Your girlfriend has dreamed about her engagement ring from the time that she was a little girl. Which only means one
thing: you have one shot to buy the perfect ring that matches her expectations, style and personality! That’s a lot of
pressure for the average guy – more than most of us are prepared to handle. Because of that fact, here are a couple of tips
that you can use to make sure that you get the ring of her dreams the first time!

Choosing an engagement ring is about balancing a couple of very important factors. First, you have to consider her style
in jewelry. Does she like gold or silver? Does she prefer traditional or flashy? Secondly, you have to find a ring that is
traditional enough that there is no mistaking it as an engagement ring, but unique enough that the ring doesn’t look like
every other piece of jewelry she owns.

Here is the first decision to consider: Is she a gold or a silver girl? You can determine this by the other rings she wears. If
most of them are gold, she’s a gold girl and the rings you shop should be primarily gold. If she has mostly silver jewelry,
browse silver engagement rings. If she does not wear any or has an even mixture of both, then ask her friends or her mom.
They will certainly know.

Secondly, does your girlfriend have small or large hands? If she has small hands, a ring that is too large will look gaudy.
Here are some possible settings that generally look more natural on smaller hands: the solitaire, pave, channel set and
sidestone. On larger hands, you could consider the three-stone, wedding, danhov, and contemporary sets. This is primarily
a rule of thumb and only intended to get you started in your research. Ultimately, you must make the final decision based
on what you know about her.

Here are some of the most common settings described more in detail:

A solitaire setting is a very simple, elegant and traditional engagement ring setting. It consists of a band and a ring. There
are a few design variations in the prongs that hold the diamond to the band, but that is it. This is the most common
engagement ring setting.

A pavé setting is very close to the solitaire setting. The only difference is that the band has multiple small diamonds set
into it. Usually, there is the same number on each side of the diamond.

Sidestone engagement ring settings have a large central diamond, similar to the solitaire setting. In addition, the band may or may not be a pavé setting. Also, each side of the ring will have a one or several smaller diamonds.

A three stone ring has the same qualities as a sidestone engagement ring, except the stones that are adjacent to the central
diamond are typically much larger than sidestone diamonds.

The last common engagement ring setting is what is known as the wedding set. Wedding sets include the engagement ring
as well an additional wedding or ceremonial band. These are typically fused together after the wedding ceremony. Their
settings include combinations of the ones we mentioned above.

The solitaire, pave, sidestone, three stone and wedding sets are the most common settings. Just those 5 options alone
have enough variation in them that you could select or build an infinite combination of rings!

For that reason, it’s very important you buy from a company that has a history of performance and customer service. They
should offer a no-hassle return policy and 100% complete refunds! Better companies, like James Allen, will even offer
things like free shipping, free returns, lifetime warranties, and around the clock customer service.