiful investment engagement rings.

Palladium Engagement Rings.

Want a platinum engagement ring but are struggling with the price tag? Why not opt for white gold or palladium? While white gold will need regular rhodium plating to maintain the luxury platinum looking shine, palladium is a hard wearing metal that is naturally shiny. Palladium is from the same rare metal family as platinum, and like platinum is hypoallergenic. Palladium is less costly than platinum, but a little more than gold. However, with palladium you will not be having to pay the jeweler to reapply the rhodium plating as you would with white gold.

Affordable engagement rings can still be the stunning ring of your dreams. Shopping smart, thinking creatively, and online jewelers are all options for those buying an engagement ring on a budget.

Frank Luca asked:


Among changing trends of engagement, one thing which is still persistent is engagement ring. If we explore the history of engagement ring, then we can adequately get the idea what is the real importance of an engagement ring in couple’s life. It was, is and will remain the symbol of true and eternal love.

When going to be married couple exchanges

engagement rings to each other, they promise to each other that their love will sparkle the same way as the engagement ring is shining. Thus while selecting make sure your engagement ring should be beautiful, sparkling and show your sense of style. You know engagement ring has some special place in everybody’s life especially your partner’s life, because at the end of the day your partner will wear engagement ring that you have presented him/her. Any information you have about her taste in jewelry is priceless. For instance, do you have access to anything else she has bought, or does she have a friend you can trust to advise you?

Other thing is that select such as piece of engagement ring that your partner desires and loves it forever. By seeing the current trend in engagement ring, there is no dearth of choices of choices in engagement rings in other words there are endless choices available. Antique engagement rings, solitaire engagement rings, diamond engagement rings, and vintage engagement rings are one of favored rings; among all diamond engagement ring is most sought after. The reason for that is simple, diamond possess unique properties.

One important consideration to make is that this is a ring that you will wear for a long time to come. It therefore would be wise to go for classic designs that never go out of vogue. An example of this is the brilliant cut, solitaire diamond engagement ring sporting a round diamond. It’s needless to say that there are several contemporary trends to choose from for those who value sheer panache. At the time of selecting engagement ring, the most important thing is budget and it is up to you how costly engagement ring you want to buy.

Once you’ve settled on a budget, the next stage is to make sure you get the best ring for your money. This is where things can begin to get tricky. What style should you go for? Most modern engagement rings are made with a solitaire diamond. But would she prefer something more old-fashioned, with several smaller diamonds, or even a cluster? And what metal should you choose?

Most engagement rings are made from white metals like platinum or eighteen carat white gold, yellow gold or silver but perhaps she might want yellow gold or even rose gold. Besides that if you are buying a diamond engagement ring then also keep an eye on 4Cs (color, cut, carat and clarity) of diamond.