Your Guide to the Best Deals on Engagement Rings

Whether you are a younger couple on the ramen noodle engagement ring budget or merely just a very practical more mature couple, shopping for "the ring" can feel pretty overwhelming.

Most people start out thinking they will buy a one carat diamond, but freak like a geek when they get to the store. Suddenly, they realize they could feed a small village in Africa for years for the price of one of those teeny tiny pretty rocks.

As a women who recently went diamond ring shopping to upgrade what she has begun to lovingly refer to as her "dental floss ring" (The gold band is so thin it cuts into my finger like dental floss), I have done a lot of research in the area of diamonds.

Initially, the prices caused me to question if a diamond was really worth it. I researched moissanite, asha diamonds, white sapphires, white topaz, cz, etc. At first, I ended up buying a ring on clearance at Walmart for $30. It had a pear shaped white topaz stone about the size of a two carat diamond on a beautiful white gold setting. I proudly wore it for four years.

However, I was always aware of its "fakeness" and lack of sparkle, and too transparent to even try to pass it off as real. Eventually, when we were finally in a position to afford it, I decided it really meant something to me to have a nice quality "real" diamond ring, and thus my research began.

The above photo is the ring I chose at Kay after painstakingly looking at every jewelry store in our mall. I liked the original setting, the open shank, the filigree detailing, the milgrain beading, and the engraving on the sides. It also sparkled like crazy. The only thing about it that bothered me was the diamond. I thought the marquise shaped diamond made the ring too severe, and also felt that choosing a different shape would make it even more personal.

The lady behind the counter said she'd be happy to order the oval shape I imagined, but knowing how different each diamond is, I felt uncomfortable with paying for something so expensive that I wouldn't get to see with my own eyes (until I had a custom, unreturnable ring on my hands). She then encouraged me to buy the ring as is and to attend their diamond show in a month to hand pick my diamond. She said she would special order several oval shaped ones in a price range similar to the one already in the setting, so it would be easily swapped out.

When the cheapest 0.61 carat oval at the event ended up requiring an additional $4,000 and was still too small for the setting, I was back to the drawing board. It seemed as though I would need to go to a place like Shane Co. or Jared to see the available diamonds in person, so off I went. Unfortunately, I came across the same problem. All I what I wanted was an oval that would fit the setting, I personally didn't want to pay an extra $5,000 for the "d" color or "vvs1" clarity. Again, they told me that they'd be happy to order such a stone, but only had "the highest of quality" in the store.

This led me to realize that ordering a diamond online myself would be no different than what they were doing, and I could potentially save some money by doing it.

Ok, first of all, the four c's: clarity, cut, color, and carat.

As for clarity, it is almost impossible to see any flaws in a diamond with the human eye if the clarity is fl, vvs1, or vvs2. If you are looking at a diamond from the typical distance from your hand to your face (about a foot), you won't likely see any flaws in a vs1, vs2, or si1 either. Depending on cut and where the flaws are, an si2 diamond might look just fine also. (That is why it is so important to see your diamond in person!) The thing to watch out for are the i1 and i2 diamonds. These will have noticeable cracks, black spots, or just are plain cloudy. Sites like overstock.com might have cheap diamond rings, but they are usually i1 clarity, so watch out! She will be a little disappointed if her diamond barely sparkles.

We all know what carat means and cut can vary. So the last thing to discuss is color. If the diamond is d, e, or f, it is colorless. G, H, I, and J are nearly colorless, and K on down get progressively more yellow looking. To explain my feelings on the importance of a perfectly colorless diamond, let me introduce you to my dad, who is a chef. He has an interesting philosophy on mashed potatoes. Keep some lumps in there when you make them from scratch because otherwise no one will know for sure if they aren't from an instant package! Hahaha. That's how I feel if I detect a hint of yellow in a diamond, I find it just proves it isn't CZ!

After much research, the two sites I found to buy diamonds online that appear to be tops in both price and customer service are bluenile.com and jamesallen.com. I came to prefer jamesallen.com because they allow you to actually see a photo of the diamond you are considering buying and even to look at it through a loupe!

According to reviews, you could even call to request more photos of a diamond or to have a person who is looking at the diamonds give their opinion concerning the two diamonds you are torn between. There is a 60 day money back return policy, and also the packaging for your order is amazing. Their diamonds are all certified too.

I found an .90 carat oval for $1,600 that was si1 clarity and k in color. If you've been shopping at the mall, most diamonds there are si2-i1 clarity and about i in color. So, yes, the diamond I found was going to be a bit on the yellow side, but I was shocked to find what any girl would call a sparkly one carat diamond for less than $2000! (Keep in mind that their stock will change from day to day)

The above photos are settings I really loved that you could purchase on jamesallen.com for your diamond. In my opinion, their settings were a bit pricey, so I looked elsewhere.

I discovered dazzlingrock.com by shopping on amazon.com for antique style rings. They have other styles as well, so check them out! I wasn't able to find any reviews on this site, but the prices kinds of make it worth the risk in my book, especially if you check out through amazon.

If the idea of buying a diamond on one site and a setting on another, only to pay a local jeweler to put them together for you sounds like too much trouble, never fear. Another option is to buy the diamond online and the setting locally. That way, whoever you buy the setting from will set the diamond and hopefully offer some type of guarantee as to the lifetime maintanence and repair of the ring. My only hesitation about buying one of those cheaper online rings is that if you happen to knock it into something and one of your baby diamonds falls out, it might be expensive to repair. I hear that is common with those kinds of rings, so I'd feel more at ease if I could find a reasonably priced setting at a local jeweler. (And if you would prefer to deal locally for both diamond and setting purchases, the Jewelry Exchange seems to be the best value in my area.)

If however, you think it is worth it to buy a cheaper ring now and deal with possible maintanence issues later, you might be smarter than you look. Because if you don't end up needing to resize your ring 3 times or replacing several faulty side diamonds, you might be paying hundreds or even thousands extra, just for a little peace of mind.

If you are looking for a site like overstock.com with diamond rings at a substantial discount, but with diamonds with much better quality for a similarly discounted price, I have discovered worldjewels.com. Any negative reviews of this site mainly are concerned with slowness of delivery. It seems like you should plan on ordering a month, if not two, in advance of your proposal or wedding, as there appears to be a seriously long wait for these rings. Returns also appear to take about a month to process. In terms of the quality of the diamonds and the settings, I have yet to find a review that isn't raving about their gorgeous ring. I will post a few of my favs below.

Best wishes on your own ring adventure!