The engagement ring buyer's field guide
You are about to spend several thousand dollars on an object you know nothing about, for a person whose opinion you cannot ask, under a deadline you…
Last checked: September 2026
Articles
Everything published so far.
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Blue Nile vs Brilliant Earth — and what happened to James Allen
If you started researching engagement rings more than six months ago, you almost certainly had three tabs open: Blue Nile, James Allen, Brilliant…
Last checked: September 2026
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What each budget actually buys, $2,000 to $20,000
Every guide tells you to “set a budget that’s right for you” and then declines to tell you what any budget gets. That’s the question you actually have,…
Last checked: September 2026
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Lab-grown or natural, in 2026
This is the biggest decision you will make, and almost everything written about it is out of date. The numbers have moved enormously in five years, and…
Last checked: September 2026
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How to get her ring size without asking
This is the most searched question in the category, and it has a slightly annoying answer: you probably do not need to solve it.
Last checked: September 2026
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How to read a diamond certificate in 90 seconds
The grading report is the only independent statement of fact in the entire transaction. Everything else on a product page is written by someone who…
Last checked: September 2026
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The three-months'-salary rule is advertising
You have heard that you should spend three months’ salary on an engagement ring. Possibly two. Possibly one, if someone kind told you so.
Last checked: September 2026
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When to order a ring for a Christmas proposal
Every guide to this question answers the wrong half of it. They tell you how late you can leave it. Order by the second week of December, they say, and…
Last checked: October 2026
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Fluorescence: when it's a discount and when it's a defect
Somewhere in the specification of every diamond you look at is a line marked fluorescence, graded None, Faint, Medium, Strong or Very Strong. It’s the…
Last checked: October 2026