If your guy mentions that he might be in the market for an engagement ring, even if you don’t want to weigh in on the design, you may want to point out that there are some diamond scams he should keep his eyes peeled for. Here are six of the most common ways guys get scammed when they’re engagement ring shopping, from Vanessa Nicole, a San Diego jeweler who specializes in custom engagement rings.
All three of these sparklers are by Vanessa Nicole, author of The Perfect Custom Engagement Ring. See more of her designs here.
1. The diamond you buy online doesn’t match the description—and you can’t return it.
There are reputable places to buy an engagement ring online—but there are lots of not-so-reputable online “jewelers,” too. Before you buy, review the company’s return policy and make sure you can send back the ring if you’re not happy when you see it in person. Normal: The buyer may have to pay return shipping and insurance fees. Not normal: There’s a 50 percent “re-stocking” fee. (Note: Both Blue Nile and Brilliant Earth—two online jewelers we recommend often—are Better Business Bureau accredited and have A+ ratings.)
2. The diamond looks WAY less gorgeous once you take it outside the store.
Like the jewelry equivalent of a “ skinny mirror,” jewelry stores invest in expensive lighting systems that will make their rings seem especially bling-y. For example, a store may have blue-ish lighting that makes yellow stones seem more white. Since you won’t be walking around under expensive blue-ish lights, make sure you look at the diamond in natural light and fluorescent light (the kinds of lighting you’ll most often see your ring under) before you buy.
3. The ring looks small, even though the jeweler keeps saying it’s “2 carats!” “2 carats!”
Your guy needs know the difference between carat weight and total carat weight. A solitaire with a 2-carat center stone is a lot more valuable than a ring with a 1-carat center stone surrounded by 200 itty-bitty pave diamonds that when you add ’em together equal a carat.
4. The jeweler’s pushing treated diamonds.
The words “clarity enhanced” seem innocent enough, but Vanessa calls clarity enhancement “plastic surgery for diamonds,” and warns that clarity enhancing treatments can affect the integrity of the diamond. Heat—from a torch, if the ring has to be re-sized, or evan an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner—can leave a crack or fissure in a clarity enhanced diamonds. In short: Avoid ’em.
5. “Half-off diamonds.”
Any savvy shopper knows that a “half price” banner over anything (shoes, sushi, and, yes, diamonds) usually means that the merchandise has been marked way up—just so it can be marked way down. One diamond fail-safe price check passed on by another jeweler: See how the ring price stacks up against a similar ring on Blue Nile. Even if you’re not going to buy your ring online, that site, in particular, will give you an idea of reasonable price parameters. (Of course a small custom jeweler will charge more than a big online seller, but the prices shouldn’t be wildly different.)
Click here to check out Vanessa Nicole’s YouTube channel.
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