Buying Engagement Rings Online from Popular Diamond Marketplaces

Not so long ago, buying an engagement ring always involved going to a jeweler, either in the mall or on main street. About the only exception would be if you wanted to look at vintage engagement rings, which you could sometimes get at a consignment shop or other outlet.

Unfortunately, brick and mortar jewelry stores have two big challenges that keeps them from selling diamond engagement rings for women at low prices: the expense of keeping a premises with employees, and the lack of competition.

For many couples, this was a problem. Even simple engagement rings can cost thousands of dollars. In addition, you want to get something that will reflect your partner’s tastes, and that she’ll love wearing for many years. Often, a great ring will be something that other people will admire for many years, so it’s something you want to get right. Also, paying too much for an engagement ring means that less money is available for wedding planning or a honeymoon.

Nowadays, it’s possible to find engagement rings online. At first, this process included seeing what ready-made rings you could get from an online retailer, such as department stores and online jewelers. However, some options were still largely unavailable until the last few years, such as lab diamond rings or the ability to see prices for several similar diamonds from different retailers at once.

Diamond marketplaces aren’t all the same. Rather, each has different attributes, jewelry stores, and purchasing systems. Let’s look at some of the top marketplaces so you can make an informed decision. Each of these guarantee your satisfaction and will help you if a transaction goes wrong or if you need to return your purchase.

Rare Carat

Rare Carat is one of the better-known places to buy diamond ring online. You’ll get access to several company’s diamond catalogues, in addition to suitable mountings to create the complete ring. Rare carat specializes in their Rare Carat Report, which gives you the GIA report information for any natural diamond.

Finally, Rare Carat is one of the few platforms that lets you ship unique engagement rings to Canada. And, if you want to buy only a loose diamond (and maybe pair it with colored stones for something special) you can.

To pay for it, you can send a wire transfer to save time. Or, you can use PayPal and payment cards for the full amount, Splitit, or Affirm payments. You get a 30 day guarantee and free ring resizing, so you’re covered if the ring doesn’t fit.

Pricescope

If you aren’t sure that diamond engagement rings are the way to go, check out Pricescope. They have both lab and natural diamonds, but they also help you buy gemstone rings and other jewelry. Because gemstone gold engagement rings are more fashionable than ever, colored stone lovers will enjoy this platform. Pick something with just a colored stone, only diamonds, or a mixture of both. Many beautiful platinum engagement rings, for instance, have diamonds alongside colored gems. You can even get colored diamonds with Pricescope’s help.

There are a few ways in which Pricescope is different. First, they have an online community where people can talk about gems, diamonds, and jewelry. This environment is sales free, though you will see advertisements. Their second distinctive is that you don’t buy the diamonds or jewelry directly through them. In this sense, Pricescope acts like a search engine: you give them your parameters, and they’ll show you matching diamonds or jewelry from their vetted vendors. Pricescope guarantees that the companies they work with are ethical, but you’ll buy the items directly from each jeweler. For this reason, payment terms and the ability to ship overseas aren’t Pricescope’s decision.

Stone Algo

Stone Algo is another platform that helps you get the right diamond at a fair price. It works with several well-known online diamond retailers, including With Clarity. We and other retailers put both our lab and natural diamonds on the platform, so you can order lab grown diamond rings with ease. Similarly, you can also see the price differences between comparable lab and natural diamonds with the right search criteria.

However, Stone Algo’s specialty is a machine learning app that helps customers be sure that they’re getting the right diamond at the right price. It not only considers the 4Cs, but also other pricing factors like cut quality and fluorescence. You can get advice from a gemologist, and set alerts for when a diamond meeting your specifications gets posted online. This way, if you have enough time you can be assured of the best diamonds, which is the closest thing to buying wholesale jewelry you’ll likely get. Because you pay each diamond owner on their website, Stone Algo does not decide the specific terms of payment and shipping.

Diamond Hedge

Finally, there’s Diamond Hedge. Like most of the other platforms, you search for the perfect diamond using their database of several top retailer’s stock. Then, you buy diamond rings online by selecting your stone and completing the purchase at each retailer. Diamond Hedge gives you the unique opportunity of trying the ring on virtually using augmented reality. You can pick a stone, play with the ring settings, and change your selection until you’re happy. They’ll even give you an estimation of whether or not the price for the diamond is fair.

Final Thoughts

Whether you buy engagement ring online through a platform or directly from an online retailer, it’s important to ensure that the ultimate seller is reputable. You also need to ensure that you can return a ring if it doesn’t make you-and your fiancée-happy. In addition, ensure that each diamond you buy has a lab certificate from the IGI or GIA because it makes sure that you actually get what you paid for. Nothing is worse than bait and switch, except for not getting the ring at all.

In addition, think about the overall aesthetic of your finished ring. For most people, you want diamonds that really sparkle in the light. Some of the platforms will tell you if this is the case, and at With Clarity this is an area where our gemologists can help you. Then, think about metal color. Often, you can choose between white, yellow, and rose gold settings. Individual tastes will largely determine which color you pick. However, with white gold there is a concern for skin allergies because it contains nickel. If that’s a problem for your fiancé, consider a platinum setting. Platinum is also silvery white, and it’s hypoallergenic.

At the end of the day, we always recommend that you choose something she’ll love at the price you can afford.