Engagement ring - money saving tips?

[Anonymous]

Check Costco. They carry high quality diamonds that are certified for very good price.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you really set on buying a diamond ring? Many people are okay not getting a diamond ring. There will be many people who will tell you that you are wasting your money, either by telling you that CZ is just as beautiful, or by mentioning any of the other common reasons such as De Beers' monopoly, artificial supply restriction, ecological impacts, exploitation, and etc.

If you have considered all of the various reasons and still want a diamond, then I offer the following:

At the price you are looking at, you should be able to find a 1ct round diamond that is eye clean with decent color and great cut. I recommend that you don't get hung up on the setting because it can dramatically increase the purchase price. My wife's engagement ring was a plain 4-prong platinum solitaire setting and it worked really well, accentuating the size of the diamond stone. Later on, on our 10-th anniversary, I upgraded her ring to a larger stone and felt comfortable with a more elaborate setting, but even then stayed fairly modest with "only" a $2k setting. A plain platinum solitaire setting should be about $600-$700. I do prefer the whiter platinum over white gold.

Now on the the stone, don't get cute, stay with tried and true round stone. I don't believe any local jewlers will be able to beat internet prices on a certified stone from GIA or AGS, which are perhaps the only two certification bodies that are wroth anything. EGL is a distant third and their stones are heavily discounted. If a stone is of good quality, it is worth it for the stone seller to get it certified by GIA or AGS, so if a stone does not have a cert from one of these two labs... it must not be all that great.

Pricescope.com is the google for diamonds. You can go on there and search for diamonds to your heart's content. When you are searching I recommend that you aim for a diamond with "ideal" or "excellent" cut. The color should be I or better, and clarity should be SI1 or better. Pricescope's default search options are actually a great match for your needs. You'll see that the search results return diamonds in the 5-6K range, and add a setting, there's your $7k ring.

You'll see something listed as "virtual inventory", this is where the same diamond is listed for sale by many different shops. Whoever sells it will have the diamond shipped to them first, mounted, and then the finished ring is shipped to you. You don't actually get to see the diamond or the ring until it arrives via FedEX. Both of my wife's rings were delivered this way and we were very happy with the results.

Some times, a shop will also have in-house inventory, some of the better online sellers will keep really good stones to themselves in this way. A couple of shops that have great reviews are Bluenile.com and Whiteflash.com. Both of my rings were purchased through Whiteflash.com - not out of any allegiance to the shop, just turned out that way. I would have been just as happy with Bluenile, I am sure, as well as any of the other shops that list their inventory through pricescope.com.

So the end summary is this: a diamond is something that you can buy completely sight unseen. The certificate describes every single notable characteristic about the diamond and there will not be any surprises. If a diamond has any issues, it will be noted. Most "ideal" or "excellent" diamonds will look stunning in person. Buying a diamond is not like picking a pumpkin. All of the shops will also offer a refund if you don't want to keep the ring. For example, Whiteflash offers a full refund guarantee - again just because I have experience with them, I am sure other shops also offer a similarly good return experience.

Good luck!

OP here: thank you, this is fantastic. We definitely have time, so I'll get on Pricescope and do a bunch of research. This is definitely one of those things that I will "nerd-out" on and get into every nitty gritty detail.
Also, my GF is a total bargain hound - she probably refuse a ring if I paid full retail price for something overpriced at Tiny Jewel Box on CT Avenue

Does anyone have experience with vintage rings? Some of the art deco style rings from the 1930s are fantastic and she would love a unique piece that connotes history.

New poster here. 13:35's advice is spot on, and I have a ring that matches that description - 1.2 ct, ideal cut, I, SI2. I got it in 1998 and I still love it, and wear it everyday. I believe at the time it was a bit more than $5K (platinum prices have gone up since then). Good luck, and have fun!!!

[Anonymous]

Moissanite. I've had mine for 4 years now and couldn't be happier with the choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Moissanite. I've had mine for 4 years now and couldn't be happier with the choice.

Me too!! Love my moissanite! I hated the thought of spending so much money on a ring, but I like the clear/colorless look of the diamond gemstone. Moissonite was perfect for the bargain-lover in me. No one can tell that's it's not a diamond, but I don't like to fake it so I do correct/inform people when they comment on my "diamond ring".

[Anonymous]

I have an antique ring that was DH's great-grandmother's. I just had to have it resized at Tiny Jewel box. It's a diamond solitaire set in rose gold with a matching band. I have no idea how "big" the diamond is but think it is perfect for me. I'd recommend doing an estate piece or antique but outside DC. This area is overpriced IMO.

[Anonymous]

Buy used. The markup on diamonds puts Tiffany's markup to shame.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Check Costco. They carry high quality diamonds that are certified for very good price.

+1. Also, check bluenile.com.

I would not skimp on the prongs. Do not get gold prongs--they are too soft and more likely to become loose than platinum prongs.

Also, does your budget account for wedding bands?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Buy used. The markup on diamonds puts Tiffany's markup to shame.

Maybe on settings, but not on the stone. Certified stones are sold at on-line jewelry stores for about 15% profit, which I am pretty sure is less than Tiffany's markup.

Certified stones by their nature don't really have a "used" price vs new price - it has a single market price. That is unless the stone has been damaged or altered since it was certified. As long as a jewelry store can authenticate the diamond to a certificate, and can see that the condition has not changed, you will be able to get 70-80% of the market value of the diamond. The setting will be worth "melt value".

Now you can try to find a private party on craigslist who doesn't know what they have, selling off a ring for much less than its worth, but people who spent the extra money on a GIA/AGS diamond mostly know what they have and will offer it to a jewelry store before putting it up on craigslist.

Buying uncertified diamonds from private party is worse than gambling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Check Costco. They carry high quality diamonds that are certified for very good price.

+1. Also, check bluenile.com.

I would not skimp on the prongs. Do not get gold prongs--they are too soft and more likely to become loose than platinum prongs.

Also, does your budget account for wedding bands?

Yes! Another reason to get platinum, in addition to being whiter than white gold, it's a much more durable setting and thus reduced potential of losing the stone.

[Anonymous]

I love Tysons Exchange mentioned in a previous post. You have a right to return within some number of days. Whatever you buy, take to an independent appraiser like Martin Fuller and verify you got the stone you expected.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi all,

We are in our mid 30s and want to get engaged in the next few months. HHI is north of $225K, but we have some student loan debt and are saving for a house.

What tips do you recommend to smartly buy an engagement ring? Anything you'd do differently if doing it again? Should I buy the stone separately and then get it designed somewhere locally? We are in DC, but can travel within the region for the right jeweler or designer.

I'd say our max budget is $7.5K all-in. We are pretty open to style, materials, stone shape, etc. We want a diamond.


Thanks!

Buy a less expensive ring and "upgrade" later if you want to for an anniversary. Pay off your debt and get the house first.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love Tysons Exchange mentioned in a previous post. You have a right to return within some number of days. Whatever you buy, take to an independent appraiser like Martin Fuller and verify you got the stone you expected.

You don't have to get a full appraisal. Any jeweler will help verify that a stone matches the certificate. The certificate id is usually laser inscribed on the girdle and visible through a loupe. The inclusions would also work as a fingerprint of sorts. No two diamonds are included in the same way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My advice is that it a waste of $$ altogether. Thank god we didn't buy a diamond solitaire but something else. Being happily married is prize enough for us. Good luck with your choice, but please tell us if you are not offended by the question, do you make any significant charitable donations? Just curious with 7,500 in the jewelry budget there.
PS, you might want to ask first how often women wear their engagement rings.

The wife wears her engagement ring every time we go to an indoor party/gathering/event of some sort, this works out to about 2-3 times a month. But I'd say that even if she is not wearing it, knowing that it's there in the safe gives her some sense of satisfaction. She is very happy with it and I am happy that she's happy.

OP here: I'm sure that this is what will happen with my GF/to-be-DW. She's happy = I'm happy.

I wear mine everyday-as so most women I know.

[Anonymous]

My DH bought a vintage ring off the internet for me. We watched the site until a set came up that we both liked in our price range. You never know what you will find with antique/vintage sites. We used the following site and had good luck.

http://www.faycullen.com/Provenance/

[Anonymous]

Find a beautiful ring you love and be open minded to the suggestions here. Consider what you want without assuming you need to spend tons of money. I have a diamond solitaire that I never wear. Only options to do anything with it require additional money that I just don't think makes sense. We managed to save for a house and take fun vacations and all that other stuff anyway, but I wish I could have had the money my DH spent on the ring towards something else. We were in our late 20s when we got married and it seemed like we had lots of years ahead of us to earn more money, but a decade later I value our time more anything else and would advise young couples to invest the cash, instead, to retire together that much sooner.