Buying an engagement ring online can be intimidating at first, but many people are starting to realize that buying online guarantees an almost endless selection of rings, meaning you’re much more likely to get exactly the ring you’ve been looking for. There are a few things you should know about purchasing an engagement ring online that make it an easy, risk-free, and - dare we even say it - FUN process! To help our wonderful customers (and potential customers!) successfully find and purchase your perfect engagement ring online, we’ve put together a list of 5 important steps outlining how to buy an engagement ring online.
1. Have An Idea of What You Want Trying on a few different styles of rings in a store is essential to eventually finding exactly what you’re looking for online. You may go into the process of finding an engagement ring thinking you want a certain style, but change your mind once you actually see it on your finger! Just like trying on clothes, you never know exactly how something is going to make you look before you put it on. You probably know which styles of clothes look best on you already: wrap dresses, skinny jeans, mini/maxi skirts, v-necks, shoulder pads - they all look different depending on the person, right? You won’t know if a traditional three stone diamond ring or a sapphire and diamond halo ring looks better on you until you try it on! Head to a local jewelry store that has a lot of different styles for you to try on. Take note of what looks good on your finger, and what doesn’t look quite right. Ask the salesperson to point out rings that have different clarity and color gradings so you can understand what these look like in person, and decide which is more important to you. After shopping, you’ll probably know: you ARE looking for a multi-stone, geometric diamond ring, that Round Brilliant Cut diamonds look better on your finger than Emerald Cut diamonds, you care more about having a “flawless” diamond than a slightly yellow or brown one, and that rubies and solitaire rings just aren’t for you. You’re off to a great start!
2. Consider Your Personality & Lifestyle Your personality and lifestyle play a bigger role in choosing your engagement ring than you might think. A few questions to ask yourself include: Do you work a lot with your hands? Do you live in an area where you would feel more comfortable wearing a smaller diamond (for various reasons)? Do you tend to wear a lot of color, or mostly neutrals? Do you typically do a lot of outdoor activities (hiking, golfing, boating, etc.)? Are you pretty fashionable or prefer to keep it simple? The answer to these questions (and more) about your personality and lifestyle might give you a clue into what kind of engagement ring you should wear. A simple solitaire ring with a very high quality diamond might be perfect for some, but too plain for others. A ring that sits up very high on the finger might be perfect for the woman who wants her diamond to catch as much light as possible (giving it that sparkle!), but hard to deal with for the woman who is constantly working in the garden or sewing her own clothing. A low-profile ring with a smaller diamond might be perfect for the outdoor enthusiast, but not flashy and fun enough for the trendy fashion lover. Think about who YOU are, and how your perfect ring fits into your lifestyle. After all, you’ll be wearing your engagement ring for the rest of your life!
3. Learn About Diamonds Learning about diamonds (and other colored gemstones) before starting your online search is essential to understanding exactly what the stone will look like when you finally see it in person. Understanding the 4C’s (and seeing the differences in person, as suggested in step 1) is essential to being satisfied with the ring when you receive it. Online pictures of engagement rings do the absolute best they can to show what a ring looks like, but no photo can ever replicate exactly how a ring will look in person. Reading the information listed with the ring regarding the 4C’s will help you understand exactly what it will look like when you receive it! The O-P color of a buttery antique diamond from the early 1900‘s may be delightful for some, but disappointing to others. The rare, one-of-a-kind feel of an Old Mine Cut diamond may be exactly what you’re looking for, or maybe it doesn’t sparkle enough like a modern Round Brilliant Cut diamond does. Perhaps you thought a 1.00 carat diamond was the perfect size, but after seeing it in person you would actually prefer something a little larger. Knowing what cut, color, clarity, and carat really mean will help make sure there aren’t any surprises when you finally see your ring in person!
4. Take Advantage of the Concierge / Customer Service Any company selling engagement rings online should have an easily accessible, helpful customer service person or team to help answer any questions that come up along the way. Just because you’re buying an engagement ring online doesn’t mean you won’t have questions for an actual person - experience tells us you WILL have questions, and that’s a good thing! At Trumpet & Horn, our concierge service consists of several antique jewelry enthusiasts that are all Graduate Gemologists or Accredited Jewelry Professionals, each with at least a decade of experience in the antique jewelry world. Meaning? We LOVE antique jewelry and know A LOT about it. Need more photos? We’re on it. How about a video of the ring in question? We can do that too. At T&H, we’re always more than happy to answer your questions about specific rings, or talk about what kind of piece you’re looking for (even if it’s not on our website!) Contact us by phone or e-mail from 9AM-5PM PST, Monday - Friday. We’re here to help!
5. Make Sure You Can Return It! Perhaps the most important factor in buying an engagement ring online is making sure you can RETURN it! Buying an engagement ring is one of the biggest, most important purchases many people will make in their lifetime. If you’re buying online, make sure you can return your ring for a FULL refund, with free shipping both ways. Your online shopping experience should be risk-free AND stress-free! Make sure you figure out the full details of the return process BEFORE you buy, just in case it’s not the one. Not the one? Not a problem. Risk-free shopping makes buying an engagement ring online not only easy, but also convenient! Shop from the convenience of your home or office, and don’t worry about making time for multiple trips to different jewelry stores to see all of your options. Narrow down to EXACTLY what you want by purchasing online - it’s easier than ever, and when researched properly, has virtually no disadvantage to purchasing your ring in a physical store. Still have doubts about purchasing online? Let us prove how easy it is. Give our concierge service a call and tell us your reservations - we’re more than happy to walk you through the process. Happy shopping, everyone... and good luck! *Business days, from the day you RECEIVE your ring.