How to Save Money on Loose Diamonds and Engagement Rings

Diamond rings are synonymous with engagement rings - and both are synonymous with an occasion that, while joyous, is also increasingly costly for the man buying one for the woman he hopes to marry. While some men are lucky enough to inherit a diamond or engagement ring to be given to their fiancee, most face a daunting shopping trip, where they will spend thousands of dollars on a piece of jewelry which has been marked up not once, but several times.

Though advertisements and a plethora of television shows devoted to engagements and weddings have promoted the idea that a man's love is equal to the size of the diamond engagement ring that he purchases for his fiancee, or worse, how much he spend on it, smart men look for opportunities to save on the engagement rings they purchase for their fiancees so they are in a better economic position to begin their life together, whether they purchase smaller diamonds or employ another cost savings opportunity.

One of the easiest ways to save money on purchasing loose diamonds or diamond rings, is to eschew name brand jewelers. Unlike knock off designer purses, as long as a diamond is real (not glass or cubic zirconia), and has been given high grades for quality, there is no such thing as a knock off diamond. By staying away from well known, but notoriously overpriced, jeweler's like Tiffany's or Cartier, the price of the loose diamond or engagement ring goes down drastically. Truthfully, when paying extra to Tiffany's or Cartier, customers are buying the Tiffany or Cartier name - and since women are unlikely to ever carry the box that the ring came in around with them, there is no need to purchase the name.

Even the jeweler in the local mall will charge more for diamonds or engagement rings than is necessary. Why? Because that jeweler purchased his wares from a wholesaler. That wholesaler added a mark up to what he sold, and now the jeweler is doing the same. By purchasing an engagement ring directly from the wholesaler, customers are able to save significantly without sacrificing quality.

Another option is to purchase loose diamonds instead of diamond rings. One way to save money by purchasing a loose diamond is to purchase a diamond that is just below the next carat size, such as a .9 carat weight diamond instead of a 1 carat diamond. The difference will not be noticeable to anyone looking at it, but the cost savings will be significant. Having the diamond set in a unique setting gives the customer the option to request a more interesting, and individual, look for the overall ring.

Customers who work with a jeweler to design an engagement ring which includes a diamond accentuated by the addition of other, often smaller, colored stones, such as semiprecious jewels like sapphires, garnets, or even precious stones like rubies or emeralds, are able to save money compared to purchasing a ready for purchase ring with a single larger diamond. The unique effect of the ring adds to the personal value of the ring, which provides both the customer and his fiancee an intangible value.

For customers who are not interested in adding colored stones to their rings, using a cluster of smaller diamonds instead of one larger diamond, can generate significant cost savings, since one larger diamond will cost more than a group of smaller ones of equal total carat weight. This cluster can be set in any number of designs and styles, from sleek and modern, to something baroque and ornate.