Summarize the following:
Buying an engagement ring isn’t as simple a task as going to a store and picking out something. Armed with your fiancée's preferences and a little information about the different components of engagement rings, you can easily make the right choice. Any ring is made up of two parts, the setting and the stone. There are countless combinations of metals, stones, shapes, and cuts you can combine for your fiancée’s perfect engagement ring. The setting is ring’s metal framework and enhances the beauty of a stone. Settings are normally in the following metals: gold (which comes in yellow, white, or rose), platinum, or palladium. Silver is also an option. Platinum is hypoallergenic and an excellent choice for someone with sensitive skin. Once you’ve decided on a what metal you would like for the setting, you can figure out what style setting you’d like. There are many options such as vintage, pavé, bezel, or channel set.  You can also choose a setting after you’ve chosen your stone. Often, the brilliance of a stone is influenced by the setting’s metal. For example, colorless diamonds look best in white gold or platinum because yellow gold casts slight yellow tint onto a clear stone.  Two other options are custom settings and vintage or heirloom rings. Jewelers can craft custom engagement rings that specifically fit your fiancée’s personality, taste, and size. A jeweler will let you choose the setting, setting style and a stone or stones you like. You can buy quality vintage or heirloom rings from jewelers, or even from websites like Ebay. Estate sales are another place to find vintage or heirloom pieces. This is arguably the most difficult part of buying an engagement ring because a stone has so many variables. The stone is what is placed into a setting and is the central focus of any engagement ring. The 4C’s- cut, clarity, color, and carats (or stone size)- are the characteristics of a stone and dictate its price. If you are socially conscious, you may want to consider purchasing a “conflict free diamond,” which are stones that have not funded civil war or human rights abuses in African combat zones. Traditionally, engagement rings are clear diamonds. Colorless, round, brilliant cut diamonds are still the most popular for engagement rings.  People are increasingly adding other gemstones, such as sapphires, emeralds, or rubies to their engagement rings, either as the center stone or to frame the center stone. Fancy colored diamonds in yellow, pink, or blue are also popular- and expensive because of their rarity.  Colors are rated on a scale of colorless (D grade) to light tint (N-Z grades).Aim to purchase color grade “H” and above so that the stone doesn’t have too much of a yellow tint. This refers to the stone’s shape, which is cut by a qualified jeweler.  Cut is considered the most important factor for beauty. A poor cut can make the stone look dull.  Some examples of different cuts include: round, princess, emerald, and radiant. Cushion and Asscher cuts are considered “fancy” and are generally more expensive.  Aim to purchase cut grade “very good” or above, which will guarantee your stone sparkles brilliantly. Carats refer the size of a stone. The more carats a stone has, the larger its surface area. Ring prices increase with carat weight.  Each carat is divided into 100 points: if you have a one carat ring with 50 points, it is equal to 1.5 carats.  If your fiancée wants a higher carat weight ring and cost is an issue, one tip is to get a stone with a larger surface area and shallower cut. This way, you’ll get the size without a significant increase in price. A stone’s clarity measures imperfections, also called inclusions. The less inclusions a ring has, the more it will sparkle- and cost.  Clarity is graded on a scale from “FL” (flawless) to “SI” (some inclusions” to “I” (imperfect).  Grades “VS” (very small inclusions) and “SI” (small inclusions) are considered “fine quality” stones.
Know the two components of a ring. Decide on a ring setting. Decide on a setting style. Choose your stone. Choose a stone color. Choose the stone’s cut. Decide on the carat weight. Decide on clarity.