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Keeping The Ring a Secret

Now that you’ve successfully chosen the perfect sparkler, the next challenge is to keep the ring a secret so you can successfully pull off your surprise proposal.

Clever ways to keep the engagement ring a secret

Buying the engagement ring was way easier than you thought! Maybe you even designed it yourself! But the hard work isn’t over! Now you have to keep it a secret from your SO. You’re up against an opponent whose curiosity knows no bounds. To pull this off, you’re going to need an airtight game plan and nerves of steel!

How To Shop For Your Engagement Ring In Secret

We’ve already discussed the benefits of shopping for a surprise ring versus collaborating with your SO. If you’re going the route of keeping the ring a secret, you’ll want to ensure you don’t leave a footprint – digital or otherwise – that could blow your cover.

Shopping For The Ring Offline

First, never use a joint bank account! One option is to set up a new account specifically for buying the ring (you can close it once they say Yes!). Or you can pay with an old credit card that only you know about. Oh, and don’t withdraw a large sum of money from the ATM; that’s a dead giveaway.

Shopping For The Ring Online

When ring shopping online, if you share computers/devices with your SO, make sure you sign out of all their accounts before starting to plan your surprise proposal. If you absolutely must print something out, don’t leave that smoking gun sitting in your printer tray.

The Best Places To Hide Your Engagement Ring

Normally there’s no safer place to store your ring than the ring box it came in. However, there’s no getting around the fact that it’s still a box that will draw curiosity, and unless your partner is already aware of the ring, you might want to consider switching the box for something less obvious.

The best places to hide your engagement ring

With Trusted Family/Friends

Storing the ring with a trusted friend or family member until you’re ready to pop the question is great because it literally keeps the ring off your property. They can’t find something that isn’t there! Just be careful not to choose anyone who would be tempted to “spill the beans.”

Hard-To-Reach Places

Every home has a nook and cranny your partner just can’t reach, or a dark closet they never go in. These can be great options! Just make sure there is NOTHING in there they will need to go searching for! Pick the deepest, darkest, least convenient place and you will be good to go.

In An Old Pair Of Shoes

Finally, those old shoes you never wear have a purpose! Make sure it’s a pear your partner never touches, would not clean, and would not throw out! (Can you imagine?!) Throw in some potpourri, so the shoe stink doesn’t transfer, put them in a secure place, and wait for that big moment!

At Work

If your office is secure or there is a secure option, your work can be a great place to store the ring! After all, even if your partner is visiting, they are not rifling through your office! And if they are, try a co-worker’s office, a safe, or similarly secure place at work.

In A Gym Bag

Whether you’re a gym junkie, a little league coach, or have a leftover gym bag from your high school glory days, this is another great option. Just make sure it’s not in a pocket where your partner might need something, say your water bottle or to get your gym towel for the laundry.

Hiding your engagement ring in a gym bag

In A Book

Make sure you are choosing a book that 1) your partner does not use (like a cookbook) or 2) was intending to read. 3) Make sure it is not a book they would recommend to a friend, and 4) choose a book you don’t mind cutting a ring-box size hole in!

How To Hide A Ring While Traveling

Whether going by car, train, plane, or even by foot, if you are planning to pop the question while traveling, you’ll want to review our tips below to ensure your partner gets the surprise of a lifetime!

How to hide an engagement ring while traveling

Pack the Ring in a Carry-On Bag

Pack the ring in your carry-on, never a checked bag. Unfortunately, bags get lost all the time. Don’t chance it. Make sure the ring is always with you!

Follow Airport Security Rules

Don’t let a TSA agent blow your surprise proposal! Make sure you know airport security rules and make sure it’s very secure. And, of course, follow all airline security rules to avoid being stopped and searched.

So pack it discreetly! Your bag may be searched and you don’t want your cover blown!  Consider using non-traditional packing in case this happens.

Look Into Engagement Ring Travel Insurance

Safety first! Another option is travel insurance for your engagement ring. James Allen has partnered with Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company to help you protect your ring with comprehensive coverage. 

Anything can happen at any time, and this can be especially useful if you or your beloved are frequent travelers. Be sure to check if coverage is domestic, international, or both.

Find a Discreet Safe

Once you arrive at your destination, you need to keep the ring both hidden and secure. If you are staying at a hotel, find out in advance if there is a hotel safe you may store the ring in.

Another option is to keep the ring in an indiscreet spot in your suitcase. Once you have unpacked, slip the ring into a location your SO won’t be checking, and keep the suitcase tucked away until it’s time!

Keeping The Ring A Secret: Unboxing Your Engagement Ring

Unboxing your engagement ring

The Hidden Presentation Box

Only once you peel back the outer carton does it start to get more interesting.

The first thing you’ll notice is an elegant presentation box embossed with the James Allen logo. This doubles as a jewelry box and even has a drawer for keeping your diamond certificates, cleaning cloth, and whatnot. Nestled on top is a small red box that houses the main attraction: the engagement ring.

Keeping the Ring A Secret: Customer Service

If the logistics of keeping the ring a secret seem like Mission Impossible, our Customer Service reps are on hand to help. These masters of misdirection can be reached 24/7 via live chat, phone, and email. They know every trick in the book and can even suggest ways to distract your unsuspecting SO.

Keeping The Ring A Secret FAQs:

What if my partner receives the package?

It’s worth noting that our packages require a signature upon delivery. If you’re uncomfortable receiving yours at home or are worried that your partner or someone else might intercept it, we can help you find the best place to ship to.

What about the safe in the hotel room?

Don’t leave it in your hotel room safe if your SO is likely to use it; instead, ask the concierge if you can leave it in the safe at the front desk.

Is it safe to leave the ring unattended?

If you need to leave the ring unattended, just make sure it is safe. Invest in a VERY good lock, ensure it is a secure location, or leave it where someone is around 24/7 to guard it.

Final Thoughts

Perfect partner? Check! Fabulous ring, stashed safely? Double check! Now just wait for that big moment. They’ll say yes, start showing off the ring, and you can sit back and revel in a job well done! Let us know where you stashed your sparkler on Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, or Twitter.

Subscribe to our email list for access to secret sales, practical ring-buying tips, and $100 off your first purchase!

Sarah Axelrad

Sarah is a stickler for grammar and prefers to use the Oxford comma. She enjoys her career as a writer since being a professional snowboarder/powerlifter/pastry chef didn’t pan out.

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finding-her-engagement-ring-style-cover

Finding Her Engagement Ring Style: A Wink & A Smile

Whether you’re a secret agent or a straight shooter, check out our pro tips for finding her engagement ring style.

finding her engagement ring style cover

Everyone has a personal style. Some are more understated than others and, therefore, harder to discern. Your job as Buyer of Rings, Proposer of Marriage, is to hone in on that style by whatever means necessary. Put on your detective hat and do some snooping around or straight up ask your partner what she’d like. Either way, finding her engagement ring style needn’t be a chore with our handy guide. Just pop on some good music and get sleuthing.

Finding Her Engagement Ring Style: Cut to the Chase

finding her engagement ring style cut to the chase

Let’s start by clearing something up: the ring doesn’t have to be a complete surprise.

There, we’ve said it.

These days, it’s perfectly acceptable – preferable even – to bring your partner into the design process. No one knows the wearer’s style better than the wearer herself, so why not involve her in the decision making? Goodness knows you’ll need all the help you can get when confronted with terms like pavé, halo, and tension! (That last one’s a setting style btw, not a headache.) By promoting your partner to Chief Ring Adviser, you’ll come across as the sensitive and considerate human being you are while eliminating much of the guesswork. It’s a win-win.

Now, the direct approach won’t work for everyone, mind you. Some customers – proposer and proposee alike – have their hearts set on a solo ring selection, culminating in the Big Reveal. To those irrepressible romantics, we say… read on!

Finding Her Engagement Ring Style: A Spy on the Wall

finding her engagement ring style spy on the wall

Like all good detectives, you’ve been waiting for the right case to come along; a case worthy of your powers of deduction. Finding her engagement ring style is right up there with #WhoBitBeyoncé and that whole Yanny vs Laurel thing – except the odds of you solving this one are far higher!

Seriously though, your partner’s online and offline activity might give away key clues about her ring preferences. If she has a Pinterest account, it’s worth checking to see if she’s created any boards with sparkle-related titles or pinned any specific rings. Assuming you have access to her Facebook account, check her profile and activity log for any ring posts she’s liked or shared.

What’s the Buzz?

Even if she’s been careful not to leave a digital trail, she may have confided in her best friend or sibling. Once you’ve got a sparkly bee in your bonnet, it’s almost impossible to keep it to yourself! Listen for subtle hints that might come up when she’s chatting with her inner circle, especially if the topic of celebrity engagement rings comes up.

Finding Her Engagement Ring Style: How She Rolls

finding her engagement ring style how she rolls

When finding her engagement ring style, it often helps to draw on your own personal experience. Presumably, you’ve spent a fair bit of time with your SO and have gleaned an insight or two about her day-to-day.

What kind of lifestyle does she lead? If she has a job or hobby that requires her to wear gloves, she’d be better off with a setting that doesn’t have exposed diamonds on the band. Solitaire and channel-set rings are both practical options as they minimize the risk of the diamonds getting caught or falling out. A less hands-on lifestyle would allow for more exposed diamonds on the band – pavé being the obvious example.

Extra! Extra! Read All About It!

14K White Gold Vintage Inspired Floral Bouquet Engagement Ring
Vintage Inspired Floral Bouquet Engagement Ring
14K White Gold Spiral Tension Set Engagement Ring
Spiral Tension Set Engagement Ring

If your girl is more Devil Wears Prada than Devil Wears Nada, you might consider a more daring setting. Pay close attention to her wardrobe. If she dresses to impress and won’t touch anything unless it’s by a top designer, go for something with character, such as a vintage engagement ring or hyper-modern tension ring.

Read more about designing the perfect engagement ring

Glow-Key Glam

14K White Gold Baguette Diamond Engagement Ring
Baguette Diamond Engagement Ring

If, on the other hand, her idea of glamour is a pair of old jeans and a t-shirt, we’d recommend opting for something simple like a baguette side-stone engagement ring. Understated yet elegant.

Read more about choosing an engagement ring she’ll love

Finding Her Engagement Ring Style: A Sure Thing

14K White Gold Presentation Solitaire (Six Prong)
Six Prong Presentation Solitaire Engagement Ring

If none of the above tips speak to you, no one would fault you for playing it safe and going with a classic style such as a solitaire. This is essentially a single center diamond mounted on a plain setting. Solitaires are considered classics for a reason: they work with practically any individual style and never go out of fashion.

Once you’ve figured out your setting style, it’s time to consider the diamond shape. If you have even the slightest doubt about what shape to get, you can’t go wrong with a round cut. Round-cut diamonds are by far the most popular shape for engagement rings, owing to their perfect geometry and abundant sparkle. These timeless classics are tried and true, but if it’s a little more edge you’re after, a princess or cushion-cut diamond should suffice.

Walk a Mile in Her Style

How did you manage to pinpoint your partner’s style preference? Did you go undercover or were you upfront about it? Let us know in the comments below or over on Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, or Twitter.

For more invaluable ring-buying tips and tricks, check out the previous posts in our men’s FAQ series.

Pin the style on your fiancée!

finding her engagement ring style pinterest pin

Subscribe to our email list for access to secret sales, practical ring-buying tips, and $100 off your first purchase!

Jonny Hart

Jonny is passionate about puns, adores alliteration, and finds diamonds positively facet-nating! Since joining James Allen, he has written the word 'sparkle’ 9,732 times and counting.

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choosing engagement ring diamond

Choosing a Diamond: Be in the Glow

Precious advice for those who will soon be choosing a diamond for their engagement ring.

How to choose a diamond

We recognize that gleam in your eye! No, we’re not talking about the way you look at your SO (although that is adorable). If there’s one thing capable of making a person’s eyes light up like that, it’s diamonds. Those pretty little stones you know nothing about, but are determined to get a good deal on.

And where better to start than our men’s FAQ series? In this first installment, we look at choosing a diamond; from understanding the 4Cs to getting the most bling for your buck.

Choosing a Diamond: Foresee the 4Cs

It’s impossible to talk diamonds without mentioning the 4Cs: cut, color, carat, and clarity. Together, these all-important characteristics influence a diamond’s quality and value. They are your new best friends. Get to know them. Go have a beer with them. Whatever you have to do.

    • Cut – This refers to both the diamond’s shape and how effectively it returns light to the viewer’s eye.
    • Color – This is generally something you want to avoid in a diamond, unless it’s a fancy color diamond (more on that later).
    • Carat – This is the unit of measurement by which diamonds are weighed and sold.
  • Clarity – This refers to how clean a diamond is and whether it has visible imperfections.

When in doubt, start with a diamond cut. This is the one area you should never compromise on as it determines how sparkly the stone is.

“I want my ring to sparkle less.”
– No one, ever

If you have to compromise on anything, let it be diamond clarity. However, try to avoid going below a VS1 clarity grade; anything lower would be visible to the naked eye.

Choosing a Diamond: Appearances Can Be Gleaming

Let’s be real for a moment, shall we? No one buys a diamond engagement ring for their SO without wanting to impress their socks off. It’s the ultimate declaration of your love, so of course you’ll want to go all out and snag the biggest, most sparkly rock you can afford.

While celebs are known for flashing ridiculous amounts of sparkle, you don’t always need to pay top dollar to enjoy those megawatt flashes. If you’re on a budget, there are a number of ways to make even a modest diamond appear larger than it actually is. Sneaky, we know!

One way to get more bling for your buck is to opt for an undersized diamond. Now, that might sound counterintuitive – how can a smaller diamond appear the same size as a larger one to the naked eye? By choosing a diamond that’s just shy of the standard industry cutoff points, you could save yourself a pretty penny, without compromising on sparkle. Consider a 0.9 carat diamond and a 1 carat diamond with comparable specs. On the surface, both stones appear to be virtually the same size, but look closer at the price tags and you’ll see a considerable saving on the smaller stone. Similar carat weight, less cash. Booyah!

14K White Gold Round Split Band Diamond Halo Engagement Ring

Another way to appear more sparkly is to choose a setting style that accentuates the center diamond. Halo engagement rings, for example, surround the center stone with an outer ring of smaller diamonds or gemstones. These peripheral stones reflect light off the center stone, giving it a greater presence on the hand. Halo engagement rings come in single and double halo varieties, depending on how far you want to glow… er… go.

For more sparkle-maximizing tips, read up on how to make your diamond engagement ring look bigger.

Choosing a Diamond: Appraise Where It’s Due

Choosing engagement ring diamond appraisal

A diamond appraisal is necessary if you want to get your ring insured – which, btw, you totally should! It differs from the GIA or AGS diamond grading certificate that comes with your ring in that it provides a dollar estimate rather than the technical info.

At JamesAllen.com, we offer a complimentary insurance evaluation on any diamond engagement ring valued at $1,000 or higher. If you prefer, you’re welcome to get the diamond independently appraised as well.

Choosing a Diamond: Color Outside the Shines

James Allen's Yellow diamond

If your head isn’t already spinning at 360° like our diamonds, we’re about to throw another curveball at you: fancy color diamonds. While colorless diamonds have traditionally been the objects of our affection, their colorful cousins are steadily gaining popularity. And because stones at the vivid ends of the color spectrum are quite rare, they’re more valuable too.

When choosing a diamond, pay close attention to your partner’s personal style. If they’re the free-spirited, artistic type, a diamond in their favorite color could make for an exceptionally meaningful gift. Read more about fancy color diamonds.

Choosing a Diamond: Own That Stone!

Remember you can view all 200,000+ diamonds on JamesAllen.com in 360° HD at up to 40x SuperZoom.

Decided on a diamond dazzler? Let us know in the comments below or over on Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, or Twitter.

Don’t miss the next installment in our men’s FAQ series: How to Keep the Ring a Secret.

Pin to save this Swiss Army knife of sparkle:

choosing engagement ring diamond pin pinterst

Subscribe to our email list for access to secret sales, practical ring-buying tips, and $100 off your first purchase!

Jonny Hart

Jonny is passionate about puns, adores alliteration, and finds diamonds positively facet-nating! Since joining James Allen, he has written the word 'sparkle’ 9,732 times and counting.

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