Diamond Rings Online: New Technology, Old-School Elegance

Square, often velvet box: the minute it’s pulled from a pocket, you’re very likely to know exactly what it is, if not any of the details. If you’re planning a surprise proposal or want to buy diamonds for yourself, you’re going to have to shop for an engagement ring on your own or with assistance from someone.

Choosing a diamond ring and moreover an engagement ring may become your most significant purchase. There’s no denying the import, financially and emotionally, of such purchase. There are many venues to find a ring, and, like many big purchases, a good deal of research is recommended. Luckily, you can research in the comfort of your home or office (or, if you have a laptop, anywhere there’s Wi-Fi) on your computer. You’ll find many diamond rings online. Diamonds are the most popular precious gemstone for engagement rings.

Looking for diamond rings online is a great way to:

• Understand the intricacies of purchasing a diamond
• Decide which metal you prefer
• View rings you know she would – and, importantly, wouldn’t – wear
• Get an idea of prices
• Figure out what suits your budget
• See the many different cuts of diamonds available
• Consider the style or era of ring

If Harris Bigg-Wither had given writer Jane Austen one, she would’ve worn her ring for a day (the awkward Bigg-Wither was the six-years-younger-than-Austen brother of friends. Austen accepted his proposal on 2 December 1802, but plagued with second thoughts throughout the night, she backed out of the engagement the next morning. He married two years later, inherited his family’s estate, had 10 children, and died at 51 of apoplexy. Austen never married – and neither did Bigg-Withers’ five daughters.) Then again, Oprah Winfrey and Stedman Graham have been engaged since November 1992. At the time, in an interview with People magazine, Winfrey allegedly said she didn’t need an engagement ring, and that the only ring she wanted was “a wedding ring.” Flash forward to mid-July 2015, when she and Graham were spotted looking at engagement rings. Wonder if Stedman looked at diamond rings online?

Your fiancé may want an engagement ring for the ages. Meaning, you may be purchasing a family heirloom, passed down for generations. “Timeless” is an extremely subjective word, but strictly speaking, its definition is “not affected by the passage of time or changes in fashion.” In other words, you never want your engagement ring to be described as dated or carelessly accredited to a certain decade or popular period in time.

For those who were engaged in 1981, there was a sudden flurry of interest in engagement rings featuring not only a diamond or diamonds, but in the introduction of sapphire, when the then-Lady Diana Spencer became engaged in early February. Diana’s ring – now the Duchess of Cambridge’s – featured a large sapphire surrounded by diamonds and was much copied. The affianced of the early 1980s may still be noted (as having been engaged then) for the “Di” or “Di-Inspired” rings. That ring may be iconic, but those replicas for regulars now appear very dated.

So what’s considered genuinely timeless now? You can’t go wrong with the familiar, classic and elegant single solitaire. Tradition – and a jeweller – advocates at least a carat of diamond, if not more. There are other styles, which have waxed and waned in popularity, but are still considered “timeless.” The differences in a still-classic style include the cut of the diamond – the solitaire can be round, oval, princess (square), emerald (the cut not the gem, although that works, too). A ring can be a plain thin band with a single stone, or, popularly, a single stone at the centre, but flanked by two diamonds on either side.