Create Your Own Engagement Ring: Select Your Setting part 2 of 5 of "A Guy's Guide to Building an Engagement Ring" (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) First things first, find her ring size. If you get a ring that fits, this will help you avoid a lot of problems. You can usually return rings for re-sizing (places like Mondera and Blue Nile encourage this), but it's nice if you get it right the first time. There are many ways to find her ring size, but how you do it depends on whether you're a traditional guy or not. If you've already been talking to her about getting married, then just ask her what her ring size is. However, if you'd like to surprise her with a ring and a proposal, then you'll have to figure out a sneaky way to find her ring size. You could just take one of her rings when she's not looking and get it sized. If she notices the ring is missing, though, you'll have to make sure to say something like, "That's terrible that someone stole your ring. If I get ahold of that guy, he'll wish he was never born." Or something like that. Or, if you plan to be really traditional, and ask her parents for her hand in marriage before you ask her, then you can probably ask her mother to find out her ring size for you. By the way, if you plan to go traditional and surprise your significant other with a proposal, you really should check out Michael Webb's ebook, The Romantic's Guide to Popping the Question. It's got over 100 inspiring proposal stories and lots of great tips that will save you from making some big mistakes. Once you figure out her ring size, then the real work begins. Now you have to figure out what kind of ring to get. On this page we will discuss the band and setting. On the next page we will discuss the diamond. There are three basic kinds of engagement ring settings to choose from. You may choose a traditional solitaire setting. You may choose a setting with diamond accents. Or you may choose a setting accented by other gems, like sapphires or rubies. Let's look at each of these three options: Create Your Own Traditional Solitaire Engagement Ring Setting This is still the most popular style for engagement rings. Here is an example: There's not much to say about this simple and elegant style, so let's talk a little bit about the kinds of precious metals you can choose. Here's the low down: If you want to look cheap, choose silver. If you want to look traditional, choose yellow gold. If you prefer subtle and under-stated, choose white gold. Note. Your significant other will probably have a preference between white gold and yellow gold. If she hasn't already made this preference clear, pay attention to what she wears. If she tends to wear a lot of silver or stainless steel, she's probably a white gold woman. If she tends to wear yellow gold, or more brassy looking metals, then she's probably a yellow gold woman. Also, gold comes in 18ct, 14ct, and 9ct. 18 is definitely recommended. If you want to go whole hog, get her a platinum engagement ring band. Platinum looks a lot like white gold, though, so you might regret the splurge if your SO is a yellow gold woman. Create Your Own Diamond Accented Engagement Ring Setting Diamond accents are just extra diamonds surrounding and accenting the main diamond. These surrounding diamonds may be round, or may be baguettes. A baguette is a gem that has a flat surface and is set flush with the surrounding gold or platinum of your engagement ring band. The best way to explain the differences here is just to show you some pictures: Round Accents:Here is a diamond engagement ring accented by round diamonds: Rectangular Baguettes: Here is a diamond engagement ring accented by rectangular baguettes: Tapered (or trapezoidal) Baguettes: Here is a diamond engagement ring accented by tapered baguettes. Notice how they are broader up toward the main diamond, and taper down as they recede from it. Create Your Own Gem Accented Engagement Ring Setting Gem accents are the same as diamond accents, except they have gems of other types accenting the diamond. Here is an engagement ring with round ruby accents: Here is an engagement ring with tapered sapphire baguettes: So engagement ring settings aren't really all that complicated after all. Alright, we're almost ready for the engagement ring building tutorial page I have prepared for you. We're done with the easy half of our education. Now we just have to figure out how to tell what kind of diamond we want, and how to tell quality from junk. Continue to part three: Select a Diamond . . . This is part 2 of 5 (1) (2) (3) (4) (5)