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The words ‘bespoke’ or ‘custom made’ usually paint the picture of a hefty price tag and give a sense of luxury. This might be true for custom-made suits and commissioned art, but not necessarily for diamond engagement rings…
Kush Diamonds is a premier diamond wholesaler in Melbourne and creating handmade, bespoke diamond engagement rings is one of our specialities. The question of whether custom-made diamond rings are cheaper than mass-produced rings is something we get asked a lot from our customers. So, we put together this comprehensive guide with pricing details and other important and useful information courtesy of our in-house diamond experts and gemmologists.
Contents;
The short answer is- YES! A custom engagement ring bought from our Melbourne-based store is half the amount you’ll spend at a retail store.
The reason? Being diamond wholesalers, we import and supply diamonds in bulk to sell to retailers and because of these high-volume orders, we receive massive discounts. We stamp out all the middleman costs that a retailer would charge you such as overhead expenses and commission incentives. We offer the wholesale price directly to you, so you only pay for what you receive.
There’s a well-known ‘rule’ that you should spend three months’ salary on a diamond engagement ring, but this was just a clever marketing tactic introduced by an English diamond seller during the 1930s, to get people to spend more on their products. While this might have been possible in the 1930s, it might necessarily not work for those living in the 2020s, especially in the middle of a pandemic. According to the Australian wedding industry report of 2020, Australians spend about $5367 on average on an engagement ring.
At Kush Diamonds, our custom engagement ring prices start from $1000 However, it’s important to keep in mind that the cost of a diamond depends heavily on the type of metal and stone you choose.
Our custom diamond engagement rings can be made out of a variety of 18K metals such as white gold, yellow gold, rose gold and platinum.
Pure gold is the most malleable of all metals and therefore mixed with a few other metals to maintain its shape and be more durable. An 18K gold diamond engagement ring will include 18 parts of gold combined together with six parts of another metal alloy such as silver, nickel or zinc. Gold is also quite popular as it’s more affordable when compared to platinum.
It’s heavier: The price of precious metals is determined by weight and platinum is denser than gold which makes it more heavy and more costly.
It’s rarer: Platinum is thirty times rarer than gold. While about 3200 metric tons of gold was produced globally in 2020, only 170 metric tons of platinum was mined the same year.
It’s purer: A platinum engagement ring would consist of at least 90-95% of pure platinum while a gold ring would only contain about 58.5% of pure gold.
The most important feature of an engagement ring is its stone and size, and one of the benefits of getting to design your engagement ring is that you have a wide range of sizes and stones to choose from.
The diamond’s cut and shape: The cut of a diamond is extremely critical which is why the master craftsmen at Kush Diamonds strictly adhere to the GIA Diamond Cut Grading System, which is the highest authority for diamonds in the world.
Each diamond starts as a rough stone and undergoes a cutting process that varies by the shape it’s intended for. The amount of rough stone removed during the cutting process is specific to the shape. The higher the amount of rough stone discarded, the higher the average cost per carat is.
For example, round-cut diamonds are the most expensive of all as 60% of the rough stone is discarded during the cutting process. Meanwhile, princess-cut diamonds are the least expensive as they lose about 80% of the rough stone’s carat weight.
Other diamond shapes include;
For more information on diamond cuts and shapes, click here.
When getting a custom engagement ring made, you need to take into account your partner’s personality and match it to one of the popular diamond shapes. For example, a princess-cut diamond would be perfect for a modern woman with a creative and outgoing personality.
We’ve covered this extensively here in our diamond personality guide here.
Don’t let financial limits stand in the way of celebrating one of life’s most precious moments.
Buying an engagement ring is a major financial decision, and one should never have to compromise on high quality due to a limited budget. That’s why Kush Diamonds have partnered with TLC payment solutions to offer financial assistance with buying your custom-made diamond engagement ring.
Kush Diamonds partnered with TLC payment solutions as they have a special payment plan for engagement rings as part of their wedding loans, where you can lend between $2,001 to $50,000.
The process is quite simple and done in 3 steps;
We highly recommend getting your custom-made engagement ring professionally cleaned once every 6 months, or before the wedding to ensure that it maintains its quality and stays sparkling like new.
As part of our bespoke bridal service, Kush Diamonds provides professional diamond cleaning services to our clients free of charge.
While there are ultrasonic cleaners available in the market, getting it done professionally would avoid the risk of any stones falling off due to the strong vibrations.
Before we subject your engagement ring to an ultrasonic cleanse, our expert jeweller would inspect the ring thoroughly to see if the diamonds are set securely and don’t have any broken or bent prongs.
Diamond polishing is the process of smoothing each surface of the diamond to get rid of any scratches using a high-speed polishing wheel. On average, the diamond will lose a tiny amount of its carat weight (0.02-0.10 carats) depending on how much damage there is.
This is why, it’s extremely important to go to an expert like Kush Diamonds who would assess the damage and take the best possible approach to polishing while retaining as much of the carat weight as possible.
In addition to getting your diamond ring cleaned professionally twice a year, we also recommend you clean the ring at home once every two weeks. However, it’s important that you follow the right procedure to avoid any damage.
Find our easy-to-follow diamond cleaning guide here.
Another thing to consider when buying a bespoke diamond engagement ring is to get it insured. The cost of engagement ring insurance is based on its value. As the average insurance cost ranges around $1 to $2 for each $100 its worth, a bespoke ring valued at $10,000 would include a premium of around $100 to $200 per annum.
Kush Diamonds have worked with Q Report jewellery insurance for many years and highly recommends their services. Their insurance covers all of the below;
For more information on Q Report’s engagement ring insurance click here.
A diamond viewing at our Melbourne CBD store
Now, that we’ve covered the costs of getting a custom engagement ring in Melbourne, let’s look at what a bespoke engagement ring process at Kush Diamonds looks like.
Step 1: Consultation with an expert
Get in touch with us over the phone or by email and one of our gemmologists or diamond graders will advise you and your partner with all your diamond-related inquiries.
You’ll get expert knowledge on the GIA certification and the 4 C’s of diamond education; cut, colour, carat and clarity. Find out what the latest trends in engagement rings are and more.
Step 2: Arrange a Diamond Viewing
Book an appointment for a diamond viewing, where one of our gemmologists will take you through a fine selection of curated diamonds to suit your style and budget. This no-obligation, complimentary service is 1:1 to ensure you have the best viewing experience.
Step 3: Designing your bespoke engagement ring
Once you’ve selected the centre diamond and multiple sets of feature diamonds if needed, the design process starts. Here, we work together with you to design the unique setting and type of metal to use. We can start from scratch with your own sketch/ draft or take inspiration from our range of sample engagement rings.
Your engagement ring will be made completely by hand by our master craftsman onsite at our CBD store. You’ll receive regular updates throughout this time.
Once you have finalised the design and made the deposit, we will start work on crafting the ring which would take approximately four weeks.
Yes! Kush Diamonds offers complimentary resizing for all our clients.
Kush Diamonds is a 100% Australian-owned jeweller selling high-quality diamonds and jewellery in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD on Little Collins Street.
All our diamonds are certified by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) which sets the highest standard for diamonds worldwide.
Checkout out 5-star ratings from Google and from past clients who shared their experience from buying a custom engagement ring from Kush Diamonds.
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Want to learn more before you dive headfirst into the world of engagement rings? Let us share with you some exciting trends and quick guides to get you on the right path to finding the perfect diamond ring for your partner.
