You’ve got it all figured out. You’ve found the woman of your dreams. You’ve asked her parents for permission to propose and now you’re ready to pop the question. You know she’ll say yes. But there’s one thing missing – the perfect engagement ring.

You’ve been into every retail jewellery store you know, in every single shopping centre, but you’re frustrated by a lack of variety, poor quality diamonds and over-the-top price tags.

How do you really get the best value and quality for money when you’re buying an engagement ring? How do you know you’re not being ripped off?

Here are our 5 tips for getting the most bang for your buck when buying an engagement ring in South Africa: 1. Find a wholesale diamond supplier & jeweller

When you purchase from a retail jewellery store, or a duty-free store, you’ll be paying an inflated price on your engagement ring or loose diamond. Not only are you paying the raw material cost on the diamond and ring, but you’re also paying for shopping mall rental space, insurance (ever noticed how many jewellery stores get robbed?), staff costs, branding, advertising and much more. All these costs are added into the final price of your engagement ring. By working directly with a wholesale diamond supplier and jewellery manufacturer, you’re eliminating many of the excess costs. Wholesale suppliers and manufacturers have very little mark-up compared to retail stores, so you’re getting one of the best possible prices you can.

2. Don’t buy a round diamond

Round diamonds are the most common and the most popular and thus the most expensive shape of diamond. When diamonds are priced at a loose, wholesale level, round diamonds are priced on one price list, which is the most expensive, whilst every other diamond shape (be it princess cut, oval cut, emerald cut etc – all known as “fancy cuts”) is priced off a second, cheaper price list. If you have to compare a 1ct round diamond and a 1ct princess cut diamond with identical colour and clarities, the round diamond will be anywhere from $1300 per carat more expensive. When you’re working in South African rands, that’s a massive price difference!

3. Buy a diamond smaller than the benchmark sizes

Everybody wants a 1ct diamond, but in South Africa right now, not everybody can afford one. When you go into retail jewellery stores, they’ll try to sell you popularly sized diamond – for example a 1ct diamond, or a 0.50ct d