Can I buy an engagement ring online safely?

Can I buy an engagement ring online safely?

As you may expect the answer to this is it depends on who you buy it from. In our vast experience although it definitely is possible, we do hear lots of horror stories about people buying engagement rings online & being very disappointed with the engagement ring they receive. Here are a few reasons why:

The weight of the ring

Many online stores are selling on price alone & not quality. As they strive to be the cheapest, they make their rings very lightweight & flimsy to save money on precious metal costs. Sadly, these rings do not stand up to daily wear.

Diamond grade

There are lots of factors that make up a Diamond’s grade & value & it’s not just the 4c’s! Often negative characteristics that significantly lessen a Diamond’s appearance & value (like fluorescence & symmetry) are not published online. The result is customers receive & Diamond that was not cheap because it was a bargain, it was cheap because it was a very low quality.

Trick photography

Most jewellery websites nowadays use photos that are either CAD models, A.I. Images, or heavily edited photos. This means that is is incredibly rare to see a photo of what you are actually buying. As you can imagine these computer generated or edited images are very flattering to the jewellery & only serve to give you an unrealistic version of your purchase.

Not your Diamond

It is rare for online jewellers to hold stock of thousands of Diamonds. Instead, they often list either the inventory of their Diamond supplier, or a simplified list of the type of stone you may receive. This means that when you think you are hand picking a special stone for your fiancé-to-be’s engagement ring it is often just an illusion. One way you can tell this is that a very well-known online jeweller lists the cut, polish & symmetry of all their shapes of Diamond. This makes no sense because only round, brilliant cuts are graded with all three characteristics! (other shapes have no ‘cut’ grade). This means the Diamond you are choosing cannot possibly be the one listed.

Craftsmanship

As you do not get to see & feel the engagement ring in person when you are buying online the jewellers have to try to tempt you on price alone. As well as saving on materials this cost cutting can sometimes extend to the way an engagement ring is made. Sometimes the jewellery is mass-produced in factories abroad where the craftsmanship can be lacking. A badly made or set engagement ring is more often than not one that breaks easily.