Affordable engagement rings?

The two month salary thing is a joke. I think I paid about 1800 for my wife engagement ring, it's worth considerably more, and at the time I was making decent, but not great money. Its been a while, but I think 12000 would have been about 2 month salary... Insane. Neither of us had a pot to ours in at that point, paying off student loans, renting a small house and trying to save for our house? No way.
 
My views on engagement rings seem to differ from the views of others on this board. Perhaps I should add context.


I used to have a built CJ-7. Sometimes the love of my life would call it "the princess" and joke that I loved it more than her.

I loved her more than words can describe. So when I bought an engagement ring for her I made damn sure that I invested more in the diamond than the value of that jeep.



She died the next year suddenly and unexpectedly. That was 20 years ago.

An engagement ring isn't just jewelry, it is a symbol of love and the promise of a lifetime together. Not a day goes by that I don't miss her. I would give 1000 times the cost of that ring for just one more minute.
 
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Color, clarity, cut.

There are tons of things online about grading. Learn what to avoid if you look through a loop.

Determine what type of bowtie you will accept. Cloudy diamonds are cheaper. Almost all natural diamonds have imperfections. It's used to identify them like a fingerprint for insurance. Fewer can be more expensive, zero normally means fake.

I can't believe I remember all this crap from 1993. I lost my ring in the ocean. So there's that. Insure it.
 
High-Pressure-High-Temperature (HPHT) diamonds can be good for the budget minded. They are natural, but cheaper, diamonds that are treated to remove unwanted colors. Once treated they are almost impossible to differentiate from untreated diamonds, requiring spectroscopic imaging to confirm if they are HPHT or not. Any reputable dealer will disclose if the diamond is a HPHT. They can also be a good value since the diamond can not have any inclusions prior the the treatment or it will fracture from the pressure treatment. The final stones are usually exceptionally clear.
 
I proposed to my (now) wife when I lived in Houston and used Whiteflash because they had such a great website, I could choose the diamond and setting, see realistic pictures, and they were local. But they actually ship worldwide and compete with the Blue Niles of the industry.

Once I had chosen what I wanted online, I went to their store in person and all it did was solidify the choices I had made (and help push me in a certain direction... see next paragraph). In other words, don't be afraid to buy from an online store; you could always visit local retailers to get a feel for size, but I suspect their pricing will be higher.

Since you are asking us this question I assume you are the kind to do research, which would imply you are aware of the four C's. My $0.02 after going through the process is to weight carat over clarity... I remember I had narrowed it down to two diamonds where one was higher clarity but smaller and the other was larger but a grade lower... my engineering mind wanted the higher quality diamond but I decided to go with the larger and am very glad I did. When they say you can't see imperfections without a microscope they aren't kidding!

To summarize, I would definitely recommend checking out Whiteflash website. They have amazing service and great pricing (at least when I bought 9 years ago). Once you narrow down the diamonds and settings, I would compare across multiple online websites to get a feel for best pricing, and be sure to consider the addl benefits/features of each company, for example, is it certified (i.e. you get paperwork certifying the four C's), conflict-free, etc.

Congrats and good luck!
 
I was ready for the cost of the diamond, but I wasn't ready for was the engagement ring and wedding band expense.

I figured I would get a nice diamond on top of a plain band with a plain wedding ring band, but my wife wanted baguette diamonds on the bands. That was a cost I hadn't considered and resulted in me gouging my Yamaha R1 savings fund.
 
Suggest you go out and have a look at the TJ.
Does it have Rough Country suspension and eBay bumpers? If so wander down to the local mall and pickup a ring on sale from a generic jewellers.
If you have Currie/Savvy on the TJ, get to a Diamond wholesalers buy a nice stone and have it made into something exquisite.
 
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