For a man, buying an engagement ring could be quite time consuming and a costly affair. When you are going for the purchase, it is most probable that you would not have much experience in purchasing a jewelry item. Probably, this is your first experience of buying jewelry and you would want that you make a good choice for your purchase.

Like any other purchase you make, your choice would depend on your budget. But, buying such a ring could be quite costly. Therefore, your budget would be good starting point. It is generally assumed that a person would spend around two months of his salary towards such a purchase. But, it is not necessary that you should limit yourself by this advice. It is up to you to decide how much you could afford to spend on the purchase of the ring.

After you have taken a decision regarding your budget, the next important point you have think is about the design of the ring. It could be a modern design of a solitaire diamond ring or a more traditional one with several small diamonds or a cluster. Another thing about the ring design is the metal to be used. Mostly these rings are platinum rings or made from white metal. But, your sweetheart might like to have a gold ring. To make a proper choice in this regard, you should have an idea about her choice. You may get an idea from the kind of jewelry she generally wears. Or, you may collect the information from her close friends.

Still if you are not sure about your choice, there are a few choices available. There are some jewelers who are ready for an exchange in case she does not like it. They would generally offer another ring of similar value. Another way out is to offer your sweetheart with a diamond which she can make into a ring of her choice later.

But, the most important point to be decided for making an engagement ring is the choice of diamond to be used. It will also entail major part of your expense.

Firstly, you should buy the diamond from reputable jewelers who would allow examining the diamond. It is always better to buy a diamond with a certificate.

Price of a diamond increases with increase in its size. Generally, diamonds of one carat weight are generally used for making these

. But, if you choose a diamond of slightly lesser weight, you would save lots of money. Price increases sharply for one carat diamond in comparison to one which is slightly smaller. The difference of size is also not significant.

Color of a diamond is rarely perfect white. They are mostly slightly tinted. Color of a diamond is graded from D (perfect white) to Z (highly discolored). Instead of going for a D diamond, which would be quite costly, you could go for E-H range and the difference would be minimal. Similarly, regarding clarity you could aim for VS2 instead of the highest range of clarity. You could even go down to SI if you feel stretched.

And lastly, cut of the diamond is a very important aspect of selection. it provides the diamond with the brilliance that it shows. Round brilliant cut is the most preferred cut while selecting a diamond.