Her Wedding Planner

Location: Ottawa Civic Centre at Lansdowne Park, Ottawa Ontario

Date: September 8 & 9

Time: 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM  

If any of you out there are getting married and live in the Ottawa area, stop by Lansdowne Park for a great bridal show.  The bridal show is FREE, so feel free to come and go as you wish.  You may decide to visit us both days! 

What is the most popular cut in a diamond? 

The most popular shape for an engagement ring continues to be the round brilliant cut, accounting for more that 75% of diamond sales.  This shape is the most traditional and continues to outsell the other shapes because of its brilliance and sparkle.  However, in recent years, the princess cut has become a very popular alternative to the round.

-Michael Willingham, The Diamond Coach

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Happy Planning, The HerWeddingPlanner Team

The traditional colorless diamond is still the most popular for engagement rings, although I have seen an increase in fancy yellow diamonds being used as center stones, as well as side stones in three stone rings.  Fancy yellow diamonds have also become fashionable in many engagement ring mountings.  The biggest trend in colored diamonds has been seen in fashion jewelry, especially right hand rings.

Michael Willingham of The Diamond Coach tells us which cut in a diamond is most popular.

“The most popular shape for an engagement ring continues to be the round brilliant cut, accounting for more that 75% of diamond sales.  This shape is the most traditional and continues outsell the other shapes because of its brilliance and sparkle.  However, in recent years, the princess cut has become a very popular alternative to the round.”

       I have recently had the great opportunity to ask Michael Willingham, creator of The Diamond Coach and author of  ”DIAMOND BUYING 101, the resource for your diamond buying experience”, some questions about diamonds.   

      Mr. Willingham has been in the jewelry industry for 20 years, where he has built a reputation as a leader in the industry of jewelry.  He served as a resource for major insurance companies; an advocate for the jewelry consumer and, a client-centered approach to those he serves. Prior to creating The Diamond Coach, Mr. Willingham held positions with some of the most prestigious jewelry salons in the United States.  

      I asked Mr. Willingham some questions I thought brides and grooms might want to know before choosing their wedding bands and engagement rings.

1) How do you choose the right shape of diamond for your finger?  Are there diamonds that suit better one type of hand/finger over the other?”  

Choosing the right shape diamond for your finger is  sometimes trial and error, meaning you just have to see them on your finger. Consider spending a day with him visiting jewelry stores and trying on different rings and shapes.  If you don’t feel comfortable doing this, or you don’t think he will, spend a day with a couple of girlfriends visiting jewelry stores and trying on different shapes and sizes.

A round brilliant generally looks good on any shape hand/finger.  For women with small hands and short fingers, you might like something that gives the appearance of lengthening your fingers.  This can be achieved with a marquise, oval or pear shape stone.  Ladies with long slender fingers might prefer a princess, asscher or emerald cut stone.

2) What are some steps a bride should follow when finding a wedding band to match her engagement ring? 

This is a great question!  Many times ladies have found the perfect engagement ring, only to find they spend the next year searching for a wedding band to match.   If you know you want to wear a wedding band as opposed to a single ring, it is best to purchase a set or at least try different bands on with the engagement ring before the purchase.  This is not as important with a solitaire because a solitaire will give you many options. 

The one thing you want to avoid is for the wedding band to look like an after-thought. When choosing wedding jewelry, keep in mind you are going to be wearing the rings for a long time and fashion trends change.  That being said, my recommendation is to always buy as traditional as possible – traditional is always in style.

One other recommendation ladies…studies show men will spend up to 30% more on an engagement ring if he is alone when he makes the engagement ring purchase.  It is important to communicate your preferences to him but as far as shopping with him – I’d let him do that on his own.  You might be pleasantly surprised at how much he has listened to you!

If you would like to learn more about diamonds, visit Mr. Michael Willingham’s website at http://www.thediamondcoach.com/.

The Holiday Inn Trenton is the ideal place to hold your wedding in the Quinte area!  We specialize in weddings of up to 200 people, and offer all-inclusive pricing.  Call us today for a tour of our facilities as well as a free copy of our wedding planning guide.  Ask our Sales and Catering Manager how you can get your banquet room rental FREE, as well as our booking bonus package offering discounts on wedding vendors.  Call now 613-394-4855 X 402 or sales@holidayinntrenton.com.

You may hear of carat sizes being expressed as “points”, with a one carat diamond equaling 100 points, a one-half carat diamond being 50 points, a three-quarter carat diamond being 75 points.

The size of the carat along with the cut, colour and clarity determines its final price. 

Fact: A higher-quality, smaller stone may be worth more than a lower-quality, larger stone. 

The term clarity is used to describe the degree of interior or exterior flaws when the stone is magnified. 

If there are large flaws in the diamond that can be seen without a magnifying glass than this will affect the beauty of the diamond, otherwise the flaws will only affects the value. 

Flawless diamonds have no impressions and are the most valuable and expensive diamonds.

There are many different cuts of stones; the brillant, oval, pear, princess, marquise, emerald cut and heart shape to name a few.  The accuracy in the cut of the diamond is essential to its sparkle and beauty.

Fact: the brilliant or round cut is the most common.