It's here. Proposal season. Roughly 25 percent of the year's wedding
proposals will happen in the next two months. The reasons are threefold: 1) too
much holiday booze; 2) the warm glow of home and hearth gets guys thinking about
family; and 3) for many guys, their girlfriends' pop-the-question-or-I-dump-you
ultimatums expire on Dec. 31.
Guys need engagement rings. Only problem: they're broke and want to cut
bill. And since every publication is contractually obligated to run 17,258
articles about these "tough economic times," we'll dutifully do our
part. In these tough economic times, without the usual bonus checks, without the
usual job security, guys need to buy engagement rings for less.
Here's how to do it. The Plunge presents: 10 rules for buying a cheaper rock.
(To clarify: it's actually not about "cheap," but about not overpaying
for good quality, and making smart tradeoffs.)
1. Pretend you're buying a car.
It starts with your mindset. If you're like most guys, you don't know squat
about diamonds. If you're like most guys, you don't ever want to know squat
about diamonds. You think it's effeminate, like learning about window
treatments, opera, or The Jonas Brothers. Only one problem with this mindset: it
will cost you money. When you buy a car, you make choices, you make tradeoffs,
you weigh the pros and cons. Should you splurge for the hard-top roof? 4
cylinders or 6? GPS system? You can't just walk into a dealership and say,
"I'd like a car. Give me the cheapest one." And you wouldn't buy one
without a test drive. If you don't know the tradeoffs, you won't know where to
cut back and save money. Start your education here.
And if you're like me, you'll assume that you will never, ever, ever be able
to really tell the difference in cuts of diamonds. Yes and no. Yes, you will
never truly become an expert, so it's a good idea to enlist some real help (like
the site RingTutor, say.) But no, it's not true that you're beyond hope. Think
of it like seeing a Shakespeare play. In the first few scenes, the actors are
talking way too fast and way too British and you're sort of laughing along, not
wanting to embarrass yourself in front of your date, but you have no frickin'
clue what these tunic-wearing-weirdos are saying. Then, the longer you listen,
the more your ear adjusts. Diamonds work the same way. Inspect lots of rocks.
You will soon get a feel for what you like and what you don't like, which will
let you purchase a ring with confidence.
2. Go channel surfing for engagement rings.
There are two channels for buying your ring: traditional brick-and-mortar
stores and online stores. Use them both. Pit one against the other. Yep. It's
safe to buy a diamond online. But no, you should never buy a stone unseen.
Instead, we recommend trolling the brick-and-mortar stores, looking at lots and
lots of different diamonds, and then, when you figure out the exact
configuration (i.e. car specs), you can order a near-identical version online.
Or, you can find a cheaper quote online, and use that to negotiate a lower
in-store rate, do a search at Amazon
Jewelry store. More on that here.
3. Sacrifice a smidgeon of diamond size.
People like round numbers. We obsess over things like "The First 100
Days" of a presidential administration, 10,000 points at the Dow, batting
.300, etc. In reality, of course, Day 99 isn't that different from Day 100, and
the Dow's 9,999 is about the same as 10,000...your portfolio's battered either
way, right? And that brings us to a diamond's size. People pay a premium for the
"round number" of a Carat. But you can pocket some dough by purchasing
slightly lower than the size-echelon; instead of a full carat (1.00), buy a
.85-.95; instead of a full three-quarter carat, go for a .60-.73, etc. The only
one who can really tell the difference is the jeweler.
4. cheap diamond ... Do the same for Color.
Use the exact same philosophy with a diamond's "Color." By the way,
for the true rookies, a diamond has "Four Cs" - Carat, Color, Clarity,
and Cut. To save some money without sacrificing much look, push your color out
one additional grade. Get an "I" not an "H." You are
unlikely to notice when the diamond is mounted, in its setting, and on the hand.
We know, we know, you're asking what in holy hell we're talking about. Diamonds
have a color continuum which represents how much yellow color they show, with
DEF "colorless" on the higher-end, then G, then H, etc. Careful,
though. Each person sees colors differently, and it takes some time to train
your eye. One more reason to look at plenty of diamonds. Don't go lower than a J
if you can possibly avoid it.
5. Get a lower Diamond Clarity.
Notice a pattern here? Just like with Color and Carat, you can get a slightly
lower Clarity and shave off some dollars. For example, you can get a SI1 instead
of a VS2. However, when making this tradeoff, it's important to make sure the
"inclusions" don't endanger the structural integrity of the diamond.
Yes, we know that as far as you're concerned, VS2 and SI1 sound like a strand of
swine flu.
6. But NEVER sacrifice on your cheap diamond engagement rings Cut.
You can take shortcuts on Clarity, Color, and Carat, but never Cut. A pity,
since Cut can represent up to 50 percent of the price of the diamond. Here's
why. When a diamond is well-cut, its facets are perfectly positioned to reflect
incoming light right back at you. It's what makes the diamond sparkle and
shine-frankly, it's what makes it look like a diamond. When you first buy it, a
lower-Cut diamond might look okay. But it will get dirty. As it gets dirty, the
shoddy Cut will trap light inside the diamond-so, in other words, it won't
shine. Sort of like the ozone layer and global warming. Buy the best cut you can
afford.
7. Buy more than one diamond.
....More little ones, that is, instead of one big bastard. A three-diamond
ring can give much larger "show" for less money. And no, this doesn't
look cheap, it's done all the time.
8. Don't Fear Platinum engagement rings
The old conventional wisdom: platinum is super-expensive, gold is cheaper.
And that's sorta true, in the sense that yes, in absolute terms, platinum is
still slightly more expensive than gold (recently, about 25 percent higher.) So
if you're on a cutthroat budget and are trying to build a ring for under $1,000,
say, you wouldn't have the budget for platinum. But. And this is key. The price
difference is nowhere near where it used to be. Less than two years ago, the
spread was 82 percent. The short version: the spread between platinum and gold
has tightened dramatically, to the point where platinum is the smarter buy.
Given that it's a more durable metal, and often more desirable, it's no longer
an obvious place to save money.
9. Avoid a diamond altogether.
This obviously has some pitfalls. You're taking a big gamble. But if you're
on a ruthlessly tight budget, or if your girlfriend honestly doesn't care too
much about the rock, or if you're both cool with upgrading later, then a
non-diamond ring is a perfectly viable option. Your safest bet? Sapphire. It's
strong, has great hardness, and it's easy to make a classic, beautiful ring with
sapphire as your anchor. Avoid stuff like emerald and tanzanite; pretty stones,
sure, but they're more delicate than Greg Oden's ankles.
10. Buy safely.
Back to the car analogy. You wouldn't buy a Jetta from some random dude
without any paperwork, right? There are certain precautions you must take.
Always insist on a legit "Grading Report," preferably one from the
Gemological Institute of America (GIA)
or the American Gem Society
(AGS. Make sure you get a reputable jeweler. (More on that here.) Get ring
insurance for this baby. And make sure you get a 100 percent, full, money-back
guarantee, ideally with at least 30 days from when you take delivery. And if the
store doesn't offer that, you're not in the right store.
A tip of the hat to diamond ring guru Amy Curran, consultant at The Advisory
Source, for some serious industry-insider wisdom. For more on grooms, wedding
planning, and relationships from the guy's perspective, visit www.ThePlunge.com.
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