Look beyond the 4C’s to find your perfect rock!

So you’re on your mission to find your perfect engagement ring, and you’ve got the traditional four Cs ticked off your list. That’s colour, clarity, cut and carat. If you’re still a little hazy, or could do with a refresher, you can read about all four of them here.

Once you’ve got the technical bits out of the way, there are still other factors that can affect your quest to find tyour perfect diamond. From our years of experience in the retail jewellery business, we know there’s a huge amount of emotion tied up in choosing your engagement ring, and that means using your heart, as well as your head! So here are just some of our pointers on what else to consider.

1. Think about unusual cuts

Most of us are aware of the round brilliant cut, the princess cut and the emerald cut, but would you consider a more unusual diamond shapes? There are dozens of different diamond cuts to choose from, and here at Ace Jewellery, if there’s one thing we love, it’s something a bit different! In our opinion, a choice of diamond cuts allows the buyer or the wearer to get more of an opportunity to express more of their own personality through their engagement ring.

Buying a more unusual cut can really change the look of your ring, so it’s worth learning about the other options out there, such as an Cushion, Oval, Pear or Marquise. You will also have the benefit of wearing a more unusual ring, making it stand out from the rest, perfect if that’s your personality trait!

2. Consider a different setting

The ring setting will be one of the most defining characteristics of your ring, and has an impact on how much you will pay for it. The setting impacts ring value in a few different ways:

  • Popularity of the setting – Some settings, such as prong settings, bezel settings, pavé settings, and three-stone settings are the most popular. The demand on the pre-loved market for a given ring setting style can also impact the price, often making a particular style more affordable.
  • Use of small diamonds – Diamond settings that emphasize the use of many small diamonds, like channel, pavé and cluster settings will add to the total carat weight of your ring. The larger the small individual diamonds on your ring are, the more they are worth.
  • Number of stones in ring – Similarly, a ring with a three-stone setting or a cluster setting is often more valuable than other settings due to the high total carat weight of the multiple stones.

You can read more about the basics of ring settings and how they will impact the look of your ring in our Ring Setting Guide.

Also, depending on your choice of gemstone, you can choose your ring’s setting so that it affects how your ring ultimately looks by intensifying it’s beauty. You can read more about the basics of ring shapes and how they will impact the look of your ring in our Diamond Shape Guide.

3. The certificate can say one thing; your heart can say another

Buying any kind of diamond jewellery can be an emotional buy, and your engagement ring is no different. A diamond certificate, also known as a diamond grading report, is an easy to understood document prepared by an expert gemologist that describes the key characteristics of a diamond. It confirms the quality of a loose diamond, and often allows non-experts to make an educated decision about buying it.

From our years of experience of helping couples choose an engagement ring, we find that not everyone is overly concerned about choosing a diamond or gemstone with a certificate. We often say to our customers “go with your heart because some diamonds just talk to you.” A lot of the time one stone simply touches your heart more than another, which is important when choosing something as intimate as an engagement ring, and something you will be looking at every day for a long time.

Not all new diamonds and gemstones that you buy from Ace Jewellery are supplied with a certificate, but don’t let that put you off. If it’s the value of your engagement ring that might concern you, we also have a fantastic jewellery valuation service.

Are you ready for one of our stunning diamonds to capture your heart? You can take a look at our range of engagement and wedding rings. Alternatively, one of our friendly, experienced staff would love to help you choose your perfect ring. Contact us with any questions you have about certified gemstones, or please call into our showroom in Leeds city centre, at 1 Lands Lane. You might also find our Jewellery Education pages useful for more information about diamonds and other gemstones.