Think 'engagement ring' and the first word that comes to mind is 'diamond' the bigger, the better! But hold on. Before you go investing your hard earned money into this most precious of precious stones, it's time to get some facts straight.

First and foremost, drill this into your head. You don't NEED a diamond. A diamond is a luxury, not a necessity. And even as a luxury item a diamond pretty much sucks. A Jacuzzi in your bathtub promises hours of fun, a fancy car gets you around in cool comfort but what does a diamond do Sure it looks great sitting on your finger, but if buying one is going to put a dent in your savings, it's just NOT worth it, as much as the advertisements would love you to believe otherwise.

One thing, however, stands true. Diamonds are forever. You could wear your diamond solitaire daily for the rest of your life, and seventy-five years down the line, it will be twinkling like you just went diamond shopping the day before. The only other gemstone that can match up to this is the corundum, commonly known as the ruby if it is red, and the sapphire if it is blue or any other color.

If you still want to buy a diamond enter into a purchase only after thinking about it logically. It's very easy to get carried away with the excitement of being in love and getting married. The qualitiy of a diamond could vary tremendously, resulting in a large range of prices. Pick one that bests suits your budget. Remember, most people can't tell the difference between a real diamond and a fake one, and even those in the know can't tell a flawless stone from one with a few flaws without looking at it through a microscope.

The value of a diamond is determined by it's cut, clarity, colour and carat, commonly known as the 4 C's. The first step is to decide which of these 4 C's is the most important to you, and work from there.

Carat (not to be confused with karat, the unit of purity of gold.)

The carat. Ahh! Technically, the weight of the diamond, carat is a good indicator of size as well. For most people, this is the beginning of their search. If you've got your heart set on a 60-point diamond (100 points make a carat), use that as your starting point but don't choose a diamond solely on the basis of its size. You wouldn't choose a man solely on the basis of his, would you?

Colour

Colour in this context does not mean coloured diamonds as in blue or pink (though such colour too will have an effect on the prices as they are rare.) Colour, in this context, refers to how much yellow shows up in the diamond. The lower the yellow content, the more valuable the stone. The most valuable diamonds are totally clear of yellow.

If, on the other hand, a diamond has a particular colour, its value can go up tremendously. The colours usually found are blue, green and pink, pink being the most expensive of the regular colours. Red diamonds are probably the rarest and if you are buying one, hats off to you!

Clarity

Clarity is a measure of how many flaws there are in the stone. These flaws are totally natural and most diamonds have flaws, many which are indiscernible to the naked eye. A diamond is, after all, mined and not manufactured, therefore we can't expect them to be totally flawless. These flaws may be in the form of tiny spots or scratches within the stone. Of course, the fewer the flaws, the more valuable the diamond.

Cut

The cut basically determines not only the shape of the stone, but also how well the diamond is cut into that shape. The basic shapes of a diamond are:

Round The round brilliant shape is the most common of all cuts and the most expensive.

Marquis This is long, pointed at the ends and slightly rounded at the center.

Oval This has an elliptical shape when viewed from the top. The length of an oval and marquise diamond should be about twice its breath.

Emerald This is box shaped and could be square of slightly rectangular. The corners are normally truncated.

Princess A part of the emerald cut family, the princess diamond is square shaped.

Pear shape The pear shaped diamond resembles a teardrop and it is the second most popular choice for an engagement solitaire after the round brilliant.

Baguettes These are smaller in size and are in the shape of a thin, flat stick.

Trilliant Trilliants are triangular in shape.

So there, you have it all. Go on and splurge! Buy a diamond that you are happy with and that you will be happy with for the rest of your life. Realize that you both will be looking at that diamond for rest of your lives. And if you doubt that it would be for the rest of your lives, then you've got bigger problems than just choosing a diamond!