Yes, You CAN Get Her A Big Diamond For ‘Small’ Money

And here’s how…

Unless you have a very healthy bank account (and even if you do), there will come a point near the beginning of your engagement ring search where you think ‘is this REALLY all ‘x’ amount of money will get me?’ Diamond rings aren’t cheap. And when you’re new to the game it can be disheartening to realise that all that cash you’ve saved up will only buy you a small diamond. BUT. There are some tricks you can deploy to get maximum diamond for minimum cash. Here are three of our fail-safe methods…

Shop online

If you have fears about buying a dud engagement ring online… get rid of them. E-commerce is booming all over the world and there are plenty of very reputable places to shop online for engagement rings. But the real advantage is that due to reduced overhead costs, buying a ring online is usually at least 10% cheaper than buying from a store… often more.

We recommend James Allen for stellar service and huge choice of perfect quality rings; but Brilliant Earth and Blue Nile are worth checking out too. To ease your concerns, some jewellers will send you a sample engagement ring to look at in ‘real life’ and return when you’re done, and all of them have generous returns policies if what you get isn’t what you want. The above three retailers are also extremely strict about where they source their gems, with conflict-free guarantees that are more or less iron-clad.

Choose a ‘lab’ diamond

The next big revolution in engagement rings is going to be lab grown diamonds. With people calling on companies to become increasingly more eco-conscious and ethical, diamond traders, sellers and jewellers are looking to lab-grown diamonds to ease their customers’ minds. A lab grown diamond is a natural diamond with exactly the same composition as a diamond that has been mined from the ground. The only difference? One, lab diamonds are grown in controlled conditions that mirror what happens underground, but in a matter of weeks instead of billions of years. And two, they’re significantly cheaper because of difference #1. We’re talking 20% cheaper. For the same size and quality of diamond. What’s not to love?

Opt for a cluster ring

If the above two options still aren’t giving you as much bling for your buck as you’d like, there is another way; a cluster ring. This ring design ‘clusters’ several small diamonds together to give the appearance of one big diamond. They come in floral shapes, classic emerald or round diamond shapes, crazy non-traditional designs… basically there’s something for every style. Where does cost saving come in, we hear you say? Well, big diamonds need to be of excellent quality and need to be cut and polished to perfection for them to look good. With several smaller diamonds, quality doesn’t have to be at such a high level to get the same kind of sparkle. Believe it or not, a ring with many many tiny diamonds is often quite a bit cheaper than a ring with one big one… without compromising on the ‘wow’ factor. If her heart is set on a big diamond but your budget just won’t allow it, this is definitely a viable option.

Now go splash that cash modestly!