Telling Family and Friends About Your Engagement

Summary

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Although some brides (some often second time around) prefer other gems to diamonds, a diamond is the overwhelming choice of today's bride. While the element of surprise is very romantic, the engagement ring is meant to be worn a lifetime, so it's particularly important that the bride-to-be really loves it. Make searching for the perfect ring, one that reflects your personal taste and style, a romantic task, shared by the two of you.

Don't buy in a hurry. The greater your awareness of the elements that determine a diamond or other gem's quality, the better chance you have of getting the best quality ring for your money. Try on several styles to see what fits your taste. If you don't find the ring of your dreams or you want something no one else has, check with your jeweler about making a custom design. Many jewelers offer an opportunity to trade up at a later date, like an anniversary, or you can add diamonds to an existing ring.

The GIA also grades the inclusions of imperfections of a stone, which is also important to know in order to comparison shop effectively, Their grading system begins with FL, for flawless diamond, a stone, which contains no imperfections that can be seen with a 10x jeweler's loupe. It goes down from there to .VVS (very, very small spots), VS (very small spots), all the way to an I, diamond, which has obvious imperfections. The average person usually can't find any flaws with the naked eye, down to a VS designation.

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Telling Family and Friends About Your Engagement

Part I of II parts

Just got engaged ... there's no one more excited than a newly engaged bride to be. Let the engagement period be a time of growth and understanding of one another that involves determining mutual goals for a life together. For those next few months there's so much to do.

Tell Your Family

Who do you tell first? If your fiancé di...

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