Refined by Robyn

No, I don’t just get discounts on diamonds. Here’s what I actually do.

A lot of people assume what I do is just negotiate discounts on diamonds for clients.

It’s really not though.

What I do is make sure the price matches the value.

Sometimes that’s a better diamond for the same budget.

Sometimes it’s the same diamond for less.

Sometimes it’s neither of those things.

And sometimes it’s just telling someone they’ve already found a great deal.

The goal will never be to find problems or push for discounts just because.

It’s to make sure you understand exactly what you’re getting for what you’re spending, and to make sure that’s in line with market value.

This one’s a little controversial.

An engagement ring isn’t an investment, so why do some people treat it like it is?

Yes some rings can be traded in or resold, but just like a new car you drive off the lot, that ring loses a ton of its value.

And if you’re buying lab, you’ll have little to no resale value to work with. The cost of lab grown diamonds continues to fall, with most retailers not even offering a trade in program for them anymore.

Aside from some pretty rare pieces over the years, you’re almost guaranteed to lose value, so why think about resale when you’re buying?

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There’s a lot of pressure to buy an engagement ring.

You have to magically find her dream ring, navigate conflicting advice and sales tactics, find the time to actually do all the research and shopping, and somehow know how to do this alone.

Engagement ring shopping shouldn’t be this hard.

And you shouldn’t have to do it alone.

I work 1:1 with guys who are overwhelmed, stressed, and under pressure to find the right ring, for the right price, with the right timing.

I don’t sell diamonds. I don’t work on commission. Just unbiased, honest support during one of life’s most difficult purchases.

Curious how that works? Let’s talk. 💬

Do I negotiate every diamond? Honestly, no.

I don’t negotiate every diamond.

I also don’t tell every client they’re overpaying or going to overpay.

Sometimes a client sends me a diamond and my answer is simple: this is a really good diamond, the price is fair, but it.

That’s what independent advice actually looks like. Not finding problems with everything. Just telling you the truth about what you’re looking at.

If you’ve found a diamond you’re considering buying and want an expert second opinion before you pull the trigger, comment RING and I’ll send you the link. 💎

Can you actually negotiate the price of a diamond? 💎

Short answer: usually yes.
Longer answer: it depends.

Because there’s so many things that go into how a retailer prices a diamond, the ability to negotiate price depends on a lot.

Specifically:

💎 the retailer themselves
💎 what kind of inventory they carry
💎 whether that diamond is owned by them, on loan, or just available in the open market

Supply and demand matters too.

If 20 people want one specific 2.00ct diamond, there’s not going to be much negotiation room.

But if a retailer has 20 comparable 1.00ct diamonds in stock and demand is low, there’s a lot more room (and incentive) for them to move on price.

Your relationship with the jeweller matters a lot too.

A strong relationship gives you more power as a consumer.

No relationship (and no one who can build one on your behalf) reduces your negotiation position significantly.

Knowing which of these are working in your favour before you walk into that store can change everything. 💍

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This is a clip from my full video on retail pricing vs the right price. It’s live on my YouTube channel.

I’m not saying shopping around is bad.

I actually recommend it.

But comparison shopping engagement rings when you don’t have the full picture will just make it harder to make that final decision.

How many 1.50ct round solitaire engagement rings do you need to look at before you feel confident making a choice?

Eventually they all start looking the same, or you don’t realize you’re not actually comparing the same things.

Or worse, you’re only comparing duds.

Most of the guys I work with are already feeling stressed and pressured to make the right choice.

The difference is that they have someone to help filter through these options and guide them through every step.

He loved the diamond. I helped him pay thousands less for the exact same one. 💎

A client of mine sat down with a retailer and fell in love with a diamond.

Fantastic experience.
Great salesperson.
A 1.50ct round brilliant with no red flags.
Genuinely a stunning stone.

There was nothing wrong with the diamond.

But I knew there were comparable diamonds on the market, and that there was negotiation room on that specific one based on what those comparables were actually priced at.

He went back to the retailer.

With my guidance he ended up paying thousands less.

He didn’t get a different diamond.
He didn’t make any compromises.
He got the exact same diamond he’d already fallen in love with.

He just wasn’t the only person in the conversation who knew what it was worth. 💍

The “three months salary” rule needs to go. Seriously.

It started as a marketing campaign by De Beers in the 30s.

And now?

Not only is it completely outdated, but it causes a lot of undue stress, confusion, and pressure on engagement ring shoppers.

Is there a right amount of money to spend on an engagement ring?

It depends who you ask 😉

One of my clients came to me so stressed out and so distrustful of the jewellery industry that I honestly wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to enjoy any part of this process.

He already did a ton of research and had gone to a lot of stores.

But everything he did left him feeling more uncertain and more skeptical than when he started.

He didn’t know who to trust because everyone was telling him something different.

He didn’t know if what he was being shown was actually good.

And he was really worried he was going to spend a lot of money on something he didn’t understand.

So together we started from the top. Not with diamonds. With her.

We talked about their relationship.
What he envisioned for the proposal.
What her lifestyle was like.
What would actually make sense for their life together.

And we built everything around that.

We sourced diamonds I was confident in. We went through them together so he understood exactly what he was looking at and why.

I stood beside him as he went through the custom design process. Making
sure he wasn’t just getting a ring that was available or within budget, but one that was actually right.

Something shifted part way through the process.

He went from stressed and skeptical to genuinely excited.

He stopped second guessing every decision because he finally had someone helping him
understand what the decisions actually meant.

Then at the end he got nervous.

Not because anything was wrong. But because now the proposal was real.

He had the ring. It was actually happening.

A few weeks later he sent me an email with pictures from their Paris proposal. He thanked me and said he couldn’t have done it without me.

That’s the part that never gets old.

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If you want that kind of confidence going into your proposal, comment RING and I’ll send you the link. 💍

I see it time and time again. Buying a diamond with higher specs because it sounds better, or looks better on paper.

Most of the time chasing those “perfect specs” doesn’t lead to a perfect diamond. Just a higher price.

When a guy asks me how much he should spend on an engagement ring, I never answer the question directly.

From my experience, that question isn’t really about the amount.

Even though on the surface it sounds like a pretty straightforward financial question, underneath it I hear something else…

💍 Am I going to look cheap?
💍 Is this enough?
💍 What’s she expecting?
💍 What will her family think?
💍 Her friends?
💍 My friends?
💍 Am I being irresponsible?
💍 Am I spending too much?

So it’s really not about how much you’re going to spend, but it’s a safe way to ask a really vulnerable question.

Here’s what I’ve noticed:

The guys who feel the best about what they spent aren’t the ones who spent the most or least amount of money.

They’re the ones who understood exactly what they were buying and why.

The ones who made the right decision for their situation.

The ones who didn’t base their budget on what they thought someone else expected.

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So before you decide on a number, ask yourself this first.

✨ Where is the question actually coming from?

Is it because you want to make sure you’re spending the right amount for you?

Or because you’re trying to justify spending an amount you think you’re supposed to?

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The right amount to spend on an engagement ring is the amount that makes sense for your situation.

And feeling confident about your decision doesn’t usually have anything to do with the actual amount.

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If you’re feeling overwhelmed and want help figuring out exactly what that right number is for you, let’s chat 💬