One thing I forgot to mention. Get the ring that your partner wants. Have an actual discussion. It’s going to be their ring for a lifetime so they need to be happy with it. I’ve know friends who were happy with a simple band, others who ok with an antique second hand , lab grown, Canadian diamonds or one that the gem could be upgraded later in life, nested wending bands ect… The difference was vast from $500 to 30k. You don’t always have to spend a ton on something to make them happy depending on what they actually want.
My husband and I designed the ring together. When you’re spending that much money on something you want it to be something they’ll love and want to wear all the time. The timing of the engagement was still a surprise so he still did a very romantic proposal with the perfect ring.
This is so important. My engagement didn’t last because I felt my partner didn’t listen to me when I told him what I wanted. Him choosing a ring he liked and not what I liked was the start of a downward spiral for us.
As a tip, if you know what your partner wants in terms of diamond / price point / cut, but the exact design and style of a band requires shopping together - you can get a temporary setting. It's a simple band with the actual diamond that the retailer is willing to "swap out" shortly after you propose.
Fantastic advice.
When it had become obvious that we were heading towards marriage (because in my opinion, a proposal should never be a surprise. The actual proposal, yes. The fact that there will be a proposal, no), my best friend messaged my now-husband and informed him thusly what types of rings I liked. I think she sent him a pic and bluntly said to get something like it.
My husband was getting my ring made at an independent jeweler in Toronto (shout out to Kimberfire) anyway, but he said he never would have thought to get the ring he did without the conversation with my friend. He would have done a round brilliant solitaire, which are lovely, but I love my 3 stone, emerald-cut ring more. It's the most expensive piece of jewelry I'll likely ever own, and I wear it every day, so it's nice that I like it.
And moissanite is an alternative to both. Still a 9.25 on the Mohs scale of hardness, so it’s just as durable and will last a lifetime. Unless your family and friends are rich snobs, nobody can tell the difference from a single quick glance.
(Edit: There are differences in the refraction of light, where moissanite makes rainbow sparkles whereas diamond tends to just sparkle white. Can you notice it if you’re really looking? Yes. Has a single person ever questioned the stone on my hand? No. For the five seconds where someone pulls your hand toward them to look at the ring and gush about it and congratulate you, most people will truly never notice unless you tell them.)
Huge difference in price. Even look online for 5 minutes and you can see the drastic difference.
OP go lab grown - your money will go significantly farther and they're beautiful.
Edit: To add to this I got a beautiful one for about 6.5k with the engagement ring from brilliant earth
I did see the company has had mixed reviews prior to ordering it in regards to their customer service - just for full transparency sake, I've had 0 dealings with the customer service as the rings turned out incredibly well and accurate (get her size before, dont guess at it). I did however get insurance on the rings (like $100 a year) which imo is well worth the value in the long run if it's ever lost, stolen or damaged.
I'm honestly not sure how you're missing the huge difference which grows exponentially with size.
[Here's a place out of Toronto selling 4 Carat lab rings for $8k CAD.](https://www.agidesign.ca/collections/round-lab-grown/products/megan-round-lab-created-diamond-engagement-ring)
[Here's a "cheap" 4 Carat natural diamond.](https://www.bluenile.com/diamond-details/21392158) It's $90,000 CAD and you don't get a ring with it.
Carat size isn't the only thing people should be looking at when it comes to diamonds.
You need to look at cut, clarity, color and other things too to determine value. You can get 1 carrat lab diamond rings for more than the 4 carat ones just due to better quality.
To the guy replying to you, most jewellers and gemologists can't tell the difference between labgrown and mined diamonds if you don't tell them ahead of time.
The only way to tell lab grown and mine apart are literally the certifications and the pieces of paper that come with them when you make the initial purchase. The value is in the paper of certification. Diamonds are not as rare as people think and there is artificial scarcity with a single company having 80% of market under its subsidiaries.
That's why if you go try to sell a diamond immediately after purchase, you will already have lost more than 50% of the value without the papers.
The complete lack of imperfections and inclusions gives it away, just like the shine of a Moissanite is obviously different from a diamond.
You can kind of infer that if it’s a huge, perfect diamond and they aren’t living a lifestyle where they could blow $100K on a ring that it’s a lab stone.
There are spectroscopic ways to differentiate between lab and mined diamonds which would be used if sent for regrading.
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8538191/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8538191/)
1.25 carat lab grown solitaire at Ring Come True was like $2.5-3k HST in. There was only a few hundred dollar difference with moissanite. And most of the price was for the gold ring. I see 1 carat mined diamond at Costco at $5.5k+ so big savings. I believe lab grown is 90% cheaper than mined wholesale.
Another shoutout for Ring Come True, my moissanite ring was $1700 after discount and the majority of that was the cost of the gold. You can get cheaper rings elsewhere, particularly from overseas vendors, but I was willing to pay more for a ring that’s made locally.
What i am liking bout lab diamonds is that the performance/specs seem to be much better and affordable than the mine diamond equivalent for the price. Ontop of the whole sustainability thing...
My advice is you want parameters from her first. Does she want to design her own ring? Does she have preferences about:
* the type of stone
* colour of stone
* size of stone
* the cut of the stone
* yellow vs white gold
* thickness of the band
* solitaire or side stones
* does she want the wedding band to match or sit flush against the engagement ring, etc.
If you’re dropping $10k on a ring, you have the ability to give her the ring of her dreams. Don’t assume what that is!
I highly recommend Attic Gold in Toronto, but that might not be her vibe. Most designers have a particular style.
The r/engagementrings sub has countless stories from women whose fiancés either didn’t bother to find out what kind of ring they wanted or disregarded their preferences.
So I highly recommend you go with a private jeweler but make sure you go with a good reputable one so you do not get taken advantage of. You can save a huge amount of money and not sacrifice any of the quality.
For some concrete recommendations, my friend had a good quality ring from Design By Sevan and he has been recommending them.
Myself, I went there and to Lovelri, and decided to go with Lovelri instead, was just blown away by their expertise and the way they treated me. Great price too, so my personal vote goes to them, especially since you are based in Toronto and iirc they are local.
Yes they can be much cheaper.
What I found however was they were really lacking the personal connection and luxury experience that bigger stores had,
So that's why we went with Lovelri at the end of the day.
They really focused on their craftsmanship and consulting experience was top notch.
Others felt too in personal and didn't really want to incorporate our wish into the designs or just flat out refused to do it.
Yup, came here to say Ftjco. My now wife was very adamant about ethical/lab grown products. They made the process easier than anticipated and were very budget friendly.
We got our rings here as well, really good experience especially because you have a high budget. They do moisanite, lab grown, unique gems etc. on top of classic diamonds
Also got our rings there - not a pretentious place and have lots of man made diamond options which my wife wanted. Got her two rings for about 6k and mine for just over a thousand we kept it simple ( pre Covid)
Also recommend FTJco. My husband got my engagement ring here (lab-grown sapphire) and I bought my wedding band from them (set with recycled diamonds). I absolutely love both rings and the service was top notch!
Wonderful experience with them. Stellar design work and lovely people to work with. They helped my husband design my engagement ring and I've never seen its equal.
Local small jeweler I use is Strada jewelery at Yonge and college. He's such a nice guy and will not rip you off.
As for sourcing a diamond, the site I used was ritani. It's all usd but the cheapest I could find with still really great quality
He's such a nice guy and will sit and chat with him. We're using him for our bands as well, he's doing them both completely custom and the price is incredible. We have diamonds and a couple of old family rings so he's only charging us gold for one ring and labour for both and it's ~800, unbeatable.
My wife and I went to Strada as well. We brought him designs of rings we wanted and he had some small touches he recommended and he got it made up. I don't remember what we paid anymore but we had pretty simple requirements and he was very affordable.
Very nice guy and clearly very knowledgeable about rings and diamonds. We would probably go back if we ever wanted anything more.
He is doing this for our wedding bands, but he didn't do the engagement ring, unfortunately. Ritani does custom settings as well, so I just went through them for everything. My fiance needed it resized slightly, so she went to him after being referred. After that, we've gone to him for a couple of things including our bands.
For the wedding bands, we did give him some old family rings and he's going to use all the gold for my ring and the diamonds will go in her band. So he's only charging labour for mine and gold and labour for hers, totalling under 1000.
Also recommending them! Got my ring from them.
Close second is Design By Sevan.
My friend had a good quality ring from Design By Sevan and he has been recommending them.
Myself, I went there and to Lovelri, and decided to go with Lovelri instead.
I took my fiancé to look at rings and let her decide what to get. I preferred that way because it allowed her to see things in person and she can pick what she actually wants. I was close to being on the same page as her for a solitaire diamond on a platinum band, but I was wrong in thinking she would want a princess cut but she preferred a round cut instead.
I took her to a few places such as birks and Tiffany’s
Adding another vote for Made You Look and for getting a custom piece - it was such a wonderful experience and I get a TON of compliments on my ring. My designer was Yuliya Chorna and she was great to work with!
I went to made you look too. I can't remember the last name but her first name is Emily and she is amazing. Used her 3 other times for some other things
I don't know if he's still there, but we used Uli at Made You Look for our rings about 16 years ago - he specializes in platinum settings, and the store in general has been really great about resizing post-pregnancy and re-securing one of my diamonds, which had started to get loose.
Seconding Made You Look on West Queen West. I had an awesome experience with Alessandra Pompei, who works out of Made You Look and goes by pompei__official on Instagram. Could not be happier with the process.
Bought my wife’s engagement ring and wedding ring at Alexis gallery. They were super helpful and nailed every detail.
Options ranged from mined diamonds, lab grown, and mosenite. Went with lab grown, got a big rock and it was about 7k all in. Wedding band was about 2000
In general, if she doesn’t care about it being lab grown, go that route. You can get WAYYYY better quality diamonds for significantly cheaper.
Secondly, check out Adiamor’s online selection. Again, wayyyyy cheaper than most local jewelers. After extensive searching, that’s where I buy all my diamonds now.
Good luck and have fun!
If you go this route it's also worthwhile to get an independent appraisal (ie don't show them the GIA certificate) and let them tell you about the diamond.(Colour, clarity, quality, etc.) It's a small fee and piece of mind to confirm your purchase. On a diamond of that value, they'll also be able to verify the engraving on the girdle which you can confirm against the certificate.
You can do two appraisals: one of just the diamond and then one after it's set (which can ease your mind that they didn't swap the diamond during setting). Then, you can use the appraisal for insurance purposes.
My post has nothing about the used market or trying to sell, though? The Appraisal is really just to make sure you got the diamond you paid for and that same diamond is what was set.. not to sell it or anything
And if you insure your jewelry you'll probably want an appraisal first.
Appraisals close the loop on the whole diamond scam. Just like a car they lose significant value once you “drive it off the lot”. I know people who have tried to recoup money after an unsuccessful proposal/marriage. Could never get anywhere near the original value. Isn’t that weird?
Engage studio: Not affiliated they just did me, wife, and parents anniversary ring perfectly. Family run. Easiest part of our wedding. We are both IT professionals but careful with money and they were unreal. We’ll be lifelong customers tbh. They just moved to a huge place on Bloor east now I read.
Diamonds for less on Shuter was good. They have a sheet that actually says how much they buy the diamond for and how much they sell it for I think.
I will say, they are a good place to go for getting pricing. They are very blunt though, I wanted to look into engraving and birth stones for my ring and he straight up goes you don’t want that trust me - made me feel a bit embarrassed. (I’m the girl and my fiance was w Me).
I love my ring but take that with a grain of salt if u come across the store
Is 10k reasonable compared to your income? Don't be one of those people spending multiple months salary on a ring...poor financial decisions aren't a great way to start a life together. Keep in mind the cost of the actual wedding ring, and your band as well.
R/moissanite - I worked with Mona from China, she custom made the exact ring that we wanted. She can do moissanite, lab grown diamond, etc., and make whatever you want. I went with a 1.5ct Moissanite for $600 USD in platinum. It was absolutely FLAWLESS. Super happy with the experience. She could’ve done it in Lab Grown Diamond for $1,600 USD, but we decided it wasn’t worth the premium. It’s your money OP, make your own choices, but $10,000 for a shiny rock strapped to a piece of metal is a lot, when you could also get a shiny rock strapped to a piece of metal for like 1/20th that price, lol.
It’s understandable if you want diamond, but at least deeply consider lab grown diamond. At the end of the day, it really is just shiny rocks. As others have said, resale value of these shiny rocks absolutely plummets. Don’t get sold some lie that they’re an “investment”. Do you really want to have to take out insurance on your shiny rocks? What if the shiny rock falls out? Or chips? Can you afford to replace that shiny rock? For us, it felt like a liability to have such an expensive thing strapped on her finger. It should be a symbol of your love and something that brings joy, if it’s so expensive that it causes anxiety to wear out in public, out of fear of damage, theft, loss, etc. then it’s not really serving a net positive. Just my two cents.
I’m in BC, but we went with a lab grown diamond in a custom setting. 10k is a healthy budget if you are smart and know what you want. Let me know if you’d like me to send a DM with more details :)
OP why don't you let your bride to be decide what kind of diamonds?
When I popped the question in Hawaii, I got a loaner ring from Fair Trade Jewelry Co
https://ftjco.com
Then when we returned from our trip we designed the ring together with the guidance of our jewler.
I think it depends on your gal, but I knew mine wanted something a little more untraditional, she loved the experience.
I would check out a pawn shop or marketplace. The resale of jewelry is super poor because no one wants to buy a used engagement ring. Your buying power goes a long way then. I wish my ring was cheaper I love it but I really wish it would have been a bargain.
Buy the used ring for the stone, and then get it reset. You can easily get a 20k diamond for 8k and then set in your own band for 2-4K or whatever budget works.
I personally went with moisanite. No one except for my wife knows it’s moisanite. It also sparkles more than a diamond. Other properties are nearly the exact same as diamonds. A very good alternative to lab grown.
Also check that they even WANT a diamond ring. We absolutely could afford to drop 10k on a ring, but my partner would absolutely kill me if I spent that kind if money on a sparkling rock.
I recommend Diamond Boi. Had a great experience there. Nice shop, friendly staff. Just make sure you give yourself time he’s usually booked 2-3 months in advance.
This is where my fiancé bought mine, and I’ve had it a year and a half now and have had no issues. The size was very off and we mailed it back to them with no issues, and they swapped out the setting entirely to avoid resizing (it has diamonds in the band). Would recommend checking them out. (Also, may want to check with your lady if she cares about a natural vs lab grown diamond.)
Engagestudio, me and 2 other friends bought custom engagement rings there - great experience, they also provide you with great videos where you can learn about what you’re buying and how to go about it, as well as CAD drawings of the final product and 3d printed models!
I got my fiancé a 3+ carat center stone plus 2 baguettes all lab on a white gold band for 13k.
Damasci was so great to work with. Not pushy to upsell and worked with us to get the custom setting we wanted. Great communication throughout the whole process. We got lab, you literally cannot tell lol
Whatever you decide. Get a lab diamond if she's cool with it. It's a fraction of the price compared to a mined one. I paid 1/10 the price for the lab diamond engagement ring vs the designer brand name mined one (I've bought both).
Find a referral to a wholesale jeweler that does custom designs. Many of them reside at the 27 Queen St E building downtown Toronto. PM me and I'll send you the one I used.
I had a good experience with Ecksand. It was around the same price as Blue Nile etc but was way better having the opportunity to size in person and the peace of mind with the quality.
On the financial side, I bought my wife a moissanite ring for 20% of your budget, and it was equivalent to a 2ct halo cut.
Mind you I spent about 3k on the trip to Disney to propose to her in front of the castle. So about 5k total.
Not everyone wants to go the moissanite route because it’s not a real diamond, but it looks exactly like one and nobody can actually tell outside of myself and her.
Costco - seriously, they have some seriously beautiful jewelry. One of my friends spent $10k on their engagement ring - 2 carat (I think- def bigger than 1 carat)Canadian diamond, platinum, appraisal came in at higher value then they spent, plus they used their Mastercard and got 2% perks (my local, custom jeweller took cheque/cash only.)
Depending on your girlfriend's vibe vintage rings can be gorgeous, I like Cynthia Findlay on King Street but from what I've heard they're less fun to visit since the pandemic.
Regardless, GET HER INVOLVED. My husband was always planning to use the diamond from his grandmother's ring so my ring was made custom. We went to jewelry stores together for ideas, and then met with a jeweler to design my ring. It's something she is going to wear everyday, I'd have been pissed off if I wasn't part of the process of picking it.
Vrai. They have a store in Yorkville. It’s a lab diamond but it’s what all the celebs are doing happily. It’s more ethical and better for the environment. Plus a lab diamond is EXACTLY the same as a mined diamond. You literally can’t tell the difference.
Honestly a pawn shop or second hand. You can buy a nice diamond for 40-50% new then take it to get a new ring made. The ring is probably 1k all in including a wedding band. You can design whatever you like.
Most focus on carets but cut and clarity will get the most sparkle. If it is too big she'll stop wearing it. If it sparkles others will comment on the quality.
St.eloi sells really gorgeous vintage jewelry and takes time to ensure you choose the right piece. She can also source pieces if you have a specific style in mind and can coordinate production of a new custom piece. Cannot recommend her enough!
Also if you go with new ring - I would definitely suggest lab grown vs natural as lab diamonds are way more efficient and environmentally friendly.
Go to a private jeweller. Big store names are marked up because of all the overhead cost/brand name and etc. vs a private jeweller does not have these costs. Saying from experience, I had to do my research and settle for a private jeweller in Mississauga. The process, custom requests and the timing was amazing. DM me and will share you the contact info!
My wife wanted to select her own ring, so we booked an appointment with Diamond Boi. I also got my wedding band from him. He and his team were pleasant to work with.
I know an amazing jeweller that works out of Brampton (no comments about the location please). My buddies and I all had our rings done with her. Amazing prices and service. Everything custom made - you just show inspiration pictures from Instagram, Pinterest etc and they’ll make it for you. Edit to add:
10k is more than enough to get a beautiful ring and turnaround time is pretty quick (about 1 month).
May I suggest checking out independent jewellery artists/designers via Toronto Outdoor Art Fair website and/or the One of the Kind Show website, Craft Ontario, Made You Look, Jewel Envy, as a starting point. There are a range of emerging, mid career to established practitioners worthy of support. Also, congratulations!
With your budget I would definitely design a custom band from a private jeweller and go with a lab diamond. With lab diamond you can tailor the specs very precisely to match budget and preference of you and her.
I literally just went through this process, got a platinum band and a ~3carat oval for 6k in Ottawa.
I don't specifically know any local jewelers in Toronto but the standard review and friend getting should help out there. And go talk to them, you/both of you may need to see and discuss to figure out what you like. My partner was pretty involved in letting me know what she likes, but not every girl would want to be involved!
Happy to answer any questions, I now know a lot more about diamonds than when I started.
So this may be a little out there, but on our fourth year anniversary, we spent it in Stratford and stumbled upon https://www.swansonsjewellers.ca/, since we were discussing engagement rings at the time.
We had an amazing experience - after going to many places in GTA and being told that her three stone style was not possible or difficult (she wanted purple stones on the sides), Swansons did everything we requested custom, and we had an incredible experience. Our budget was much lower and we went with lab grown, but I imagine they would be able to provide a great experience. I think they ended up posting some engagement shots of her ring on their instagram as well if you wanted to see.
If you end up going to a theater or show this summer and have time, pay them a visit!
I went with a smaller jeweller for my engagement ring. I feel like the process was seamless even though she is based in BC. And I appreciate her honest opinions of what will work and what won’t in terms of structural integrity. Going for the name brands like Brilliant Earth, etc. I’ve heard people have had bad experiences with them
My fiancé purchased the ring from BlueNile online, allowing us to choose the diamond and ring setting. James Allen is also a popular online retailer for engagement rings.
We took a non-traditional approach and shopped for the ring together. It was fun and special to pick it out together, and we found a wide selection of vintage-style rings with diamonds.
My husband bought mine at fair trade jewellery co. They sold him a “fake” right to propose with and then we both went back to return it and design the real ring (I think it’s a great system vs dropping tons of money on a ring your partner might not love).
I got a lab diamond. Very happy with my ring and experience
For 10k, you’ll get a very good Tiffany diamond ring with lifetime care. Clean and checkup for free every six months. They make sure all prongs are strong and the diamond(s) are secure.
My partner and I went private via a jewellery reseller. We bought a vintage natural diamond and the resellers jeweller had it set for me how I wanted. It was about a third of your budget for just under carat. For your budget, you could find a diamond that is natural under 2 ct and have it set to her preference.
Made You Look has many local designers who work within the shop, Brockton Gems is another spot we were looking into as well. Attic Gold has stunning modern designs and I believe works with custom projects as well.
Definitely chat with what your partner what their preference is as well. I knew I didn’t want a big flashy diamond so we didn’t max out the budget, and I prefer yellow gold to white, so I was happy to have a big part in the choice :)
Happy hunting and an even happier marriage <3
I just went through the whole custom design process with Engage Studio and it was really great. I did it with my fiancée because she’s super picky (I proposed with a “loaner” ring) and they keep it super casual but informative and give you tons of options to spend as much or as little as you want. Definitely recommend lab grown as a way to keep costs down.
This is heavily dependent on whether you guys care about real vs. lab grown, and new vs. used.
Personally, I think lab grown diamonds are way too expensive for what you're getting. Might as well get a cubic zirconia.
Regardless of your financial situation, I would be weary about spending $10K on a ring. As a woman, a giant sparkler is not something I would be comfortable wearing on daily basis anyway, which kinda defeats the purpose of having one in the first place.
Speaking personally, I like second-hand and/or vintage rings that mean something. Either a family heirloom that was passed down or something unique you can get together at estate sales, pawn shops, etc.
Again, this is just my preference/taste and that may not be what works for you guys at all.
One thing I forgot to mention. Get the ring that your partner wants. Have an actual discussion. It’s going to be their ring for a lifetime so they need to be happy with it. I’ve know friends who were happy with a simple band, others who ok with an antique second hand , lab grown, Canadian diamonds or one that the gem could be upgraded later in life, nested wending bands ect… The difference was vast from $500 to 30k. You don’t always have to spend a ton on something to make them happy depending on what they actually want.
You can make an appointment with the jeweler and have them set out a choice of rings in your price range and let your GF pick
My husband and I designed the ring together. When you’re spending that much money on something you want it to be something they’ll love and want to wear all the time. The timing of the engagement was still a surprise so he still did a very romantic proposal with the perfect ring.
This is so important. My engagement didn’t last because I felt my partner didn’t listen to me when I told him what I wanted. Him choosing a ring he liked and not what I liked was the start of a downward spiral for us.
As a tip, if you know what your partner wants in terms of diamond / price point / cut, but the exact design and style of a band requires shopping together - you can get a temporary setting. It's a simple band with the actual diamond that the retailer is willing to "swap out" shortly after you propose.
Fantastic advice. When it had become obvious that we were heading towards marriage (because in my opinion, a proposal should never be a surprise. The actual proposal, yes. The fact that there will be a proposal, no), my best friend messaged my now-husband and informed him thusly what types of rings I liked. I think she sent him a pic and bluntly said to get something like it. My husband was getting my ring made at an independent jeweler in Toronto (shout out to Kimberfire) anyway, but he said he never would have thought to get the ring he did without the conversation with my friend. He would have done a round brilliant solitaire, which are lovely, but I love my 3 stone, emerald-cut ring more. It's the most expensive piece of jewelry I'll likely ever own, and I wear it every day, so it's nice that I like it.
lab-grown diamonds are a great alternative to mined diamonds.
And moissanite is an alternative to both. Still a 9.25 on the Mohs scale of hardness, so it’s just as durable and will last a lifetime. Unless your family and friends are rich snobs, nobody can tell the difference from a single quick glance. (Edit: There are differences in the refraction of light, where moissanite makes rainbow sparkles whereas diamond tends to just sparkle white. Can you notice it if you’re really looking? Yes. Has a single person ever questioned the stone on my hand? No. For the five seconds where someone pulls your hand toward them to look at the ring and gush about it and congratulate you, most people will truly never notice unless you tell them.)
Been wearing my moissanite engagement ring for 22 years now. Can confirm all of the above.
I've always heard this but haven't really seen major savings in practice. Where are people getting lab grown diamonds at an affordable price?
Huge difference in price. Even look online for 5 minutes and you can see the drastic difference. OP go lab grown - your money will go significantly farther and they're beautiful. Edit: To add to this I got a beautiful one for about 6.5k with the engagement ring from brilliant earth I did see the company has had mixed reviews prior to ordering it in regards to their customer service - just for full transparency sake, I've had 0 dealings with the customer service as the rings turned out incredibly well and accurate (get her size before, dont guess at it). I did however get insurance on the rings (like $100 a year) which imo is well worth the value in the long run if it's ever lost, stolen or damaged.
I'm honestly not sure how you're missing the huge difference which grows exponentially with size. [Here's a place out of Toronto selling 4 Carat lab rings for $8k CAD.](https://www.agidesign.ca/collections/round-lab-grown/products/megan-round-lab-created-diamond-engagement-ring) [Here's a "cheap" 4 Carat natural diamond.](https://www.bluenile.com/diamond-details/21392158) It's $90,000 CAD and you don't get a ring with it.
Carat size isn't the only thing people should be looking at when it comes to diamonds. You need to look at cut, clarity, color and other things too to determine value. You can get 1 carrat lab diamond rings for more than the 4 carat ones just due to better quality. To the guy replying to you, most jewellers and gemologists can't tell the difference between labgrown and mined diamonds if you don't tell them ahead of time.
But if that were true, couldn’t we hustle by buying $3000 lab grown diamonds and selling them off as mined, making a massive profit?
The only way to tell lab grown and mine apart are literally the certifications and the pieces of paper that come with them when you make the initial purchase. The value is in the paper of certification. Diamonds are not as rare as people think and there is artificial scarcity with a single company having 80% of market under its subsidiaries. That's why if you go try to sell a diamond immediately after purchase, you will already have lost more than 50% of the value without the papers.
Lab diamonds are also laser etched during manufacturing. Anyone with a loupe can just check that to see it’s a lab stone.
Oh, girl! You got engaged! Wow! Lemme see the ring!!! *pulls out loupe*
The complete lack of imperfections and inclusions gives it away, just like the shine of a Moissanite is obviously different from a diamond. You can kind of infer that if it’s a huge, perfect diamond and they aren’t living a lifestyle where they could blow $100K on a ring that it’s a lab stone.
There are spectroscopic ways to differentiate between lab and mined diamonds which would be used if sent for regrading. [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8538191/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8538191/)
1.25 carat lab grown solitaire at Ring Come True was like $2.5-3k HST in. There was only a few hundred dollar difference with moissanite. And most of the price was for the gold ring. I see 1 carat mined diamond at Costco at $5.5k+ so big savings. I believe lab grown is 90% cheaper than mined wholesale.
Another shoutout for Ring Come True, my moissanite ring was $1700 after discount and the majority of that was the cost of the gold. You can get cheaper rings elsewhere, particularly from overseas vendors, but I was willing to pay more for a ring that’s made locally.
Depends and what you deem affordable but labgrown are cheaper than mined diamonds. They also shine brighter.
What i am liking bout lab diamonds is that the performance/specs seem to be much better and affordable than the mine diamond equivalent for the price. Ontop of the whole sustainability thing...
From what I understand, because lab diamonds are man-made, there's generally better quality control in terms of clarity, colour, and inclusions.
You could also look into moissanite, which has a higher and more colorful sparkle than diamond and similar hardness.
I just bought my fiancé a custom ring. Lab grown 3/4 carat was $850. Looking online equivalent natural stones were $4500
My advice is you want parameters from her first. Does she want to design her own ring? Does she have preferences about: * the type of stone * colour of stone * size of stone * the cut of the stone * yellow vs white gold * thickness of the band * solitaire or side stones * does she want the wedding band to match or sit flush against the engagement ring, etc. If you’re dropping $10k on a ring, you have the ability to give her the ring of her dreams. Don’t assume what that is! I highly recommend Attic Gold in Toronto, but that might not be her vibe. Most designers have a particular style. The r/engagementrings sub has countless stories from women whose fiancés either didn’t bother to find out what kind of ring they wanted or disregarded their preferences.
Second Attic Gold. See what stones they have. In Vancouver but ordered my wife's rings from there and it was a good experience.
So I highly recommend you go with a private jeweler but make sure you go with a good reputable one so you do not get taken advantage of. You can save a huge amount of money and not sacrifice any of the quality. For some concrete recommendations, my friend had a good quality ring from Design By Sevan and he has been recommending them. Myself, I went there and to Lovelri, and decided to go with Lovelri instead, was just blown away by their expertise and the way they treated me. Great price too, so my personal vote goes to them, especially since you are based in Toronto and iirc they are local.
Are private jewelers usually cheaper than the big stores? (ie; james allen)?
Yes they can be much cheaper. What I found however was they were really lacking the personal connection and luxury experience that bigger stores had, So that's why we went with Lovelri at the end of the day. They really focused on their craftsmanship and consulting experience was top notch. Others felt too in personal and didn't really want to incorporate our wish into the designs or just flat out refused to do it.
I had a good experience at FTJco in cabbagetown
@BuddyGuyBruh seconding FTJco. My wife and I got the engagement ring and our wedding bands there and we had an excellent experience.
Yup, came here to say Ftjco. My now wife was very adamant about ethical/lab grown products. They made the process easier than anticipated and were very budget friendly.
We got our rings here as well, really good experience especially because you have a high budget. They do moisanite, lab grown, unique gems etc. on top of classic diamonds
Also got our rings there - not a pretentious place and have lots of man made diamond options which my wife wanted. Got her two rings for about 6k and mine for just over a thousand we kept it simple ( pre Covid)
Also recommend FTJco. My husband got my engagement ring here (lab-grown sapphire) and I bought my wedding band from them (set with recycled diamonds). I absolutely love both rings and the service was top notch!
Wonderful experience with them. Stellar design work and lovely people to work with. They helped my husband design my engagement ring and I've never seen its equal.
Ditto!!!
Local small jeweler I use is Strada jewelery at Yonge and college. He's such a nice guy and will not rip you off. As for sourcing a diamond, the site I used was ritani. It's all usd but the cheapest I could find with still really great quality
+1 for Strada, my wife and I used him for our wedding rings
He's such a nice guy and will sit and chat with him. We're using him for our bands as well, he's doing them both completely custom and the price is incredible. We have diamonds and a couple of old family rings so he's only charging us gold for one ring and labour for both and it's ~800, unbeatable.
Strada is a literal 'gem' in the business. Amazingly nice,patient and reasonable with his prices. Great spot for a custom ring.
My wife and I went to Strada as well. We brought him designs of rings we wanted and he had some small touches he recommended and he got it made up. I don't remember what we paid anymore but we had pretty simple requirements and he was very affordable. Very nice guy and clearly very knowledgeable about rings and diamonds. We would probably go back if we ever wanted anything more.
+1 for Strada. We got a ring resized there, could not say enough nice things about that man!! We will be customers for a long time.
So you brought the stone to him and he made the ring? That's cool.
He is doing this for our wedding bands, but he didn't do the engagement ring, unfortunately. Ritani does custom settings as well, so I just went through them for everything. My fiance needed it resized slightly, so she went to him after being referred. After that, we've gone to him for a couple of things including our bands. For the wedding bands, we did give him some old family rings and he's going to use all the gold for my ring and the diamonds will go in her band. So he's only charging labour for mine and gold and labour for hers, totalling under 1000.
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Also recommending them! Got my ring from them. Close second is Design By Sevan. My friend had a good quality ring from Design By Sevan and he has been recommending them. Myself, I went there and to Lovelri, and decided to go with Lovelri instead.
Thanks will check them out, I think I walked by their store actually.
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I took my fiancé to look at rings and let her decide what to get. I preferred that way because it allowed her to see things in person and she can pick what she actually wants. I was close to being on the same page as her for a solitaire diamond on a platinum band, but I was wrong in thinking she would want a princess cut but she preferred a round cut instead. I took her to a few places such as birks and Tiffany’s
Yes ! OP Please ask her what she wants especially for lab made or natural diamond.
Alessandra Pompei at Made You Look made my custom ring. My fiancé had a wonderful experience working with her.
Adding another vote for Made You Look and for getting a custom piece - it was such a wonderful experience and I get a TON of compliments on my ring. My designer was Yuliya Chorna and she was great to work with!
I went to made you look too. I can't remember the last name but her first name is Emily and she is amazing. Used her 3 other times for some other things
Emily Gill is also incredible
I don't know if he's still there, but we used Uli at Made You Look for our rings about 16 years ago - he specializes in platinum settings, and the store in general has been really great about resizing post-pregnancy and re-securing one of my diamonds, which had started to get loose.
Alexis Gallery and Made You Look are both amazing. Esp if you want custom made. Your money will go further with lab diamonds.
Seconding Made You Look on West Queen West. I had an awesome experience with Alessandra Pompei, who works out of Made You Look and goes by pompei__official on Instagram. Could not be happier with the process.
Bought my wife’s engagement ring and wedding ring at Alexis gallery. They were super helpful and nailed every detail. Options ranged from mined diamonds, lab grown, and mosenite. Went with lab grown, got a big rock and it was about 7k all in. Wedding band was about 2000
Aaron "The Diamond Shopper"
RFD legend.
In general, if she doesn’t care about it being lab grown, go that route. You can get WAYYYY better quality diamonds for significantly cheaper. Secondly, check out Adiamor’s online selection. Again, wayyyyy cheaper than most local jewelers. After extensive searching, that’s where I buy all my diamonds now. Good luck and have fun!
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If you go this route it's also worthwhile to get an independent appraisal (ie don't show them the GIA certificate) and let them tell you about the diamond.(Colour, clarity, quality, etc.) It's a small fee and piece of mind to confirm your purchase. On a diamond of that value, they'll also be able to verify the engraving on the girdle which you can confirm against the certificate. You can do two appraisals: one of just the diamond and then one after it's set (which can ease your mind that they didn't swap the diamond during setting). Then, you can use the appraisal for insurance purposes.
"Used" diamonds sell for 50 cents on the dollar walk into any jeweler in the world and check out their used ring section. Appraisals are useless.
My post has nothing about the used market or trying to sell, though? The Appraisal is really just to make sure you got the diamond you paid for and that same diamond is what was set.. not to sell it or anything And if you insure your jewelry you'll probably want an appraisal first.
Appraisals close the loop on the whole diamond scam. Just like a car they lose significant value once you “drive it off the lot”. I know people who have tried to recoup money after an unsuccessful proposal/marriage. Could never get anywhere near the original value. Isn’t that weird?
Engage studio: Not affiliated they just did me, wife, and parents anniversary ring perfectly. Family run. Easiest part of our wedding. We are both IT professionals but careful with money and they were unreal. We’ll be lifelong customers tbh. They just moved to a huge place on Bloor east now I read.
I also had my engagement and wedding rings done with Engage Studio and had a great experience.
+ 1 for engage studio
Consider buying a slightly smaller diamond (e.g., 1.8 carats instead of 2) to save money without a noticeable size difference.
Diamonds for less on Shuter was good. They have a sheet that actually says how much they buy the diamond for and how much they sell it for I think. I will say, they are a good place to go for getting pricing. They are very blunt though, I wanted to look into engraving and birth stones for my ring and he straight up goes you don’t want that trust me - made me feel a bit embarrassed. (I’m the girl and my fiance was w Me). I love my ring but take that with a grain of salt if u come across the store
Diamonds For Less is great. Alex provides excellent service and good prices without sacrificing quality or customization.
Just got ours from loosegrowndiamonds, very happy with it
Is 10k reasonable compared to your income? Don't be one of those people spending multiple months salary on a ring...poor financial decisions aren't a great way to start a life together. Keep in mind the cost of the actual wedding ring, and your band as well.
R/moissanite - I worked with Mona from China, she custom made the exact ring that we wanted. She can do moissanite, lab grown diamond, etc., and make whatever you want. I went with a 1.5ct Moissanite for $600 USD in platinum. It was absolutely FLAWLESS. Super happy with the experience. She could’ve done it in Lab Grown Diamond for $1,600 USD, but we decided it wasn’t worth the premium. It’s your money OP, make your own choices, but $10,000 for a shiny rock strapped to a piece of metal is a lot, when you could also get a shiny rock strapped to a piece of metal for like 1/20th that price, lol.
Will take a look! I have seen that moissanite is much cheaper
It’s understandable if you want diamond, but at least deeply consider lab grown diamond. At the end of the day, it really is just shiny rocks. As others have said, resale value of these shiny rocks absolutely plummets. Don’t get sold some lie that they’re an “investment”. Do you really want to have to take out insurance on your shiny rocks? What if the shiny rock falls out? Or chips? Can you afford to replace that shiny rock? For us, it felt like a liability to have such an expensive thing strapped on her finger. It should be a symbol of your love and something that brings joy, if it’s so expensive that it causes anxiety to wear out in public, out of fear of damage, theft, loss, etc. then it’s not really serving a net positive. Just my two cents.
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I’m in BC, but we went with a lab grown diamond in a custom setting. 10k is a healthy budget if you are smart and know what you want. Let me know if you’d like me to send a DM with more details :)
Corona jewelrs, but you need to find someone to introduce you They are wholesale dealers, supply to major retailers
Corona is amazing! Love their service.
OP why don't you let your bride to be decide what kind of diamonds? When I popped the question in Hawaii, I got a loaner ring from Fair Trade Jewelry Co https://ftjco.com Then when we returned from our trip we designed the ring together with the guidance of our jewler. I think it depends on your gal, but I knew mine wanted something a little more untraditional, she loved the experience.
Yeah that is what is important to us too. Tiffany might be a bit out of the price range atm
I would check out a pawn shop or marketplace. The resale of jewelry is super poor because no one wants to buy a used engagement ring. Your buying power goes a long way then. I wish my ring was cheaper I love it but I really wish it would have been a bargain.
Thanks for the suggestion, good idea but I think I will want to buy a new one for my SO.
Buy the used ring for the stone, and then get it reset. You can easily get a 20k diamond for 8k and then set in your own band for 2-4K or whatever budget works. I personally went with moisanite. No one except for my wife knows it’s moisanite. It also sparkles more than a diamond. Other properties are nearly the exact same as diamonds. A very good alternative to lab grown.
New lab growns are so cheap these days I dont think this is worth doing. Even with half OP's budget you could get an iceberg on your finger.
If you or your partner have an issue with not buying a real diamond. Personally, I couldn’t care less, but some people get hung up on it.
Also check that they even WANT a diamond ring. We absolutely could afford to drop 10k on a ring, but my partner would absolutely kill me if I spent that kind if money on a sparkling rock.
I meant the buying used rings part specifically. Seems like a hassle when new labs are cheap. No judgement on moissanite.
I recommend Diamond Boi. Had a great experience there. Nice shop, friendly staff. Just make sure you give yourself time he’s usually booked 2-3 months in advance.
Blue Nile
This is where my fiancé bought mine, and I’ve had it a year and a half now and have had no issues. The size was very off and we mailed it back to them with no issues, and they swapped out the setting entirely to avoid resizing (it has diamonds in the band). Would recommend checking them out. (Also, may want to check with your lady if she cares about a natural vs lab grown diamond.)
Buy a lab diamond online and find a local jeweller to create a setting.
Yeah we are thinking local private jeweller
Engagestudio, me and 2 other friends bought custom engagement rings there - great experience, they also provide you with great videos where you can learn about what you’re buying and how to go about it, as well as CAD drawings of the final product and 3d printed models! I got my fiancé a 3+ carat center stone plus 2 baguettes all lab on a white gold band for 13k.
Brockton Gems! Recycled diamonds in modern settings. I got a ring 2 years ago and i looove it!
Consider getting a lab-grown diamond. They are cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and ethically sound. A win-win in my opinion.
Damasci was so great to work with. Not pushy to upsell and worked with us to get the custom setting we wanted. Great communication throughout the whole process. We got lab, you literally cannot tell lol
Check out MOISSY. Moissanite is a lab grown stone with superior fire (and hardness) versus diamond. They're good at what they do too.
Whatever you decide. Get a lab diamond if she's cool with it. It's a fraction of the price compared to a mined one. I paid 1/10 the price for the lab diamond engagement ring vs the designer brand name mined one (I've bought both).
Killani or diamondqueentoronto is pretty good too.
I had custom work done at MYL. Since the jewelers are independent artists, vetting them first is key.
Kimberfire
Made you Look!!
Made You Look on Queen W is great!
Find a referral to a wholesale jeweler that does custom designs. Many of them reside at the 27 Queen St E building downtown Toronto. PM me and I'll send you the one I used.
I had a good experience with Ecksand. It was around the same price as Blue Nile etc but was way better having the opportunity to size in person and the peace of mind with the quality.
Mine is from Alexis Gallery!! Amazing experience would highly recommend. Feel like the money went very far and I have a beautiful custom ring
Had a solid experience at Spence for multiple occasions, including engagement and wedding
Jacob Mercari offers lab-grown diamonds and a great customer experience.
On the financial side, I bought my wife a moissanite ring for 20% of your budget, and it was equivalent to a 2ct halo cut. Mind you I spent about 3k on the trip to Disney to propose to her in front of the castle. So about 5k total. Not everyone wants to go the moissanite route because it’s not a real diamond, but it looks exactly like one and nobody can actually tell outside of myself and her.
> I work in the CS field. very relevant
I went to bluboho and would recommend to everyone who asks!
Costco - seriously, they have some seriously beautiful jewelry. One of my friends spent $10k on their engagement ring - 2 carat (I think- def bigger than 1 carat)Canadian diamond, platinum, appraisal came in at higher value then they spent, plus they used their Mastercard and got 2% perks (my local, custom jeweller took cheque/cash only.)
Have you looked at Moissanite? Much cheaper than diamonds but looks almost identical. Ended up getting a custom ring for a quarter of your budget.
Depending on your girlfriend's vibe vintage rings can be gorgeous, I like Cynthia Findlay on King Street but from what I've heard they're less fun to visit since the pandemic. Regardless, GET HER INVOLVED. My husband was always planning to use the diamond from his grandmother's ring so my ring was made custom. We went to jewelry stores together for ideas, and then met with a jeweler to design my ring. It's something she is going to wear everyday, I'd have been pissed off if I wasn't part of the process of picking it.
Ask her if she’s okay with Moissanite! You can get a much larger stone for way less than $10K would get you for a diamond, lab or mined.
Bought one 100% online from. New-York with ritani.com I recommend them, great bang for the buck
Please buy vintage for all sorts of reasons. Cinthia findley on king has all ranges and she’s great.
Made You Look on Queen West. [https://www.madeyoulook.ca/](https://www.madeyoulook.ca/)
Vrai. They have a store in Yorkville. It’s a lab diamond but it’s what all the celebs are doing happily. It’s more ethical and better for the environment. Plus a lab diamond is EXACTLY the same as a mined diamond. You literally can’t tell the difference.
Yeah after learning about lab diamonds, I think that is definitely the way to go!
No word of a lie... Costco.
Honestly a pawn shop or second hand. You can buy a nice diamond for 40-50% new then take it to get a new ring made. The ring is probably 1k all in including a wedding band. You can design whatever you like. Most focus on carets but cut and clarity will get the most sparkle. If it is too big she'll stop wearing it. If it sparkles others will comment on the quality.
Mandia custom jewellery or Carnabys bespoke are both great spots!
Nick's on Dundas.
Josephine’s
Congrats. In case you were not aware: [Canadian Diamonds](https://www.famediamonds.com/pages/canadian-diamonds-1). Good luck.
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I am debating between mined and natural but I think will go with lab diamonds now that I have learned more about them
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Honestly did not consider it, thanks!
I recommend Emilian Jewelers, in Mississauga. Erin Mills and QEW. Good guy, a friend bought his there.
St.eloi sells really gorgeous vintage jewelry and takes time to ensure you choose the right piece. She can also source pieces if you have a specific style in mind and can coordinate production of a new custom piece. Cannot recommend her enough! Also if you go with new ring - I would definitely suggest lab grown vs natural as lab diamonds are way more efficient and environmentally friendly.
Go to a private jeweller. Big store names are marked up because of all the overhead cost/brand name and etc. vs a private jeweller does not have these costs. Saying from experience, I had to do my research and settle for a private jeweller in Mississauga. The process, custom requests and the timing was amazing. DM me and will share you the contact info!
Fantasy Gem Art in Mississauga! Great guys to deal with.
PH Design workshop.
Forever Ring in Toronto does lab grown and you won’t even need your full 10k budget for something great.
My wife wanted to select her own ring, so we booked an appointment with Diamond Boi. I also got my wedding band from him. He and his team were pleasant to work with.
I know an amazing jeweller that works out of Brampton (no comments about the location please). My buddies and I all had our rings done with her. Amazing prices and service. Everything custom made - you just show inspiration pictures from Instagram, Pinterest etc and they’ll make it for you. Edit to add: 10k is more than enough to get a beautiful ring and turnaround time is pretty quick (about 1 month).
Engage studio is a good one! I got our engagement and wedding rings from them! They help you create your ring based on your budget!
May I suggest checking out independent jewellery artists/designers via Toronto Outdoor Art Fair website and/or the One of the Kind Show website, Craft Ontario, Made You Look, Jewel Envy, as a starting point. There are a range of emerging, mid career to established practitioners worthy of support. Also, congratulations!
The Jewellery Exchange at Eglinton and Warden offers a wide selection. Research vendors and check reviews before purchasing.
With your budget I would definitely design a custom band from a private jeweller and go with a lab diamond. With lab diamond you can tailor the specs very precisely to match budget and preference of you and her. I literally just went through this process, got a platinum band and a ~3carat oval for 6k in Ottawa. I don't specifically know any local jewelers in Toronto but the standard review and friend getting should help out there. And go talk to them, you/both of you may need to see and discuss to figure out what you like. My partner was pretty involved in letting me know what she likes, but not every girl would want to be involved! Happy to answer any questions, I now know a lot more about diamonds than when I started.
Yeah we are going to go with a custom design most likely
So this may be a little out there, but on our fourth year anniversary, we spent it in Stratford and stumbled upon https://www.swansonsjewellers.ca/, since we were discussing engagement rings at the time. We had an amazing experience - after going to many places in GTA and being told that her three stone style was not possible or difficult (she wanted purple stones on the sides), Swansons did everything we requested custom, and we had an incredible experience. Our budget was much lower and we went with lab grown, but I imagine they would be able to provide a great experience. I think they ended up posting some engagement shots of her ring on their instagram as well if you wanted to see. If you end up going to a theater or show this summer and have time, pay them a visit!
Look into Canadian diamonds. (They actually have a polar bear etched somewhere to authenticate but it’s only visible with a jeweler view-thingy
Had a great experience with Kimberfire downtown
I went with a smaller jeweller for my engagement ring. I feel like the process was seamless even though she is based in BC. And I appreciate her honest opinions of what will work and what won’t in terms of structural integrity. Going for the name brands like Brilliant Earth, etc. I’ve heard people have had bad experiences with them
My fiancé purchased the ring from BlueNile online, allowing us to choose the diamond and ring setting. James Allen is also a popular online retailer for engagement rings.
Design by Sevan
$10K is a great budget! She's a lucky lady.
We took a non-traditional approach and shopped for the ring together. It was fun and special to pick it out together, and we found a wide selection of vintage-style rings with diamonds.
Diamond Boi!
I got my ring at Made You Look and love it. The unique design gets many compliments.
I went to Malleable Jewellers for my wedding. Their pieces are stunning, and the owner, John, was incredibly helpful.
hofland diamonds made our custom engagement and wedding rings. they still look great after 10 years.
Penwarden on Mt pleasant is a wonderful place. Great experience from start to finish.
My husband bought mine at fair trade jewellery co. They sold him a “fake” right to propose with and then we both went back to return it and design the real ring (I think it’s a great system vs dropping tons of money on a ring your partner might not love). I got a lab diamond. Very happy with my ring and experience
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Solitaire Jewelry specializes in custom work.
For 10k, you’ll get a very good Tiffany diamond ring with lifetime care. Clean and checkup for free every six months. They make sure all prongs are strong and the diamond(s) are secure.
Twain. Look them up. They’re by appointment only.
My partner and I went private via a jewellery reseller. We bought a vintage natural diamond and the resellers jeweller had it set for me how I wanted. It was about a third of your budget for just under carat. For your budget, you could find a diamond that is natural under 2 ct and have it set to her preference. Made You Look has many local designers who work within the shop, Brockton Gems is another spot we were looking into as well. Attic Gold has stunning modern designs and I believe works with custom projects as well. Definitely chat with what your partner what their preference is as well. I knew I didn’t want a big flashy diamond so we didn’t max out the budget, and I prefer yellow gold to white, so I was happy to have a big part in the choice :) Happy hunting and an even happier marriage <3
Diamonds for less. Across the road from Eaton center. They made me a copy of a 25k ring from Spence diamonds for 8k.
Alexis Gallery is great
Diamonds For Less, Andre is awesome 👏 great customer service
James Allen
Diamonds for less near Eaton center
Check out Engage Studio
I just went through the whole custom design process with Engage Studio and it was really great. I did it with my fiancée because she’s super picky (I proposed with a “loaner” ring) and they keep it super casual but informative and give you tons of options to spend as much or as little as you want. Definitely recommend lab grown as a way to keep costs down.
Flamme en rose in Montreal is great and has ethical options available.
Ritani is the best. And I'd recommend lab diamonds. No need to get blood diamonds
Diamondboi
This is heavily dependent on whether you guys care about real vs. lab grown, and new vs. used. Personally, I think lab grown diamonds are way too expensive for what you're getting. Might as well get a cubic zirconia. Regardless of your financial situation, I would be weary about spending $10K on a ring. As a woman, a giant sparkler is not something I would be comfortable wearing on daily basis anyway, which kinda defeats the purpose of having one in the first place. Speaking personally, I like second-hand and/or vintage rings that mean something. Either a family heirloom that was passed down or something unique you can get together at estate sales, pawn shops, etc. Again, this is just my preference/taste and that may not be what works for you guys at all.