Unless you’re a participant on the next season of Married at First Sight UK, getting married usually requires a proposal and an engagement ring. It may not sound romantic, but the price tag can be eye-watering. Here we explain how to find cheap engagement rings and outline some alternative engagement jewellery that fit your budget.
Valentine’s Day is the one of the most popular days to propose in the UK, along with Christmas and New Year. If you want to maximise your chances of a ‘yes’, getting the right engagement ring is crucial.
If you’re planning to pop the question soon, this guide highlights the ways that you can avoid shelling out, just by knowing a little bit of background before you buy.
In this article, we cover:
- How to buy not so expensive engagement rings
- How much should I spend on an engagement ring?
- Where to buy a cheap engagement ring?
- What are alternative engagement ring options?
- Five top tips for buying engagement rings
Read more: 18 ways to plan a wedding on a budget
How to buy not so expensive engagement rings
A quick Google search might leave you feeling overwhelmed by the variety, price-tag and lingo that comes with buying engagement rings. No fear, this is a five-step guide to choosing an affordable diamond engagement ring.
Step one: set a budget and do some research
First, take a look at your own finances before looking at rings. Go through your incomings and your outgoings to work out how much you can afford to spend on a proposal ring.
Then, look around online, or browse some shops that have a wide range of engagement ring styles to give you some inspiration.
Step two: learn about the four Cs
The four Cs are a way of characterising a diamond. Knowing these will help you understand what you are buying and how you can get a ‘not so expensive’ engagement ring.
- Cut – the shape that you see the diamond when it’s set in jewellery is not how it came out of the ground. You might hear things like cushion, pear, or baguette. These all refer to how the natural diamond has been shaped to enhance its characteristics.
- Colour – this is a measure of how colourless your diamond is. The clearer your diamond, the more chemically pure and therefore the more expensive it will be. This is measured on an alphabetised scale from D to Z.
- Clarity – this relates to imperfections that you might find in the stone – inclusions are internal imperfections, and blemishes are external ones. The less visible these are the more expensive the stone will be, and often, these will not be visible to the naked eye.
- Carat – lots of people might recognise this word, and think more carat equals bigger stone. A carat is actually not a unit of size, it’s a unit of weight. ‘A small difference’, you might say, but actually knowing this could be a difference in thousands of pounds on your search for an inexpensive diamond ring. Two stones might be the exact same carat (weight), but can appear as very different sizes depending on how they are cut. More on this later.
Step three: pick your metal
There are lots of options you can choose for your engagement ring band. Gold is a classic, but as metals go, it might not be the best long term choice as it is not very strong and can scratch easily. Whereas, platinum is much more expensive, but is one of the strongest metals and will handle daily wear and tear. Other common metals to choose from are palladium, titanium and sterling silver.
Step four: select the setting
No, not the setting for the proposal – how your stone is attached to your ring band. This can have a big impact on the final cost. One of the most affordable is a solitaire setting (one main diamond with no side stones). Often the setting is chosen to best complement the gemstone’s cut. Other options include settings like halo, bezel and pavé.
Step five: find out the ring size
If you and your partner are choosing the engagementring together – that makes life a little easier. Just visit any high street jeweller and they will measure the finger. If you want to surprise your fiance to-be with the ring, take a ring that they wear to a jeweller and they will be able to tell you what size to go for.
Already engaged? Make sure wedding insurance is on your to-do list.
How much should I spend on an engagement ring?
Tradition states that you should spend one to three months’ salary on an engagement ring. That means the average engagement ring should cost around £8,000 based on the average UK salary from November 2023. Romantics are spending less amid the cost of living crisis, with the average spend under £2,000, according to Bridebook, a popular wedding planning app.
We asked our Instagram followers how much they think you should spend on an engagement ring. 60% of respondents said a ring should cost between £500, and £5,000.
There’s no right answer here. Just think carefully about how far you want to push your budget. Spending a lot on a certain ring may be a deep desire and worth it if it’s going to be worn every day. But you can obviously still buy something beautiful without spending lots of money or getting into debt.
Where to buy a cheap engagement ring
You certainly aren’t limited to high street jewellers when buying an affordable engagement ring. Going to a diamond wholesaler, Esty or even eBay can help you get the right ring at the right price.
High street jewellers
Choosing an engagement ring from a high street retailer means you can see a wide range of styles in one place. If time is on your side, you could wait for hold off your purchase until a sale or promotion.
Some also offer budget-friendly payment plans. For example, Beaverbrooks offers payment plans with up to four years 0% interest free credit to give you the option of spreading the cost without having to compromise on the right engagement ring.
Wholesaler
Buying your engagement ring from a wholesaler can be a great choice if you are looking for a bespoke ring. It can also cut a chunk off the price tag when compared to retail stores because they have fewer overheads to account for. They also have a wide variety of gemstones to choose from, thinking back to the four Cs (cut, colour, clarity and carat) making it easier to find an affordable diamond engagement ring.
Independent jewellers
An engagement ring doesn’t need to come from a well-known jeweller to be special. There are hundreds of artisans who sell their work on places like Etsy. Etsy’s Trend Expert, Dayna Isom recommends messaging sellers directly to ask about customisation, materials and sizing to get a ring that your partner will love.
Second-hand jewellery
Browsing antique shops and markets is also a fun way to buy an inexpensive engagement ring. So if a unique style or sustainability is important for your engagement ring choice, antique or vintage jewellery can tick the box.
An increasing number of people are turning to eBay to find pre-loved engagement rings, according to Alice Marsden, Head of Luxury at eBay UK. If you are concerned about the authenticity, eBay has introduced an ‘authenticity guarantee service’, where a team of independent experts will verify jewellery sold for over £500 for no extra cost.
What are alternative engagement ring options?
Diamonds are prized for their sparkle, purity and durability. However, there are ways to achieve that sparkle without the price tag. There are also many cost effective coloured gemstone alternatives, such as sapphire or emerald engagement rings.
Lab grown diamonds
Lab grown diamonds are chemically and visually exactly the same as mined ones. There are three reasons why they are an excellent choice for an engagement ring: they are more sustainable, they are conflict free and they’re much, much cheaper.
For example, a two carat natural diamond from diamond wholesaler, Queensmith, costs just under £30,000. A two carat lab-grown diamond of equivalent cut, clarity and colour costs £3,180. That’s a saving not to be sniffed at.
Diamond-like stones
Cubic zirconia is a popular diamond alternative. It looks just like a real diamond, but is a fraction of the price.
For example, a platinum and diamond ring from Beaverbrooks costs in the region of £2,000 while a silver zirconia solitaire ring costs just £50. The only drawback is that they can become scratched and cloudy after a few years.
It’s a similar story for moissanite rings. This alternative engagement ring is very durable as it is one of the hardest stones, second only to diamonds. It has sparkle, a low price point compared to diamonds and is lab-grown making it conflict-free to boot.
Coloured gemstones
Gems like sapphires and emeralds are popular, and cheaper, diamond alternatives for engagement rings. Think, Princess Diana’s engagement ring now worn by the Princess of Wales.
But, a fair warning on emerald engagement rings: they are a much softer stone than diamonds so show wear and tear after a few years.
And, of course, there are hundreds of other stones that you can choose.
Often by going a little off-piste and avoiding the ‘engagement ring’ label you can buy a beautiful ring at a fraction of the cost. For example, Monica Vinader, doesn’t sell any engagement rings, but lots of their customers use them as an affordable alternative engagement ring.
Cohabiting, planning a wedding or already married? We’ve got tips on all the important financial stuff on relationships and money
Five top tips for buying cheap engagement rings
- Halo engagement rings – where a central diamond is surrounded by smaller stones to create the illusion that it looks bigger – are a great choice if you are looking for a cheap engagement ring because while more of your budget will be spent on the setting, you can save money on the final cost.
- Focusing too much on the colour of your diamond rather than how it actually looks can come at a cost, says Dovi Fehler, a diamond expert: “Diamonds with a better colour (i.e higher on the D-Z scale) are marketed as better diamonds, but it’s not true. I’ve had hundreds of people asking for a D or E colour then walk out of my office with a J colour saying, ‘wow that’s perfect,’” he says.
- Opting for a whole number carat (i.e. going for a two carat rather than a 1.8 carat) can mean you shell out more than you need to. A two carat diamond can be cut so the top surface diameter is smaller than a 1.9 carat diamond. “What would you prefer? A two carat, just to tell your friends you have a two carat, but it looks smaller than someone else’s 1.9 carat that you spent far less money on?” says Fehler.
- See your ring in person before you buy it and look at it in natural light.“Diamond picking is the most over complicated thing, but it’s actually very simple. Just go and look at it. Does it sparkle? It’s all about the sparkle,” says Fehler.
- Opting for a lab grown diamond, cubic zirconia or moissanite is going to help you get the perfect affordable diamond engagement ring. Of all the things that are going to cause the price of your engagement ring to shoot up, it’s the diamond.
Subscribers to The Times can read Anna Murphy’s feature: From aquamarine to emerald, these are engagement rings to make anyone say “I do”!
Important information
Some of the products promoted are from our affiliate partners from whom we receive compensation. While we aim to feature some of the best products available, we cannot review every product on the market.
