Engagement Rings Edmonton

Shopping for an Engagement Ring in Edmonton

Shopping for an engagement ring can be both exciting and stressful. You want to find the perfect ring with which to ask her to marry you, a ring that really suits her personality and sense of style. You want it to be the kind of special ring that will melt her heart and bring tears to her eyes. But, how do you go about finding that ring? What questions should you ask the jeweller? There are so many ring styles to choose from, and places to buy from, that it can get pretty daunting real fast. So, if you are looking for some ring ideas in Edmonton, we’re here to help.

Why trust us?

Melina Jewelry is a long-time, family run jewellery atelier which is renowned for its  dedication to meticulous craftsmanship, quality sourced materials, and dedicated customer service. Many of our loyal customers are from the Edmonton area, as well as from other parts of BC. Their loyalty to us and repeat business tells us that we are doing something right. We don’t have a walk-in store and only sell our rings and jewelry online. Not having to pay for a storefront has allowed us to save on expensive rent, the savings of which are passed on to our clients, by way of very affordable jewelry.

We have used this wealth of experience and knowledge of the industry to help our customers navigate the many styles, choices and variations of engagement rings, coupled with the client’s insights of his significant other’s tastes and character, to help them choose a wonderful ring. The following is a brief yet thorough compilation of what we feel is important to consider when it comes to finding the perfect ring.

Diamond Engagement Rings

Diamonds are the perennial choice when it comes to picking a center stone on an engagement ring. Just the mere mention of the word brings to mind thoughts of luxury, rarity, and beauty. Diamond rings often become family heirlooms, and are passed down from generation to generation. There is still a strong desire to have that 1 carat diamond engagement ring, to see the sparkle and to watch as you tell others about it.

In the past, most people would have trouble affording a 1 carat or larger natural diamond of special quality. Oftentimes, most people have either bought a smaller diamond or a larger one but of lesser quality. This is still true today, but with the advent of lab grown diamonds, the affordability of these special stones is now within reach of most people.

But first, let us begin our conversation with the royalty of engagement ring center stones: the natural diamond.

Natural Diamonds

These were produced deep within Mother Earth, over millions of years and under unimaginable heat and pressure, to become one of humanity’s most treasured and sought after precious stones.

The ‘Hardest Substance on Earth’ is also one of the most beautiful. The telltale sparkle in the way it captures and refracts light is one of its most admired qualities. While a moissanite stone has more fire (sparkle) than a diamond, a diamond’s flashes of brilliance are clear and white while the moissanite emits a rainbow of hues.

Natural diamond engagement rings are very popular in Edmonton, with customers choosing sizes between 0.4 and 1.5 carats. In addition, while round cut diamonds are still the number one choice, many people are looking for cuts that look a little different and are also choosing oval, pear and marquise cuts for their rings.

Lab Grown Diamonds

When these lab diamonds first entered the retail market, they were often seen as ‘fake’ or ‘inferior’ to natural diamonds. But nowadays, with more knowledge about these stones becoming common, lab grown diamonds are growing in popularity.

But are they really diamonds?

These lab grown diamonds are very much real diamonds. Their chemical and physical makeup are those of their natural cousins. Diamond testers would rate these are ‘Natural’ and only when a new line of diamond testers were developed, could jewellers detect the difference between the two.

How are lab diamonds better than natural?

Another reason why these diamonds are becoming more mainstream is due to their affordability. Lab diamonds cost much less than natural stones and for this reason, many more people choose to top off their engagement rings with these lab stones, thereby getting much larger diamonds with superior specs than they would otherwise get for the same or less money.

These lab diamonds are also more socially and environmentally palatable since there is no mining involved, no use of child or slave labor, and they are manufactured using ethical methods which are also better for the environment. People feel pretty good when they can buy a bigger diamond of fine quality and sleep easy knowing that they have not harmed people nor Mother Earth in the process.

Diamond 4 Cs

Diamonds are graded for the value using four criteria (the 4 Cs):

• Cut

• Carat

• Color

• Clarity

Cut

A diamond’s cut refers to its shape as well as to its proportion, symmetry and polish. The cut will play a major role in determining the brilliance of a particular diamond, because each of these characteristics will play an important role in how the diamond will interact with light and how brilliant and sparkling it will be.

Carat

Diamond weights are given in ‘carats’. Each metric carat is the equivalent of 200 grams, and is more commonly divided into 100 points (0 to 100 is equal to 0 to 1 carat, so a 50 point diamond is a 0.50 carat diamond). The price of a diamond will go up quickly as it gets closer and then over 1 carat in weight.

Color

The color of a diamond is graded on a scale of D to Z, with D being white while the further down the list you get, the more dark and colored a diamond gets. Many of our regular customers in Edmonton buy a F or G color diamond, when they want a white diamond (no hint of yellow) and also to help reduce price while still getting a diamond that appears white to the naked eye.

Clarity

Clarity refers to any imperfections, blemishes or marks that appear in or on the diamond. These inclusions and blemishes are caused from the tremendous heat and pressure that the stone was exposed to when it was being formed deep underground. Diamond clarity is rated on a scale from Flawless to Included. In between these you also have VVS (very, very slightly included) and VS (very slightly included). Many of our Edmonton area clients prefer VS clarity diamonds for their rings.