Marry? The engagement ring and wedding rings you choose for yourself and your bride will be symbols of your love and fidelity for the rest of your life. Of course, the diamond industry knows this and does a brilliant job of encouraging consumers to spend a small fortune on bridal jewelry.
Although quality engagement and engagement rings (like all fine jewelry) have a price, there is no reason why you should pay the same amount as the mainstream jewelry industry for these rings. Saving money on engagement rings is entirely possible — in fact, you can save up to 50% off the regular retail price of a diamond engagement ring without sacrificing the stones or setting you want. Here’s where to look.
The best places to buy diamonds
The best choice: James Allen
Best Customer Service: blue nile
Top Lab Grown Diamonds: pure origin
Best Custom Jeweler: Made to order
Best Private Jeweler: SevenJune Jewelry
Best price: Ritani
The best choice: James Allen
Having a supply of thousands of diamonds to sell is hard No to find what you want from James Allen. You can purchase individual diamonds in 10 different shapes. You can buy natural and lab-grown diamonds in 10 colors. Or you can create your own ring if you don’t find what you want on the website.
In addition to the variety of offerings, James Allen jewelry is often more affordable than other affordable online luxury stores in its class. And finally, James Allen makes sure that his diamonds are conflict-free.
Visit James Allen or Find out more by reading our full review of James Allen.
Best Customer Service: blue nile
Blue Nile cares not only about attracting customers, but also about keeping them. Its longevity – Blue Nile was founded in 1999 – is well-deserved.
Visit the Blue Nile or read our full Blue Nile Review to find out more.
The best lab-grown diamonds: pure origin
The mission of Clean Origin is to introduce the world to 100% conflict-free diamonds. It offers a 100-day return policy, free calibration, and all lab-grown diamonds are certified. You can set up a virtual appointment on the website, or those who don’t want to order online can visit the Clean Origin showroom in suburban Dallas.
Best Custom Jeweler: CustomMade
Below is the CustomMade process for customers who want to get a product design. Most rings start at $1,000.
- Talk about it – Discuss design ideas, options and budget with your jewelry consultant – your guide to a personalized experience.
- Get Designed – View sketches and concept art created just for you by CustomMade Jewelers.
- See how it comes to life. Visualize your work with high resolution 3D visualization and tweak every detail until it’s perfect.
- Treasure – get your custom item with the confidence that it will be worn and serve you for a lifetime.
Best Private Jeweler: SevenJune Jewelry
“As a private jeweler, I am not obligated to any supplier and am not forced to sell a piece just because I need to make a quote or because the piece is in stock, as a retail jeweler,” said Zenobia Morrow, owner. and designer of SevenJune Jewelry. “I really have a full range on the market to find the right product for a particular client’s needs. In terms of pricing, my overheads are low and I can save on my clients.”
Morrow’s style aesthetic is feminine and pure. The Georgia native studied gemology at the Gemological Institute of America and was once the managing director of a diamond house in New York. She uses natural diamonds.
Best Price: Ritani
If an online competitor’s diamond is cheaper, Ritani will try to find a similar diamond at a lower price. The White Plains, New York-based jeweler has a “transparent diamond pricing tool” that breaks down the cost of each diamond at the wholesaler, operating costs (shipping, packaging and handling) and the final margin Ritani receives from each sale. according to his website.
Ritani’s motto? “We have made getting to know your diamond easier than getting to know your relatives.”
How to save money on diamonds
Do not buy from a chain jeweler
If you want to save money on an engagement ring or wedding bands, skip the jewelry chain.
Unfortunately, most people go straight to the jeweler in the mall without considering alternatives. Before I understood better, I knew too.
It’s easy to see why: big jewelers like Kay, Zales, Jared, Tiffany’s, etc. spend millions on advertising, are easily accessible across the country, and give most diamond buyers the confidence that they are dealing with a reputable company. I would venture to suggest that when buying diamonds, many people would rather overpay than risk spending hundreds or thousands on a gem of an unspecified quality or not even a real one.
There’s nothing wrong with shopping at these online jewelry stores to figure out which ring you want, but the simple fact is that these stores mark up diamonds to double their value…or more.
If you’re really in the mood for a particular engagement ring from one of these stores, always try to negotiate. Early in my ring buying experience, I had a jewelry chain manager drop the price of a single ring by hundreds of dollars before I even asked. On the other hand, some high-end jewelers whose brands need to be protected will absolutely not negotiate their prices. But you never know until you ask.
If not chain jewelers, then where?
If your goal is to buy the ring at the best price and you don’t live near the diamond district, you should probably buy an engagement ring from a reputable online jeweler.
When shopping for rings, I was struck by online diamond retailers such as James Allen and Blue Nile.
The sites allow you to search through over 25,000 diamonds to find the ones that suit you in terms of price, size and quality, and you can match your chosen gem with dozens of customization options. Prices seem to be almost half of comparable rings in mainstream jewelry stores, and they also offer free shipping and free returns.
How much can you save?
A little. We found a simple 4mm platinum men’s engagement ring for $780 at James Allen compared to $1450 at local Jared the Galleria of Jewelry – nearly half the price! The savings on diamond engagement rings can be even greater.
eBay is also teeming with incredible diamond deals, though buying through an online auction is a little more risky than through a reputable online dealer. If you decide to buy an engagement ring on eBay, make sure you are well versed in diamond prices and eBay transactions. Only buy a ring if the seller agrees to use an escrow account for payment and allows you to take the ring to a jeweler for evaluation after receiving it.
Read more: How to buy an engagement ring online
Chains or local jewelers are better?
If buying a diamond online is not for you, contact your local jewelers. Although rings in these stores will be significantly more expensive than rings online, you will get more bang for your buck than chain jewelry stores, as well as better craftsmanship and most likely a ring that is more unique.
Although I bought my fiancee’s engagement ring from a jewelry chain after I couldn’t find the style ring I wanted online, a local jeweler designed a new diamond ring after my fiancee discovered that the setting of the ring was too high and she knocked it around . We get top notch service from this jeweler and his custom designed setting will end up costing less than many of the regular frames available in chain stores.
Should I buy a diamond from a wholesaler?
For the brave, the cheapest way to buy a diamond engagement ring is to buy the stone separately from a diamond wholesaler. To do this, you will have to live or come to a large city like New York and personally visit the diamond district. You need to know what you are doing because these dealers are used to dealing with professional jewelers and may try to take advantage of a naive buyer.
However, if you negotiate correctly, you can get your stone at wholesale prices and then order a setting from a jeweler. One last word of caution: most of these dealers only accept cash. I had a colleague from SmartMoney magazine who bought his fiancée’s diamond this way, and I remember him recalling how strange it was to walk around downtown Manhattan with thousands of dollars in his pocket.
Remember: it doesn’t have to be a diamond!
While this post is mainly about saving money on a diamond engagement ring, there is no rule saying that an engagement ring It has be a diamond.
It’s just a tradition successfully propagated by the powerful diamond lobby for profit. Beautiful engagement rings with alternative stones can be found for a tenth of the cost of a diamond.
Summary
If you’re thinking about engagement rings, it’s easy to get confused by the omnipresence of the chain jeweler. But don’t be a fool.
You can buy the ring you want for a fraction of the price by visiting online jewelers or private jewelers.
Wherever you end up buying, the most important thing is to make sure you don’t bring financial stress into your new marriage. Don’t spend more than you can afford.