If you’ve started shopping for an engagement ring, you would have noticed the cost range spans far and wide – making it difficult to know how much to spend on an engagement ring. To help, we’ve unravelled what determines the cost of an engagement ring and why some engagement rings can be so much more expensive than others.Â
An engagement ring can cost between $3,000 - $100,000+ depending on the size, setting, and diamond or gemstone of the engagement ring.Â
Asking how much an engagement ring costs is similar to asking how much a holiday costs - it depends on a myriad of variables. At the lower end of the scale, engagement rings can cost $3,000 or less – particularly with the increased accessibility to lab grown diamonds.Â
On the other end of the spectrum, engagement rings can cost tens of thousands - or even hundreds of thousands of dollars - it depends how elaborate you’re looking to go!
Each element that goes into making an engagement ring will affect the overall value – so, your preferences of these elements will determine the price of your engagement ring.Â
The cost of an engagement ring is determined by six main factors:
When we talk about diamond quality, we are referring specifically to the 4 Cs of diamonds; cut, color, clarity, and carat weight. The 4 Cs diamond grading principle was first introduced by the Gemological Institute of America back in the 1940s in an attempt to create a universal quality rating system for diamonds. The cut, color, clarity, and carat weight play a large determining factor in the cost of an engagement ring.
Carat refers to how much a diamond weighs - the heavier the diamond, the greater the carat. Diamonds are measured in weight not size, meaning two diamonds that are the same size but have different carat weights, will not be valued the same.Â
Carat is a metric that allows diamonds to be weighed with extreme precision - 1 carat is equivalent to 0.2 grams. The GIA grading system multiplies the carat weight by the price per carat, putting significance on every fraction of a carat. Â
Clarity is pretty self-explanatory - however, when it comes to diamonds, clarity specifically measures the absence of inclusions or blemishes. The GIA Clarity Scale contains 11 grades of diamonds that range from flawless (FL) to obvious inclusions (I3).Â
Flawless (FL) diamonds (which most jewellers will admit to never having seen!) contain no inclusions or blemishes when inspected under 10x magnification by a skilled jeweller. At the other end of the scale, Included (I1, I2, and I3) diamonds contain obvious inclusions and blemishes which can be seen under 10x magnification which may impact transparency and brilliance of the stone.
The colour of a diamond will greatly impact costs – for white diamonds, the less colour the diamond has, the higher its value.Â
Diamonds exhibit subtle hints of yellow in their natural state, so when it comes to grading the colour value of a diamond – diamond experts look at the colour-grading scale by GIA. The grading scale starts at D, which is the rarest and most sought after diamond due to its colourless complexion, and ends at Z – the lowest score due to the increased presence of yellow.Â
The cut gives the diamond its brilliance and sparkle.Â
Diamond cut is graded on how well the diamond is designed and crafted in the GIA Cut Grading System scale - excellent, very good, good, fair, and poor. This grading system considers the diamond's face-up appearance on attributes of brightness, fire and scintillation, the diamond's durability and optimal weight, and the craftsmanship of aligning and polishing the diamond's facets.Â
The diamond cut is the largest contributor of the diamond's value - if a diamond is cut well, clarity, colour, and carat weight do not need to grade as high in the GIA grading systems.Â
Lab grown diamonds are inherently more accessible than natural diamonds, when it comes to costs. Lab grown diamonds share all of the same chemical and physical properties of a natural diamond; the only difference being that they are developed in a man-made laboratory environment.
The setting of an engagement ring refers to how the diamond is mounted onto the metal band – with the purpose of highlighting the brilliance and beauty of the centre diamond.Â
Setting styles cost between $300 to $1,500 depending on the specific size and shape required for the diamond.
The four most alluring and durable metals for an engagement ring are yellow gold, white gold, rose gold, and platinum.Â
Gold bands cost (on average) 20% less than platinum bands. This is because more material weight, and therefore craftsmanship, is required to produce a platinum band than a gold band of the same size.Â
Style preferences and design choices made for the engagement ring will also contribute to overall costs involved.
Embellishments of an engagement ring include engraving, texture; millegrain, row of tiny beads along the edge of the ring; and an intricate gallery, the area of an engagement ring that the diamond sits on.Â
When choosing between a custom vs off-the-shelf engagement ring, it all comes down to your personal preference and available options.Â
While off-the-shelf engagement rings limit the endless options available when creating a custom engagement ring – it can also limit decision-overwhelm and offer an in-person representation of the finished product.
On the other side of the coin, customised engagement rings allow for an (almost) infinite array of options from band material to diamond size, setting, and just about any other modifier that you can imagine. For those that have a clear picture of what they are looking to create, a customised engagement ring is an ideal way to build your dream ring. Customising your engagement ring means you’ll have total agency to create a truly unique design according to your taste, from the size of the diamond to the design and style you want.Â