Buying an engagement ring is a scary business. Whether you are buying for your future fiancee or if you are one of the 65% of brides who are involved in the purchase. Either way, it is the abiding symbol of the most important relationship of your life. So you want to make sure you get it right!

 

Today we’re going to be focusing on what you need to know about buying an antique engagement ring. But before we delve into this there’s a quick recap on a couple of important points to be done! Seeing as 75% of engagement rings purchased have a diamond gemstone, here’s a quick rundown of the 4 key factors to know when purchasing an engagement ring with a diamond:

Antique Engagement Ring CARAT
A carat is the unit of weight by which a diamond is measured, with 0.2 grams equaling one carat, and the value of a diamond rising exponentially to its size.

Antique Engagement Ring CLARITY
Most diamonds contain both inner and outer flaws, which are measured on a sliding scale and known as the diamond’s clarity. Fewer flaws obviously mean more value, but it’s important to note that up to a certain point flaws are not visible to the human eye, so buying a diamond with flaws that are only visible under a microscope can save quite a bit of money!

Antique Engagement Ring COLOR
Contrary to what may seem obvious – this doesn’t actually refer to the exact color of a diamond (pink and other colored diamonds are known as fancy colored) but is a sliding scale that refers to the presence of yellow color in white diamonds. The purer the color white the greater the value.

Antique Engagement Ring CUT
Once again, contrary to what may seem obvious this doesn’t refer to the shape the diamond has been cut into, but in fact refers to the quality of the depth and dimensions of the cut which have a huge impact on a diamond’s sparkle and lustre. The better the cut, the more sparkle and greater value.

 

All reputable jewellers should be willing to talk you through the 4 C’s of your diamond, but if you need further assurance you can request to only see “cert diamonds”. These are diamonds that come with a certification to prove their authenticity, with the most well known certificate coming from the Gemological Institute of America. The GIA also has a fantastic iPhone app describing the 4 C’s in more detail, a really handy tool to have when visiting jewellers!

 

Right! With the gemstone lesson out of the way let’s delve into what makes antique engagement rings different. The main influence on the style of antique engagement rings is the period when the ring was made. Each jewelry period has its own distinct style and also method by which jewelry was made.