With this ring...

By Esther Muchene

So finally you have drawn up the guts to get on one knee and ask her to be your wife. There's no better way to do so than with a ring.

A ring symbolises much and hence should not be taken lightly. When all is done, you will always have these bands for the rest of your lives.

When choosing a ring, have him or her in mind. You can consider starting a family tradition whereby her ring can be passed down to your children as an heirloom to be cherished forever. So choose wisely!

To make it a bit easy, below are some tips worth considering when choosing that special ring or else you may find it to be an exhaustive, expensive and time consuming ordeal:

• First you need to decide whether you want to involve your partner in choosing a ring or not.

• Secondly, set a budget. Decide how much you want to spend on the ring. This will guide you and make it easier as your search will be limited to a particular price range. As much as you want the best for your partner, cut your coat according to your cloth and don’t get yourself into unnecessary financial difficulties.

• Once you settle on how much you want to spend, it is time to start shopping around. You need to know what is available and the options you have. For example, most common engagement rings are made from white metal such as platinum and white gold. The other metals include yellow gold, rose gold and silver.

• To get value for your money, ask some of your married friends where they purchased their rings. Referrals through trusted sources are the best and safest way to get the best value for your money. This will save you on time, making it a better option rather than running around every corner of the city like a headless chicken.

• To get the ring she will love, you can get inspiration from the type of jewellery she wears. The colour, type of metal, cut and style. If she is not a fan of jewellery, ask her mother, sisters or friends for advice, as they would be in a better position to know best.

• Once you identify a good jeweller, have in mind the 4C’s, which are used to grade precious stones. This is, however, with regards to diamonds. They are:

Carat Weight

The bigger the rock the more you will pay for it. A carat is one fifth of a gram. Most rings have one carat or less than a carat meaning you can get a good diamond ring at a fair price if you look at the right places.

Cut

This is in reference to the proportions and symmetry. A diamond with a good cut will reflect and refract light hence sparkle more compared to a stone with a bad cut. You also need to note the different types of cut such as the princess, round brilliant and fancy shapes according your preference. It has been noted that the round brilliant sparkles more than any other cuts.

Colour

Unfortunately, very few diamonds have that perfect white colour, meaning most of them have a hint of colour. These colours are graded from D, which is the best and is perfectly white to Z, which means it is severely discoloured. When choosing, it would be advisable to stay within the E-H range, which has some good colour and isn’t expensive. If you go for anything lower that H you may notice a hint of yellow in the rock.

Clarity

Yet again, most diamonds have small imperfections or impurities trapped inside known as inclusions. The bigger, more central and more in number they are, the lower the clarity. Clarity is graded from IF, VVS1, VVS2, VS1, VS2, SI1, SI2, I1, I2, I3, in descending order. However, when buying, make sure the inclusions are not visible to the naked eye.