This is the traditional method where you head down to the local High Street jewellery store and ask the sales assistant what she thinks your future fiancée would like. She then picks out a mediocre diamond engagement ring (diamond already set in a ring) at an inflated price and tells you that your future wife will melt when you propose with this.
Of course, you now know that a High Street or national brand jewellery store is the not the best place to get the most diamond for your buck.
It is a good place to go and look at potential styles. It is also a good place to find out what your pre-determined budget will buy you on the High Street, knowing that you can then reduce that price by 30%
to 50% to get the same specification diamond online or wholesale, or increase the diamond specification to fill your entire budget.
This isn’t my preferred method (and wasn’t what I did) but you are going to have your own idea of how it should be done. So here are two essential pieces of homework that you must do.
