Few things bring more joy in life than an engagement. For the happy couple, it’s a chance to express love for one another and devote their lives to each other forever. Studies have shown that the average couple dates for about five years before getting married.

For a woman, getting an engagement ring is a special (and usually) unexpected surprise. But the whole engagement process can be a little bit trickier for men. After all, the man has to make the big decision of asking a woman for her hand in marriage, the man has to plan a marriage proposal, however simple or elaborate it may be, and the man ultimately has to pop the big question.

What the man also needs is an engagement ring. There’s little doubt that the woman will be head over heels with joy and excitement when the man pops the question, but the man might have trouble finding the perfect ring, especially with so many styles of engagement rings available these days.

So how does a man go about finding the perfect engagement ring? Here’s some helpful tips to find the perfect ring:

• Budget: Before you go looking at engagement rings, it’s important to note that the value of the ring is what it symbolizes more than what it costs. Whichever one you pick, your special lady is going to love it. When you’re looking at engagement rings to choose from, it’s important to find the one that feels comfortable rather than finding the one with the biggest diamond. There’s no hard and fast rule when it comes to cost for engagement rings, but you want to make sure you purchase something you can afford upfront or afford to make payments on.
• Ring style: Believe it or not, the hardest part of shopping for and looking at engagement rings may be finding the right style. If you’re having trouble finding the right one, think about what kind of jewelry your loved one wears all the time and what style of ring might fit in with her sense of fashion.
  Popular ring settings include:
  • Twisted vine diamond rings, which see a strand of diamonds intertwined with a precious metal.
  • Waverly diamond rings, which feature a sort of halo setting whereby small diamonds encircle a larger diamond as well as the wedding band.
  • Ballad diamond rings, which can be considered the “classic” engagement rings and feature a thin band with a large diamond at the center and smaller diamonds extending halfway down the band on either side.
• Gemstones: Even if you don’t know much about engagement rings, you’ve likely seen commercials featuring them. The most common ones you’ve seen probably feature center cut diamonds, but you might decide for something more unique. It’s estimated that about 90% of engagement rings have diamonds, yet sapphires are also among common engagement ring gemstones. If you’re special lady loves uniqueness, a sapphire ring will surely stand out.
• The Four Cs: If you know next to nothing about engagement rings, you need to know about the four Cs: clarity, cut, color and carat. Knowing these can help you as you make your decision.
  • Cut: The cut of a diamond reflects it’s beauty and a diamond that’s cut correctly has great ability to reflect and refract light.
  • Carat: This measures the overall weight of a diamond.
  • Color: The color of a diamond is due to the amount of nitrogen present when the diamond was formed. Diamonds will less color have more value because they exhibit greater fire and brilliance.
  • Clarity: You may not be able to see them, but natural inclusions (such as cracks or foreign crystals) on a diamond can impact its value as well as its appearance. Ideally you want a diamond with a high degree of clarity.
• Metal: When it comes to engagement rings, common metal choices include platinum, yellow gold, white gold and even rose gold. This is another choice you can make based upon the jewelry your girlfriend already wears.

By using the guide above, you’ll be able to find the perfect engagement ring for your special someone and when the time comes to pop the question it will be all the more memorable.