If you’re shopping for a diamond engagement ring, then you’re probably planning a proposal in the near future.  First things first – Congrats!  Getting engaged is an exciting time in anyone’s live and is something that every woman has dreamed of since she was playing with barbies.

Time for the crucial part of the process – hunting for an engagement ring!  For many guys, this is the hardest part of getting engaged.  Everyone knows that a diamond is a girl’s best friend!  Obviously,The problem is that most men have never shopped for a diamond so they have no idea what to look for.

It’s normal to get a confused when you first walk into a jewelry store.  You are confronted with lots of shiny diamonds and plently of dollar signs!  And as you can probably guess, the jewelry store employee is going to show you the most expensive diamonds first!

Don’t panic!  Trust me, you can find a fantastic diamond ring at an unbelievable price.  Don’t pay attention to the pricetags that you see in the stores – these prices are NOT set in stone.  There’s plenty of wiggle room and more importantly, you can look for certain things in a diamond in order to get the biggest value your buck.

The key to shopping for a diamond ring is to be educated about how diamonds are graded.  Find a good diamond buying guide to give you a hand.  Get a strong understanding of the “4 C’s” and how the labs grade diamonds.

Once you understand the 4 C’s, you will also know what is looked at when determining the price of diamonds.  From there, you can decide which grading characteristics are most important to you in purchasing a diamond.

Decide the amount you want to spend, and try to stay in that pricerange.  You can increase the size of your diamond simply by dropping down a notch in one of the other grading characteristics.  For example, by going from a “F” color diamond down to an “I”, you can save huge dollars or increase the size of the diamond by a good amount.

Good luck and enjoy this time of your life!