What moves the price of an engagement ring (and what doesn't)

Five things move the price of an engagement ring: the carat weight of the centre stone, its colour and clarity grades, whether it is natural or lab-grown, the metal, and how much diamond-setting work there is in the design. Three things people expect to move the price do not: the colour of the gold, the finger size within the normal range, and most small design changes. Here is how each one works, and how to read a quote.

What moves the price

Carat weight

Carat is the biggest lever, and it does not move in a straight line. Doubling the weight of a diamond more than doubles its price, because large stones are far rarer than small ones. The step from three-quarters of a carat to a full carat is the steep one on almost every design we make. Two useful consequences follow. First, a stone just under a round number, say 0.90ct rather than 1.00ct, often looks identical on the hand and costs noticeably less. Second, a halo or a diamond-set band can make a smaller centre stone look larger, so the question is not only "how big a stone" but "how big does the ring need to look". Our 4 Cs guide covers carat, cut, colour and clarity in plain English.

Colour and clarity

Every grade up the colour scale and every grade up the clarity scale costs more, and the increases are not even. The top of both scales, D colour and flawless clarity, is priced for rarity, not for how the stone looks on a finger. Our standard natural diamond is F to G colour and VS2 to SI1 clarity, which is the range where a diamond looks white and clean to the eye without paying for grades you can only see under magnification. Going higher is a legitimate choice, but it should be a deliberate one. Going lower can save money; we would want you to see that particular stone before you choose it, because two stones with the same grades on paper can look different in the hand.

Natural or lab-grown

This is the single biggest choice you will make, and it moves the price more than any other single factor. A lab-grown diamond is diamond, graded on the same scales, and on the same design in the same metal at the same carat it costs a fraction of the natural stone. On a plain solitaire, where most of the cost is in the stone, a lab-grown ring is well under half the price of the natural version. On a design with a lot of setting work, where more of the cost is in the making, the gap narrows but is still substantial. Because the stone costs less, our lab-grown rings run on a larger carat ladder than the natural range. Natural diamonds carry a GIA certificate; lab-grown diamonds carry an IGI certificate. Our lab-grown versus natural comparison goes through the trade-offs honestly, and the lab-grown collection shows the range.

Setting complexity

Take the same centre stone and put it in four different rings: a plain solitaire, a solitaire with a line of diamonds on the band, a halo, and a double halo on a split band. Each step up adds small diamonds and, more than that, adds hours at the bench setting them. A halo is dozens of tiny stones, each seated and secured individually. Pavé is more again. The price rises accordingly, and it rises whether the centre stone is natural or lab-grown, because the work is the same. This is also why a halo is sometimes the better buy: it makes the centre look larger for less than the next carat up would cost.

Metal

Gold is priced by purity. Nine carat has the least gold in the alloy, then fourteen, then eighteen. Platinum is denser and purer again. The step from one to the next is real but modest against the rest of the ring; on most of our designs the difference between the lowest and highest metal option is a small fraction of the total. On most designs, 18kt gold and platinum are priced the same, because the work in setting them is the same. Our metals guide covers which to choose and why, and the guide to gold purities goes deeper on the alloys.

What does not move the price

• The colour of the gold. The colour of the gold makes little or no difference to the price at the same purity. The colour comes from the other metals in the alloy, not from more or less gold.
• Finger size, within the normal range. Sizes from H to P are the same price on every ring. Sizes above P may carry a small additional charge for the extra metal, which we confirm when we quote and never after.
• Most small design changes. Six claws instead of four, a slightly narrower band, a lower or higher setting: these usually cost nothing. If a change does affect the price, we tell you before you commit, not on the invoice.
• The shape of the centre stone, mostly. Shape affects what a stone of a given weight costs, and some shapes look larger for their weight than others, but the setting work is broadly similar. Our guide to diamond shapes covers the differences.

How "from" pricing works

Every design in our engagement collection shows a "from" price. It is the lowest configuration of that design: the smallest carat on the ladder, in the lowest gold purity. It is a real, buyable ring, not a teaser to get you in the door. Choose the top of the carat ladder and 18kt gold or platinum and you are at the top of the range for that design, which is printed on the same page. Everything in between is there too, by metal and by carat, so you can see exactly what each step costs before you talk to anyone.

Why we quote all-in

There are two ways to price an engagement ring. Some jewellers quote the setting and add the diamond afterwards, chosen separately. Others, like us, quote the finished ring with the feature diamond in it, at a stated carat, colour and clarity, with its certificate. Neither approach is wrong. What is wrong is comparing a setting-only price against an all-in price and thinking you are comparing rings. Before you weigh two quotes, ask the same question of both: is the diamond included, and if so, at what carat, what colour, what clarity, and with which certificate? Once both quotes answer that, the comparison is honest. Until then it is not.

All-in pricing also means there is nothing to add at the end. The certificate for your diamond, a complimentary first resize, and a clean and check whenever you visit are part of the ring, not extras.

How to use this

If you have a budget in mind, the most useful thing you can do is tell us the number and let us show you what it buys in natural and in lab-grown, across a few settings. Most people are surprised, either by how far the budget goes or by an option they had not considered. That conversation is what a design consultation is for, and our article on what a custom engagement ring costs is the companion to this one.

Every ring we make is made to order, designed in our Adelaide boutique and Australian made, and takes four to six weeks. If you are working to a date, say so early and we will tell you honestly whether it can be done.

Book a private viewing and we will put real stones and real rings in front of you, and walk through exactly what moves the number and what does not.