[.ca] Engagement & Wedding Rings: The Definitive Buying Guide ... (ISBN 0943763207)

definitely one to read before buying:
A friend of mine, Scott Hall, referred this book and its author to me when I was in the market for an engagement ring. Even though Scott's not a very bright guy, the tip was invaluable.

What do diamond flaws look like? This book will not tell you:
I purchased this book along with the book Diamond Ring buying guide by Renee Newman. This book only contained B/W diagram drawings and described the 'flaw's that diamonds have. Hello? dianmonds are not B/W diagram drawings, that little dot on the drawing tells me nothing! The book seems to ramble and drone on and on about diamonds, like a good old high school history book. Of all the 14 pages of color photos, there are 6 pages dedicated to 'designer rings' and the rest are just photos of different styles of jewelery. What does a yellow diamond look like? What about a diamond that was cut incorrectly? A simple line drawing does not help at all. I found Newman's book much more detailed and well written than this book. Newman has many photos, practically the entire book is made up of color photos of diamonds and flawed diamonds (so you know that to look for). If you have a lot of time on your hands and don't mind a boring book, then buy this book, other wise Newman has condensed this 300 page book into just a mere 150 pages or so into hers.

I can't see the stars through the clouds:
After reading quite a few books in this category; I found Matlins book informative but not practical in the real world. The book was in my opinion too generalized and wasn't what I needed, i.e. expert advise on how to buy a top quality diamond from a reputable jeweler at the best price. If you want to learn about the history of the diamond the book might pass but won't tell you what you need to know if your out shopping for one.

Helpful:
This book was really helpful in making me feel comfortable shopping for a ring for my girlfriend. I also used howtoproposemarriage. com to come up with a proposal that knocked her socks off.

Best purchase I ever made:
Before I bought this book, nothing worried me more than buying a diamond (not even buying a car or a house). After visiting several jewelery stores I was even more worried. I was concerned that there was a lot of information that I was missing beyond the "4 C's" (Cut, Color, Clarity and Carat). So, I decided I needed to do some research before I purchased an engagement ring and luckily I stumbled across this wonderful book. This book provided me with all of that missing information in a format that was to the point and easy to understand. It taught me how to tell the difference between Cubic Zirconia and Diamond, how to tell if I was looking at the diamond that was listed on the certificate, convinced me that cut was the most important quality in a diamond and most importantly, it told my WHY. As a result, we have an engagement ring better than anything either of us had imagined and I saved thousands of dollars. Buy this book before you buy the ring, you won't regret it. Thank you, Antoinette and Antonio!