Engagement Ring: Buying Guide
At Tim & Co. we wish to guide you throughout your engagement ring choice process with helpful information and meaningful advice. Thanks to our diamond and fine jewellery mastery, we will help you find the perfect masterpiece for your beloved.
For years, we have been truly passionate about diamonds and jewellery and we strive to share this passion with you in each of our collection. Our exceptional pieces respond to stringent quality standards so you can be confident when you are choosing your engagement ring with us.
1. Define the ring style
Have a look at your beloved clothing style and observe her/his other jewellery.
- What is the material of her pieces of jewellery? White gold or yellow gold?
- Does she prefer vintage style, classic or modern designs?
Have a talk with your significant other’s family and friends, they could have helpful advice to guide you through this process!
2. Choose the material for your ring
Engagement rings can be created from a wide selection of precious materials ranging from:
- Yellow gold
- Rose gold: mixture of yellow gold, copper and silver.
- White gold: mixture of yellow gold with alloy metals having a silvery-white color (either palladium or silver)
- Platinum: natural white metal which is even rarer than gold
When choosing your ring, the material option is one of the key element to consider and this only depend on your preferences or your beloved’s ones. You might also choose a material that best fit with the skin color of your future bride.
- White Gold – Silver or Platinum suit well with pale skin
- Yellow or Rose Gold suit well with darker skin
The quality of gold is expressed in terms of “carats” with 24 ct being the purest gold. There are several purities of gold ranging from 9 carats (375 thousandths) to 24 carats (999 thousandths, or 99.9% pure gold). However, 24 ct pure gold is not used in jewellery because it is too soft and deforms very easily. To create jewellery, we privilege 18 carats gold which is of very high purity but much more solid or platinum. Both allow to have a solid jewel which will be transmitted from generation to generation. Indeed, 18 carats gold is called solid gold because it contains 75% pure gold and only 25% of other metals such as silver or copper. Besides, each gold jewellery is legally certified by a stamp made with a hallmark, so you can be sure of the quality of your item.
3. Natural diamond or Laboratory-grown diamond?
It all depends on your budget and your aspirations!
Laboratory-grown diamonds are approximately 30% cheaper than their natural counterparts while exhibiting the same beauty. What’s more they are sustainable and impossible to differentiate from natural ones at the naked eye!
3. Select the diamond shape and carat weight
Diamonds can be cut in a variety of shapes which all have their meaning! You can have a look at our article to find the shape that will better match your beloved’personality
The most classic engagement ring is usually set with a Round Brilliant diamond, with this shape you can be sure to not make any mistake!
Regarding the diamond size, we recommend to choose between 0.75 to 1 ct to have a diamond of the perfect size: not too little and not too big.
4. Verify the Certification
Your future bride deserve the better, make sure to select a beautiful diamond respecting the GIA criterion!
Have a look at the GIA criterion (Cut, Color, Clarity, Carat)
5. FIND THE PERFECT RING SIZE
If you are not sure about the size to order, you can refer to our Ring Size Guide.