BUYING GUIDE:
Buying a Diamond Ring
About Diamonds
About Ring Settings
Establish a Budget
Diamond Grading
Carat Weight
Color
Clarity
Cut
Diamond Shapes
ABOUT
YOUR PURCHASE:
Returns
Payments
Security
Privacy
Shipping
Jewelry Warranty
Gift Wrap
Trade-In Privileges
Sales Tax
Gift Certificates
Jewelry Insurance
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BUYING GUIDE
Buying a Diamond Ring
Buying a diamond ring, whether it be for engagement or anniversary, is part of a much larger decision that goes far beyond jewelry, tradition, or money. The very fact that you're even considering such a commitment indicates that you've already made quite a journey so far. Let Ernestos Jewelry Factory in New Braunfels, Texas help you enjoy the process with this quick guide to finding the right diamond ring for you.
Step 1. Learn About Diamonds
To begin shopping for a diamond, it is best to learn about the four Cs of diamond evaluation: Carat, Color, Clarity, and Cut. By understanding these gem characteristics you can determine which traits are most important to you, and you can find a balance between them that best suits your needs. To learn more, please review the diamond information below. This handy guide is available to explain all the terms you'll come across as you shop, and it will help us guide you to discover just the right diamonds and matching ring settings. Also, the friendly, knowledgeable staff and Ernesto's Jewelry in New Braunfels, Texas is always happy to answer any additional questions you may have. Ernesto's is conveniently located between Austin and San Antonio.
Step 2. Learn about Ring Settings
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As buying a diamond ring is an intensely personal experience, Ernesto's has designed a tool to allow you to build your own personalized ring, with a diamond and a setting exactly suited to match your tastes and style. By choosing only diamonds that meet our high standards we make the selection process easier while ensuring that your jewelry is truly timeless and exceptional. After you find a diamond you like, you can then pair it with a setting by browsing a variety of different engagement, wedding, or fashion rings that will properly showcase your diamond. Ernestos has chosen ring setting designs that are timeless, meaning they are classically styled to stay in fashion for generations. Come into Ernesto's Jewelry in New Braunfels, Texas to browse hundreds of engagement, wedding, and fashion ring designs. Our showroom is centrally located between Austin and San Antonio.
Step 3. Establish Your Budget
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For example, a generally accepted convention of roughly two months' salary is spent on a diamond engagement ring. While this guideline is certainly not a law, some use it as starting point.
Diamond Grading - The Four C's
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At Ernesto's, located in New Braunfels, Texas, we believe that the more you know about diamonds, and how to distinguish between a good diamond and a 'fine' diamond, the better equipped you will be to choose the right diamond for you. Our staff have prepared this page to familiarize you with... The Four C's of Diamonds To assess the quality and value of a diamond, a customer or the retailer must compare the stone against industry standards. The four aspects people use most often are known as the "4 C's" of CUT, COLOR, CLARITY, and CARAT WEIGHT. Visit our showroom located between Austin and San Antonio and our friendly staff and we can show you the difference in the quality of diamonds.
Carat Weight
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The metric carat, which equals 0.20 gram, is the standard unit of weight for diamonds and most other gems. One carat is divided into 100 "points." A diamond weighing 50 points = 0.5 carat (ct.), and is expressed as one-half carat. Diamonds of the same diameter may vary in actual carat weight depending on variations in their proportions. All other aspects being equal, the larger the carat weight, the more valuable the diamond is.
Color
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The color grade of a diamond refers to how closely its body color approaches colorlessness. Most diamonds have at least a trace of yellow, brown, or gray body color. With the exception of some natural fancy colors, such as blue, pink, purple, or red, the completely colorless diamond is the most rare and therefore, the more valuable. The color grading scale shown below ranges from totally colorless to fancy yellow. The differences between one grade and another are very subtle, as can be seen by the number of grades within any one category.
Clarity
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The rarity factor that indicates the degree to which a diamond is free of internal inclusions and external blemishes is referred to as "clarity characteristics." To determine a diamond's clarity grade, it is viewed under 10-power magnification by a trained diamond grader. The clarity grade is based on the number, size, position, nature and color of the characteristics. Minor inclusion (VVS, VS, SI) reduce the cost of the diamond, but they don't endanger its durability. The closer a diamond is to flawless (everything else being equal), the greater the gem's value and likelihood of durability of that stone.
Cut
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Diamond "cut" refers to the degree of skill and success that the diamond cutter has when cutting your diamond to maximize the stone's light reflecting potential. Shape on the other hand, is the physical shape the diamond was cut. The proportions and finish of a polished diamond determine its final face-up beauty. A well proportioned diamond will return most of the light back to the eye for maximum brilliance and dispersion. Sparkle is created by the facet placement and the surface polish. When a diamond is cut to good proportions, light is reflected from one facet to another and then dispersed through the top of the stone. If the cut of the diamond is too deep, some light escapes through the opposite side of the stone's pavilion. If the cut is too shallow, light escapes through the pavilion before it can be reflected, thus reducing brilliancy.
Diamond Shapes
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Round Brilliant Diamond - has the best angles of any shape to show off its brilliant shine. Not to be confused with round. The most popular shape. |
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Emerald Diamond- A more traditional shape with an old world elegance. |
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Heart Diamond - some people prefer it as it evokes the feelings of romance and love. |
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Oval Diamond - Especially popular for three stone anniversary rings when nestled between matching diamonds. |
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Marquise Diamond - a traditional shape. |
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Radiant Diamond - has more facets than the princess, but has corners trimmed like the emerald shape. |
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Princess Diamond - A square cut diamond that has refractive properties almost near round brilliant. |
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Pear Diamond - The tear drop shape has fairly good proportions to refract light well for good sparkle.
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ABOUT YOUR PURCHASE:
Returns
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We want you to be satisfied with your purchases. Ernesto's Jewelry in New Braunfels offers a "no questions asked" money back return for the full amount including shipping of your original purchase when you return the merchandise to us in good condition within 30 days of the delivery date. After 30 days and up to one year you may exchange for equal or higher value items purchased from Ernestos Jewelry Factory. This policy excludes special or custom orders and certain exceptions may apply.
Payments
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We accept MasterCard, Visa, Discover, American Express, check or money orders.
Security
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We maintain the highest level of security for your orders by using 128k SSL encryption for all our online transactions. You can verify this website is currently secured by GeoTrust by clicking on the image below:
Privacy
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We respect your privacy. Any information you provide us in the course of browsing or purchasing items on this website will be used to help us process orders and improve customer service. We will not share personal information with any third parties except as will help us serve you better and fulfill orders.
Shipping
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Orders under $ 250 include free UPS ground shipping to the 48 states and free USPS Priority Mail on all orders shipping to Hawaii, Alaska and APO / FPO addresses. The UPS orders may be upgraded to UPS 2nd Day for $ 10 or UPS Next Day for an additional $ 15. Note: ground shipping times may vary from one to six business days, depending on the proximity of your shipping location to Ernestos or our shippers.
Orders from $ 250 to $ 1000 include free UPS 2nd Day shipping to the 48 states and free USPS Priority Mail on all orders shipping to Hawaii, Alaska and APO / FPO addresses. The UPS orders may be upgraded to UPS Next Day for an additional $ 10.
Orders over $ 1000 include free UPS Next Day shipping to the 48 states and free USPS Express Mail on all orders shipping to Hawaii, Alaska and APO / FPO addresses.
For any special shipping needs (hot rush, Saturday delivery or international orders), please contact us for a shipping quote. Also, if you'd prefer to stop by our New Braunfels, TX factory to pick up your order, we will arrange to call you when your jewelry is ready to go.
Please note: Order processing may take from 1-4 business days. Orders received after 3:00 PM (CST) are normally processed on the following business day (Monday through Friday). Also, requests for custom work (engraving, ring resizing) may add extra time to process your order.
Package Tracking: We will notify you when your order has been shipped via email and provide you with your order's tracking number that can be verified online at UPS and USPS.
APO / FPO Orders: Before placing your order, please verify the items you wish to send meet Overseas Military Mail guidelines for your zip code listed here.
Jewelry Warranty
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We stand behind every piece of fine jewelry we sell. If your item purchased from Ernestos Jewelry Factory does not meet our standards of material or workmanship in the first year following the date of purchase, we will repair or replace it without cost to you. This warranty does not include theft, loss, or damage caused from misuse.
Gift Wrap
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We can either gift wrap your purchase or send a gift bow for you to attach to your gift at no additional cost to you.
Trade In Privileges
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Many of the items that you purchase from Ernestos Jewelry Factory can be traded in for merchandise credit. If your item qualifies, we will appraise it and issue a credit toward the purchase of other jewelry from Ernestos Jewelry Factory store or website. For more information, please contact us by phone or visit our showroom in New Braunfels, Texas located between Austin and San Antonio.
Sales Tax
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In accordance with Texas state law, we collect sales tax on all merchandise orders delivered to Texas addresses. If you wish to place an order that will be delivered to a Texas address and wish to claim a tax exemption on your order, please contact us by telephone.
Gift Certificates
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For your convenience, we sell Ernestos Jewelry Factory gift certificates. These may be used as tender for any merchandise purchases on our website or at our New Braunfels jewelry factory location. If interested, please call our toll free number, or visit us in New Braunfels, Texas located between Austin and San Antonio.
Personal Jewelry Insurance
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We recommend high value personal jewelry should be insured against a lost or broken stone, theft, accidental loss, damage or mysterious disappearance with jewelry insurance like Jeweler's Mutual. |
