Engagement Ring Buying Guide

Everything you need to know to find the perfect engagement ring.

ENGAGEMENT RING BUYING GUIDE

Everything you need to know to find the perfect wedding bands.

ENGAGEMENT RING BUYING GUIDE

Everything you need to know to find the perfect engagement ring.

How Do You Know When You're Ready to Get Engaged?

If you're thinking about buying an engagement ring, the first question to ask yourself is: How do I know when I'm ready to propose? The answer may surprise you! Though there are certainly relationship milestones you can look out for, ultimately it depends entirely on you and your partner. A few questions to begin with include:

• Do you want to spend the rest of your life with them?

• Do you feel ready to take your relationship to the next level?

• Have you discussed marriage already, and feel ready to get down on one knee?

You can learn more about the engagement process and how to tell if you're ready to get engaged with this helpful blog of signs to look out for.

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How Much to Spend on an Engagement Ring

The old adage of the "three months' salary rule" has had its heyday; however, there's no need to subscribe to a set idea of how much to spend on an engagement ring. We do recommend figuring out how much you can afford to spend on an engagement ring before you begin your shopping journey. That way, you won't be checking out rings that are totally out of your budget and can more accurately compare styles and stones.

Remember that there’s no “rule” on how much you should spend — it relies entirely on your personal finances, priorities, and wants. For a more comprehensive look at setting a budget for your engagement ring, click the link below.

HOW TO SET A BUDGET

How much should be saved for an engagement ring?

If you haven’t already begun to save up for a ring, now is the time to start. You can do this by setting a timeline for yourself, putting aside a certain amount per week/month, deciding on a particular amount and simply saving until you reach it, or taking advantage of programs like layaway or credit cards. We recommend having at least half the cost of the engagement ring available at the time of purchase, even if you are able to make monthly payments in the future.


Explore Shane Co.’s financing options today.


Why Buy an Engagement Ring from Shane Co.?

Shane Co. makes it easy to find the perfect engagement ring to propose with. Some of the perks of choosing Shane Co. for your engagement ring shopping include:

• Help from expert, non-commissioned jewelry consultants

• The best value for your budget — we offer our best prices every day

• Free ring cleaning, resizing, and more

• Ethically sourced, conflict-free natural diamonds, lab-grown diamonds, and natural gemstones

• The largest selection of classic and on-trend styles

With so many ways to shop, you can start by exploring our wide selection of engagement rings on ShaneCo.com. Whether you visit us online or find your nearest Shane Co. store, we’re sure you’re going to love the experience of shopping at Shane Co.


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What Does an Engagement Ring Symbolize?

Versions of engagement rings have been around almost as long as love itself. In fact, the ancient Romans used “betrothal” rings to symbolize a commitment between two people. Though they began mostly as simple twisted metal bands, the meaning of these rings didn’t differ much from today. Engagement rings have since evolved to reflect the wearer’s personal style, from a simple diamond solitaire ring to a beautiful blue sapphire that reminds you of the place you met.

Modern day engagement rings give you the opportunity to create a personalized symbol that can reflect the depth of your relationship. An engagement ring is traditionally seen as a symbol of an intent to marry, presented to one member of a couple by the other. Wedding bands, on the other hand, are given to both members of the couple during the wedding ceremony.

THE HISTORY OF ENGAGEMENT RINGS

Start Shopping

Ready to look at rings? Learn how to create the perfect customized engagement ring or explore our selection of Perfectly Preset rings.

Create Your Own Engagement Ring

Shane Co. makes it easy to create your own engagement ring in 3 easy steps. Choose from the widest selection of engagement ring settings and thousands of hand-picked natural diamonds, lab-grown diamonds, and natural colorful gemstones.

1. Select Your Setting

Explore vintage to classic styles and everything in between in high-quality metals like 14k yellow, white, and rose gold and platinum

2. Choose a Stone

Thousands of hand-picked natural diamonds, lab-grown diamonds, natural rubies, natural sapphires, and other natural colorful gemstones.

3. Add Your Own Touch

Make it personal with hidden halos, decorative crowns, a secret engraved message, and wedding bands to perfectly match your ring

START YOUR ENGAGEMENT RING

Choosing a Diamond

While Shane Co. also offers unique, hand-picked sapphires, rubies, and other colorful gemstones, diamonds are by far the most popular center stones for engagement rings, making up 85-90% of all engagement rings sold. But picking the right diamond can be intimidating — from the 4Cs to maximizing your diamond's sparkle factor, to choosing between a natural diamond and a lab-grown diamond, you probably have a lot of questions when it comes to choosing a diamond for your engagement ring.

Luckily, we’re here to help. Here’s some of what you’ll learn with our Diamond Cheat Sheet:

• All about diamond shapes

• Why Shane Co. is the best place to shop for diamonds

• How to save money without losing the “wow” factor in your diamond

• What diamond certification is

Plus much more!

DIAMOND CHEAT SHEET

Resources for researching engagement rings

One of the most important steps in making any big decision is doing your research. Unless you’re already a diamond and jewelry expert (which most of us aren’t), you probably have some questions regarding how to buy a diamond engagement ring, what the 4 C’s mean, what a semi-mount is, and what are the  differences between yellow, white and rose gold – and those are just the first questions that come to mind.

The Four C's

The four C’s are well-known elements of choosing a diamond. They include the stone’s cut, clarity, color, and carat. Deciding which of the four C’s matter the most to you can help make the process of buying a diamond a lot simpler!

Choosing an Engagement Ring Setting

The next step in customizing your engagement ring is picking an engagement ring setting. This is the actual “ring” part, which doesn’t include the center stone. There are a variety of different engagement ring setting styles, including the popular solitaire, halo, and vintage designs.

Of course, an engagement ring is entirely personal. So you want to make sure that you’re choosing an engagement ring they really want, rather than just whatever is popular or “in style” at the time of your proposal.


Tools like Shane Co.’s engagement ring style finder quiz can help you figure out what they may want in a ring. But, one of the best ways to discover their style is to take hints from your sweetie themselves. Want to learn more? Check out our cheat sheet below!

SETTINGS CHEAT SHEET

Choosing a Metal Type

At Shane Co., we offer engagement rings in a variety of different metals, using high-quality 14k white, yellow, and rose gold as well as durable platinum.


Metals 101 for Engagement Rings

Buying an Engagement Ring Online vs. Buying in a Store

Whether you choose to check out rings in person or shop online, it’s gotten easier than ever to shop for an engagement ring. Some advantages to shopping online include:

• Using ShaneCo.com to design your own ring from thousands of gorgeous settings and hand-picked diamonds, rubies, and sapphires

• Seeing how your ring will look on your hand with our Virtual Try-On feature

Booking a virtual appointment to speak with a jewelry consultant

• Online “window shopping” with your partner (the perfect date!)

Want to visit us in-store? Here’s just a taste of what you’ll get:

• Stop by anytime or book an in-store appointment for one-on-one help from an expert jewelry consultant to guide you through your buying journey

• Mix and match stones and settings in person to see how they’ll look in your ring

• Experience our Diamond Subjectivity test, where we show how we choose the prettiest diamonds in every grade

BOOK AN APPOINTMENT

Shopping Together

Engagement ring shopping can be complicated and even stressful, especially if you’re unsure of what your partner wants. So why make it harder on yourself? There shouldn’t be any stigma behind shopping with your significant other; instead, think about all the benefits! As well as you may know your future fiancée, we can pretty much guarantee that they know themselves better.

For those of you worried about ruining the surprise, keep in mind that this is something she’s been thinking about for a long time — we can all but promise she’ll be glad you included her in the decision. You can also choose to window shop and save the final unveiling of the ring for the real proposal. Here’s a tip — she can use her favorites list on ShaneCo.com to save rings she loves and share them with you!

SHOP ENGAGEMENT RINGS

Popular Engagement Ring Styles

Searching for a little inspiration? See below for our recommendations for the most popular engagement ring styles and settings.

How to Propose

Congratulations, you found her dream ring! Now comes the fun part. Of course, asking someone to marry you can also bring on an entirely new set of nerves and questions. From where to propose to planning out what you’re going to say, there’s a lot involved with this next big step.

But planning a proposal you know you’ll get a “Yes” to doesn’t have to be hard. Starting with what to do before the proposal to how to celebrate after and everything in between, explore our ultimate guide for the very best help in planning your proposal.

HOW TO PROPOSE

How to Keep Your Proposal a Secret

Want to keep your proposal a secret? No matter how long you’ve been together, it’s still extremely common to surprise your significant other with a proposal. There’s a lot more to keeping the proposal a secret than just finding a good hiding spot for the ring. If shopping for an engagement ring together isn’t your thing, read up on these helpful hints to ensure your proposal remains a secret until you actually ask your partner to marry you.

KEEP YOUR PROPOSAL A SECRET

How to Protect Your Engagement Ring

At Shane Co., we’re happy to offer the best (free!) benefits that no other jeweler can compete with:

• 60-Day Money-Back Guarantee

• Our best-ever upgrade program

• The Shane Co. Free Lifetime Warranty that even includes your center stone

That way, you can feel confident knowing that your engagement ring is safe. Just bring it in every six months or so for cleaning and inspection, so it can remain as perfect and sparkly as the day you bought it.

Investing in engagement ring insurance can also provide peace of mind in the case that your engagement ring is lost or stolen. We can provide provide a certificate of authenticity for your insurance company, or fill out any appraisal form they provide, free of charge.

SHANE CO. WARRANTY POLICY

Wedding Bands & Wedding Checklist

If you’re lucky enough to have already gotten a “Yes” from your partner, the next step is to pick out your wedding bands. Shane Co. has the widest selection of wedding bands, from classic 14k gold to diamond-studded to vintage-inspired and everything in between.

You can shop all of our wedding bands on our website, or explore them in-store to find the perfect match for your engagement ring. You can even see how your engagement ring will look with a wedding band, or ring stack, online!

We can also provide all the jewelry you’ll need for the big day – bridesmaids gifts, wedding day jewelry, and more. Every piece of Shane Co. jewelry is built to last, so it’s easy to find the perfect pieces for every occasion.

WEDDING CHECKLIST