Budget Engagement Rings
Say you’re ready to pop the question to your girlfriend, but you can’t afford more than the ring from the bottom of the Cracker Jack box. Don’t lose hope – you may be able to score a great engagement ring for much less than you think.
Buy Online
When you visit a fancy jewelry store, you’re paying for more than just the ring – you’re also paying for the personalized service you receive and the posh décor that adds to the ambiance of the place. By shopping online, you may be able to find rings that are comparable in size and style to those in offline jewelry stores, but at a fraction of the price. Just a few words of warning:
Rings can look very different online, so take your girlfriend to a traditional jewelry store and get a feel for what kind of styles she likes. Does she gravitate towards three-stone rings? Or maybe towards square cut diamonds over oval-shaped stones? Use the results of this reconnaissance work to help you narrow down the huge field of rings you’ll find online.
Second, make sure you shop from a reputable company and get proof that the diamond you’re purchasing is authentic. The last thing you want to do is drop one grand on an eBay auction, only to receive a ring that looks like it’s straight from a drug store vending machine. Look for jewelry sites that are affiliated with professional jeweler organizations, or those that offer escrow purchasing services that give you the chance to have the diamond evaluated before you pay for it.
Go Synthetic
If it’s going to be a long time before you can afford that big diamond sparkly, talk to your future fiancé, explain your financial situation to her and offer up the possibility of a synthetic diamond. Lab-created diamonds look more realistic than ever, so she doesn’t need to worry about her girlfriends spotting her fake engagement ring. And if you really need to, you can promise her that you’ll trade-up and buy her a nicer ring as soon as your financial situation allows. She should respect your decision to protect your own financial well-being, instead of spending thousands of dollars on a piece of jewelry you can’t afford.
Choose Other Stones
Engagement rings that feature other precious stones – like rubies, sapphires or emeralds – are much cheaper than diamond rings, so you’ll be able to get more ring for your money if you stay away from traditional rings. You can find a wide assortment of these rings, including some that are set off by smaller diamonds, at most jewelry stores or by searching auction sites online. However, if you’re thinking about going this route, talk to your girlfriend first. If she hates the color green, you’re going to be disappointed when you show up with an emerald ring.
If you’re having trouble convincing your future fiancé to accept a diamond-ring substitute, it may be time to educate her on the strife caused by diamond mining around the world. Your awareness of international plight should impress her, and you may just be able to guilt her into accepting a less expensive ring. And besides, if she isn’t willing to compromise on the price tag attached to her engagement ring, is this really someone you want to spend the rest of your life with?