Heart Shaped Diamond Engagement Rings

The heart shape is symbolic with love and romance, and what more special way to propose than presenting the love of your life with a heart shaped diamond engagement ring. I know that some couples get engaged and then the ring is bought afterwards, chosen by the bride to be, but I still think it's the ultimate in romance to have a ring at the proposal.

You may not be able to afford the Centenary Diamond, the largest colorless heart shaped diamond in the world. At 273.85 carats it wouldn't be suitable for a ring anyway. Phew! But there are lots of options both in price and style when buying a heart shaped diamond engagement ring.

Before we get into any of the technical stuff there's something that must be remembered when choosing a ring as a surprise, and that is the size. Too small and it would be a disaster, to big and there's a big chance of losing it, or not being able to wear it at all through fear of losing it.

Budget - know how much you are willing to spend so you aren't wasting your time looking at rings above your price range.

Style - if you're buying the ring to propose with you should know her tastes. Does she have a preferred precious metal? If it's gold, what color gold does she prefer? Does she like colored diamonds? I'll cover possible choices and combinations below.

Quality - diamonds come in grades of quality and are determined by four things: Carat, Cut, Clarity and Color. You'll want to be sure that you're getting the best quality for your money.

I'm fussy when it comes to all jewelry. I don't mind what metal it's made from, but it has to be white. White in metal terms means silver in color. Everyone has different tastes when it comes to jewelry and so if you are choosing an engagement ring as a surprise, you'll want to get her a ring that she loves.

Having already chosen the gem and the cut is a big bonus, but you still have to determine the diamond color, the style of the setting and the precious metal. I'm really glad that I'm not a man!

Colored Diamonds:

Some people think that diamonds are just clear and have no color, but they couldn't be more wrong. Clear diamonds are the most common in retail, but diamonds also come in the following colors:

• Pink
• Dark Grey
• Yellow
• Black
• Purple
• Orange
• Blue
• Red
• Green
• Brown

For something a bit out of the ordinary, a colored diamond engagement ring may be worth considering, but only if you know for a fact that it will be loved! From that list of colors, pink would probably come in second to a clear diamond in terms of popularity. Colored diamonds aren't for everyone, but it's nice to have a choice if you're someone who is individual style and wants something out of the ordinary.

Clarity:

The clarity of a diamond has a huge reflection on it's price. The more flawless a diamond is, the more expensive. Steer clear of diamonds graded I1, I2, I3 as these stones have flaws that are visible without magnification. Anything above those grades are great. To read more about diamond clarity click the link.

The Size:

I'm not personally into bling, but some women, dare I say most women love bling. Nothing wrong with that, except that the term rock when describing a ring obviously means big. The bigger the rock the better. Here's the possible deal breaker, as this is where carats come into the equation. Carats = $$$$

A carat is the measurement of a gemstones weight.

That chart above is a guide to carat sizes, but it shouldn't be taken as exact because carats measure weight not size. A diamond of equal carats can be different sizes all depending on the shape of it. Some may be longer, some wider. In order to get the biggest looking carat weight for your money, you will probably be looking for a wider diamond with less height. Longer diamonds lose a lot of the stone in the setting where it can't be seen.

What carat should you go for? Think budget, but aside from that, I'm keeping out of this one!

The most common choices that will be available to you will be gold or platinum. If you're going for platinum you're done! Though costlier than gold (though gold prices are increasing as I write this), it only comes in one color.

If you're choosing a gold setting, you have a choice of yellow, white, rose and chocolate, though the latter isn't that common at the moment. Probably the best way to choose which colored gold to go for is to look at the jewelry she currently wears and match the ring to it.

So you've got your diamond, the cut, the carat, the color and metal, all you need now is the style of the ring. Having chosen a heart shaped diamond engagement ring you've narrowed it down and made it a lot easier, but there are still different styles available.

If you're going for a single heart shaped stone on a band you're sorted! But there are also heart shaped diamond engagement rings that don't just have that stone in them. Sometimes diamonds won't be the main gem of the ring, but will surround another gemstone. Sometimes a heart shaped engagement ring will be made up of lots of little diamonds.

There's no real advice to be given here except for what is found to be aesthetically pleasing to the individual.

Have fun choosing your heart shaped diamond engagement ring!