Six Diamond Buying Hacks That Can Save You Thousands
When you’re shopping for a significant piece of diamond jewelry, like an engagement ring, you’ll soon discover that all those gorgeous sparkling one and two carat gems you see on Instagram and TikTok are really expensive. Like two months salary expensive. But you don’t need to spend six figures on a beautiful high-quality diamond that’s the size of your dreams. You just need to use these six clever diamond-buying hacks to cut the price tag of the diamond stud earrings you’ve always wanted or a truly breathtaking diamond engagement ring.
Hack the Diamond Origin
The diamond buying hack that will save you the most money is to choose a lab-grown diamond, not a diamond that’s mined from the earth. Lab created diamonds are diamonds, with the identical physical, chemical and optical characteristics. That is, they look exactly the same as mined diamonds and even gemologists can’t tell the difference without advanced testing equipment. That means no one will know your diamond is lab grown unless you tell them. Which of course, you might be proud to do because you can buy a lab grown diamond from Brilliant Carbon that’s made by a climate neutral laboratory. And you’ll save a lot without sacrificing quality: lab-created diamond engagement rings are half the cost of mined diamond engagement rings with the same certified 4Cs. That means you can do something to help save the Earth and do something to save money.
Hack the Jewelry Retailer
You can save a lot of money from buying your lab-grown diamond jewelry from a specialty jeweler that sells online only. That’s because retailers who have the expense of brick-and-mortar stores have a lot more overhead. It’s not as easy to choose jewelry from a website, since you don’t get to try on the exact ring you’ll be buying. But most brick-and-mortar retailers have to special order lab grown diamond jewelry and rings in the correct finger size so going to a store in person won’t save you any time or any money. You’re better off enjoying the discount and generous return policies of an online retailer like Brilliant Carbon that specializes in lab grown diamond jewelry.
Hack the Diamond Color
While we would never recommend that you sacrifice on the quality of your diamond’s craftsmanship, there are quality parameters that you can compromise on a little and still have a beautiful diamond. The first aspect is color. Lab grown diamonds are often completely colorless (E and F color are much less rare in lab created diamonds than in mined diamonds.) But if you choose a near colorless lab grown diamond, H or higher color grade, you can save money. And since color is graded upside down, you probably won’t notice the color difference when you diamond is mounted face up, with all the brilliance from its flashing facets. And if you are choosing a yellow gold setting, which are trending, your diamond will look whiter next to the warm color of the metal. You can save money on a near colorless diamond that will look almost as gorgeous as a colorless diamond but cost a lot less.
Hack the Diamond Clarity
The clarity of a diamond adds to its brilliant sparkle. But did you know that diamond clarity is graded under 10x magnification? That means that you won’t see any inclusions with your naked eye as long as your diamond is graded SI and above. We recommend choosing SI1 and above for a diamond that sparkles with brilliance rather than paying more for a VVS or VS diamond, particularly for necklaces and earrings.
Hack the Diamond Carat Weight
Diamonds that are larger cost more per carat. So one excellent way to save money on diamonds is to combine many diamonds with smaller carats weights rather than one single diamond. This gives you a big look with a smaller price tag. A single one carat diamond costs quite a bit more than two half-carat diamonds. That’s why small diamonds set together in illusion settings can have so much sparkle for such an affordable price.
There’s another way to hack the carat weight of diamonds. You can save on the per-carat price of your diamond by avoiding round numbers. A 0.75 carat lab-grown diamond necklace will look almost as big as a one-carat lab diamond necklace but cost much less. It isn’t just 25% less because diamonds in this size category are also less per carat. This 0.75 carat emerald cut lab created diamond necklace is half the price of the same style one-carat emerald cut lab created diamond necklace.
Hack the Diamond Shape
The most popular diamond shape is the round. It has lots of sparkle and brilliance but the dimensions are deeper than some other shapes, like ovals and pear shapes, so it looks a bit smaller face up than these more unusual fancy shapes. To get the biggest look for your money, select a fancy shape like an oval, pear or emerald cut. These fancy shapes have a large look and usually cost less as well. They also have a unique look that gives even a simple setting a stylish twist.
