subject: Diamond Palladium Ring - The Winning Budget Combination [print this page] Recently I read an article where a jeweler was saying "everybody wants platinum, but just a few can afford it". This prompted me to speculate over the engagement ring`s budget and its distribution trough the major segments constituting its cost: diamond and setting. In each of them one has to balance the various cost and quality options in order to get the successful combination between visual aspect, value and budget.
The diamond is a tricky one possessing minimum of 4 parameters to play with, and that is if one is fortunate enough to have reliable jeweler. Individuals with different budget view this segment from different angle and this is scrutinized in length in my article Diamonds and Budgets. For diamonds smaller than 1.5 carat the optimum value for money lays somewhere between G and I in color and VS-SI clarity, depending on how far the budget can swell. If you are looking at set budget, moving up in color and/or clarity will visibly trim the size of your diamond with no visible shift in quality. One parameter I would suggest you to fix from the start is the cut. If you fix it to very good or excellent you will have one less matter to worry about and keep off disappointment particularly when buying online.
The ring setting has entirely different set of options and the right place to begin is the metal. Yellow and rose gold are easy. If you are one of the few who prefer those colors, the evident choice is 18k or even 22k for yellow. Low karat gold has weak color and low precious metal content. The diamond ring settings are seldom heavy and the difference will be not significant. The selections of white metal are a bit more complicated but close inspection will constantly lead us to one conclusion: it is best to match our diamond with palladium ring.
I am not going to get technical and explain in detail what palladium is. My aim is to keep this article short and on the subject. It will suffice to say that evaluated on every point palladium is a lot better choice than any white gold alloy with cost correspondent or lower than 14k gold. When compared to platinum, palladium is a great deal cheaper and completely identical in visual aspect. Palladium is rarer than gold and platinum and as part of the PGMs (Platinum Group Metals) totally hypoallergenic.
One plain illustration will add more clarity to this matter: Average platinum solitaire setting retails for $900 Identical palladium setting will be selling form the same shop for $280 If you contribute the difference of $620 towards the diamond you will end up with totally different stone. This amount on its own can buy you a adequate sized diamond. A diamond ring for the price of the setting, without any deviation in appearance and quality . . . you dont have to be rocket scientist to see the winning combination. Some will say I am trying to manipulate customer`s view because I have a palladium jewelry website. It is the other way around; I have started this palladium only dedicated website, after performing a couple of simple calculations similar the one above.
Diamond Palladium Ring - The Winning Budget Combination
