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Know Your Budget Before Hand

The most important thing you can do – the MOST important thing – before you start to search for a promise ring for her is to first figure out exactly the kind of budget that you’re working with to begin with.

As a general rule, promise ring purchases are always going to be significantly less expensive than engagement rings and wedding rings. This kind of jewelry is a single tier down from those incredibly important and symbolic pieces of jewelry, and while you can still spend a mountain of money on promise rings, most people find that they are a lot more budget friendly than those other jewelry options.

If you don’t know exactly what kind of budget you have going into this process, however, it’s easy to end up spending a lot more money than you originally had hoped to – especially if you work with jewelers that recognize you don’t have a budget in mind already and instead funnel you towards more expensive pieces while downplaying less expensive, but still impressive options that certainly would impress her.

Some people look at their bank balance and figure out how much they are able to pay out-of-pocket for a promise ring, and others are going to think about taking advantage of financing the entire purchase, while others still consider how to combine cash down and a financing package to get the perfect promise ring for their woman.

Depending on how you want to go about paying for this purchase, you’ll need to consider all three options and avenues before you dive right in. At the end of the day, however, you absolutely must know exactly how much money you’re going to be spending on this kind of purchase before you start looking at options or the total price tag of the new promise ring will always exceed your expectations.

Find a Jeweler You Know You Can Trust

The next big piece of the puzzle when shopping for a promise ring (or any other piece of jewelry, for that matter) is finding a jeweler you know you are going to be able to trust with this kind of investment to begin with.

Obviously it’s not a bad idea to start with your friends and family to see if they have worked with a jeweler they can personally recommend, but outside of that you’ll want to have a look online, read reviews and testimonials, and generally look for jewelers that have customers with glowing experiences they aren’t shy about sharing with others.

It’s also not a bad idea to look for jewelry organizations that have some sort of industry organization affiliation, accreditation from the Jewelers of America or a similar body, or are active members of the Gemological Institute of America.

These kinds of accreditations speak to a level of professionalism that should give you a lot of confidence moving forward, letting you know you’re working with legitimate operators and not just some fly by night set up looking to trade your hard-earned money for promise rings that are anything but legitimate.

You also want to consider working with jewelers that have a dedicated staff on hand to help walk you through this process step-by-step. Again, purchasing promise rings for couples is a lot less involvement intensive than when purchasing an engagement ring – but that doesn’t mean that the sentiment, the feelings, and the concept of the ring should be taken lightly or that the process for purchasing the perfect ring should be done willy-nilly.

Professional jewelers are going to ask you a lot of questions, not only about your budget and what you hope to get out of this promise ring, but also questions about the person you are going to be giving this ring to, what you want the promise ring meaning to be about, and how you want this gift to be received; and how you hope it’s going to be treasured for years and years to come.

These experts can help you navigate the purchasing process from top to bottom, steer you in the right direction and away from rings that might not be perfectly suited to your needs or your budget, and help you find a promise ring packed with plenty of meaning and sentiment without having to blow up your bank account along the way.

Research Different Designs You Might Be Interested In

As we made mention of earlier, you aren’t going to lack for options when it comes time to research promise rings for her.

There are more promise ring designs available on the market today than ever before, with new designs hitting the marketplace on a day-to-day basis. You aren’t ever going to feel like you can’t find a design ideally suited to that special someone in your life – but will instead likely feel like you are swimming in an ocean of pieces that feel perfect, having difficulty finding just one to move forward with.

This is where researching different design ideas, different design concepts, and different types of promise rings come into play.

There are some promise rings for her that are designed to be simple, understated, and minimalistic while others are designed to be incredibly ornate and can rival the designs of some pretty high-end engagement rings – as well as thousands of options that sit somewhere in the middle between these two opposite ends of the spectrum.

By really digging into these different designs and thinking about how each individual type would be received by that special someone you’ll inevitably give this ring to moving forward, you’ll have a better idea of which ones are more congruent with who she is and what she expects from this piece of jewelry, as well as how you want the promise the two of you are making together to be celebrated.

This’ll narrow down the options you have to pick and choose from significantly. You’ll find that you are in so much abundance, overloaded with options; as you are able to pick and choose from different sub styles that are perfectly aligned with her personality, the type of jewelry she likes to wear, and the kind of promise ring that you want to buy for her.

Figure Out How You Want to Disperse Your Budget on This Ring

The next piece of the puzzle that you’ll want to tackle when shopping for a promise ring is how you want to disperse your budget across this project.

Now that you have found a budget you are comfortable with, a jeweler that you feel confident in, and have an idea of the kind of design you want your promise ring to feature, it’s time to start thinking about what you want to prioritize in/on the ring itself.

This is especially important if you have a particularly limited budget and are only going to be able to “splurge” in one area or another, or look for ways to spread the entirety of your budget around so that there isn’t anything in specific that stands apart from the rest of the ring.

Some folks are going to want to invest the bulk of their promise ring budget into the band itself, looking for a unique and innovative design that features all kinds of engraving and is made out of precious materials that will last and last. Others are going to want to focus the majority of their budget on gemstones and adornments, really making sure that the ring sparkles and flashes in any lighting situation.

Others still are going to look for a piece of jewelry that looks great, but has a more minimalist approach that’s been made entirely out of the highest quality materials available. And then of course you have folks that want something that looks as though it cost five or six times as much as it really did, focusing on the craftsmanship rather than the overall caliber and quality of the materials that have been used.

As we have said a number of times, you are going to have plenty of different options to pick and choose from when it comes time to really nail the look and feel of the promise ring for her that you have decided to purchase. But by figuring out where you want to allocate your resources you’ll be able to make sure that you get the ring of her dreams, as well as a ring that you can be proud to give her as a gift.

Consider a Semi-Custom Promise Ring That Can Be Tailored to Your Specifications

While there are plenty of beautiful designs made by some of the most impressive jewelry artists on the planet available “off-the-shelf”, it’s tough to argue with the freedom of design and the control you have over the way that your promise ring will look when you decide to go with a custom or even semi-custom piece.

Completely custom jewelry pieces really sit in the realm of those with incredibly deep pockets and a lot of time, but semi-custom pieces allow you to work with reputable jewelry designers and artists to tinker with and toy with already existing creations to come up with something really special.

Even if all you end up deciding to do is figure out a way to add a couple of different gemstones, a few different embellishments, or just change up the look and feel of the band itself – or something else entirely – just by shaking things up and adding a semi-custom design to a ring you’re able to make this investment much more personal and a lot more special at the same time.

Get the Recipient of This Promise Ring Involved in the Process

Depending on how much of a top-secret operation you want the purchase of a promise ring to be, you may or may not want to get that special someone in your life totally involved in purchasing a promise ring for her.

But if it isn’t going to be a total surprise, this is a sure fire way to make sure that the promise rings for women you are looking into are always right up her alley and something she is sure to be enamored with.

Only you will be able to decide how comfortable you are with bringing that special someone in your life on board to help design or pick out a promise ring for her, but if you go into this situation both working towards the same goal – of finding a ring that you both can be happy with, a promise ring meaning the world to both of you – you are sure to have a lot less stress, a lot less pressure, and a lot less anxiety than when finding the perfect ring all on your own.

It may or may not be an ideal solution if you want this to be a true surprise, but the trade-off is a lot of fun and can be something that works to strengthen your relationship and add just another layer of promise ring meaning to the piece of jewelry that the two of you work together to find.