Engagement Ring Budget
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 the diamonds 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?
The Middle: A $4,000 Engagement Ring
What can I do with an extra $1,000? Well, to start with, I will pick a different setting. This time, I’ll pick a setting with pave sidestones to give it a little more flair than a simple solitaire setting. Here’s the setting that I’ll choose for this ring:
This is a French Cut Pave Diamond Engagement Ring setting, and it costs $780. That leaves me $3,220 for the diamond. I’m going to follow the same criteria as above for the diamond for this ring.
Here are some diamonds that will fit this criteria and the budget:
- Diamond 1: .8 carat, H Color, VS1 Clarity, Ideal cut. The cost: $3,310. Final cost with the setting: $4,090.
- Diamond 2: .78 carat, H Color, VS1 Clarity, TrueHearts cut. The cost: $3,110. Final cost with the setting: $3,890. Note: This is a TrueHearts diamond, which means that it has the best cut quality available. This means that it will have amazing sparkle and shine!
- Diamond 3: .84 carat, I Color, VS1 Clarity, Ideal cut. The cost: $3,280. Final cost with the setting: $4,060.
Now, I’ll do one more, this time for $5,000.
The Best Engagement Ring You Can Get For $5,000
Well, in my opinion this will be the best engagement ring you can get for $5,000, at least. Anyway, for this ring I will choose a 3 stone setting. Here’s the setting that I chose for this ring:
This is a 3 Stone Channel Set Princess Cut Engagement Ring and it costs $1,800. It is a very popular setting (not hard to see why!) and it has 2 princess cut sidestones and princess cut pave diamonds.
Anyway, I will follow the same criteria as I did for the first two rings when I choose some possible diamonds for this ring. Note that you must set this ring with a princess cut diamond.
- Diamond 1: .83 carat, D Color, VS2 Clarity, Ideal cut. The cost: $3,140. Final cost with the setting: $4,940.
- Diamond 2: .92 carat, I Color, VVS1 Clarity, Ideal cut. The cost: $3,130. Final cost with the setting: $4,930.
- Diamond 3: .79 carat, F Color, VVS1 Clarity, Ideal cut. The cost: $3,310. Final cost with the setting: $5,110.
And there you have it! That’s how you make the best engagement ring that you possibly can for these 3 different common budget ranges. Please comment if you have any questions or comments!
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