Rings
Most sources say that the average budget for an engagement ring today is around $3,000 to $5,000. I have actually seen up to $6,000, but for now I’ll just stay with $5,000 as the upper end of the average engagement ring.
I want to go through putting an engagement ring together with this budget of $3,000 to $5,000. What’s the best ring that you can get for this budget? Well, my goal is to show you how to get the best ring that you can possibly get in this budget range.
The Lower End: A Ring For $3,000
I’m going to start off with a ring that’s right at the lower end of this range. I will shoot for a ring that’s as close to $3,000 as I can get, while making sure it’s a great value for the money. To start with, I’m going to pick a setting that will leave me enough money for a good size diamond to put in it.
Here’s the setting that I’ll choose:
It’s a 2mm “Knife Edge” Solitaire setting, in 18K white gold, and it costs $360, which will still leave us $2,640 for the diamond.
Now for the diamond: I’m going to look through thediamonds for a diamond in the low .7 carat range. This is the largest size diamond that I’m going to be able to get for $2,640 while making sure that it’s a high-quality diamond.
Here’s what I’m considering for the diamond:
- For the diamond’s color, I don’t want one that’s D or E color, because that’s not necessary and it will add a LOT of unnecessary cost to the diamond.
- For the clarity, I don’t want to look for IF clarity diamonds for the same reason. I will look for diamonds that have a lower clarity grade, but I will examine the picture to make sure it looks clean to the eye.
- I’m going to look for diamonds with a cut grade of Ideal. This will make sure that the diamond is a good quality.
Here are 3 diamonds that I found that meet the criteria above:
- Diamond 1: .71 carat, H Color, VS1 Clarity, Ideal Cut. The cost: $2,600. Final cost with the setting is $2,960.
- Diamond 2: .73 carat, H Color, VS1 Clarity, Ideal Cut. The cost: $2,710. Final cost with the setting is $3,070.
- Diamond 3: .71 carat, H Color, VS1 Clarity, Ideal Cut. The cost: $2,600. Final cost with the setting is $2,960. Note: this is a different diamond from the first one, even though everything else looks the same.
And that’s how you put together a high-quality engagement ring for $3,000! Now, what about a ring for a $4,000 budget?