The best way to save buying an engagement ring online
People frequently ask me the best ways to save money when buying an engagement ring online, unfortunately there is not a simple answer to this question because your personal preferences for things like diamond shape, carat weight, clarity, color and especially the cut quality of the diamond will weigh heavily upon the price of a diamond engagement ring whether it is purchased online or through a traditional brick and mortar jewelry store.
One thing that I can tell you for certain is that online diamond prices tend to be significantly less expensive than diamond prices in traditional jewelry stores simply because we compete for business on a global scale and thus we have to price our diamonds extremely competitively based upon their characteristics.
Thus if you were actually able to locate a diamond like this 1.496 carat, F-color, VVS-2 clarity, Brian Gavin Signature Cushion cut diamond in a traditional brick and mortar jewelry store, the reality is that it could likely cost you 1.5 – 2X as much to purchase it… Of course you can’t find a Brian Gavin Signature Cushion cut diamond that exhibits a pattern of hearts and arrows like this in a jewelry store, because it is a patented cut developed by Brian Gavin and is only available on our web site. Now if you’re looking for a 1.50 carat, F-color, VVS-2 clarity, Brian Gavin Signature Cushion cut diamond, this diamond presents a great opportunity for savings because the carat weight falls just short of the mark.
The effect of carat weight upon diamond prices:
There is a substantial increase in the price per carat of diamonds that occurs between the 1.49 – 1.50 carat marks, thus in this instance the 1.496 carat diamond would cost significantly more if it weighed just one point more! And these are the types of things that our customer service representatives can help you determine if you ask for our assistance to help you select the best diamond for your personal preferences.
Generally speaking the prices of diamonds increase per carat in ten point increments for diamonds weighing between 0.30 – 0.99 carats, and then in half carat increments for diamonds weighing one carat and larger. However this type of knowledge can be a double edge sword because it might inspire you to try and find a diamond that weighs just short of the mark, such as the 1.496 carat, BGD Signature Cushion cut diamond referenced above, however I have to warn you that diamonds like this are very few and far between.
How seemingly slight differences in quality affect price:
A better approach is to simply adjust the parameters for clarity and color slightly to find options which fall within your desired price range, while maintaining the same level of diamond cut quality so that the diamond will be just as bright and lively as more expensive options.
For instance, if you’re not prepared to drop almost $18k on an engagement ring, but want to present your girlfriend with an engagement ring that contains a diamond which is just as bright and beautiful as the 1.496 carat, F-color, VVS-2 clarity, Brian Gavin Signature Cushion cut diamond referenced above, simply open up the parameters for clarity, color and carat weight a little bit and consider something like this 1.378 carat, I-color, VS-1 clarity, Brian Gavin Signature Cushion cut diamond which is selling for almost $8k less.
Both diamonds are going to exhibit relatively the same volume of light return, brightness, and sparkle, and the difference in the length of the two diamonds is only eight tenths of a millimeter! That’s not a difference that you’re going to be able to detect from across the dinner table, and most people wouldn’t be able to see a clear difference in clarity or color from that distance either.
