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Everyone deserves to spoil their significant other with a stunning engagement ring. But if you’re working with a budget of $5,000 or less, it can seem like great quality is out of reach.
The truth is, with some smart shopping, you can find an excellent ring at an excellent price. It may take some more research and a few sacrifices along the way, but you can rest assured that you can turn your $5,000 into something your partner will cherish forever.
Now let’s look into some of these tips in detail and outline how to buy the best engagement ring with a smaller budget.
People often assume that to buy a less expensive ring, you’ll need to avoid physical jewellers altogether. This is not the case. While some more up-market jewellery stores might not cater to your budget, we strongly recommend you find a local jeweller and get some clarity on your options.
Your local jeweller might recommend lower-cost choices like:
Like anything, higher quality diamonds come at a premium. Savvy shoppers know how each element of diamond quality affects the overall price of the ring.
Even savvier diamond buyers know how to make small sacrifices that won’t significantly change the appearance of the ring, but will reduce its price.
Before starting your shopping, it’s important to learn the essentials:
Hand-picked related content: The Complete Guide to Buying an Engagement Ring
The 4Cs are a universally accepted measure of diamond quality. They are:
Each of these qualities has a rating, and each grade will affect the overall price of your engagement ring. For example, a diamond with a Flawless Clarity rating, a D Colour rating, an Excellent Cut rating and large carat weight can cost a small fortune. On the other hand, a diamond with mid-range grades for each of the 4Cs can be a more affordable choice.
If you’re diamond shopping on a smaller budget, you’ll find you need to make some quality sacrifices. The trick is knowing which quality sacrifices won’t cause a significant change in diamond appearance.
For example, a 1 carat diamond of the highest colour, clarity and cut ratings can cost you above $25,000. But a diamond of the highest colour, clarity and cut ratings that is a few points smaller in size can be less expensive but similar in appearance.
Knowing how quality affects price is one of the most important lessons in engagement ring shopping, but there are a few other tips to keep in mind.
When you learn the price of your ring band and diamond separately, you can make smarter sacrifices. You may find you can enjoy the same great quality stone with a less expensive ring band and still stay within your budget.
Diamond prices can rise once the carat weight reaches 1.0. If you’re shopping on a budget, consider buying a few points below the 1 carat mark (e.g. with a 0.90 carat stone).
An illusionary setting such as a cluster of smaller diamonds set in white gold on top gives the illusion of one large diamond.
Your engagement ring may not be worth tens of thousands of dollars, but it’s priceless in sentimental value. Our Q Pocket policy is the perfect jewellery insurance option for jewellery valued $5,000 or less, and includes benefits like:
See how little it can cost to protect the things you love; get an instant online jewellery insurance quote below:
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