Shopping For Your Wedding Ring

Getting the most for your money
When you pick your diamond, you'll probably have to choose between size and quality. If you want a big stone, you can save by downgrading the quality of color and even clarity - barring any obvious visible flaws - but don't stint on the cut, which releases the most brilliance from the gem. Prong and tension settings make a stone look larger; so does surrounding it with pave diamonds. Cluster rings maximize sparkle by grouping smaller, less expensive pave diamonds to look like one large one. A white-metal setting makes a diamond look bigger; white gold can be half the price of platinum. Like a copyrighted cut? You may be able to find an almost identical, unbranded cut for less.

Sizing & Caring for your Ring
You walk into a store, spot your solitaire, and exit with it flashing on your finger. In your dreams, say Guy Spaulding, a diamond specialist at London Jewelers in Manhasset, New York. The process typically takes three to four visits and the wait time for a ring can be a few days to six weeks. Do couples pick out settings or diamonds first? "It's fifty-fifty," he says, but suggests choosing the diamond first. "The stone is the single most important element of the engagement ring. You pick a shape - whatever flatters your hand - then deal with the carats, cut, clarity, and color." Your jeweler will show you a selection of stones with the shape and qualities you like, and the settings that work best with them. Though Spaulding thinks it best to buy your engagement and wedding rings from the same jeweler - "if you trust the place, why go elsewhere?" - he suggests waiting to choose the band. "You may choose to where your engagement ring on the other hand."

Getting Your Ring Insured
Stuff happens - a ring falls down a drain or is placed in a pocket for safekeeping, never to be seen again. That's why you should buy insurance for it. Homeowners' policies typically cover personal effects for up to only $1,000 - renters' policies often insure less - and the payout may be limited to theft, not loss or damage. Riders to your policy - about $50 extra per year for a ring valued at $5,000 - can get you more coverage. Make sure it's a replacement-of-like-kind or cash-back policy so you can get the same ring you lost. A stand-alone policy specifically for jewelry from firms like The Chubb Group and Jeweler's Mutual is another option.

Where to shop for your ring

• National jeweler - (Tiffany & Co., Zales, Et.) As convenient as the mall, these places offer excellent, unhurried services. Downside: You may pay a premium for the name.
• Neighborhood jeweler - Expect familiarity and personal attention at the shop your family has patronized for years. What you won't get: a huge selection.
• Department store - (JC Penney, Saks Fifth Avenue) This multipurpose retailer offers a trusted name, convenient locations, and an array of styles - some cutting-edge - and prices, but not always the "jewel box" ambience of a specialty store.
• Big-box store - (BJ's, Costco) Major-league discounts, popular styles, liberal returns policies, and the possibility of walking out of the store with your ring are pluses. The minuses: warehouse atmosphere; service and customizing options may be limited.
• Online-only jeweler - (bluenile.com, diamond.com) Shopping for rings at 4 a.m. in your pj's - how much fun is that! So is the vast selection, great value, and create-your-own-ring software. One-on-one service? Strictly by phone or email.