When most people think of engagement rings, they picture a diamond engagement ring. That's because diamonds are the most popular feature of engagement rings and that trend seems to be here to stay.

Diamond engagement rings come in all kinds of different sizes, colors and flavors. The most important factor, though, is the quality of the diamond being used. In this hub I'll talk about some of the more popular options for this type of ring, the importance of a quality diamond and share some educational links that will help you make an informed engagement ring decision.

There are really too many ring options to list for this particular type of engagement ring. There are rings with one diamond (called solitaire engagement rings), rings with several diamonds (such as the three stone engagement ring), and rings with almost innumerable diamonds.

Metals used also create a wide variety of selection. There are diamond rings with white or yellow gold, rings with platinum, silver and even with sterling silver. To make things more confusing, sometimes sterling silver is coated in a type of platinum to make it sturdier.

My suggestion? Don't go cheap on the metals. Sure, you can save more by using silver or sterling silver but why? Why would you spend a good amount of money on a great diamond only to have it surrounded by something flimsy? Go with either a white/yellow gold or platinum so your ring will sparkle, stay shiny and last longer.

I would also recommend going to Amazon and just clicking around on different rings. You don't have to buy a thing, but it will give you a good idea of what to look for and what to avoid. Not only that, you will avoid the pushy jewelry salesperson common in almost every jewelry store.

If you're in the market for a diamond engagement ring, remember this one rule: the quality of the diamond(s) used in the ring will make or break it. If you found a great diamond ring with all the bells and whistles (platinum band, price is in your range, design is exactly what you think she wants) but the diamond is of poor quality (doesn't sparkle, appears cloudy, etc.), don't buy it!

There are four key characteristics of diamonds that are important- often called the "4 C's of diamonds." Since there are a ton of places online that educate people on the 4 C's, I won't go into detail about them here. Rather, I'll link to a few of those resources for you:

Make sure you get a high quality diamond quality that you and your future spouse will be proud of.

If you find that you cannot afford a diamond engagement ring or if you don't think your future spouse would prefer a different type of ring, you might consider these other options that are also quite popular:

• Gemstone engagement rings
• Celtic engagement rings
• White gold engagement rings

If you are on a tight budget, you will want to shop around for the different types of affordable engagement rings.

During the whole ordeal, however, don't lose sight of the moment. The whole process of getting engaged is a joyous and rare life event. Enjoy yourself when shopping around for ideas and remember what a great person you're going to marry!