Thousands of engagement ring stores advertise cheap engagement rings, discounted engagement rings and many other engagement ring categories that imply the presence of discount prices. Have you ever wondered about the meaning of these engagement ring discounts? Stated differently, if an engagement ring is presented as cheap or discounted, what was the original price of the engagement ring and who determined that price? The price of an engagement ring is typically a function of three components – design, materials and labor. The design of an engagement ring determines its complexity, and when it comes to diamond engagement rings, the greater the complexity the more labor, the higher the price. In certain instances, mass production of mainstream engagement rings has allowed engagement ring stores to pass some of the savings resulting from economies of scale on to customers. But for all other engagement rings, the concept of affordable engagement rings is much more difficult to gauge.
We start our illustration with this modified three stone trilogy engagement ring, featuring an interwoven shank in white gold, with round side stones and the trilogy positioned diagonally in the center. With a total diamond weight of over one fifth of a carat, plus the white gold and labor, at a price of $299 this engagement ring is an amazing deal, but can you prove this? Do you have the ability to look up the whole price of ten one-pointer diamonds and three five-pointer diamonds? The very term, wholesale, in the engagement ring industry is a loaded term and has no accepted definition.
Next we look at a beautiful five round diamond wedding ring. Cheap wedding rings are slightly easier to understand as the designs of wedding rings in general tends to exhibit fewer complexities. The diamond wedding ring above, for example, appears to be a simple design, with a quarter carat total diamond weight, and yet it’s listed for over $600. Does it still qualify as a cheap wedding ring? Note that this wedding ring is produced in 14K white gold, with a customized three-way split shank and five gorgeous round cut diamonds along the center strand of the shank. While this wedding ring design does not appear to be complex, the process of creating a mold for a three way split white gold shank like this is actually labor intensive.
We cannot end this issue of DT Era without discussing our favorite engagement ring category – Italian engagement rings. For that matter, this engagement ring could easily find its way into the unique engagement rings category. The price of Italian engagement rings, much like the rest of Italian jewelry, is composed of 50-90% labor. While both gold and diamonds do cost a pretty penny in Italy, the design and manual labor is what ultimately separates Italian engagement rings from the rest. The black diamond engagement ring above involves approximately 17 hours of labor.
The good news is that the vast majority of cz engagement rings are not labor intensive, at least not when it comes to expensive labor. Most CZ engagement rings are machine made, and because almost no manual labor is involved in the production of cz engagement rings, it is very common for a more complex cz engagement ring to cost the same or similar amount as its simpler cz engagement ring counterpart.
At the end of the day, the “wholesale” price of an engagement ring, as well as of a diamond or gold, depends on the engagement ring store’s supplier. Those who purchase directly from trusted diamond cutters, for example, tend to pay less. But those engagement ring stores that purchase diamonds from distributors, they will tend to pay more the same diamonds. Gauging labor can be challenging, so ask the engagement ring sales rep to make sure that you understand the intricacies of the engagement ring design you are considering purchasing.
