Cheap Diamond Engagement Ring For Your Girlfriend

A cheap diamond engagement ring isn’t a contradiction in terms. What you should know when shopping for a cheap diamond engagement ring. The secret to buying a cheap diamond engagement ring is in understanding the difference between a quality and apparent quality. The word “diamond” comes from the Greek word “adamus” that means, “You could buy a nice HDTV for that price.” But if you know a little about diamond engagement rings, the size of that TV you’ll sacrifice for love will be much smaller. Imagine buying a 30-inch TV that looks like a 50-inch TV. That’s what I’m talking about.

Related guides: For more ideas for her, compare bracelets to gift your girlfriend on Christmas and diamond bracelet to gift your girlfriend on her birthday.

Cheap Diamond Engagement Ring

The Four Cs

Most of the difference between an expensive and a cheap diamond engagement ring is the diamond itself. A diamond’s value is determined by how rare it is. You may have already heard of the four Cs: carat, color, clarity and cut. A diamond’s rarity (and therefore price) is determined by how rare it is in carat, color, clarity and cut-but at the higher ranges of these qualities many of the differences are imperceptible to the naked eye. You really have to be an expert-with a magnifying glass-to see many of the differences between an expensive and a relatively cheap diamond engagement ring.

Cheap Diamond Engagement Ring

Carat One way to buy a cheap diamond engagement ring is to be smart about the size of the diamond. What jewelers don’t want you to know is that a 0.9 carat (ct) diamond is disproportionately cheaper than a 1 ct diamond, but they appear to be the same size. Similarly, a 1.9 ct diamond is disproportionately cheaper than a 2 ct diamond relative to the apparent difference in size. The price jumps a bit when you get to the carat mark, but your potential fiancé will probably not notice the difference without a side-by-side comparison.

Cheap Diamond Engagement Ring

Color Another way to buy a cheap diamond engagement ring is to be smart about the color of the diamond. Diamonds are rated on their color-or more to the point-their colorlessness. Generally speaking, a diamond that is colorless is considered perfect, and is rarer than a diamond that is yellow or brown. Diamonds that are considered “colorless” are rated D through F, with D being most colorless. Diamonds that are very slightly yellow are rated G through J. And while the difference between an F and G is almost imperceptible, the price of a diamond spikes at the F level because it is considered “colorless,” but few people would ever know the difference.

Cheap Diamond Engagement Ring

Clarity A diamond’s clarity is determined by a lack of tiny flaws called inclusions. The size and number of inclusions within a diamond also determine its price: A diamond with no or very few minor inclusions is much more rare. And again, like carat and color, there’s a difference between flawlessness and apparent flawlessness. And, you guessed it, there’s a price jump between two levels that are imperceptibly different to the naked eye. This jump occurs between the VVS2 (Very, very slightly included-level 2) and SI1 (Slightly included-level 1). The SI1 diamond is disproportionately cheaper, despite appearing virtually the same to the naked eye.