Finally, after months or years of waiting you found the guts to ask her to marry you. What better way to tell the world you love her than giving her a diamond engagement band that symbolizes your indestructible love. For most men however, purchasing diamond engagement rings is never a walk in the park. As such, it pays to be informed before you decide on which band would best encompass your love for her.

As a general information, diamonds are highly valued because of their exquisiteness and rare ability to retract light to a greater degree than any other types of precious stones. Due to these characteristics, diamond engagement rings have become popular betrothal gifts. The sad truth however is that despite myriads of information concerning these stones, many people still fall victims for false diamonds or remains as a part of the uninformed market. An uninformed market includes people who have an incomplete idea about the nature of diamonds they are purchasing, and they judge the sparkler's qualities not by any set and understood standards but merely through the advertisements they see and the eye-catching features that diamonds boasts; these people are often at the mercy of their retailers.

In order to become an informed buyer, you can start understanding the diamond you are about to buy with the aid of the unbiased evaluation provided by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). Established in 1931, GIA is an international body that set the first internationally accepted grading system for diamonds. As all diamonds appear aesthetically the same, a GIA report will help determine the differences, flaws and inconsistencies in diamonds. The most widely accepted form of verifying the quality and identification of a diamond is known as the GIA diamonds grading report or the diamond dossier.

The GIA grading report contains the expert analysis assessment of a diamond using the 4Cs of diamond grading as a primary reference, or simply the carat, cut, color and clarity. Other than the 4Cs, the report also has the stone's proportions in graphic representation as well as plotting diagram that presents the gem's inclusions and clarity-related characteristics. Generally, GIA diamonds are well tested to ensure that their qualities are accurate.

It would also be helpful to refer to a quality diamond jeweler. His or her competence when it comes to diamonds will surely help you detect whether the diamond band you intend to purchase is a piece of cheap jewelry or a valuable one. If you are really on a tight budget however, instead of choosing a preset diamond band you can always go for loose diamonds. This way not only would you be able to save money as you don't have to pay for the metal used for the preset diamond band, but more importantly you would be able customize your band according to your design preference.

Now that you already know the basics for diamond engagement rings, searching for the right one is now made easier. With the help of the simple guidelines provided above, sure enough, you would be able to pick the band that will symbolize your love for her. Regardless of the price or type of diamond band you pick, for as long as you are sincere about your proposal, you can expect a positive answer from her. After all, you both have all your lifetime to prove how much you love her; the diamond band you will be giving is just a start of the journey that both of you will share.