This really is like asking, “How long is a piece of string?” The answer depends on so many variables that it is impossible to answer simply.

In essence, the “best” cut depends upon what you mean by the term best.

The Best Cut in Absolute Terms
The cut of a diamond actually refers to how well a diamond has been facetted. Some diamonds are cut more precisely than others. A GIA Diamond Grading Report authenticates the quality of the cut of the diamond and grades it as Ideal or Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair or Poor. Diamonds with a cut graded as Ideal or Excellent are the most valuable diamonds and are therefore the best cuts, irrespective of diamond shape.

The Best Cut For Maximum Sparkle
If you consider the best diamond to be the one with the best sparkle, then you should buy a brilliant round cut white diamond with the best clarity and cut grading you can afford and prong set it into a solitaire.

Once you move away from a round cut brilliant, the amount of sparkle reduces. This is because of the different faceting for the different shapes of diamonds. A well cut marquise for example may well look like it has a shadow in the center in the shape of a bow tie! However, if you are looking for best sparkle, avoid Emerald cut diamonds because their faceting gives them the least amount of sparkle.

The Best Cut For Individuality
Brilliant round cut white diamonds account for a massive percentage of the engagement ring diamond cuts. Some estimate it as high as 75% of all gem grade diamonds sold. So if you want something that will show off your personality, the round brilliant cut would be the worst cut for you! In this case a fancier cut such as a marquise, heart, trillion or even an Emerald will be the best cut.

Best Cut For You
You are the only one who can decide what is the best diamond cut for your engagement ring. Buying diamonds is all about personal appreciation of the gemstone. After all, engagement rings are never bought solely for their investment value! So find the best clarity, best color diamond with the highest cut grade you can afford. After that, just pick a shape you think she will like. You will have the best cut diamond engagement ring

There are a list of celebrities who are fans of this shape diamond ring, Jessica Simpson, and Katherine Heigl are just some of he celebrities who have been enticed by the allure and charm of the pear diamond engagement ring. There are many combinations and styles of this ring to choose from. The settings can differ from platinum with tapered baguettes, to 14kt yellow gold or white gold mounting, to the solitaire in platinum, or the pear shaped with diamonds on either side. Or a pear diamond with trillions. There are, like with most precious gems differing combinations, the choice is a pure personal one. The fun of getting engaged is the trying on of the different rings to see which one suits the best.

With a wedding to pay for you will need to be frugal with your cash. When buying your precious diamond you can feel safe in the knowledge that your diamond will come with a certification of authenticity from the Gemological Institute of America. The best place to shop around for your setting is on the internet, where you can view the choices in multi color, see the options available from different engagement ring designers.

C. Sparkles

Diamond engagement rings have many features that make them costly. These features include the diamonds, its settings and metals. If engravings on the metal also are included then the cost goes even higher. Clearly, the more you prune the cost on the features, the easier it will be to own a diamond engagement ring .

You can settle for a diamond ring that has a diamond of comparatively lower quality. This does not mean that you are buying an inferior ring. Even if the gem is little yellowish in color and has some invisible flaws inside of it, the diamond is perfect for engagement rings as such a gem will still glitter with brilliance and fire. But the prices of the ring will come down substantially.

You can opt for pave diamond ring or channel set diamond engagement ring if budget is tight instead of solitaire rings that display a larger diamond of great carat weight that makes them highly expensive. Similarly, instead of expensive metal like platinum, go for yellow gold or white gold that are affordable for diamond rings.

There are several settings available to make a spectacular diamond engagement ring . Prong, bezel, channel and pave settings are commonly used and are popular with today’s couples.

Prong-set diamond engagement rings have four to six prongs of metal to secure the diamond within a metal basket. This is very attractive setting and is very popular too. This is because the prongs give a higher stage to the gem and it gets lifted up from the ring surface. Prongs leave a wider space on and around the gem for more reflection of light and it results in more brilliance and fire.

Bezel-set engagement rings are the ones that tightly wrap a metal collar around the sides of the diamond. This gives even more protection to the stone. But ensure that the metal does not cover much space for blocking the light on the stone.

For more dazzling impact, pave-set diamond engagement rings are preferred over any other settings. Whole of the ring surface is paved with the smaller diamonds. Smaller holes are made on the metal and many diamonds are studded into it to give the impression of a carpet made of the gems.

Channel set diamond engagement rings are also equally popular. Channel-setting is similar to pave setting in its impression but only a smaller portion of the metal surface is used for creating a channel and placing smaller diamonds in it.

There are several other settings that you can compare in a jeweler’s shop. But make sure that the jeweler uses all his skills in molding the gems in a proper and secure way. Compare the costs of diamond engagement rings on the internet and in physical stores to know about the right budget for a particular ring of your choice.

Getting the cards printed for the occasion and arranging to dispatch them will take quite some time. You will also need to hire a place for the occasion and get it suitably decorated. You seem to have forgotten another thing that is much more important than all of this. You have totally forgotten about the engagement ring which symbolizes that she is yours in your haste or so it seems. Since most people are confused by the huge varieties of such rings available in the market, selecting a proper engagement ring often poses problems for them.

Most such rings available in the market are of the ordinary type and are not suitable for someone special. However, there is no need for you to worry in case you too are one of those who are facing problems in selecting a suitable engagement ring for your beloved. You will find that there are certain sites that specialize in stocking and selling unique engagement rings if you check the net.

The provision of designing your ring online is provided by certain sites, thereby, providing you with a greater degree of flexibility. These sites also provide you with vintage engagement rings and if you are on a tight budget, you can also opt in for cheap engagement rings. Diamond rings can be purchased by those with a big budget. Ensure that the site from where you are purchasing those rings only deal in authentic jewelry and is reliable.

If necessary, seek the assistance of a friend who knows about the 4 C’s because they are well versed in this field and can judge a fake from the real stuff. An authenticity certificate and a refund option should be provided by the store from where you are planning to purchase the jewelry in case there are any discrepancies.

. Most pave diamond engagement rings are constructed from white gold or platinum in order to further minimize the metal, though yellow gold can add a measure of traditional elegance.

A pave set diamond engagement ring incorporates a larger central stone above the encrusted diamonds. Round and princess are the most frequent shapes for center stones because the remainder of the setting adds sufficient brilliance to the ring without needing a fancier center stone. In some cases, the center stone may be a colored diamond or other gemstone that is heightened by its glittering surroundings.

Pave diamond setting has been around for hundreds of years, maybe thousands. It is a very low-tech style of setting in which a goldsmith will drill holes into the selected area of a jewelry item (or possibly the entire item) and then place the corresponding pavé diamonds into the holes and then with another tool, form tiny beads of metal from around the edge of the diamond and then carefully push these beads of metal over the edge of the diamond to hold the diamond in the hole.

Many pave engagement rings feature this technique and it is a widely popular design element.  Whether you would like to surround your center diamond with pave or the shank around your finger, this technique really makes a ring sparkle.

Eternity bands and wedding rings are also popular pieces to feature the pavé set diamond design.  I have even heard of some brides choosing to have the entire engagement ring in pave including replacing the center with many tiny pavé diamonds instead of one single larger diamond.

C. Sparkles

When it comes to the precious stone that is the centerpiece of diamond engagement rings and men’s diamond rings, it is all of the above. Although diamonds have long been treasured for their hardness and rarity, they were not always beautiful to look at. It took centuries of trial and error before jewelers learned to create the exotic cuts such as the princess cut diamond engagement ring.

A Diamond…or a Lump of Coal?

The story of diamond rings starts hundreds of millions of years ago and miles beneath the earth’s surface. You are probably aware of the fact that petroleum and coal is formed from the remains of plants and animals that lived and died over half a billion years ago. These remains went under the earth over time, where they were subjected to preternatural geologic forces, which transformed them from organic matter into oil and coal.

The precious stones that are set in diamond engagement rings are formed the same way. The difference between a lump of coal and a diamond is one of degree – the geologic forces of heat and pressure that transforms organic carbon into gems that wind up as part of  diamond eternity bands are thousands of times greater. In fact, it is possible to turn coal into diamond, which is essentially what happens when artificial, industrial-grade diamonds are manufactured in a laboratory. (Theoretically, it is also possible for diamonds to turn back into coal, were they subjected to hard vacuum under a complex set of highly unlikely circumstances.)

Early Diamond Rings

Diamond jewelry had been around for awhile, but diamond engagement rings and wedding rings were pretty well unheard of before 1477, when Archduke Maximilian I of Austria presented one to Marie of Burgundy on the occasion of their wedding.

Diamond rings became popular during the Victorian Period, although the custom of presenting diamond engagement rings and the concept of mens diamond rings came along much later.

Today, the tradition is found almost everywhere in the Western world as well as Japan and India (where the bride usually wears a diamond toe ring).  Diamond engagement rings or eternity bands can be purchased as is, or can be created especially for the customer.

J Lo’s diamond engagement ring from Ben Affleck a few years ago started a trend of consumers seeking out pink diamond rings. The popularity of colored diamonds remains at an all time high.  It doesn’t look like it will diminish soon with a new Leonardo Dicaprio movie coming out which focuses on a pink diamond.

Do any of you remember Marilyn Monroe singing her famous line about “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend?” Do you have any idea what that did for the diamond rings market?  Guys are still paying small fortunes for that statement. Sure, back in the 50s women knew it wouldn’t be sensible to wear such a large diamond engagement ring but that didn’t mean a lady couldn’t yearn for it.

Today women shouldn’t feel in the least bit guilty about wearing a large diamond ring, in fact there are many women that judge how well they are loved by the size of the diamond rings that they wear. Especially in a two income family, it is often the woman who ends up paying for part of her own diamond ring.

With bling being the ‘in’ thing, one has to stop and wonder how the heck a normal average working guy plans to pay for these rings. When their fianceé’s are asked the standard answer is “doesn’t matter, I’m worth it!”  That’s great if your guy is earning a 6 figure salary but what what if he’s not?  What if he’s Joe Average living from check to check?  What should he do move into the woods and give up his home, perhaps take up walking and sell his car?

Okay girls, lets be real here. Dreaming and lusting for that big 5 carat diamond engagement ring is just fine. No problem with dreaming, but when it comes time for your man to buy that diamond engagement ring remember that the ring is not what you are marrying, so perhaps it’s time to consider the quality and quantity of the husband-to-be, rather than the ring