Buying an engagement ring is one of the most important purchases you will make so it is important not to get it wrong. Not only will it cost you a good deal of money, traditionally a whole month’s salary, it will reside on the hand of your fiancé and wife as a constant reminder of that special moment.
Traditionally most engagement rings are diamond, and the tradition of giving your fiancé a diamond engagement ring is believed to date back to 1477 when Archduke Maximilian of Austria presented Mary of Burgundy with a diamond ring placing it on the third finger of her hand which in Egyptian folklore has a direct connection with the heart.
Choosing a diamond
As you will know only too well, diamonds can be very expensive, and the larger and more beautiful the diamond the more expensive it will be. You are also unlikely to find a special lady who thinks that the diamond you present her with is too large; she may say that she prefers a small diamond to a large one but you know in your heart that she isn’t telling the complete truth. So like all most things in life, buying an engagement ring is a compromise.
Before you visit your favourite jewellers or go shopping online, it is worthwhile learning something about how the quality of diamonds is assessed.
Jewellers assess diamonds using what is known as the Four Cs, which are Cut, Colour, Clarity and Carat:
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- Cut defines the shape of the diamond. Round is the most common though alternatives include: pear, oval, heart, emerald, princess and marquise. The quality of the cut also determines how the facets are angled and sized which determines the way the diamond interacts with light and produces its fire.
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- Colour – generally the less colour the better. Colourless are considered to be the highest quality and are graded D; other colours and tones are graded from E through to Z. Some strongly coloured diamonds (fancies) are very rare.
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- Clarity – virtually no diamond is perfectly clear; they all have small inclusions. They are graded from 1F which is effectively flawless through to I3 (imperfect 3). Sl1 means slightly occluded which is the most common.
- Carat is simply the weight of the diamond. One carat (0.2 g) is 100 points, and typically a diamond in an engagement right will be between 100 and 150 points.
Alternatives to diamond
You might think that there isn’t really an alternative to a diamond engagement ring, but if you are willing to eschew tradition then you might be surprised to find that there is at least one alternative that is practically indistinguishable from diamond and which in many ways is even more beautiful while being considerably less expensive. Moissanite engagement rings are an excellent alternative to diamond rings while being equally beautiful.
Unlike diamond gemstones that occur naturally, moissanite gemstones are created in a special process that has been patented by Charles & Colvard. Moissanite first arrived on earth on meteorites, and was first discovered by Henri Moissan in 1893 when he was investigating Meteorite rings found in the mile wide Meteor Crater in the Arizona Desert. Although only tiny fragments of this exotic material were found on earth, 100 years later it became possible to create large diamond like moissanite gemstones in the laboratory. While diamonds are composed of carbon, moissanite is composed of silicon carbide.
All the information above on the Four Cs applies equally to moissanite gemstones. While in many ways moissanite is very similar to diamond it has more fire, brilliance and lustre. Although unlike diamond it is naturally birefringent, which can detract from its appearance, when cut the birefringence is no longer apparent.
Finally
Diamond engagement rings will always be very special, but there is also much to be said in favour of moissanite engagement rings, so our advice is to look at both with an open mind. Aesthetically moissanite is at least as beautiful as diamond, and considerably less expensive.