Upgrading a family heirloom ring can be a classic way to honor your family’s past while looking forward to a bright future with that special someone.  You might want to use an antique setting and upgrade the diamond.  Or you might have a family diamond that you would like to add to a new setting.  Whatever you might want to do with your antique jewelry, we will do everything we can to help.  Just contact us here and we can answer any questions you might have.

No need to tell everyone the economy is down.  Just turn on the news if you haven’t heard.

But that doesn’t mean that people stop getting married.  So we thought we would share some ideas on how to save money on diamond engagement rings and diamond jewelry in a down economy.

1.  Buy online.  The number one way to save money on a diamond engagement ring is to buy online.  Online jewelry retailers don’t have the overhead that brick and mortar retailers do.  Those savings are passed directly on to you.

2.  Weigh the metal choice.  Do you really need platinum?  If so go for it.  If not, think about white gold.  If you are going with white or yellow gold, consider selecting 14K gold instead of 18k gold.  That will typically save you about 8-10%.

3.  Pay attention to the table percentage and width to get a diamond that looks bigger than other diamonds of a comparable carat weight.  We posted a blog about this a couple days ago.

4. Review the location of inclusions on the diamond grading report.  Diamond clarity is a measurement of the number and size of inclusions (or dirty spots) in a diamond.  The more inclusions and the larger they are, the lower the clarity grade.  However, by paying attention to where the inclusions are, you may be able to purchase a diamond with a lower clarity grade without really giving up much in terms of noticeable quality.  For example, a diamond with a clarity grade of VS1 may only have one inclusion.  But if that inclusion is right in the middle of the diamond, it may be much more noticeable than a diamond with a clarity grade of SI2, if the inclusions in that diamond are around the edges of the diamond.

Desert Brilliance sells custom diamond engagement rings direct to the public at wholesale prices.

The use of diamonds as gem-stones dates back to ancient India where they were mined and shaped for religious purposes. Diamond popularity and demand has grown exponentially over the last two hundred years as cutting and mining techniques improve and become more cost effective. Diamonds are desirable due to their natural characteristics of light dispersion and brilliance but must be cut and polished to exact specifications. The highest quality diamonds are those cut to the most precise measurements. Pre-cut rough diamonds are rounded and misshapen when mined and lack the luster and reflection of polished diamonds. Shaping the rough crystals into polished gem-stones is a difficult and painstaking process as they are the hardest naturally occurring substance on earth. Skilled gem cutters multiple facets and polish the diamonds to reveal the stone’s desirable properties. Much of the rough diamond must be cut away and as a result many diamond cutters compromise cut quality for carat weight which diminishes the final appearance. A diamond certificate or grading report reveals the final proportions of a diamond and inform the customer of the cut quality. Purchasing certified diamonds with ideal proportions will always be the best value for the money.

This is a question we get a lot and one that we understand.  When you buy diamond jewelry online, you don’t get to touch it and look at it from every angle before buying.  However, the real benefit of buying diamond jewelry online is the significant price savings that are available along with a corresponding increase in quality.  But the secret to obtaining those savings is to make sure you are comparing apples to apples, as the quote goes.  It is imperative that you know the characteristics of the diamond you are purchasing.

One of our customer’s recent experiences shows just what I am talking about.  This customer found a ring that his girlfriend loved and was what she always wanted at Ben Bridge Jeweler®.  The ring was a one carat platinum ring with a one carat princess cut diamond and sidestones totaling 3/8 of a carat.  The ring was priced at $7,495.  However, they didn’t say anything about the characteristics of the center stone.  After pressing them, our customer finally was able to find out that the diamond had an H color (which is not bad), but had a clarity grade of I2 (which means that there were large carbon spots in the diamond that would have been noticeable to the naked eye).  Based on a comparable diamond and the same setting, we could have sold our customer the same ring for around $4,800, a savings of almost $2,700.  Our customer was amazed to learn of the extra money he almost spent for nothing.  Having already saved the $7,500 to purchase a ring, our customer decided to significantly upgrade the center stone to a F color and VS1 clarity at a total cost of $7,015.  So he got a much better ring and still saved almost $500.

We encourage you to compare our prices on certified diamonds with those of other retailers.  We specialize in providing the highest quality diamonds at “rock” bottom prices. (Pun intended!)

The right wedding or anniversary band can beautify and add additional sparkle to any engagement ring.  Here are five things you should consider before purchasing a wedding or anniversary band to add to an engagement ring:

1. Make sure the band is the same type of metal as the engagement ring.  The five most common metal choices are platinum, 14k gold, 18k gold, 14k white gold and 18k white gold.  Both regular gold and white gold will vary in color depending on the karat of the gold, so make sure you choose the same karat for the band and the ring.

2. Keep the widths of the band and ring relatively close.  You probably don’t want the width of the band to be much thinner or wider than the width of the ring.

3. Choose the same diamond shape.  If you are purchasing a wedding or anniversary band with diamonds, most people will prefer to have the same diamond shape in the band as the main diamond on the engagement ring, although it is still aesthetically pleasing to have various shapes on the band–such as a pattern with alternating round cut and princess cut diamonds.

4. Keep the diamond color consistent.  Avoid choosing diamonds for the band that are more than one or two color grades different than the diamonds on the engagement ring.  For example, if the diamond on the engagement ring is an F color, you should probably choose no less than an H color for the diamonds on the band or the diamonds on the band may look dirty next to the diamond on the ring.

5. Consider rhodium plating a white gold engagement ring.  Most white gold jewelry sold today is rhodium plated.  (Click here to learn more about rhodium plating.)  If your engagement ring is white gold, rhodium plating both the engagement setting and the wedding or anniversary band will ensure that both of them are exactly the same color.  It will also restore the luster and brilliance of your white gold ring.  Plus, we offer FREE rhodium plating for any engagement ring if you purchase a wedding or anniversary band from us.  Please contact us here for further details on this free service.

Get the best deals on certified diamonds at DesertBrilliance.com.