Monday, December 1, 2008

How Can I Find a Cheap a Low Cost Engagement Ring?

By Tom W. Mason

Many people find engagement ring shopping to be an extremely intimidating process. This is a big, meaningful purchase, after all. However, there are ways to save money and make the entire process a lot easier and less stressful, all at the same time!

First, here's something you probably already know: big diamonds are the most popular. This is one of the things that puts so much stress on ring shopping - we're afraid we'll have to spend more than we can afford. After all, larger diamonds come with a larger price tag.

There's good news too, though. There are a number of ways you can find larger diamonds for only a small fraction of what you initially thought you'd pay. It's all about getting the most out of your purchase.

Here's an example that'll tell you more.

Every diamond out there has been graded according to four major characteristics. These are carat, clarity, cut and color. We'll take a look at color to show you more.

Color grading scales range between D and Z, with D color grading indicating the best color. To decide what quality color a given diamond has, each one is inspected under very high magnifications.

What's the catch? Diamonds that are D grade won't look differently from one that's four grades lower in quality - an H.

There's no difference at all between the two to the naked eye. Unless you look at both diamonds side by side on a white background, under magnification, you'll never see any difference at all. Even trained eyes can have a hard time telling the difference between I and D diamonds, though there's a little visible decrease in color quality if you know what to look for.

So what's the point? You should never pay for a D grade diamond when the human eye can't distinguish it from an H!

The price difference is a big one, too. It could be thousands of dollars. Of course, as can be expected, jewelry stores try to sell the highest graded diamonds for the most profit - you would, too. Unfortunately, most people don't take the time to educate themselves, and pay a lot more than they need to.

That's just one example of ways to save money on an engagement ring. Picking a diamond that has a lower color grading but doesn't look different to the naked eye will allow you to buy a much bigger diamond for the same amount of money. Learn about diamonds and how to buy, and you'll get a good deal. - 15485

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