The three most significant purchases in your life are likely to be: 1) a house, 2) a car, and 3) your wedding rings! With so many unique people in the world, there are a million designs to choose from and so often it is difficult to know how and where to start.

The first thing you need to do is set the budget. Many rings can be very expensive, and if those parameters aren’t set, you might be discouraged very early, making this a chore rather than the wonderful experience it is supposed to be. Also, by knowing exactly how much you can afford, you are saving the hours both you and your jeweler would spend looking for something out of your price range. Traditionally, two to three month’s salary was the guideline — that is not necessarily the case in the new millennium.

The second issue is what metal to use for the ring. Most wedding rings are set in either yellow gold, white gold or platinum. The metals are very different and therefore vary in price. Platinum has made a remarkable comeback in the past few years. It is a softer metal than gold, however it is very dense. Two of the exact same styles of rings are held side by side, one is gold and the other is platinum. The platinum ring is significantly heavier than the gold ring. For those who like the look of platinum or silver, there is white gold. It is not recommended to set stones in silver. Because silver is very soft, it cannot withstand normal wear like gold. Stones will often need to be tightened or replaced. All gold is yellow in color with yellow gold being mixed with copper and silver. White gold is mixed with nickel (for the white tones), copper (for rose gold) or zinc (for green gold).

Thirdly, what stone you would prefer and what shape you would care for that stone to be? In more recent years, the colored precious stones have made their way into wedding rings. Emeralds, rubies and sapphires are beautiful stones, however, diamonds are still the stone of choice for the majority of women.

There are many shapes of diamonds that are all uniquely different from each other. Most people like certain specific shapes and dislike others. It is best to know what your preferences are before beginning the search. The most common shapes are: 1) round brilliant, 2) marquise, 3) pear or teardrop, 4) emerald cut, 5) oval, 6) princess, 7) radiant, and 8) heart.

There are no two diamonds exactly alike. Two diamonds that are the same size may be NOTHING alike and their prices will reflect their differences. Within the diamond industry there are four "C’s" which are the primary characteristics of a diamond and traditionally determine the quality of the diamond. The higher the overall rating in these four categories the more valuable the diamond will be — the four "C’s" are color, cut, clarity and carat (the weight).

Diamonds come in a variety of colors. These range in many shades of white, yellow, brown, green, blue, pink and red. The most common for wedding rings is white. The color range begins at D and moves down the alphabet to the letter Z, and the scale moves from white to yellow. The color is important because the diamond works like a prism and breaks light into the colors of the rainbow. A colorless diamond will reflect a bright vivid color, for example: a bright vivid blue, bright vivid green, etc.; the more color the diamond has, the more it will reflect that color, for example, a yellow tinted blue, yellow tinted green, etc. These color changes are very subtle from grade to grade.

The cut of the diamond determines how fiery the diamond is. When a diamond is cut well, the light goes into the stone through the top and reflects off all the different facets inside the stone, and then reflects back out of the top of the stone. A diamond that is cut too deep or too shallow, will not reflect the light correctly so that light will escape out of the side or the bottom of the stone. When that is the case, the diamond may look dull.

Almost all diamonds have imperfections inside the stone known as inclusions. Many inclusions are very noticeable, and others are undetectable without a microscope. The size, color and position of the inclusions will determine the stone's clarity. Because flawless diamonds are very, very rare, the closer to flawless a diamond is, the greater its value.

The carob seed was used centuries ago to determine the weight of the diamond because it was consistent in weight. One carob seed weighed the same as a one carat diamond. As time passed, the carob seed was replaced by a standard metric unit. The carat is divided into 100 equal parts also known as "points". A one carat diamond = 100 points. Therefore, a one-half carat diamond = 50 points, etc. When the diamonds are loose, it is simple to determine the carat weight, however, when the diamond is mounted into a ring, a gemologist can only estimate the weight of the stone(s).

The fourth step is to find a reliable jeweler. I can tell you that most people in the jewelry industry are honest. Ask friends, family members or coworkers for a jeweler they have used in the past. To have a custom ring made can take time, generally 4—6 weeks. If you decide to have something made, make sure you have sufficient time to meet with your jeweler often. This process is done in steps, and will require your attention. The more time you allow for this process, the better the finished product and you will not be disappointed.