Where To Buy Wedding Rings
Not so long ago, choosing an engagement ring required just a few questions: princess or emerald cut? White gold or yellow? These days, there's a lot more to consider when figuring out when, where, and how to buy an engagement ring. Here, the best tips for making this monumental purchase.
where to buy wedding rings
Sophie HughesSophie Hughes is a young designer who works in the tradition of old-school craftspeople, using time-tested tools to create rings that are equal parts simple and elegant, with recycled gold and responsibly sourced or reclaimed gems. She graduated with a BFA in metalsmithing from MassArt and launched her business in 2009. Now at Ore, which maintains a sunny, brick-interiored South End boutique as well as a charming space on Beacon Hill, Hughes sells her designs alongside rings from brands such as DMD and Lori McLean.
E. Scott OriginalsInside her small Somerville shop, Emily Scott Surette handcrafts one-of-a-kind modern heirlooms that are just as unique as your fiancé-to-be. In addition to her core collection of engagement rings under $2,500, Scott Surette can also create completely custom pieces. The icing on the cake: All of the rings at E. Scott Originals are made from recycled metals and feature antique or ethically sourced stones.
Adamas Fine JewelryBrother-and-sister team Anto Aboyan and Veronica Sagherian have run their Newton shop for 18 years, designing timeless, elegant engagement rings, repurposing family heirlooms, and working with couples to create custom pieces. Their experienced salespeople will walk you through everything you need to know to find the perfect bauble and even sit down with you for a one-on-one consultation.
Customer Experience: A positive experience means more than being treated well while you shop. From return policies to repair speeds, customer service matters when choosing where to buy your engagement ring.
What We LikeBlue Nile offers diamonds and engagement rings at very competitive prices. Blue Nile has exclusive contracts with diamond wholesalers all over the world, so it has a wide selection of loose diamonds.
Another downside is that some setting styles aren't offered. For example, you may be out of luck if you're looking for a bezel or tension ring. It also doesn't have as many choices for yellow gold or rose gold rings.
DownsidesNot all Costco diamond rings are certified by GIA. Some diamonds are graded by Costco's gemologist and don't even come with a report. If you really care about properly certified diamonds, you'll want to avoid those.
Are Costco diamonds a good deal?Costco offers reasonable prices compared to traditional brick-and-mortar jewelers. However, all rings are pre-set and you cannot customize at all. And not all diamonds have a GIA grading report. Online jewelers like James Allen have cheaper prices and allow you to design your own ring. Costco also does not offer any after-purchase care, like resizing or cleaning.
Who Should Buy From Tiffany & Co.If you need to own the branded best and can afford it, Tiffany engagement rings are hard to beat. For everyone else, there are better options for similar quality diamonds at lower prices.
How many carats is appropriate for an engagement ring?The average diamond size for engagement rings is 0.8 - 1.2 carat in the United States. 1 carat is a good size that you can show off without breaking the bank. However, it's most important to get an engagement ring that you can afford.
Whiteflash also offers an expert selection of diamonds that didn't quite make it into the A CUT ABOVE line. Since their requirements are so strict, these diamonds often have tiny flaws that the human eye can't even see. Here is where you can find a great balance of quality and price.
With Clarity: for try on at home: With Clarity lets you pick 2 rings and try them on at home, for free. Every piece is handcrafted with care in their New York City studio, so you can be sure that you're only getting the highest quality.
Do men wear engagement rings?It is not tradition for men to wear engagement rings in the US. However, "mangagement" rings are slowly becoming a thing. Some men may choose to wear one to signify that he is off the market as well. It's entirely up to your personal choice as a couple.
Hollywood celebrities were photographed either wearing or giving out diamond engagement rings - further cementing the stone\'s place in American pop culture. Once diamonds took off in the United States, they became popular in Europe and Japan. Nowadays, diamond engagement rings are increasingly popular in China and India.
Consumers need to know the source of the materials that constitute their ring. Just as we know what ingredients are in our food and often where it comes from, we should know what is the source of our jewelry products.
De Beers, a diamond cartel in the U.S., was probably the first to engage in extensive marketing efforts to promote diamond engagement rings in the late 1930s right after the Great Depression. De Beers hired N.W. Ayer advertising agency which designed a series of marketing campaigns to re-enforce the already existing association between diamond rings and eternal love.
Otnes and Pleck (2003) book, Cinderella Dreams: The Allure of the Lavish wedding, explains in detail how the marketing was done and how the advertising agency (N.W. Ayer) used multiple marketing tactics to persuade young men that a diamond engagement ring was a necessity for proposing to their fiance and the size of the diamond was representative of the amount of love they had for their future bride! Ayer ran ads in jewelry magazines, utilized product placement in movies, and used retailer promotions to make sure that young men and women saw a diamond ring as necessity, rather than just luxury, for expressing love.
Since that time, jewelry companies/brands have used various marketing tactics with the goal of strengthening the association between a diamond ring and eternal love.These days, for example, you can see how jewelry companies use emotional advertising in which they not only portray young women who receive diamond rings as extremely happy, but also want to make the case that their brand was part of the experience that made the young lady happy.
Over the years, marketing efforts have sent the consistent message to both men and women that a diamond engagement ring is a necessity. The proliferation of media and more opportunities to engage various demographics have just provided marketers with more tools to persuade consumers. Today, maybe the necessity of a diamond engagement ring has been established and, therefore, brands are more focused to make a case for why their diamond rings make a difference in experience. As consumers received consistent messages over time, they have learned to associate certain qualities with products and brands. The learning process, in my view, has been successfully managed by marketing professionals in the case of diamond rings.
Ever since 1947, when diamond giant, De Beers, came up with the tagline, \\"A Diamond is Forever,\\" men have continued for decades to buy diamond engagement rings for their significant others, as a symbol of eternal love.
Perception Matters More Than Reality\\"The 4 C\'s\\" (carat, color, clarity, and cost), have been the words of wisdom whispered in every man\'s ear for as long as diamonds and engagement rings have been around.
Marketing companies have used this perception by convincing men that the size and quality of the diamond they purchased represented the measure of their love. While the average carat weight of an engagement ring diamond in the U.S. is somewhere between 1.00 and 1.2 carats (The Diamond Pro), men are encouraged through social and status pressure, to get the largest size and quality they can afford or not! There has also been the long lasting \\"three month rule\\", (which stems from a decades old DeBeers marketing campaign), that sold the idea that true love and commitment could only be shown if a man spent a month\'s salary on his wife\'s ring!
Whatever the future holds for diamond engagement rings, marketers will be looking for new ways to help convince men to buy these rings as a symbol of eternal love. Holograms, 3D advertisements, and even \\"popping the question\\" over a Zoom call during a Pandemic; it\'s all about the symbol of love that each of us displays in our own unique way!
The exchanging of rings is one of the most traditional exercises in marriage and can be traced back to ancient times. When the tradition first began, wedding rings were made of materials such as hemp or leather, and only until much later did people start crafting rings out of precious metals like silver and gold. Since the price of metal and gold continues to rise, so too does the price of wedding rings. Now, due to the high financial burden, there is more pressure than ever as to who buys the wedding rings. 041b061a72