How to choose engagement and wedding rings your spouse will love

One of the first decisions you need to make when choosing to spend your lives together is the engagement and wedding rings. Here's your helpful guide.

The most traditional style of engagement ring is a diamond solitaire ring with a simple stone and mounting, which can serve as a brilliant companion to a plain platinum or gold wedding band. There are certainly alternatives to this choice, and some women opt to wear only one ring to serve as both an engagement ring and wedding ring.

There are many styles available that allow for an engagement ring and wedding band to fit snugly as one set and give the appearance of one piece of jewelry.

It is certainly acceptable to forget about buying an engagement ring and to simply just wear matching wedding rings. Sometimes if couple chooses this option, the woman's wedding band may contain some diamonds while the man's band remains plain.

There are many styles and qualities of stones to consider when choosing a diamond engagement ring, so the American Gem Society recommends that you heed the "Four Cs" of diamond buying before you make your purchase: Cut, Colour, Clarity, and Carat.

• Cut refers not only to the diamond's shape, but also more importantly to the skill with which it has been faceted. A poorly-cut diamond may have no more brilliance than a piece of glass. A well-cut diamond is well proportioned, symmetrical, has no flaws in the cut, and is optimally brilliant.
• Colour refers to the hue of the diamond, which can range from colourless to almost brownish. Diamond colour is graded from D to Z+, with those graded D through F as colourless, extremely rare, and expensive. Grades G through J are nearly colourless; K through M are faint yellow; N to Z are very light to light yellow; while Z+ is called fancy yellow because of its distinctly golden hue.
• Clarity of a diamond is graded according to the presence or absence of flaws in the stone. Internal imperfections are termed inclusions, while external flaws are called blemishes. Your jeweller should point out any imperfections before you purchase and it is perfectly acceptable to view the stone under a jeweller's loupe for a magnified look.
• Carat is actually the weight of the diamond and not its size. Diamonds weighing less than one carat are measured in points, with 100 points to one carat. The cost per carat is never fixed and is determined by the stone's quality, cut and colour.

Getting engaged and planning a wedding is one of the most exciting times of your life. Do a little homework about the things to look for in diamonds and you'll be making a great investment in your life together.