
No question is a stupid question, especially if jewelry is involved. Buying a ring, necklace, bracelet, or earrings can be a very large purchase, sometimes even more than your monthly rent or car payment. It’s important to ask ALL of the questions and to be as thorough as possible.

Working in the jewelry industry for many decades, we have been asked every question in the book, especially from confused boyfriends with no interest in fashion or jewelry, buying their fashion forward girlfriend an engagement ring. Don’t worry, we’re trustworthy professionals that want to give you all the facts and make sure you’re prepared for a once in a lifetime (hopefully) purchase. Here are some of the most commonly asked questions, broken down in simple terms. Relax, we’ve got your back.
- What is the difference between carat and karat?
Before we get started, it’s important to note that both carat and karat are used to describe the fineness of a gem, but mean two different things. This is often where the confusion comes from.
Long before measurement units were available, hundreds of years ago, people would use a carob tree to size their diamonds. A carob trees smallest seed, known as a “carat” seed, weighs approximately the same as their smallest gem. The term “carat” was eventually adopted to describe the weight of the gem.
The word “karat” comes from the same source of “carat”; Medieval French and Italian. While carat describes the weight of a diamond, karat describes how equal it is to pure gold. 24 karats, the famous line often used in pop culture references, means the diamond is 100% gold or 24/24 gold. One karat equals 1/24 gold. If your ring is considered 14K, that means it is 14 parts gold and 10 parts other material. The other material often consists of copper, nickel, alloys and more. The two are often confused in the jewelry world so please don’t feel embarrassed to have your jeweler further explain the difference between the two.
2. Do most jewelry stores offer payment plan options?
Purchasing jewelry can be a huge financial responsibility and sometimes even a burden. The average American spends $5,500 on an engagement ring. Most real diamond jewelry can range anywhere from $100-$100,000, maybe even more depending on how rare the diamond is. Beyoncé was proposed to with a Lorraine Schwartz 18 carat, octagon-cut diamond engagement ring, valued at a whopping five million dollars. This particular ring probably wasn’t financed but don’t worry, most jewelers have finance options available.
Diamond Mansion offers multiple different options to finance an engagement ring. If you pay using PayPal, a fast, secure online payment option, the buyer will receive six months, no annual percentage rate, or “APR.” If the buyer purchases the ring by coming into the Diamond Mansion showroom, located in downtown Los Angeles, they can receive payment options through Wells Fargo for 1-2 years, depending on credit. They also offer layaway options with a 10% deposit for 3-6 months with no interest. Another option, separate from working directly with the jewelry company, is to open a credit card with 0% APR.
Purchasing an engagement ring or another pricey piece of jewelry doesn’t have to be a burden and you definitely don’t need to skip any meals to propose to the love of your life. As long as you keep up with your payments, the process can be as easy as you want it to be.
3. Is buying jewelry online risky?
Well, it can be. Some people need to visually see the diamond in order to know if they like it or not, while others are easily satisfied with just browsing an online jewelry store, adding a ring to the shopping cart and hitting the order button. Maybe you don’t have the time to shop in-store or maybe your dream ring is located in a jewelry store, inconveniently across the country. Either way, the GIA, says these five factors are non-negotiable when purchasing a ring online.
The first one is trust. It’s important to do your research on the seller. Read reviews, look at their social media pages (if they don’t have any, consider that a red flag), call them and ask to speak to a representative but whatever you do, make sure you know who you’re buying from.
The second factor is to make sure they have a return policy, even if it is 30 days or less. There are many reasons why you might return a ring from your bride not liking it (ouch) to the ring simply not turning out the way you expected. Diamond Mansion offers a 30-day money back guaranteed return policy. We also offer an exchange policy and a lifetime upgrade policy. It’s important to us that you receive the ring of your dreams so we try to make that as easy as possible.
The third factor is visuals; ask the jeweler for a million and one pictures of the ring, from every angle. They shouldn’t hesitate to do this and if they are, that’s a red flag.
The fourth factor is certification. Every diamond purchased through Diamond Mansion comes with GIA or EGL certification. GIA is industry standard and has a more conservative grading scale but the buyer can request either/or.

The fifth and final factor for purchasing jewelry online is do your homework. Compare the price and quality to other jewelry, in and out of the seller’s collection. Look into the difference between natural grown and lab grown diamonds (read our last blog post for more info). Do not just blindly order a ring online or you might be making a very large and expensive mistake. These factors came directly from the GIA educational website.
4. “I keep hearing everyone refer to the Four C’s as if it’s a diamond bible. What are the Four C’s?”
Knowing the four C’s of a stone can make or break your purchase and are incredibly important to know. The first and most important C is cut. A diamond cut refers to face-up appearance, design and craftsmanship. The second C refers to a diamond’s color, or lack of. The less color a diamond has makes it more desirable and can definitely be pricier. The third C refers to a diamond’s clarity. Clarity is the extent in which inclusions and blemishes affect the appearance of the diamond. The fourth and final C refers to carat, or the weight of the diamond. For more information on each C, visit the GIA educational website.
It’s important to note that most jewelry companies aren’t trying to rip you off or steal your money. They may try to up sell you but in the grand scheme of things they want your jewelry buying experience to be a pleasant one and in return, maintain their shiny reputation.
Remember, no question is a dumb question and you’ll be thankful you asked all the right ones when you’re down on one knee and you see the look on your future bride’s face. If you need any help, the people at Diamond Mansion are top-notch, just read the reviews! We wish you the best of luck on your jewelry journey.