The following is a guest post. Read more about the author, Ira Weissman, after the post.
One of the most important decisions you can possibly make is whom to marry. If you’ve already found your sweetheart, then congratulations! The next step, for many of us, is to get moving on making it official — without breaking the bank.
Buying the bride bling can be unnecessarily stressful, especially if it’s your first foray into buying diamonds. So after you’ve saved up some money, the next step is to educate yourself about how to get the best quality for your dollar. Here are five practical tips on how to save money on an engagement ring.
1. Are Diamonds Your Girl’s Best Friend?
If you can get away with it, go for a non-diamond center stone. This will save you money and ensure a very unique ring for your fiance. Believe it or not, other precious stones are becoming more popular as unconventional alternatives to white ice.
Two cases in point: billionaire Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, who could certainly afford a multi-carated diamond, opted for a ruby engagement ring for his bride Priscilla Chan. And Prince William proposed to Kate Middleton with his mother’s classic sapphire ring, surrounded by a halo of small diamonds, thus sparking a huge trend in sapphire engagement rings.
Granted, most women in the Western world today will expect a diamond engagement ring, but if your girlfriend is open to a different look, take this as a golden (or ruby?) opportunity to get a gorgeous ring without paying the premium cost of a diamond center stone.
2. Don’t Pay for Unnecessary Extras — Clarity & Color Parameters
Most people think that the better the clarity and color grading of a diamond, the more brilliant and valuable that diamond is. The truth is that higher clarity and color grades do increase the monetary value of the diamond, but they do NOT necessarily increase the overall look of the diamond.
Clarity describes the small imperfections inside the diamond. The better the clarity grade, the less imperfections there are. But there’s something else to consider that is equally important. Most of us don’t walk around with a jeweler’s loupe (magnifying glass), and so the level of clarity that is most practical is called “eye-clean.”
That means that your next-door neighbor admiring your ring on the street is not likely to see any imperfection with her naked eye. In order to achieve that level of eye-clean clarity, there is no reason to overpay for flawless clarity. In other words, you can get away with a lower clarity grade while not sacrificing the clean look of the diamond.
The best a diamond can be is completely colorless. “D” is the highest color grade there is, denoting a perfectly colorless diamond, with every subsequent letter going closer to the color yellow. But just like buying an internally flawless (perfect clarity) diamond would be a waste of money, so too is it a waste of money to buy a “D” colored diamond.
Instead, by considering the diamond’s shape and the ring’s setting (yellow gold vs. white gold/platinum). You can save big bucks by going down the color scale but not sacrificing the overall color experience of the diamond.
3. How to get the Biggest Carat Size within Your Budget
Another common mistake that first-time diamond shoppers make is to get stuck in the numbers game of carat size. The diamond industry knows that and benefits from this thinking by setting the biggest price jumps at even carat intervals (ie, 0.50ct, 1.00ct, 1.50ct, etc). It’s as if the diamond industry is telling us, “you want to be able to say you have a one carat diamond? Pay for it!”
A cheaper and more intelligent approach is to get a ring that looks like it’s one carat but is actually just under one carat. The difference between a 0.95 carat diamond and a 1 carat diamond is barely noticeable to your naked eye, but is highly noticeable to your wallet!
Figure out how small you can go while ensuring the center stone still stays in the general vicinity of carat size that your future fiance has in mind.
4. Optical Illusion: Use the Ring Setting to Make the Diamond Look Bigger
While the solitaire setting will always be classic and elegant, there are ways to make the diamond look bigger. Consider setting the center stone with smaller accent side-stones or in the middle of a halo of smaller diamonds — a circle of diamonds that encircles the center stone. The size of the smaller accent diamonds will make the relative size of the center stone seem much larger than it actually is.
Another trick we’ve been seeing more of lately, is to buy a less common shape, like an oval, pear, or marquise, and setting it on its side. By setting any of these shapes sideways, the diamond appears much longer than it actually is. In addition to making the diamond look bigger, these non-conventional settings also make the ring truly unique — a nice side benefit if you’re looking for something more custom-made.
5. Buy Online
And finally, you don’t need to leave home to shop for the diamond. One of the most significant ways to save money when buying a diamond engagement ring is to do it online. The quality, selection, and cost available at e-retailers today simply cannot be matched by mom-and-pop jewelry stores or big name chain franchises.
In a brick-and-mortar store you are limited to the store’s small inventory and high costs, due to substantially higher overhead charges — like employee salaries, rent, insurance, utilities, etc.
Now it’s becoming increasingly easier and smarter to make diamond purchases online with virtual loupes that allow you to see magnified pictures of the diamonds. This breakthrough in diamond shopping technology is really a vast improvement over the old way of making a decision solely based on the diamond’s certification grading.
Figure out your budget, diamond shape, and style of setting, and then use these five tips to get the best possible deal. Ultimately, the more you educate yourself, the more money you will be able to save — and thus make this potentially frustrating purchase into an enjoyable one. 
Ira Weissman is a diamond industry veteran with a decade of experience at one of the world’s largest diamond polishers. He has traveled the world buying and selling diamonds and now dedicates his time to helping consumers make the most of their diamond buying decisions. He has been featured on Anderson Cooper, CNBC, The Huffington Post, and has been quoted by MarketWatch, The Village Voice, and BankRate. Visit Truth About Diamonds to educate yourself about diamonds.
An accountant by day and blogger by night, Lance is the owner of this site. 
Vintage rings are fabulous, too! Mine is a vintage ring (a PoP family heirloom), but a lot of times the older settings seem as though they are better at making the most out of smaller stones.
Mrs. Pop @ Planting Our Pennies recently posted..What To Include In Your Net Worth?
These are all great tips! Luckily I’m not the type of girl who would like a 5 carat ring so I’m cheaper than most
Michelle recently posted..Avoiding Lifestyle Inflation
Am I the only one who wouldn’t care if I didn’t get a real diamond? I have a beautiful (3-diamond) ring that I love but if I found out they were fake or lab-made diamonds I wouldn’t care. A friend of mine has a beautiful ring, set in platinum that is 100% fake (diamond). If it was real it would be tens of thousands of dollars but he paid about 2k for it and that’s basically to cover the platinum. We ordered our wedding bands online. We went to jewelers around home to try on styles that we like then ordered online. Even with the customs rates etc it was significantly cheaper.
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My girlfriend cares… don’t know why but she does.
Good tips! I was actually able to give my wife my grandmother’s ring. It has a great story behind it, my wife loved it & it was free to boot!
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I was one of those suckers that paid a lot for my wifes ring. Thankfully it didnt make me go broke. I think in all it was close to 9k for the engagement ring and the wedding band.
These are great tips. I have found some great deals on diamonds on Bluenile.com and I have also gone on there to comparison shop when looking in a retail store.
Christopher @ This that and the MBA recently posted..Christmas Is Inching Closer: Buy Gifts For Children
I agree with a lot of your points, except buying online. I bought my wife her engagement ring through a store in the New York diamond district a very long time ago. I was referred to that store and they treated me very well. I was able to have it appraised before I bought it. This is usually your first expensive purchase and it is important to feel comfortable.
My mother-in-law teaches with a woman whose husband is a diamond broker (he’s the evil middle man…booo!). He brought me a very nice selection of rings and diamonds to choose from. I was able to get a very nice stone and a very lovely setting for much less than a store and a little less than the internet. This was a much better experience then going to a store where they kep trying to guide me to a different metal and price point (they assumed I had no money since I often look poor becuase I usually have stubble and jeans with holes). It pretty much soured me on that store.
My sister ended up using my grandmother’s ring, which was pretty cool and I know it meant a lot to her.
Great tips and I love the growing trend of using a gemstone as the focal point, sapphires are perfect for engagement rings.
Where to begin disagreeing with you…
For starters when I bought my wife her engagement ring in 2006 I paid nearly $30k, I was in the diamond district in NYC. Today the ring is worth over $36k now over 6 years which is a 20% return. It needs to be reappraised every few years for the insurance policy.
1. Are Diamonds Your Girl’s Best Friend?
Don’t kid yourself a Ruby or Sapphire can cost just as much as a diamond, Mrs. Zuckerberg and Duchess Kate Middleton did quite well for themselves.
2. Don’t Pay for Unnecessary Extras — Clarity & Color Parameters
Clarity and color are not extras but are extremely important, first the imperfections cause the light to refract less ideally, they better the clarity the better the sparkle and that is the draw of a diamond, so you may not see the imperfections with the naked eye, but the diamond will be dull and not shine like a stone with better clarity. I happen to have supersonic eyes and can see imperfections that require a loop with my naked eye; my jeweler said that cost me a lot of extra money. Color determines how the light looks when it refracts back, a poor color will give a dirty impression and the stone will never look as radiant as a colorless stone. My wife is constantly stopped just about everywhere and asked about her ring as it is blinding.
3. How to get the Biggest Carat Size within Your Budget
This point I agree with, the pricing is marked at .5 carat intervals, so buying just under puts you in a lower price range and it is not possible to tell the difference between a 2.49 caret and 2.5 caret stone, particularly when the cut is round.
4. Optical Illusion: Use the Ring Setting to Make the Diamond Look Bigger
This is no illusion, a stone should not be set higher to make it look bigger it will run the risk of coming lose and you can lose the stone. Setting a poor cut wide stone lower to hide the proportions dulls the ring because the prongs block a lot more of the facets and the light refracts poorly and the wide cut stone needs all the light it can get.
5. Buy Online
The worst thing you can do 2 stones with the same specs can and will be totally different, you need to see them in person to know what you are getting, not to mention that online is no deal compared to the diamond district. You might get a better deal than Kay Jewelers, but who buys an engagement ring at the mall anyway it’s not a sweater. Also the best way to determine how the light refracts is by placing the stone in a bent index card it is far more reveling then just holding it in the air.
Now I know it is harder when you don’t have the NYC diamond district nearby, but this is a huge purchase and there is a premium associated with it that just makes no sense, but you will feel a lot better spending more on quality then you will spending too much on a lackluster stone. So find a reputable jeweler and learn what to look for and why. A good jeweler will not push you into a higher priced item they will try to make you a satisfied customer who will come back for the wedding ring and then earnings and the tennis bracelet etc… Trust me I know
jay @ effumoney recently posted..Why credit card companies love me and why I love them back
Thanks for the other perspective. I’ll admit I don’t know a ton about engagement ring buying and I know there are many opinions out there. Glad you could share!
Don’t get me wrong I’m a guy and to me diamonds are beautiful and all, but they are just extremely overpriced pieces of carbon to me a graphite tennis racket has more intrinsic value. However my wife loves them and they make her happy, since there is a market they have substantial value due to their rarity and uniqueness. I would never suggest anyone spend more than they are comfortable with on a diamond as it serves no utility other than spousal happiness (which is totally worth it)
The point to my post was more geared to making knowledgeable decisions on large purchases, before I went looking at engagement rings I didn’t even know what the 4 C’s of diamonds were (5 if you count cost), but as it was an expensive purchase I got educated. From a purely academic stand point diamonds are an extremely fascinating subject matter and there is plenty of opportunity to leverage that education, by learning about the product in depth and understanding the subtleties of their market you become a much savvier purchaser and actually respect the beauty of the stones more.
I still don’t quite get why diamonds make women so happy, but then again my wife has no idea why I want a Ferrari.
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Hi Jay. I appreciate you taking the time to post your well thought out comment. I will just say this: Do not confuse an appraisal value with resale value. If you were to try to sell your ring today, you would almost certainly take a loss.
@Ira – My insurance company reappraises the ring, but I bring the appraisal back to the jeweler who sold me the ring and he compares it to market, they have usually been close to par.
I do realize I could not sell it for the same amount as my jeweler, even if I consigned it to him, as he would take his cut, but from a valuation stand point, comparable stones are selling for roughly the same price, and we have no intention of selling it, so I am fine with measuring its value at market simply for tracking purposes. As far as counting jeweler in our net worth, I just combine all of the pieces of significant value and estimate a conservative value usually discounted from market by 10% to 15%, regardless the diamonds have maintained their value and grown at a faster rate than inflation since my purchase which was really the point of mentioning the value and why the quality makes a difference in the end.
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I read the most fascinating article about diamond company De Beer and how they invented the ritual of giving a diamond ring as an engagement present. It was because they found such big diamond mines that unless they found a way to sell millions more, prices would drop.
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I believe it is true but haven’t investigated it myself.
Look around quite a bit, and don’t just focus on major retailers. Doing your research, and being able to truly price compare, is a big deal. It’s like many other things, except its a big purchase and for items that aren’t as standardized as other consumer purchases.
Best way to save? Find a girl that’s not materialistic. Sure, you’ll want to buy her a great ring she’ll love, but if her tastes are such that she’ll only love a very expensive ring, then be careful!
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Its not just about price, its about ethics. You can find what you think is a great deal on a diamond engagement ring and have no idea of the human suffering tied to that blood diamond, good luck with that. I would rather buy quality, eco, gemstones or ethically sourced diamonds: http://www.brilliantearth.com/rings/popular-wedding-rings-women/