Although we all want to have the perfect engagement ring, there are some costly mistakes we need to be on the lookout for. Whether your wedding is coming up or you’ve been wearing your ring for years, keep the items on this list in mind and make sure to avoid the most common engagement ring issues. You want your engagement ring to last your whole life, so be sure you know exactly how to protect your dream ring!

1. Wearing a Loose Stone
Maybe you’re wearing a family heirloom ring and haven’t taken it to a jeweler for inspection, or perhaps you just notice the prongs are a little loose after a few years. Whatever the case may be, it’s never a good idea to go walking around with a stone that isn’t secured tightly onto the ring. Although it might seem safe and just a “little” wobbly, one wrong move may pop the diamond right off and you could potentially lose your lovely stone.

Be sure to temporarily remove your engagement ring and put it in a ring box or another place where it will be safe, and schedule an appointment with your local jeweler as soon as possible to have the ring inspected and potentially have the prongs readjusted. You’ll feel a lot more secure when that stone is secure in place!

2. Choosing a Fragile Center Stone
Although this might be hard to hear for those who love unique gemstone rings, a fragile center stone like emerald or pearl is usually not the best choice for an engagement ring. Although your ring will look unique and amazing, certain gems like emerald have the potential to chip way too easily, and wearing one on your engagement ring is adding on some additional risk, especially if you wear your ring daily. Similarly, a gem like pearl is extremely soft compared to a diamond, ruby or other precious stones, so it’s best to avoid pearl altogether, or perhaps include them only as accents on the ring.

While other beautiful colored gems like amethyst, aquamarine and garnet can potentially be great engagement ring center stones, most jewelers recommend to stick with either diamonds, rubies, or sapphires, in order to ensure your ring will last for years to come.

3. Keeping Your Ring On at All Times
We know you probably want to wear your ring 24/7, and honestly, who wouldn’t? But doing so would come with some unintended consequences. An engagement ring is your most prized piece of jewelry, and subjecting it to the wear and tear of daily life isn’t the best move. There’s plenty of cases out there where women have bent, chipped or otherwise damaged their engagement ring when working out at the gym, playing sports, or even just cleaning around the house.

It might be a habit to keep your ring on at all times, especially during the more mundane aspects of life like pulling boxes out of the closet or cooking a meal, but it’s usually a good idea to stash away your ring when doing physical activity. In an effort to avoid all potential danger, some women only wear their wedding band and keep their engagement ring stowed away for only the most important occasions. While this will go a long way to protect the ring, your favorite piece of jewelry should be fine for normal wearing as long as you stay aware of your day-to-day activities and put it away when necessary.

4. Not Insuring Your Ring
This is a big one. Although we might not even want to entertain the idea that we may lose our ring, the truth is that it does happen. Although most are fortunate not to have to worry about a missing ring, if you one day find your engagement ring lost or stolen, you’ll definitely want a backup plan. This is why having insurance for your ring is a necessity.

Based on the assessed value of your ring, you’ll be able to file a claim and be compensated accordingly so that you can purchase a replacement ring. Although it’s sad to lose your original ring from your proposal day, having the financial aspect worked out ahead of time will make this stressful time a little easier.

5. Skipping Routine Maintenance
Even if you don’t think your stone is wobbly and your ring looks picture perfect, you’ll still want to visit to your local jeweler for a checkup at least once a year. With an untrained eye, it can be hard to notice any potential flaws or issues that might come up under the jeweler’s loupe. By having your ring inspected before a problem gets out of hand, you can potentially avoid accidental ring damage.

Aside from this, routine maintenance is just a good idea. Perhaps your ring would fit better if slightly resized to adjust for physical changes, or maybe it just needs a good polishing to look brand new. Whatever the case, you’ll be glad you brought in your ring and will have greater peace of mind. Besides, most jewelry stores and studios will allow for free maintenance or resizing appointments for their previous customers, so coming in for the occasional visit is a smart move.

We hope these five tips have been useful and that you learned some new information on protecting your ring. Now that you know these crucial engagement mistakes to avoid, you’ll be much better prepared to take care of your ring for years to come!

A proper ring should slide onto your finger fairly smoothly but resist just slightly when you take it off. If you feel like the ring is difficult to remove or is too easily sliding up and down your finger, you may want to get your ring resized by a jeweler.

Before you head to the jeweler’s, wear your ring for a few days to see how it feels over time. Your fingers will swell and shrink throughout the day and based upon the weather, so you may find it fits perfectly in the morning and too tightly at night.

Resizing a ring is usually very inexpensive, between $50 – $100, far less than the cost of a too-big ring that falls off your finger. Some jewelers may even offer free resizing, particularly for engagement rings purchased through them.

Here are your different options to making your ring larger or smaller for the perfect fit.

Is It Better to Have a Ring Too Small or Too Big?
If you’re in between sizes or shopping for a loved one and don’t know their ring size, opt for the larger size. It’s easier for a large ring to be resized smaller than a small ring to be made bigger.

Resizing a Ring to Make It Larger
You may have heard of jeweler’s stretching a ring’s band to make it larger. However, we strongly advise against this method as it tends to distort the shape of the ring and weaken its overall structural integrity.

The most common means to enlarge the ring size is to add metal to increase the band’s circumference. In this process, the jeweler will snip the ring’s band (or shank) and insert a small piece of metal between the two cut ends to expand the ring’s size. The ends are soldered to this new piece of added metal. Then the whole ring is smoothed and polished for a perfect finish.

Resizing a Ring to Make It Smaller
Similarly, to make your ring smaller, a jeweler will snip the ring’s shank and cut out a small piece from the band. After this part of the band is removed, the two ends are then soldered back together. The jeweler will then clean the ring for a smooth and brilliant finish.

Rings That Cannot Be Resized
Unfortunately, not every ring can be resized. Particularly thin bands, eternity bands, or bands set with delicate and inset stones cannot be resized through either aforementioned resizing method.

However, if your ring is too big and cannot be properly resized, you can try a ring guard. A ring guard is a rubber of plastic tube that wraps around your ring’s shank to effectively make it smaller and sits on the underside of your finger where it will be fairly inconspicuous.

Ring guards or plastic resizers are not considered a long term solution to fixing your ring size problem. We suggest discussing your options with your jeweler to safely modify your ring for a better fit.

The smartest way to ensure your ring fits is to know your ring size before you buy. To determine a comfortable and appropriate ring size, check out our ring sizing guide here!

 

Main image courtesy of CHANEL.

Engagement rings are one of the most important purchases we make in our lives, and we’re willing to pay a lot of money for this special piece of jewelry. However, there’s often a lot of confusion about what constitutes a fair price for an engagement ring and how exactly the final price is calculated. To add to this, the resale value of a diamond ring after the initial purchase is often much different than the original price. If you’re confused about how to determine a ring’s price, read this detailed and concise explanation to learn more.

Diamond Quality and Value
One of the essential aspects that contributes to the price of engagement ring is the diamond quality grades. While researching engagement rings, it’s common to learn about the 4 C’s of diamonds: clarity, color, cut, and carat. The clarity refers to the diamond’s ability to give off light and sparkle; as expected, the higher the clarity, the higher the price. Carat also plays a huge role in the value of the diamond; in fact, the price difference between a 1-carat diamond and a 3-carat diamond is exponential. If the diamond is slightly yellow or brown colored, you can expect to fetch a lower price than one that’s pure and clear.

All of these factors can be easily identified with a GIA certificate by a certified gemologist. As GIA is the most trusted lab in the country, a GIA-certified diamond is usually going to be more expensive than one from a lower quality or unrecognized lab.

While it’s possible to find some information on current diamond prices online, in order to get an accurate assessment of a diamond’s current market value, it’s best to work with a trusted jeweler who has access to privileged industry information and online diamond trading software like Rapnet.

Metal Value

Another important element that factors into the ring’s final price is the quality of the ring’s metal. Gold is the most popular metal for engagement rings, but an 18k gold ring is going to be worth more than a 10k gold ring. Because pure gold is too soft for jewelry, a gold alloy is formed by adding in other, harder metals. 18k consists of 75% pure gold, while 14k only consists of around 58% pure gold. Platinum, of course, will command a higher price for the ring.

How Labor Factors into the Price

While the diamond(s) and metal involved are certainly huge factors for the price, the labor and design work involved also play a role. If the ring is outsourced overseas, the cost of production will be much cheaper than if a jewelry artisan handcrafted it stateside. If it’s a complex, custom designed ring, the jewelry designer’s work can also factor into the price.

Final Markup and Brand Recognition
Depending on where you buy your engagement ring, the final cost can be very different. For instance, shopping online at an e-commerce store will usually yield a lower price than buying a ring at a national jewelry chain. The big box retail stores will often charge a high premium on their rings in order to cover their expenses like overhead, sales commission, and inventory. Additionally, these stores generally apply a 2.2x markup on their jewelry.

On the other hand, newer online engagement ring retailers like Brilliant Earth focus more on made-to-order jewelry and don’t need to worry about as many additional costs, so you’ll often find better deals. And if you work directly with a jewelry studio and avoid retail altogether, you may end up paying even less.

All of these factors, from diamond quality to metal, to labor and markup, each play a vital role in determining an engagement ring’s initial sale price.

Resale Value of an Engagement Ring
If you try to sell your diamond ring and recoup some of the money, you might be surprised to find the price you’re able to sell it for is often much less than the price you originally purchased it for. There are a number of reasons for this; most importantly, the diamond’s market value drops immediately after the initial ring sale.

Compared to some other gems (like emeralds) diamonds are not necessarily intrinsically rare, but rather their price is controlled by a tight market supply. Diamond dealers and others in the industry are unlikely to pay an individual seller the full value for a diamond and prefer to work with wholesale companies than can offer guarantees and other benefits. However, it’s possible to recoup up to 70-80% of the original value if you sell to another individual (for instance, at an auction).

Aside from the diamond value, the resale value of your ring will be lower for a number of other reasons. Since it’s no longer new, there are no associated costs for labor, design, or retail markup. However, the gold or platinum that makes up the body of the ring can be resold to a gold dealer or other industry professional. And if a famous brand name is associated with the ring, this can also add value as well.

All of that being said, buying insurance for your engagement ring is one of the best ways to maintain its monetary value over time. For a small sum each year, you’ll have peace of mind and be sure that you’ll be able to recoup the original amount you spent.

If your diamond engagement ring is vintage, antique, or crafted by a well-known brand, it can still be quite valuable. Otherwise, expect the initial price of your ring to be considerably higher than the resale value. Of course, if you’re interested in saving some money on markup and other costs when purchasing your engagement ring, consider a pre-owned ring or buying directly from a custom jeweler.

 

CadCamNYC is a jewelry design studio based in New York that works with high-end designers and private clients. For more blogs on fine jewelry, visit CadCamNYC.com.

Choosing the metal for your engagement ring is a big deal; after all, you will be wearing the ring for the rest of your life, so it needs to be able to withstand all that wear and tear. There are some important considerations to keep in mind before you make the final decision, including the price, appearance, and how the metal will look with the gemstone. Generally, it’s best to avoid metals like silver, which tarnishes over time and scratches easily. Here are five metals that are great choices for your engagement ring:

Yellow Gold: The Classic Choice

Yellow gold was once the most popular engagement ring metal, though in the past few decades white gold has gained prominence as the most sought after material. Still, yellow gold can be a great choice. If your ring is more of a traditional, dainty solitaire than a complex modern ring, yellow gold can work well. Yellow gold is also a great match for a colorless diamond and helps emphasize the brilliant sparkle of the stone.

Rose Gold: Perfect for a Vintage Look

First popularized in 19th century Russia, rose gold jewelry was very common in the Victorian era and holds a vintage appeal. That being said, rose gold has made a comeback in recent years and more and more people are choosing the unique metal for their engagement ring. If you want your engagement ring to look extra romantic, rose gold is a great choice (especially paired with a deep red ruby!).

White Gold: A Chic and Modern Metal

The majority of engagement rings purchased today are made of white gold, and for good reason. This versatile and timeless metal just happens to look great with diamonds and most other gemstones. If you’re going for a blue sapphire engagement ring or another cool colored stone, it’s almost always better to go for a light colored metal.

Platinum: Durable and Luxurious

Platinum is sought after for its durability, beauty, and rarity. If you want to make sure your engagement ring says luxury and elegance, go with platinum. It’s hypoallergenic as well, so it’s the perfect metal for people who might have allergies to certain materials. For all these benefits, expect to pay more for your platinum ring than you would for one in white gold.

Palladium: Platinum’s Lighter Cousin

Palladium is similar to platinum in most ways, but because it’s less dense, it feels a lot lighter. This less common metal is usually blended with gold to form white gold, but it’s a great choice on its own as well. Like platinum, it usually makes for a more expensive engagement ring.

White gold, platinum and palladium are ideal if you want that sleek and modern look. If you’re looking for a trendy ring that has a vintage vibe at the same time, rose gold is your go-to choice. Finally, yellow gold is great if you want a more traditional engagement ring.

In terms of gold, 18k vs 14k is another question to consider. As gold is too soft at 24k, pure gold is mixed with alloys to make the final composition. 18k is more expensive and has a richer yellow composition, but it’s also softer. 14k, on other hand, is more affordable and more durable.

It’s always best to consider your gem(s) and accompanying wedding band when making the choice for your engagement ring metal. While yellow gold looks best mainly with diamonds, rose gold tends to complement warm colored gems as well, and white gold and platinum are widely versatile in terms of gem choice. Take your time to explore all your options and find the best metal for your dream engagement ring.

 

To read more about fine jewelry and custom engagement rings from CadCamNYC, visit their site CadCamNYC.com.