The Diamond Engagement Ring Guide by James Sanders
Buying an engagement ring should be an enjoyable experience that you remember fondly.
If you can avoid these expensive mistakes, you should be well prepared to buy the best possible ring for your budget.
Few people know much about diamonds and it’s this lack of knowledge which is frequently taken advantage of.
Most diamond ‘buying guides’ are written by jewellers and this is rather like asking turkeys to vote for Xmas so I have tried to make this guide as impartial as possible.
So, you’ve decided to pop the question. That’s the easy part. These are the biggest mistakes made (mostly by men) when buying an engagement ring.
Buying the brand
If you only remember one thing…make it these 5 words …’It’s all about the diamond’.
‘Free’ champagne isn’t free, and the luxury showroom in London and heavy-set doormen are being paid for by you. Their ‘luxury’ marketing campaigns featuring sultry models are paid for by you. The value of a ring is based on the quality of the diamonds used and the workmanship. If you buy from a showroom, you are over paying, it’s that simple.
Colour, clarity, certification and compromise
Everyone compromises, even those spending millions, so accept that you will need to prioritise size, colour, certification or clarity. There will always be a slightly bigger and cleaner diamond available.
Studying certificates is a sure-fire way to drive yourself slowly mad. Comparing differing specs will result in you feeling confused and annoyed. There is little difference between a D and E colour diamond and we see G and H colour stones that are truly beautiful without a trace of yellow. Once you are looking at J and K colours, you need to be more careful but there can be some fantastic stones of this grade, so don’t rule them out. You need to see an HD video of the actual diamond and for someone honest and reliable to give you an unbiased appraisal of the diamond you are considering.
The GIA are the most reliable grading lab, so when they grade a diamond as J colour and VS2 clarity, you can be pretty sure it’s accurate. Other labs are looser in their grading and that is why diamonds graded by them are less expensive.
The Cut
The GIA only grade round diamonds for their cut. So, if you are ever told that a pear, oval or any other shape is graded as being of ‘excellent’ cut, it is only the opinion of the seller and they should tell you this. They rarely do.
If you are considering a round brilliant diamond, try to focus on diamonds graded as being of ‘excellent’ cut only. The cut is important as it effects the way light bounces around the diamond and gives a diamond its sparkle.
Milky diamonds?
Most London retailers don’t like discussing this topic, some deny they even exist, but they do.
As many as 10–20 % of all diamonds can appear grey and slightly cloudy, lacking the sharpness of other diamonds. These stones are sold all around world and stores are able to get away with it as the GIA and other grading labs don’t specify if a diamond is milky. A diamond can have clouds and be totally beautiful, but some are too cloudy and although it takes an experienced eye to spot, once you know, you know.
Salespeople
Spend a few seconds peering through a London jeweller’s window, chances are that someone will dash out of the shop and ask ‘may I help you?’ It’s all part of the great jewellery sales routine. The plan is to find out what you want and essentially not let you leave the shop until you’ve agreed to buy it. A common tactic is to offer you a drink and a seat — this is not always the generous act of kindness it may at first seem. Deals will be offered, promises made, competitors slated and pressure gently applied. There will nearly always be someone else interested in the exact ring you like and a decision will always need to be made very quickly.
On some very rare occasions, this will be true, but mostly…it won’t. Jewellery staff are paid commission on every sale and this can lead to unnecessary pressure being applied.
If a salesperson doesn’t appear knowledgeable and confident, they have probably not been trained properly which is the employer’s fault, not theirs. Quiz them about their suppliers and milky diamonds to test them.
Maximum Choice
You should try and buy from a dealer or jeweller in London that has access to the entire wholesale market. If they are limited to only a few wholesalers, this will reduce your choice and increase the price. Many London stores and chains are limited to using a handful of suppliers.
Even worse, a jewellery store will be limited to his own stock, which he or she will need to sell.
Service
This is likely to be one of the most significant purchases you will ever make. If emails, phone calls and enquiries are not dealt with promptly, how can you trust that your engagement ring will be made with the necessary attention to detail? Manners are free and so is honesty, so if you don’t get super service, walk away. Whether spending £1,000 or £1m, the service should be the same. If you are made to feel that your budget is too low to be of interest to the staff, take your business elsewhere.
How much to spend?
Cheap finance offers have led to people spending more than they originally planned on their engagement ring. Great news for the jeweller but not so great when you are still paying for the engagement ring long after you are married and perhaps even have a young family to support.
It’s not for me to tell you how much to spend, but it’s worth bearing in mind that life is expensive and you don’t want to create extra pressure on yourself by spending more than you need. The average spend on engagement rings in the US is £4,500 and £2,000 in the UK for reference. For this reason, we make beautiful rings for all budgets.
Cheap Junk
Forget expensive bespoke rings, London jewellers’ biggest profits are actually made on rings priced between £500 and £5,000 but often made with low quality stones. By using cheap, low grade diamonds much of what you pay is profit. Jewellers make it difficult to find the specifications of less expensive rings for this reason. There is no reason not to use beautiful quality, well cut, smaller diamonds as these will create maximum impact and sparkle.
