Wedding bells will be ringing in spring for many couples to find themselves connected by a single diamond ring. With the exchange of an engagement ring an entire world of wedding prep generally bring a horizon of questions along with it. Before you ever get to planning that walk down the isle however, the ring has to be picked and perfected to shine amongst her finger. Did you know that the tradition of exchanging wedding rings dates back to Egypt around 4,800 years ago? Lovers who wanted to stay committed to one another took papyrus and braided them into rings to exchange at an alter. With a tradition that dates back this far isn’t it important to get that diamond perfectly correct before you decide to slide down on one knee with a ring? We thought so too.

The ring that you choose from your jewelry store has a diamond that has been graded using what is known as the “4 C’s”. This means that the cut, color, clarity, and carat have ben judged by professionals to determine the worth and beauty of the stone.

Cut

The cut of the diamond ring is a crucial part of a diamond’s worth. The cut means that the overall appearance of the diamond is being measured right along with its weight, the diamonds design and the craftsmanship that has gone into molding the diamond into the beautiful object it is that will sit on your loved ones finger and signify your love for years to come.

Color

The color system is different than your normal color grading system you learn in schools. The diamond color grading system goes from D to Z and D stands for those diamonds that are colorless and do not have that bright beautiful shine of others. Z means that the presence of color is great within the diamond and that it sparkles on its own without the slightest bit of help from flashy lighting.

Clarity

The clarity of a diamond ring may sound silly to most, but each diamond is inspected under the best of microscopes to find any blemishes that may not even be visible to the naked eye. An expert will take the deepest look that they can manage at the diamond before a ring is sold to see just how perfect the diamond is.

Carat

Carat might be the easiest part of the worth of a diamond ring to understand. The carat is simply the eight of a diamond. The price of these beautiful rings increase with even the slightest fraction of change in carat weight of a diamond. No matter how big or small your diamond is, the carat weight of it has been measured and declared.

Don’t think that the diamond is all that important? Recent studies have shown that 28% of women have actually said that they would turn down a proposal if the ring wasn’t the right ring for her. Be careful when you’re shopping for that piece of jewelry that is going to adorn your future bride’s finger for years to come, the look matters.

Also be sure to have a great relationship with your jeweler, it isn’t only the engagement ring that comes of importance with a big day. Your wedding bands need to be picked out for the both of you as well! Many times jewelers have bands that pair perfectly with the engagement ring that you have picked out.

One last thing, after you buy your diamond make sure to have it and any other jewelry of importance to you checked at least once a year for repair and upkeep! This is important to keeping the jewelry you’ve put so much time and effort into picking out from falling apart or even worse getting broken and lost. Considering that December is quickly creeping up on us, perhaps its time to wish you a happy engagement season seeing as 15% of couples get engaged during the festive season.