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Educating yourself about engagement rings and wedding rings can be an eye-opening and cash-saving experience. Engagement and wedding rings aren’t tied to any season, but they seem to roll out the doors a bit more around Christmas or Valentine’s Day. But a good tip for anyone who is planning on purchasing one, is to go to the jewelry armed with at least a basic amount of knowledge in this area.

Once you begin your education, you’ll begin to see that there is some new terminology to learn, and some old terminology that you just thought you understood. Some of the terms used, if not understood, can cause you to pass over them, while others may seem to be misleading. But once you have a working knowledge of these things, it’s a much easier experience all the way around.

One of the terms you hear often in regards to diamonds, is the ‘cut’. Another is ‘shape’. And many take for granted that these two mean the same thing, because you have to cut a diamond to get its shape. But in fact, while the shape is mainly the ‘contour’ line of the stone, the ‘cut’ is much more involved in the overall description. It takes is the depth and the width, and other facets that will affect the brilliance and durability of the stone.

Once you get your working knowledge of the stones, then you need to get familiar with settings. There are a lot of different types of settings, the most common being the ‘prong’ setting. And this setting itself comes in many variations. So again, it’s a good idea to do a little reading about the different types of prong settings, and find out which ones are best for which stones. This is very useful knowledge for shopping engagement rings and wedding rings.

Once you know the prong settings, then you can move on to the other settings that are available. There are the bezel, the channel, and invisible types of settings that it can be a good idea to know something about. Learning how to pair which setting with which stone can be a key part of getting the best value for the money you put out. Some settings can make a diamond appear to be larger than it actually is, and this is good to know.

One of the most common terms you’ll hear when shopping in jewellery stores is ‘clarity’. What this means is the presence or absence of flaws in the stone. Some of the flaws are on the surface, and some are within the diamond itself. Trying to find one that is perfect in clarity, is nearly impossible, and expensive. For the most part, these flaws can only be seen with a magnifying loupe and not with the naked eye.

Color plays a big part in choosing a diamond. Many who don’t understand about diamonds, believe they’re all clear and white. But this isn’t the case. It is a fact that the white diamond sets the standard by which the others are judged. So color is another area of study for the one who wants to understand diamonds.

Educating yourself about engagement and wedding rings can not only save money, but it can be a rewarding and interesting undertaking. It’s a subject that’s vast in the amount of knowledge you can gain if you dig deep enough. Many people have made it their hobby. And today is the age of easy information, so research is done much simpler than in times past. So do a little research, and get the ring you want, for the one you love.

Moissanite Engagement Rings, Moissanite Engagement Ring

The Moissanite to the casual observer is a diamond simulant is nearly indistinguishable from real diamonds. It is more durable and more brilliant than a diamond. It offers the mystique of having one of the rarest jewels in the world, the Moissanite.

Moissanite is sometimes called silicon carbibe or carborondum. Its colors range from grayish to a greenish tone. Moissanite is a rare mineral with a hexagonal crystal structure that occurs in iron nickel meteorites.

Moissanite was discovered by Ferdinand Frederick Henry Moissan, a French Chemist in 1893. He mistakenly identifies the crystals as diamonds. However, he was able to identify the crystals as silicon carbibe (SiC) in 1904, which was late named after him. Jewelers used Moissanite as a gemstone only in 1995.

Moissanite is nearly as hard as diamond and features the same brilliance as diamond. Its crystalline structure is held together with strong covalent bonding or similar to diamonds attraction-to-repulsion stability. Moissanite is an excellent diamond simulant because it is quite similar to diamond.

Aside from looking alike, moissanite and diamonds have other similar features. It is thermally conductive like diamonds and can even match the heat conductivity of diamonds. They both are great conductors of electricity, which makes them ideal for use in the electronics field.

There are other gemstones that are used as diamonds alternative, but moissanite can give even more.

Moissanite is one of the hardest substances known. In Mohs hardness scale, with diamond being 10, moissanites hardness rates 9.25 to 9.5. It is harder than cubic zirconia with hardness rates 9 among other diamond substitute. Because engagement ring will be worn daily, such hardness is important.

Moissanite is more brilliant than cubic zirconia which is common alternative for diamonds. Moissanite is actually twice as refractive as the diamond and is double-faceted, giving the moissanite more brilliance and fire than either a diamond or cubic zirconia. Hence, it is indeed more brilliant than a diamond.

Moissanite is not a fake diamond. It should not be passed off but should be valued for its one of a kind property. It is a genuine gemstone that looks like a diamond.

Here are some tips when buying a moissanite engagement ring.

1. Before buying a moissanite engagement ring, check for its carat weight; cut intricacy, clarity and color purity. Examine the stone under different lights.

2. Inspect various shapes and sizes before selecting a moissanite engagement ring.

3. Know the store’s return policy. Ask to see the stones certification and other documentation.

4. Most moissanite engagement rings are more affordable than diamond engagement rings but they are also more durable. Some moissanite can even be more expensive than a poor quality diamond, depending on stone quality. Moissanite engagement less expensive than diamond engagement ring, but slightly cheaper than real diamonds.

5. Moissanite engagement ring is more expensive than a cubic zirconia engagement ring.

6. For moissanite engagement ring, princess cut or marquise is ideal as they have multiple points of refraction that displays the best shine.

Moissanite rings out the sparkle, the brilliance, the luster, the elegance that you are looking for in an engagement ring.

emerald cut diamond ring, rings emerald cut diamond, emerald cut diamond engagement rings, three stone emerald cut diamond ring

Emerald cut diamond rings are diamond rings that have a classic look of a rectangular stone. They feature diamonds clarity and color. Emerald cut diamond rings have a sleek and elegant design. These rings are beautiful and basically affordable.

A diamond, even if it possesses outstanding color and clarity, will not sparkle without a good cut. The cut does not refer to the stones shape. The proportions of the diamond that controls the brilliance, durability and other features of a diamond is its dept, width and uniformity of facets. Diamonds are designed, styled or cut in various ways. Diamond cuts can be round, oval, square or rectangular.

One of the most popular cuts is the emerald cut, which is an example of a rectangular cut. Emerald cut is a rectangular step cut with trimmed edges. It is a step cut because its broad, flat planes resemble steps on a staircase. Such diamond cut has a square or rectangular gem girdle outline with the steps of elongated facets parallel to the girdle, the sets on each of the four sides and at the corners.

The cut was named emerald cut as it has traditionally been used for emeralds. It has a subtle and understated look with less flash, which is the reflection and refraction, than the brilliant cut. One of the most famous emerald cut diamond rings was worn by Lady Camilla Bowles, who eventually married Prince Charles Windsor of Great Britain.

The emerald cut has become a popular choice for diamond rings because it exudes a sophisticated appearance. It is often paired with accent stones particularly tapered baguettes and other emerald cuts for its elongated shape. The emerald cut diamond rings are indeed beautiful and affordable choice especially for an engagement ring.

Here are some reasons why you should choose an emerald cut diamond ring:

1. The full depth of the stone in an emerald cut diamond ring is very visible. Even though they lack the fiery sparkle of round brilliant cut diamond rings, they have special kind of elegance and simplicity. Emerald cut diamonds are not as brilliant as round and oval cut ones but they are very clear. In fact, looking into it is like peering into pure glacier water ice.

2. Emerald cut diamond rings have wide, flat, open faces that inclusions and inferior color are more pronounced that is why diamonds used in emerald cut diamond rings are flawless. Diamonds have internal flaws that is easily camouflage by round or oval cut diamonds. But emerald cut diamond rings are really flawless, an advantage over other cuts.

3. Emerald cut diamond rings are less expensive compared to the traditional round cut diamond rings. Also, there is actually more diamonds by weight with emerald cut diamond rings than round cut diamond rings because less of the stone is cut away. Therefore, you get more gemstone for your money.

4. Emerald cut diamond rings are as versatile as round cut diamond rings. They come in wide variety of styles which include engagement rings, wedding ring sets, conventional and modern rings with unique styles.

5. Emerald cut diamond rings are as versatile as the round cut diamond rings. They come in various designs including engagement rings, wedding ring sets, unique styles, conventional rings and modern rings.

We are living in the 21st century and some may claim that we are in a post-modern society, one in which gender boundaries have become blurred, and the term ‘metrosexual’ is yet another fashionista term to apply to a man comfortable in his own sexuality.

With revolution in the air and all of this change, it would appear slightly ridiculous that some men still feel uncomfortable wearing a piece of jewellery that is symbolic for their commitment and love to the woman in their life.

Male engagement rings will often bear similar characteristics to those of a female engagement ring, yet will obviously be more masculine in their design in that they will be wider and thicker, in order to fit the man’s finger. Similarly to women’s rings, diamonds will often feature heavily on the ring, seeing as over the last sixty years, they have become a staple in most engagement rings.

Although they are still by no means the norm, male engagement rings are becoming increasingly popular in the United States, with the wife to be returning favour of her engagement ring with one of her fiancee’s own.

With so many females out their battling for equal opportunities for women in the home and the workplace, it would seem that a forward step in such a movement would be to make the act of marriage an equal one too, with women shelling out the traditional two months salary for a ring to go on their man’s finger, therefore it begs the question as too why they are not more prevalent in today’s society.

People who oppose this idea may be the traditionalists in society, those that claim that it is a man’s duty to purchase and offer the ring, and that engagement rings are only to be worn by women because this is the way that it has always been.

For those who are a little more playful with tradition, somewhat more experimental with the idea of marriage, then a male engagement ring may be worth looking into, yet the latter view is totally acceptable, as many people agree that the old fashioned way of proposing is the best way, a sort of, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ mentality.

Male engagement rings can be found in many jewellers, including online jewellers and ring sale sites, many of which will offer great discounts for using their services online.