What Should An Engagement Ring Cost?
If you want to make a man’s blood run cold, then start a discussion about how much he should spend on an engagement ring. Not only does he have the stress of the whole ‘will she won’t she’ when he gets down on his bended knee, or whatever suitors are doing these days, but he is going to be putting a ring on her finger that reflects his excellent taste and the size of his bank account. Possibly most importantly, her expectations of the ring he reveals when he opens the box.
Will she like it, or hate it?
Will she think it’s too ostentatious – or possibly worse, not showy enough?
Many men, when they look at the range of engagement rings in a retail jeweller’s shop feel overwhelmed, uncertain; everything seems so expensive, so tiny, so many choices. They may have read the recommendation to spend two month’s wages on an engagement ring; little knowing that spending so much is probably a bad idea these days. Most men would not be able to afford such an amount without it affecting their finances and wedding plans. Worse yet, the idea to spend so much came from an advertising campaign run many, many, years ago with the intention of persuading men to spend more on rings than they had been doing!
In Britain, the average engagement ring, in 2017, cost £1,471, that seems much more reasonable than two month’s salary, but according to the Independent newspaper, that’s still almost £400 less than the average woman would like her man to spend.
Of course, some people slope the shoulder and make the ring buying task a shared responsibility; most men in the UK still choose the engagement ring before popping the question.
How To Choose The Right Ring?
The costliest part of a ring is almost always the diamonds. A proper engagement ring will usually be made using traditional jeweller’s skills with genuine diamonds in a precious metal setting (we at All Diamond use either Platinum or 18 Carat Yellow, Rose or White Gold). When buying a real diamond engagement ring, the basis of the choice of the diamond should always be the classic Four Cs of diamonds:
Clarity
Cut (shape)
Colour
Carat weight (size)
All these affect the cost of the diamond and thus the ring itself. When you look at the All Diamond Build Your Own Ring tool, you will quickly see that the gemstones in the ring are the most significant part of the cost of the piece. The Platinum or gold setting merely enhances the beauty of the diamond that you choose.
The cut of the stone affects the way that the gem catches the light and sparkles. When you have chosen the diamond and its cut you will select the setting that shows off the diamond to the best effect. All Diamond’s ring design tool helps buyers to get the best, most beautiful engagement ring for their budget. You can design the perfect engagement ring by setting a budget and then the other attributes using the 4 Cs to narrow down the selection. When you have found the stone that you like you can inspect the GIA (Gemological Institute of America) certificate confirming that the diamond is of the standard you expected. Finally, you can choose the setting for your ring. Best of all, because you are buying online, you avoid all the added expense of a high street jeweller and get a much better engagement ring than buying in the old-fashioned way.
GIA Certification And Value For Money
When buying a diamond from a jeweller you need to make sure that what you are buying is as described. If the seller tells you that a ring is of a certain quality, you want to know that what you are told is true because a seemingly small variance in the grade of a stone can have a significant effect upon the price. GIA diamond reports are the best known, most trusted, certificates of quality. When your diamond has the GIA certification, you can be sure that you have not been tricked with a low-quality stone at a too high price.
Some jewellers will offer certificates from other organisations, or even try to provide a certification made within the company with no independence or quality assurance at all. If you’re looking to buy a non-certified diamond we would recommend using a highly trusted jeweller.
Sometimes a diamond with a non-GIA certificate might seem cheaper than a diamond purported to be the same quality as a GIA diamond. Reports from organisations other than the GIA are usually not a very good deal because it is common for other diamond reporting laboratories to inflate the quality of the stone, claiming that it is better than it is. A GIA certification will always be an honest report so you can be sure that you made the right decision about the value of the stone to be placed in the engagement ring that you are buying.
For more information about GIA diamond certification, please check this article.
Ensure That The Price You Pay Is The Best Price
When you choose the engagement ring, you want to know that you are getting great value. Buying a stone with a GIA report is a great start. Buying online with the assistance of the All Diamond ring building tool will save money over high street buying. The most potent weapon, reassuring you that you are getting the best value for your money, is the All Diamond worldwide price match guarantee. Whatever you spend on an engagement ring, you will know that if you find the same quality diamond at a lower price, anywhere else in the world, All Diamond will refund you the difference.
