Do you need to know your girlfriends ring size without giving the surprise away? Don’t worry there are lots of ways you can find out her ring size without her knowing. One of the best ways is to ask, not her of course, but one of her friends or family. Women often try on each others rings or have rings past down the family tree, use his information to get a sizing. A word of warning using this method, if you’re buying an engagement ring make sure you can trust the friend with the big secret!

Another way of getting the sizing which is great fun is to steal one of your girlfriends rings! Make sure you don’t get caught or you will probably be dumped before you get a chance to explain, and replace the ring afterwards. Just borrow the ring for a few hours and nip down to a local jewelry shop and have them size the ring. This method only works if you can get easy access to one of her rings without her knowing. Remember a pinky ring isn’t going to give you a sizing for her engagement ring finger! Use common sense.

If you can’t get hold of one of her rings for enough time to take it to a jewelry shop then just use a bar of soap to make an impression of it! or place the ring on a piece of paper and trace a circle around the inside of the ring. This method should be good enough to get a basic sizing, then you can have the ring adjusted at a later date.

An Engagement ring is always a comprise between diamond size, quality, style and price. You can trade quality for size or have it all at a price! It’s well worth remembering that very few people can tell the difference between a flawless diamond and a slightly imperfect one with the naked eye. In fact you’re unlike to ever come across a completely flawless diamond, the nearest you will get is a VVS (which stands for Very Very Slightly Included) and is about the most perfect diamond you will find on the open market. You can also get VVS2 which will be somewhat less expensive but no less stunning.

I have put together a selection of very different Engagement rings, from many different online retailers. You can see the difference in price as you go up in quality and size.

LAUREN 18KY DIAMOND SOLITAIRE RING 0.33CT H/SI

£675.00

18ct white gold 0.52ct single stone diamond ring

£990.00

Platinum 0.50ct emerald cut solitaire diamond ring

£1326.00

18ct white gold one and a half carat diamond bridal set

£1799.00

18ct white gold 0.70ct emerald cut solitaire diamond ring

£2025.00

Platinum 0.75ct Diamond Solitaire Ring

£4750.00

To view all our Engagement rings ~ Click Here.

For a man, popping the big question can be a terrifying experience along with the fear of rejection there’s also the problem of buying the Engagement ring. If the proposal is a surprise then the man must pick the ring without any help from the bride to be. Let’s be honest, most women wouldn’t trust their men to pick out a pair of shoes for them let alone a piece of jewelry that they will wear everyday for the rest of there life’s!

normally women are happy to get any kind of diamond ring at anytime! but spare a thought for the bride to be who has to fain joy at a hideous engagement ring. Secretly most women know what type of ring they’d like and they may even have dropped a few hints to the groom to be. But men often miss these subtle hints and often confuse what they like with what there girlfriend actually wants!

Why not play it safe and propose with a temporary engagement ring, you can buy a cubic zirconia ring that looks the part or buy a novelty ring (you both need to have a good sense of humor for novelty ring) then together you can choose the real diamond ring later on. This way you’ll be sure that the bride to be gets the ring she really wants.

Diamonds are one of the hardest substances on the planet but they’re fairly easy to fake. So how can you spot a fake diamond! There are many synthetic stones that have very similar appearances to the diamond, one of the most common is Cubic Zirconium, this is often used in custom jewelry and is one of the easiest fakes to spot. Cubic Zirconia is much heavier in weight than a real diamond and a jewelry appraiser can easily measure this with the right equipment. It is also softer and easier to scratch than a diamond.

One of the hardest fake to spot is a ‘Moissanite Stone’ it’s very hard to distinguish from a genuine diamond. It is a naturally occurring crystal that has been able to be replicated by man and so closely resembles a diamond that many times even skilled appraisers mistake it for the real thing. Sometimes the only thing that gives away a Moissanite Stone is it’s size and flawless quality, of course most real diamonds have small flaws and colour variations.

The best way to protect yourself from buying a fake diamond is to only buy from reputable diamond retailers with a long history of trading. No reputable retailer is going to risk damaging their reputation by passing off fake diamonds. Real diamonds come with a grading laboratory certificate from a gemological lab like the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) or the American Gem Society Laboratories (AGSL) these certificates tell you the official clarity, colour and carat (weight) of the diamond. It’s worth the extra expense to have peace of mind regarding this very important purchase. An independent appraiser (don’t settle for the one that the store recommends) can put your mind at ease while giving you key details to help you to gauge whether or not the price you plan to pay is fair.

The video below shows some test you can perform to check if your diamonds are real.

A diamond’s weight is represented in carats. Carat is a measurement of weight, NOT size. Weight impacts the price most dramatically out of the various diamond characteristics. When diamonds are mined, large gems are discovered much less frequently than small ones, which makes large diamonds much more valuable. In fact, diamond prices rise exponentially with carat weight. So, a 2-carat diamond of a given quality is always worth more than two 1-carat diamonds of the same quality.

Most people think that the bigger the carat the bigger the diamond, the happier the lady will be but there is more to consider than just that. You’ll have to consider her style, the size of her finger, the size of your setting, and your budget.

The popular carat sizes are 0.50ct, 0.75ct, 1.00ct, 1.50ct and 2.00ct. There are often bargains to be found at just under these most popular sizes and many of these bargains can have superior cuts which equate to more diamond sparkle and life.

18ct yellow and white gold 0.25ct single stone diamond ring

£405.00

Platinum 1.00ct Solitaire Diamond Ring

£6500.00

18ct Gold Brilliant Cut 1.44ct Diamond Ring

£8500.00

18ct Gold Brilliant and Baguette cut 2.10ct Diamond Ring

£12500.00

Wedding rings can very dramatically depending on the where you buy them, the quality of the metal that you choose, whether you decide on a matching set or buy them individually and whether or not you opt for plain bands or diamond encrusted ones!

I have put together a selection of very different wedding bands, from the plain and simple to the unusual and ornate, but for the full range just browse through the wedding rings section in our store.

White gold 4mm court ring

£115.00

Unisex Palladium 4mm Diamond Wedding Ring

£250.00

Bride's 9ct Gold 1/4 Carat Diamond Wedding Ring

£299.00

18ct white gold flat top/courted inside wedding ring

£652.00

Platinum wedding rings

£1578.00

Platinum flat top/courted inside wedding rings

£1440.00

To view all our Wedding rings ~ Click Here.

Eternity rings are given to loved ones for any one of a number of reasons including an anniversary, to mark the birth a child, renewal of vows, or even to mark an another occasion but it’s generally a romantic gesture that women REALLY appreciate!

When looking for the perfect eternity ring you need to consider that bigger and blingier is not always best. The eternity ring should compliment the existing engagement and wedding ring as they are all generally worn on the same finger so I’ve selected a number of different types of eternity rings so that you can get a better idea of what’s out there – both style and price-wise.

How about this selection of platinum eternity rings…

Emily platinum diamond full eternity ring 0.50ct

£869.00

platinum 0.29ct dress/eternity ring

£908.00

Lucy twist platinum diamond half eternity ring 0.50ct

£945.00

Or these in yellow gold…

9K Gold Baguette and Brilliant Diamond Eternity Wave Ring

£325.00

Half Eternity Ring 0.50CT Diamond 9K Yellow Gold

£469.00

H/Si Half Eternity Ring 0.50CT Diamond 18K Yellow Gold

£835.00

And if you want to break the bank…

TIA 18KY DIAMOND FULL ETERNITY RING 3.00CT G/VS

£3015.00

Christian Bauer Ladies 18ct Gold 1.53ct Diamond Ring

£5495.00

RAE 18K GOLD DIAMOND ETERNITY RING 3.00CT G/VS

£4995.00

To view all our Eternity rings ~ Click Here.

FL, IF Flawless, Internally Flawless: No internal or external flaws. Internally Flawless: No internal flaws. Very rare and beautiful diamonds.
VVS1, VVS2 Very, Very Slightly Included: Very difficult to see inclusions under 10x magnification. An excellent quality diamond.
VS1, VS2 Very Slightly Included: Inclusions are not typically visible to the unaided eye. Less expensive than the VVS1 or VVS2 grades.
SI1, SI2 Slightly Included: Inclusions are visible under 10x magnification, and may be visible with the unaided eye. A good diamond value.
I1, I2, I3 Included: I1 diamonds often are seen to the unaided eye, I2 inclusions are easily seen, while I3 diamonds have large and extremely easy to see inclusions.

The cut of a diamond determines its brilliance. There is no single measurement of a diamond that defines its cut, but rather a collection of measurements and observations that determine the relationship between a diamond’s light performance, dimensions and finish. While there are many factors to bear in mind when choosing a diamond, diamond cut is probably the most important to consider, as it has a direct correlation to a diamond’s appearance. A diamond with Ideal/Excellent cut grade proportions will return the maximum amount of light to the viewer’s eye, the diamond will appear more brilliant and beautiful as a result.

People often mix up the difference between the ‘Cut’ of a diamond and the ‘Shape’ of a diamond. Diamond shape, by contrast, refers to the shape into which the diamond is cut. When diamond cutters receive rough, uncut diamonds, they typically assess the natural shape of the diamond and determine which shape to cut the diamond into. The most common diamond shape is a round brilliant diamond. Princess, Emerald, and Asscher cut diamonds are other popular shapes.

Platinum 1.27ct marquise/pear cut diamond ring

£3330.00

18ct white gold 0.77ct round brilliant cut diamond ring

£1436.00

Pear shaped platinum diamond solitaire ring 0.25ct

£845.00