Is this 3/4-carat oval diamond solitaire engagement ring from Jared a smart buy for $5,000? Not at all. You can get a certified better diamond ring for as low as $1,040. Here’s how.

Jared offers this ring for $4,999.99. I’m not finding that it has any diamond certificate, either. But you can get such a ring with an IGI diamond certificate, with better specs, and slightly bigger diamonds, from James Allen, for as low as $1,040.

There’s no catch. James Allen is just more transparent, has lower overhead, and is offering you a fairer price. The IGI diamond certificates, and the data I highlight in this short article, prove it.

Here’s how to save about $4,000, my friend — and get an objectively better, certified diamond ring.

The Jared offer: $4,999.99

The item number for this diamond ring at Jared is 161323201.

You can see it live unless or until it is discontinued.

James Allen offers a ring with the certified same or better diamond specs for $1,670 (earth-mined) or $1,040 (lab-created).

Earth-mined for $1,670:

Lab-created for $1,040:

James Allen has the better deals. I never have a doubt, now that I’ve done so many price comparisons between Jared and James Allen.

The differences in price are astonishing. The certificates from IGI prove that you’re even getting better diamonds.

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:

1. You choose a setting (the metal ring, which in some cases comes with accent diamonds).
2. Then you choose a loose diamond to add to it.

But it’s not as hard as it may seem to people new to the idea of buying “loose diamonds.” 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, this 14K rose gold setting, or this 14K yellow gold setting. (They’re all the same price, same design. Just different colors of gold.)

2. For an earth-mined diamond matching the high-priced Jared offer, go to my 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.)

The specs on the diamonds in this price compare, quickly explained

Diamond Certificate

I say over and over: never buy a diamond this expensive without a certificate from GIA, IGI, or AGS.

Without such a certificate, you just don’t know what you’re getting.

The Jared ring’s specs don’t specify any lab certification for the diamond. So, I wouldn’t buy it. You shouldn’t either. You deserve a certificate at that price point. It’s like buying a thoroughbred horse without the papers. It just makes no sense.

On the other hand, both of the James Allen diamonds have certificates from the IGI.

So what? Well, that means you can count on the specs you see in the certificates.

That’s a huge deal. It’s the whole reason diamond labs exist — to keep retailers honest. Before the grading/certifying labs existed, it was the Wild West. Why would a major diamond retailer such as Jared offer you a diamond ring for $5,000 and not include a certificate??

You tell me. Hmm.

Shape

All three diamond rings in this contest have Oval-Cut shaped diamonds.

Carats

The Jared diamond is 0.75 carats.

The earth-created James Allen diamond is 0.80 carats.

The lab-created James Allen diamond is 0.78 carats.

Clarity

The Jared diamond is of I1-Clarity. Let me be clear: I1-Clarity is not a good clarity score.

In fact, I don’t recommend buying any I1-Clarity diamond. It’s going to have some obvious inclusions (flaws). See the diagram.

The earth-created James Allen diamond is SI2-Clarity. That’s two whole grades better. It might be a very decent diamond, for clarity. You’d need to carefully inspect the one you choose. You can do that at James Allen, very easily. You can zoom in on it and examine it carefully. Make sure there are no obvious flaws right near the “table” (the top facet of the diamond).

(You can’t do inspect a diamond online at Jared, as you can at James Allen. And nope, the “diamond” you see in the illustration on the product page at Jared is of course NOT the exact diamond you’re going to receive.

In fact it’s a very generous artist’s rendition of a diamond. No flaws are visible at all in the artist’s illustration! Wow! But it’s an I1-Clarity diamond! So of course it has obvious inclusions (flaws).)

The lab-created diamond from James Allen in this comparison article is of SI1-Clarity. That’s even better. Still inspect the very diamond you’re looking at, however. Look for any flaws top and center, obvious ones. Reject any such diamond.

Again, you can’t inspect online a Jared diamond at all. You’re buying blind online there!

.

Color

The color of the Jared diamond is I-Color. That’s getting pretty yellow, for such a high priced diamond.

The color of the earth-created diamond from James Allen in this price compare is H-Color.

However, it costs a lot less than the Jared diamond. So, if your budget really is $3,5000, you could adjust the filters at James Allen to spend more and get a much better diamond. You could get a better color, and even a better clarity, for your $3,500 if that’s really how much you want to spend.

The color of James Allen’s lab-created diamond which I used in this example is I-Color.)

Cut Quality

The cut quality of an oval shaped diamond is never graded. Strange but true. The only diamond shapes that get official grades from major grading laboratories are Round Brilliant Cut.

The reason? Seems strange to me in this age of AI. But so far, the gemologists have worked out scientifically a cut quality grading system only for Round Brilliant Cut.

Cut quality involves symmetry and proportion. You can examine any James Allen diamond to your heart’s content, online, in super zoom, and from every angle. So you can see proportion and symmetry for yourself. (Don’t overthink it.)

More importantly, cut quality in Round Brilliant Cut diamonds is a more or less (more, actually) scientific way of predicting light performance. Meaning: how well it will sparkle. They’ve got it all worked out for Round Brilliants. But not for any other shape. Not, in this case, for Oval.

Conclusion: This Jared 3/4-carat oval diamond solitaire ring is not a smart buy. James Allen has better 3/4-carat prices, with actually certified diamonds, as shown in the data and screen shots on this page.

That’s my opinion. But it’s backed up by the data. So you don’t have to even trust me. Even though this proves you can.

It’s easy to get great deals on better diamond jewelry — for less money! Here’s how:

1. Scroll up to the section on “How to Get the James Allen Deals.”
2. Follow the easy directions there.
3. 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.