If you are someone who is in the market for a diamond engagement ring, a proposal to your special someone must be on the horizon.  First things first – Congrats!  Getting engaged is an exciting time in anyone’s live and is a moment that every woman has dreamed of since she was a young girl.

Now, on to the important part – hunting for an engagement ring!  Many guys think that this is the most stressful part of getting engaged.  We all know that women love their diamonds!  Unfortunately, most guys have never shopped for a diamond so they have no idea what to look for.

It’s easy to get a little intimidated when you first walk into a jewelry store.  You see all these shiny diamonds and some very big pricetags!  And as you can probably guess, the salesperson is most likely going to present to you the most expensive diamonds first!

Don’t get stressed out  Trust me, you will find a fantastic engagement at a fantastic price.  Ignore the pricetags that are presented to you in the shops – the costs are NOT set in stone.  There’s plenty of wiggle room and more importantly, you can hunt for a diamond with certain characteristics in order to get the most bang for your buck.

The most critical part of shopping for an engagement ring is to get educated on how these things are graded.  Look for a diamond buying guide to help you out here.  Understand the “4 C’s” and how the labs grade diamonds.

Once you do this, you will have a clearer understanding of what is considered when pricing a diamond.  With this knowledge, it’s up to you to select which grading characteristics are important to you and your special someone when selecting a ring.

The idea is to set a budget, and try to stay in that pricerange.  You can increase the size of your diamond simply by going down a notch in one of the .  For example, by changing from a “F” color diamond down to an “I”, you will conserve lots of cash or be able to bump up the size of the rock by a good amount.

Good luck and enjoy this time of your life!