 Well, there are quite a few ways that an Engagement Ring Consultant can save you money on the purchase of a ring. Chase.com points out three reasons to consider hiring a LITTLE BIRD Engagement Ring Consultant: 1. Hiring a Ring Consultant can save you 20 to 40 percent off the cost of the ring Linda DiProperzio of Chase.com says: "This is key, since spending on engagement rings is at its highest ever. A survey by The Knot, a popular wedding resource, found that the average price of an engagement ring is about $6,000. Making sure you get the most for your money is crucial." LITTLE BIRD agrees. Big time. There's not a lively secondary market for private engagement ring sales out there. So, you're likely going to hold on to this ring for a very very long time. Let's make sure it's an investment you can stand behind for the long haul! 2. Ring consultants have insider knowledgeWe go way beyond the 4c's. A consultant can inform and educate you on nitty gritty diamond and ring vocabulary that you won't glean online. We can also review diamond and gemstones certificate prior to you pulling the trigger. Furthermore, do you have the right metal type selected? Is this the right style of pavé? How will this ring jive with your future wedding band. We know this stuff inside and out and getting personalized advice based on YOUR goals and your lifestyle is what getting great ring consultation is all about. 3. We can offer a wider selection AND we can help you figure out what you want. Picking out an engagement ring isn't a cake walk. You might not be aware of all your options and of all the bespoke and custom elements that are available to you for each little part of the ring anatomy. The options are endless. Your ultimate ring IS possible. It's just a matter of understanding what's out there! A word to the wise: check on the commissionThe thing is there are a few types of consultants out there. There are consultants with affiliate relationships with 6-8 online diamond companies. There are consultants who also sell diamonds. And then there's LITTLE BIRD. "Consultants like LITTLE BIRD don't profit off the sale of the gems or the design of the ring. Instead, the company charges a flat fee, with packages starting at $75. 'Our clients know that we're giving them unbiased recommendations because we're not profiting in the amount someone pays for the ring,' says Beth Moore, LITTLE BIRD's expert GIA certified Graduate Gemologist." 
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 You may be already starting to feel overwhelmed by all the different looks out there, all the diamond information, and the barrage of marketing coming your way. It is time to stop the madness. LOOK, before you even step foot into a jewelry store or spend another hour poking engagement ring shopping online, you'll need answers to these 9 questions below. This should give you some insight and help you determine what direction you should focus your attention and research energy. By the end of this lil exercise, you should have a firm idea of your next steps and whether or not you need additional guidance along the way. NOTE: we recommend copy and pasting this list into a Google doc or similar and recording your answers in note form so that you can actually reference back to it. Seriously, if you bring these answers with you anywhere you will have a much more successful experience. Ok, here goes!
 Custom Rose Gold Pavé Basket Solitaire with a 1.25 carat round brilliant diamond  Custom 18K Yellow Gold East-West Emerald Cut Diamond in a Matted Bezel with an Eternity Shared Prong Diamond Band, Nick Engel  An assortment of bespoke engagement rings by Nick Engel  Bespoke 18K Yellow Gold Tapered Baguette Setting with a 2 carat Asscher Diamond center, by Scout Mandolin  The ring stack to end all ring stacks, curated by GemHunt.Co Jewelry blog GEMHUNT.co hit the Internet like WHOA in 2016. We are honored to be joined by Jewels by Grace, The Clear Cut, Victor Barboné & Designs by Kamni on their expert panel, topic: Engagement Ring Advice You Haven't Heard Before. Among sage advice on how to find imperfections in the diamond and how to find the perfect engagement ring that is utterly personal, and unique is our hot pro tip on how to maximize the size of your diamond: 4. Don’t forget that “carat” refers to the weight, not how large the diamond actually appears when viewed from the top. Therefore, it’s super important to me that my clients choose a high standard for the quality of “cut” and then select the stone with the largest millimeter measurements so that they get the largest top view of the diamond for their money. Danielle, Little Bird Get all the wisdom here: http://www.gemhunt.co/gemtalkblog/2016/10/31/unconventional-engagement-ring-buying-advice 
6 Things You Need to Know to Select the Ideal Men's Wedding Ring + Our Current Favorite Sources9/23/2016  We. Will. Keep. It. SIMPLE. Here are the major things you need to know about men's wedding bands: 1. ON MATCHING: Her wedding band needs to match whatever metal the engagement ring is. So if her engagement ring is platinum, her wedding band needs to be platinum, too. If her engagement ring is 18K yellow gold, so should her wedding ring be. Unless you are mixing metal colors, stick to one metal type. However, YOUR ring doesn't need to match hers. So go with what you truly like the look and feel of! Definitely consider all the options: white gold, platinum, palladium, yellow gold, rose gold, matted, hammered, an alternative metal... 2. ON WIDTH: The most standard width for a men's wedding ring is somewhere between 4 - 6 millimeters. If you want a thinner, lighter band, then choose something closer to 4mm. If you want a wider, heftier band, then skew closer to 6mm. The 5mm is dead on "classic". Thinner than 4mm is totally cool, but on the slimmer and more feminine side. And wider than that is also a great look, but it's certainly going to feel heavier and bulkier. 3. ON METAL & STYLE CHOICE: If you decide to go with a white metal, then we strongly  Dudes, meet GEM HUNT. This is the place your girlfriend goes on the internet when she’s hunting down the best engagement ring styles for her secret engagement ring Pinterest page or indulging in some online hot diamond materials before moving on to her next task in Asana. Editor Catherine Cason founded GEM HUNT after becoming engaged a few years ago. She is witty, irreverent, fun, and knowledgeable so we asked her to share some sage advice with you. Dear Men,
Congratulations, you are looking to get engaged. I will be straight with you being engaged is awesome — all champagne bubbles and fun. That said,  It's always a pleasure to chat with the good people at GH. Check out this piece on Lab Diamonds vs. Real Diamonds. We answer the following questions:
1. What is a lab diamond? 2. What makes lab diamonds different than earth mined diamonds? 3. Are there different ways of making a lab diamond? 4. Do lab diamonds cost less than earth mined diamonds? 5. Who is a lab diamond for? 6. Do you think lab diamonds will be become more popular? 7. Where do you think is the best places to shop for a lab diamond? 8. Tell us about the "Real Is Rare" movement and what does it mean to consumers? And it turns out that we've got some stuff to say! Check out our answers here....  In a sea of fashion bloggers there are but a few standout jewelry bloggers. Chief among them, Gem Hunt. On the average day, Gem Hunt reports on all things hip while eating diamonds for breakfast. Us Little Birds? Well, we are usually deep into diamond selections and proposal planning. So GH interviewed LB on how to make sure you and your finance are on the same page when to comes selecting the perfect engagement ring! 4. Would you want to design something together or would you want to surprise me out of the blue? Known for their insatiable appetite for well-cut carbon and rock solid fine designers, Gem Hunt's Intagram is quickly becoming a must-follow...       In an extended podcast, Sean from Menprovement and Little Bird discuss engagements, diamonds, strategies, and culture. When should a man propose? Is two month's salary still an appropriate starting point for the ring budget? Should you always get a GIA report with your diamond? Listen to the podcast here.  The podcast also comes with a fantastic article on other commonly asked questions, as well as a guide to getting optimal value on a diamond. There's an excerpt from the article below.... You can read the entire article here, Question 8) Are diamonds really that common? Ring sizing has its own chapter in the book of advice on buying an engagement ring. So as part of your ring education, check out this definitive guide on how engagement ring sizing works. 1. Understanding Ring Sizing By NumbersHere in the US the ring sizes are based on a numerical scale. These numbers are based on the circumference of the inside of a band, expressed in millimeters. Sizes start at about a 3 (teensy) and go up to about a 15 (giant). The difference from one whole ring size to the next a matter of 2-3mm in the circumference of the inner part of the band, where it touches your finger. The difference between a comfortable ring size and one that either falls off or causes you to panic it’s so tight could be the matter of a 1mm difference in the inner ring circumference. You’ll see half sizes (size 5.5), quarter sizes (7.25) and even “loose” and “tight” sizes, which are basically like an ⅛ size increment. For example a “tight 6” is basically a 5 ⅞. The vast majority of people have a ring size somewhere between 4 and 12. For those of you abroad, we cover European ring sizing later in this post.
3. What is Her Ring Size?The average woman’s ring finger is a size 6, for a ring that is about 2-3mm wide. When you go to a jewelry store, most women’s rings in the case are either 6 or 6.5, and the bands are all about 2-3mm wide with a few exceptions. The vast majority of engagement rings will be in the range of 5.5 - 6.5. Of course it’s not uncommon to be smaller than a 5.5 or larger than a 6.5, but almost all engagement ring orders in the US fall in this tight range. These size differences vary by very small amounts. For example, the difference between a 5.75 and 6 ring size is so so so so slight. Just eating too much salted popcorn can cause your fingers to swell more than a 1/4 size the next day. So don't get stuck in the weeds on sizing. If you know she's somewhere between a 4 and a 4.5, stay with the larger end and you'll be ok. Making adjustments after the fact is totally normal. That said, if a ring were a basic t-shirt: Small hands: 4.5-5.5 Medium hands: 5.75-6.5 Large hands: 6.75-7.5
 Emerald Cut Diamonds are just like Mr. Darcy So let’s just say that you happen to be browsing diamond shapes and cuts. No reason. Just looking. Eventually you come across an emerald cut diamond. Maybe you instantly fall in love with its clear, cool, water-like shine, its self-possessed elegance, its unexpected simplicity. Or maybe you hate it. Emerald cuts are a lot like Mr. Darcy from Jane Austen’s popular book Sense and Sensibility. In the beginning of the story Mr. Darcy seems cold, but the more we get to know him, the more we learn to recognize what a beautiful person he is. No matter what your reaction is, know that emerald cuts are unmatched in their ability to divide opinions amongst experts and non-experts alike. If you think emerald cuts look cold and unexciting, look longer. Us? We are in the adoring-emerald-cuts-forever-camp. Firstly, they have step cut pavilions, meaning that the underside of the stone is faceted in a pattern of horizontal lines. This is different from the “disco-ball” effect that a round brilliant faceting pattern creates, and it makes it much harder to disguise any clarity features within the gem. Peering into an emerald cut is like wearing goggles in a pool - you can see pretty much everything there is to see inclusion-wise. The result is that the most crystal clear rough diamonds are given an emerald cut (usually). Secondly, once you calibrate your eyes to the emerald cut’s magically serene look, you’ll get over the typical sparkle-sparkle you’d see in your everyday brilliant cut diamond. Peer into the depths. Watch the light glide over the smooth facets. Fall down the rabbit hole. Emerald Cut Guidance at a Glance:
XOXO, The Birds  |
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