You may have heard that you should spend about 3 months salary when picking out an engagement ring for your partner. These days, it's a pretty outdated rule. Initially, the rule was one month, until the diamond industry increased it to 3 months.

The average engagement ring price in 2021 according to The Knot was about $6,000. This figure icludes both the diamond and its ring setting. The modern day migration of physical chain jewelry stores has led to many different online retailers offering loose diamonds and ring settings. Companies have effectively been able to cut out the middle-man and offer diamond engagement rings for less--without having to purchase inventory first.

Additionally, many people are choosing lab grown diamonds instead of natural diamonds. This can cut the price of a diamond engagement ring way down.

Ultimately, you should spend what is right for you. You don't need to spend $6,000 on a diamond engagement ring.

You can definitely get a nice ring for under $1000. As long as you're flexible and realistic about what you can afford, you will be able to find a good selection of diamond engagement rings within your set price points.

As you're shopping, you should also be sure to keep in mind the budget you have for wedding rings and whether or not they will affect how much you spend on a diamond ring.

Your center diamond will likely take up the bulk of your $1000 budget. However, there are some engagement ring styles that are likely to cost much less than others.

Diamond solitaire rings are the most popular ring style for affordable engagement rings under $1000. Currently, we offer over 55 solitaire ring designs under $1000.

Another way to cut the cost down of an engagement ring is opting for a cluster ring setting instead of one solid center stone. In a cluster setting, a bunch of small diamonds are set closely together to simulate the look of one solid center. And if you like a little more sparkle in your engagement ring and additional diamonds, cluster rings are an excellent go-to.

Round cut diamonds are both the most popular and most expensive diamond shape for an engagement ring. A round diamond makes a beautiful engagement ring because it has perfect symmetry and the best light performance.

You can buy round cut diamonds for under $1000 without sacrificing quality. You may have to make some compromises. For example, choosing a lab created round diamond for your engagement ring would help save a lot of money.

You also may not be able to get the biggest looking round diamond either. Our 1 carat round cut lab diamonds run about $500 minimum. You'll need a much less expensive ring setting, like a classic solitaire setting in order to keep to your $1000 budget.

If buying other diamond shapes isn't a dealbreaker for you, that will help you keep to your budget and even get a bigger carat weight than you could afford had you chosen a round diamond.

More of the carat weight in a round diamond is distributed in the deep pavilion of the diamond. Other diamond shapes don't have the same depth, so their carat weight is distributed in the width or length of diamond instead.

At Clean Origin, our diamond engagement rings can be crafted in white gold, yellow gold, rose gold, or platinum ring metals. Our white gold engagement rings and yellow gold engagement rings come in 14K or 18K gold. Our rose gold engagement rings are offered in 14k gold.

Out of all these precious metals, a 14k gold engagement ring is going to be the least expensive. The color gold of the engagement ring shouldn't matter, just as long as they're all the same karat gold.

A 14k gold engagement ring contains about 58.3% pure gold. An 18K engagement ring contains 75% pure gold. Platinum engagement rings come at a higher price than gold rings due to their value and density. They're also 95% pure platinum.

Technically, sterling silver is the least expensive of all these metals. However, we don't recommend it for engagement rings and wedding bands. Sterling silver requires more maintenance than gold or platinum, especially if you're going to be wearing your engagement ring everyday. Furthermore, almost all jewelers offer engagement rings in gold or platinum, but offer sterling silver fine jewelry instead.

There's no such thing as a "super sale" diamond. If you see a company offering diamonds with high grades at a substantially lower price than other competing jewelers, it's time to check the details carefully.

For example, many people selling diamond alternative or imitations use the word "diamond" in their descriptions. You may see phrases such as "real cubic zirconia diamond" or "moissanite diamond engagement ring" on certain listings. Both of these colorless gemstones are less expensive than diamond engagement rings, but they don't have the same brilliance or composition as a real diamond center stone.

A lot of people wonder just how cheap of a diamond they can get without sacrificing diamond quality. At Clean Origin, you can obtain a beautiful 1 carat diamond of lasting quality for under $500. If you choose to go under 1 carat, you can save even more. To the naked eye, a diamond slightly below 1 carat doesn't look any smaller, and the price difference is significant.

The main way we are able to do that is because all of our diamonds are lab grown diamonds. Lab grown diamonds are real diamonds that have crystallized under hot and pressurized conditions in a laboratory environment instead of within the earth.

The major difference between lab diamonds and mined diamonds is the price and value. The trade-in or upgrade value for lab diamonds is non-existent for most diamond retailers. But if you're not planning on upgrading or selling your diamond, that shouldn't deter you from buying ethical lab created diamonds.