Kay has this 2-1/8-total carat weight diamond ring in 14K white gold for $11,250, marked down from $15,000! Sounds like a deal, right? But is it a deal? Or are you being ripped off?
You can get a certified, better diamond ring for a lot less. From a diamond retailer consistently holding an A+ from the BBB. You can get one for as low as $5,970. That’s with better specs. And with an actual diamond certificate from a major diamond lab. (The Kay offer doesn’t appear to have any such certificate.)
You don’t need a coupon. Or a major sale. It’s all right here in the shopping technique. Scroll down to learn how in less than 3 minutes.
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The Kay offer: $11,249.99.
Item number at Kay: 940356912
See it live at Kay (unless it’s been discontinued / gone out of stock).
The James Allen better offers on better diamond rings
Earth-created diamond ring: $8,100
Lab-created diamond ring: $5,970
Specs compared directly
Carats
The Kay 2-1/8 total carats is 2.125 (rounded up to 2.13) in decimals.
You can see in the screen shots that the James Allen diamond rings are virtually the same total carat weight.
However, each of the James Allen rings has a significantly larger center stone, so they’re going to look more impressive. Their center stones are 1.7 carats, whereas the Kay center stone is 1.5 carats.
Clarity
The Kay diamond is of I1 clarity. That’s really bad. Sorry, just saying. I’m here to help you, not to help diamond resellers per se. (That will help me help you help them, actually! 😉 Better informed buyers mean better diamond retailers. They need to step up their game to match James Allen.)
Kay diamond in this ring is I1-Clarity:
James Allen earth-created diamond example is SI2-Clarity:
James Allen lab-created diamond example is SI1 Clarity:
The Kay diamond’s clarity of I1 is actually the second deal breaker, for me personally.
The first dealbreaker is the absence of any mention of a diamond certificate on the Kay product page. That’s totally unacceptable, IMHO, for a diamond of this price point. We just don’t know for sure who graded it, or what their qualifications were for grading it.
A GIA, IGI, or AGS diamond certificate assures you that a professional gemologist from the GIA, IGI, or AGS graded a diamond without bias. They are 3rd parties, not employed by the diamond retailer. That’s why it’s so crucial. It’s like getting a home inspection. You just don’t buy a home without a home inspection. You don’t buy an expensive diamond without a diamond certificate.
Color
Kay diamond color in this ring. The center stone is said to have color “I”:
The James Allen earth-created or lab-created diamonds in this example: Color D. (AMAZING color! It’s the top score, perfect score.)
Always remember, you choose your own diamonds at James Allen. Not all of them are D color. These specific diamonds will probably be gone by the time you shop, having read this invaluable info.
But there will be other D colored diamonds available. James Allen has an inventory of well over 100,000 diamonds.
And don’t be afraid to shop and choose your own diamonds. You won’t mess up. (You’re messing up by letting Kay or other jewelers pick the diamonds, IMHO, because IMHO their goal is to get as much money for mediocre diamonds as they can. Not, IMHO, to be transparent or to give you the best value for your money.
That’s what James Allen does. Yes I’m a fan. Even an affiliate. But that’s only because James Allen is awesome. Best prices. I have checked prices on diamonds for years. James Allen is simply never beat. They’re that efficient. Like Amazon.
You’ll get much better diamonds.
It’s as if you were buying an apple. One apple seller (Kay in this case) is selling you kind of so-so or not-great quality apples (I-Color, I1-Clarity), but they have a great showroom in the mall. And they pretend to be great experts and overwhelm you with “expertise”.
The other apple seller lets you choose your own apple. You can choose much better apples for less money. They don’t have a mall store. But they have an awesome website which lets you easily observe any apple you want to look at. That very apply.
Ok that’s getting crazy. It’s diamonds. Not apples.
And you CAN easily look at the specs, and even real images of the very diamond you’re considering. So it’s easy to choose better ones. You can use the diagrams and charts on this page, in this comparison, to know plenty enough about diamonds to make a MUCH BETTER choice than Kay’s diamond.
Trust yourself on this.
How to get the James Allen deals
At James Allen, you don’t just add a ring to cart. It’s slightly more interesting (and gives you more control and choice). Instead, you do this:
- You choose a setting (the metal ring, which in some cases comes with accent diamonds).
- Then you choose a loose diamond to add to it.
But it’s not as hard as it may seem. In fact it’s easy.
At least, it’s easy if you have someone walking you through it for the first time.
Here’s exactly how to get these deals (or very similar deals) at James Allen:
1. Select this 14K white gold setting. (It’s available on the same page in 14K, 18K as well, also in yellow gold and rose gold, or even in Platinum. Just choose them from the drop down on the setting product page.)
2. For the diamond, go to these pre-set James Allen diamond search results and select a diamond from the first 2 or 3 diamonds in the list.
(James Allen diamonds are unique, so I can’t send you straight to a specific diamond. It would sell out quickly. But there are many many others in the inventory. The price will be close to what you see here.
Also, of course the inventory is always changing, so you may see slightly different prices when you search.)
3. For even greater savings, click the “Lab-Created Diamonds” filter. (Use my pre-set James Allen Lab-Created Diamonds search results.)
Conclusion: How much is this 2-1/8 diamond ring at Kay? Too much, even on sale. You can get a certified, objectively better diamond ring for a lot less.
The certifications, and the screen shots, prove that the James Allen diamonds are much better than the Kay diamond.
Don’t be fooled by the fancy brand naming at Kay. They call it a Neil Lane (and of course it is) but it’s just a diamond. From a designer. IMHO, the design at James Allen is better. It’s all down to taste. But in fact, they’re very very similar.
And again, the diamonds are objectively better. I’ve proven it. And it’s objectively a LOT less expensive. I’ve proven that too.
Enjoy your extra $5,000 or so. What will you buy with the extra cash?
It’s easy to get great deals on better diamond jewelry — for less money! Here’s how:
- Scroll up to the section on “How to Get the James Allen Deals.”
- Follow the easy directions there.
- Feel 100% confident that you bought the best diamond for the money
How to search this site to save up to tens of thousands of dollars at trusted diamond retailers, vs most any Costco, Kay, Jared, or Zales ring you’re considering
Search and save. You could save enough for a new compact car. Or a honeymoon. Or several expensive dinner dates. Or that guitar you’ve been wanting.
Read this very short note on how easy it is.
