back to Engagement

The Best Place to Buy an Engagement Ring

by Haley Anhut
Last updated on August 11, 2023
Best Place to buy an engagement ring

Buying an engagement ring is the ultimate symbol of love and commitment, congratulations on making it this far! Now, Where do you go when you want to make this huge and typically expensive purchase? You may be overwhelmed by options while shopping for engagement rings online. You are likely searching Google for the “best place to buy engagement ring.” 

While there is no shortage of options to buy engagement rings online and plenty of brick-and-mortar jewelry stores available to buy a diamond engagement ring, there are endless options to shop for engagement rings online. 

Couples must understand what options are available to choose the right jewelry stores when searching for places to buy engagement rings. We have assembled this handy guide, so you can see what works best for you when buying fine jewelry.

Large diamond ring on hand.
Stunning lab grown diamond set in rose gold.

Buying Engagement Rings: Shopping Online vs. Store

While many brands and jewelers are available, you must first decide whether to purchase your ring online or in a traditional store. Both options have pros and cons, but we’ll break them down for you and give you some tips to find the best place to buy an engagement ring!

Make Sure There is 100% Insurance When Buying Engagement Rings Online

Online diamond jewelry shopping can be overwhelming. First, is it safe to buy fine jewelry online? Yes! You’ll want to research the brand you choose to work with before going forward with any big fine jewelry purchase. Only work with online retailers that will go the extra mile to ensure your diamond ring will arrive safely. 

When you decide to buy engagement rings online, please make sure you consider the brand’s shipping insurance policy. Diamond engagement rings are a big purchase, and you want to ensure that your shipment is covered. It would really sting to pick out the perfect engagement ring only to have it get lost in shipping. 

Look For Fail-Safe Insurance for Your Engagement Ring

Often online diamond retailers provide fail-safe insurance on your package when you buy online. Clean Origin shipments are 100% insured to give you pure peace of mind. For your protection, Clean Origin always:

Insures and registers all items for their full value.
Requires that all deliveries are made to a physical business or home address only. We do not ship to P.O. Box addresses.
Requires an adult to sign for the delivery of all orders.

Planning to Suprise That Special Someone With an Engagement Ring?

Save money with a lab grown diamond bridal set.

If you need to arrange a special shipment location to ensure the surprise isn’t spoiled, our team is happy to work with you on shipping to an alternate address. When perusing engagement ring retailers, be sure that you choose one that cares about your privacy. 

Go With a Brand You Can Trust

Although we do not ship to P.O. boxes, we are more than happy to arrange pick-up at a secure FedEx facility. This is a huge purchase you’re making, and you want to ensure that whatever online retailer you go with provides you with a clear outline of how you will receive your engagement ring. 

At Clean Origin, we have a veteran team with over 100 years of combined industry experience. We believe that buying an engagement ring online is often the best place to buy an engagement ring and generally the most affordable, too. 

We also offer free resizing, so you can rest assured that you will end up with the right-sized ring. If you are unsure about what size ring to get, please check out our ring size chart

Build The Diamond Engagement Ring of Their Dreams

Build your own custom engagement ring today.

With every ring and diamond option available, as well as the ability to build a beautiful custom ring, you can build your dream ring in just a short amount of time. As opposed to a traditional jewelry store, which may only have a few settings in the metal color you desire or only round diamonds available to view on a specific setting. 

The ring of their dreams may only be a few clicks away when you search online jewelers. With online shopping, you can search for engagement ring settings for hours. Whether they would prefer fancy-shaped diamonds or traditional round brilliant cut diamonds, if you are shopping for loose diamonds or looking for the perfect diamond clarity, chances are online stores will have the perfect option for you. 

Additionally, you are likely to get a better deal than buying designer engagement rings at brick-and-mortar stores. It is no wonder that online jewelers continue to grow in popularity. 

Every single setting and diamond that we offer online is available at your fingertips to view. Clean Origin, and many other online retailers, offer 360º views of both the diamond and setting options, so you can see exactly what you would see in person. Shopping online for places to buy engagement rings has never been so easy. 

What Contributes to The Costs of Diamond Engagement Rings?

Can you tell the difference between a lab grown diamond and mined diamond?

The cost of the ring you purchase is probably the most important factor you’re considering. A huge benefit of buying your future fiance’s ring from an online retailer is that it can be much less expensive than a traditional retail store. Use your saving to get a more significant carat weight, or opt for higher quality diamonds. 

According to the American Gem Society, learning the 4 C’s will help you shop for diamonds with confidence. As you search endless places to buy diamond engagement rings, keep these guidelines in mind. 

Shop With The 4 C’s

The most significant factor contributing to cost will be the 4 C’s of your center store. Higher carat weight will increase the costs, but make sure you check different places to buy engagement rings online to get the best price. Here is a comparison between Clean Origin and Brilliant Earth to help you search for a diamond online. 

Choosing fancy diamond shapes is another way to save on your engagement ring purchase. You can also opt for a bridal set, which is an engagement ring and wedding band sold as a matching set together. 

The reason for this is because of how much overhead there is for diamonds that are sold and distributed in stores (particularly mined diamonds) — online diamond retailers (especially direct-to-consumer companies like us) can sell diamonds at a much lower price. You get the added bonus of knowing you will get conflict-free diamonds that are the same quality as those mined from the earth.

Save Money With a Lab Created Diamond

You’ll save even more if you choose to purchase a lab grown diamond, which is 20-40% less expensive than a mined diamond. This lower cost is due to the shorter supply chain, where the mining process is removed, and the diamond has to go through fewer hands to get to you! Rest easy knowing you have invested in an ethical ring that is guaranteed to be conflict-free. 

Also, when you purchase an engagement ring online, you see the exact breakdown cost of your ring, giving you complete transparency and no hidden costs.  You will know you got the best diamond for the best price. When buying an engagement ring, shop lab created diamonds from online diamond retailers to get the best price. 

The Downside To Buying an Online Diamond Engagement Ring

The downside of buying diamond engagement rings online is that you can’t actually hold or wear the diamond. You may want to see the engagement ring in person, and you can not until you purchase and receive the ring. It is appealing to some couples to try on the engagement ring together, and you may want more than just to view it online. 

While we understand that buying an engagement ring may cause some uncertainty, we recommend you do your research to ensure you’re working with a reputable and reliable brand. 

Read Reviews Online

When looking online for places to buy engagement rings, it is important to read reviews online. Please closely read their return, exchange, and shipping policies before moving forward with any brand. 

That way, if you purchase a ring and decide it’s not 100% perfect, you’re easily able to communicate with the brand’s customer service and make changes hassle-free. Engagement ring shopping is stressful. Make sure you set yourself up for success when shopping online. 

Look for a Flexible Return Policy

Clean Origin is proud to offer a 100-day return policy, whereas most online retailers allow around 30 days. This lets you and your partner feel confident that everything is 100% right. 

We will also pay for the cost of return shipping on all ring and lab grown loose diamond returns by providing you with a prepaid FedEx return shipping label, along with instructions on how to prepare your return. However, not all brands offer this, and for that reason, we encourage you to do your research if you choose to purchase online!

Mined Diamond Engagement Rings vs. Lab grown Engagement Rings

Emerald-cut diamond set in white gold.

Depending on what type of diamond your future fiance wants will affect where you can purchase the diamond. At Clean Origin, we are proud only to offer 100% lab grown diamonds. 

We allow you also to buy loose lab grown diamonds if you’d like to use a setting we don’t sell, use a family heirloom, etc. And we’ll help you every step of the way to ensure the diamond fits in any setting you choose

Our commitment to ensuring the best possible experience for you and your significant other is what makes Clean Origin the best place to buy lab created diamonds online.

Do Your Homework

Many diamond retailers offer both lab grown diamonds and mined diamonds. However, retailers use a combination of mined and lab grown diamonds on engagement rings, which is a huge red flag. 

Make sure that if you’re choosing to have a center lab grown diamond, any accent diamonds on the band or surrounding the diamond, like a halo setting, are also 100% lab grown diamonds. 

If you choose to purchase a mined diamond or another gemstone, you can find these online as well as in stores. However, we wholeheartedly encourage everyone to do their own research into the difference between lab grown diamonds and mined diamonds, as it might surprise you.

Compare Prices When Shopping for Engagement Rings Online

Beyond the fact that lab grown diamond engagement rings are better for the environment, Clean Origin loves lab grown diamonds because of the many benefits that we can give to our customers. Remember, they are 20-40% less expensive than mined diamonds. Looking for the right places to buy engagement rings is a personal decision. Whether you are online shopping or perusing local jewelry stores, go with what feels right to you. 

With the money you save, you can purchase a bigger diamond or increase the overall carat weight! Or a better quality diamond, or a more elaborate setting and style, and still for less money than you’d pay for a mined diamond. However, it’s also important to know that not all diamonds, conflict-free diamonds or mined diamonds, are priced equally. Let’s compare a few brands:

Comparing a 1 C.T. lab grown, round brilliant diamond with an ideal cut, G color, and VVS2 quality (as of June 2020):

BrandCarat SizeQualityPrice
Clean Origin1.00Ideal$2,375
Brilliant Earth1.00Ideal$2,450
Miadonna1.01 (1.0 not available)Ideal$2,705
With Clarity1.01 (1.0 not available)Excellent (ideal not offered)$2,068

Comparing our Clean Origin lab grown diamonds to competitors’ mined diamonds, with similar factors, will show a much different result:

BrandCarat SizeQualityPrice
Clean Origin1.00Ideal$2,375
Brilliant Earth1.00Ideal$6,375
James Allen1.00Excellent$5,430
With Clarity1.00Excellent (ideal not offered)$5,656

As you can see, the price will range greatly depending on the 4cs, what brand you choose, and whether you go with a lab grown or mined diamond for your future fiance’s engagement ring.

Shopping Online for an Engagement Ring May Work Best For You

So, what’s the best place to buy an engagement ring? In the end, it all comes down to which option best meets your needs. If you’re interested in the broader selection and a better chance at staying within your budget — not to mention the opportunity to top your engagement ring with an ethical lab grown diamond — then the best places to buy engagement rings for you are probably online.

FAQ

Is it cheaper to buy an engagement ring online or in-store?

Yes! A massive benefit of buying your future fiance’s ring online is that it can be much less expensive than in a traditional retail store. And you’ll save even more if you choose to purchase a lab grown diamond, which is 20-50% less expensive than a mined diamond. Don’t forget to shop around between popular online retailers to know you are getting the 

Is it safe to buy an engagement ring online?

Yes! Often online diamond retailers provide fail-safe insurance on your package to provide the best online engagement ring store experience. However, you’ll want to research the brand you choose to work with before going forward with any big purchase.