How to Pay a Better Price for a Diamond Ring

The obvious starting point when hunting for a diamond is picking the shape and carat weight minimum you want, and then start working your way down the list to investigate areas where you might be willing to compromise in order to make your requirements for your budget:

How to cut the 4 C’s

Clarity is an area where you can easily drop a notch or two on the scale without seeing a huge difference in appearance. You can drop as low as VS2 before thinking about where else you could compromise. Care to lower the color grade? Color can be lowered as low as H before you move to another category.

The cut grade can be dropped as low as Very Good (assuming you have a round diamond), or Good in the case of more complex shapes.

Once you have made your adjustments, and you still need to shave a bit off the price, your next port of call is taking off some of the carat weight to drop the price. The naked eye can barely detect a carat weight difference of 10% or less.

Don’t give up

The process of choosing a gorgeous diamond can include refining your choice of shape and working your way through different options for the 4Cs, through which you will hopefully find the perfect diamond, without paying too much for it. Once you reach this point, you can start comparing individual diamonds for optimum brilliance and fire. 

If after following the steps above, the price is still too high, repeat the process, but lower the benchmarks on the last 3 C’s, to help you find a cheap but beautiful diamond.

Here’s how to do it

First, further reduce Clarity to as low as SI1, then, reduce Color – as low as J. For a diamond that is to be set in yellow gold, you can drop to K. The last reduction is the Cut. Drop to Good in round diamonds, and Fair in complex shapes.

The shape of your diamond is where the ring’s design is determined. There is no one shape that is better than another – your (or your partner’s) personal taste will determine this. The most popular shape for engagement rings are Round Brilliants, as they give off the most brilliance, but nothing stops you from selecting a Cushion Cut or an Oval Cut.

I’m still beyond my budget – help!

If you’re looking for engagement ring financing with a bad credit it’s time for drastic measures to rein in the budget? Let’s go!

You could consider dropping to SI2 clarity, if the diamond is under a carat. A brilliant cut on a diamond under 1.50 carats could mean that you can drop to L-M color if the diamond is to be set in yellow gold.Want a bigger-looking diamond? Think about getting a Fair cut round or fancy shape.

If you are at this point still outside your budget, your budget may be realistically too low. Don’t be shy to reduce your minimum carat weight, or to pick a cheap, yet sophisticated diamond.

Collaboration.