Whats a good price to spend for a diamond engagement ring w/out overpaying or looking cheap?

Question

2 months salary sounds like a scam to me. I don't want to kill myself with debt but I don't want to be cheap. I am hoping to get a caret diamond in 14-18k white gold. Thanks

Answer 1

you probably don't want to do anything more then a 14K, the higher you go the softer the metal. An 18K ring will not be as sturdy as a 14K ring, and no one will ever know the difference.

A 1.0 caret diamond is pretty huge...you can get away with getting one cheaper if it the colour and clarity aren't as good, but you don't want to go down the scale too far cause once you can see the flaws in a diamond with the naked eye, it starts to look cheap.

My advice to you, is to educate yourself with things like cut, clarity and colour and KNOW what it is you're buying. Know the differences, so that if you DO buy something online you're not going to be disappointed when you see it in person.

Go around to different jewelry stores and haggle a little, get quotes and then take then to other stores and ask them to beat the price. A lot of places will be willing to through in wedding bands or free engraving, or some sort of warranty.

Good luck to you!

Answer 2

I worked in Jewelry for 5 years and am a Certified Diamontologist. Cheesy, yes but I know my stuff. Yes, unless you know the jeweler or work their you will overpay. Consider this, when I worked in sales back in 2002, the employee discount allowed you to get diamond jewerly for 54% of what they were charging. Huge room for negoitating! Know the 4 C's. Cut, clarity, color and carat. Not all diamonds are equal. Because of my training I go for sparkle and quality over carat weight. And don't forget all stores let you upgrade! Say you buy a ring for $1k, you can go back at any time and trade up for a $2k or higher and get the $1k off the price. I've never seen anyone do the 2 month salary thing! I'd say 1/2 to 3/4 is a great start. I have a 3/4 and for my second year anniversary my fiance gave me a great enhancer I had fused to the original. I get so many compliments on it! If you get yourself a little educated, try ebay or an antique shop, pawn shop, people wanting to give up a ring after a divorce. You can always have the diamond remounted.

Answer 3

Two months salary is not a scam, she will wear that ring for the rest of her life (can you tell I just got engaged?) Luckily my best friend works for a wonderful jeweler and he helped my fiance out tremendously. The best thing you can do is to get 3/4 of a carat. It still looks like a carat, no one but a jeweler can tell the difference and you will save a TON of money. You most definitely pay for the prestige of saying "It's a carat" And you know what....I still do tell people it's a carat. But it's a beautiful diamond (clarity, cut and color) and I would rather have that than a crappy looking big diamond. And as far as how much you will pay, that all depends on what jeweler you go to, my fiance paid around $6000 for my platinum .8 carat solitare and he got a good deal. But he also went to the priciest jeweler in town. I believe it is valued around $9000. Best advice though, is 3/4 carat. And please spend more than $1000. You'll turn her finger green.

Answer 4

I think a half carat set in yellow 14k gold is beautiful. That's what I have. One carat is great, too. For many people, two months' salary would buy a gigantic diamond, but I personally think that's disgusting. I think your idea sounds nice and if it's affordable, go for it. I'd say around $1000 is a good price, maybe up to $2000 if you can afford it. There's no reason to starve or miss bill payments over it. Get something pretty, but not too gaudy.

Answer 5

My first advice is to not get white gold. Get platinum - it will last longer and look better. White gold (technically the rhodium plating) will wear off after a few years and start to turn 'gold' again.

My second advice is to get quality not quantity. A 3/4 carat E color with fabulous cut & clarity will look so much better than a 1 carat G or H color with so-so cut & clarity. When she holds her ring up to other women, hers will shine the most. Mine's an E with excellent cut and all that stuff and it's almost embarassing how much nicer it looks than other similar sized rings. Jewelers comment on it everytime we go into a store.

Answer 6

Look, my husband bought me an engagement ring that was small & pretty and it cost $1,200. Two years after we were married I wanted something big and impressive. We are on one income as I stay home with our son. I searched the internet and found a website that does cubic zircon set in real gold with real diamond settings. I bought my 2 1/2 carat wedding set for $399. It is stunning! I get so many compliments on it. I know some girls would feel funny because its not real, but trust me she'll be the only one who knows it!

Answer 7

If you earn $2000.00 a month, then a $4000.00 ring is not unreasonable.

If you earn $5000.00 a month, then a $10,000.00 ring is NOT reasonable, it's crazy.

I would say no matter what, try to spend about $2000.00 - $4000.00 and shop around a lot before you buy and be sure to get the ring/diamond verified and valued before you buy.

When getting the ring valued...or when you buy...the folks will tell you it's worth way more than they are asking you to spend. Don't believe them. It's worth what you pay, no more, no less.

Answer 8

Look around for a ring. I know of some people buying the diamond and then having it made up as a ring. shop around. if the person loves you really loves you she will not care how big or small it is. she will just love you. and anyway you can always buy her a ring in the future.

Answer 9

Shop around for the best price, check online, even look at ebay, sometimes you can find great deals! Only buy what you feel you can comfortably afford, she shouldn't judge your marriage proposal on the size of the ring. Remember, you can always upgrade later when you can afford to!

Answer 10

Check out www.bidz.com

You can buy a ring from cheap, they also have a return policy that allows you to return the ring within 7 days.

I just got a ring from them, it's not an engagement ring.
It's 1 carat diamind though, $162.00, it was appraised for $2100.00, it's true.