Friday, December 5, 2008

How To Find an Affordable Engagement Ring

By Tom W. Mason

Most of us find engagement ring shopping to be pretty intimidating, and it's no secret why. This is an expensive item that has a lot of personal meaning - we all want to get it right. However, there are ways to pay less, reduce your stress, and know you're getting a good deal.

Everyone wants the biggest diamond possible - bigger is considered better. This is one of the things that stresses us out so much. No one wants to pay a lot, but a bigger diamond is the goal.

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 to help you understand.

Diamonds are graded using four major characteristics - cut, carat, clarity and color. We'll check out color to see how you can get a larger diamond for less.

Diamond color is graded on a scale from D to Z, with D being the best quality. Determining a diamond's color is done under high magnification in a lab.

What's the catch? D-grade diamonds look the same as H-grade diamonds, unless you have a microscope. That's a difference of four grades.

Unless you look at the diamonds beside one another, on a white background, and under close magnification, you'll never notice the difference. The naked eye just can't see that level of detail. You might spot a difference between D and I if you know what you're doing, but even grades I and J are hard to see a difference in.

So what's the point? Why pay more for diamonds graded higher when you can't tell the difference between them and one that's graded lower.

The price difference between the two ranges is enormous. You could pay thousands of dollars more for a D grade diamond. Most jewelry stores encourage buyers to choose the highest grades, of course. Most people fall into this scheme, and pay a lot more than they need to.

This is only one of the methods you can use to save when you buy that all important ring. Picking a diamond that has a lower color grade but looks the same will allow you to buy a bigger one for the same price. That's shopping smart. - 15784

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