10 Ways to Save Money When Buying an Engagement Ring
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5. Choose a Lower Clarity
Once you’ve mastered the diamond Color continuum, it’s time to figure out how you can save on Clarity. Just like Carat and Color, this is a good way to stick to an engagement ring budget. The naked eye can’t tell the difference between a diamond that is internally flawless (IF) or one that has very slight inclusions (VS). See? You’re learning the lingo already.
To save cash you can choose an SI1 (a diamond with small inclusions) over a VS1 and it’ll be hard to tell the difference. But, don’t choose anything that starts with an I, like I1 or I2 – I stands for Imperfect. And imperfect diamonds are seen by the naked eye. However, when you’re negotiating this trade off, make sure that any inclusions won’t endanger the internal structure of the diamond. You still want to buy longevity, after all.
