Courtesy of Pura Soul Photography
Round diamonds may be eye-catching - but they're also more expensive than other cuts.
- Ring Concierge founder Nicole Wegman designs and sells bespoke engagement rings on Instagram and advises clients to allocate budgets toward carat weight, not color or clarity.
- A round diamond is the best-selling shape for engagement rings, but it is not a best seller at Ring Concierge: the classic look costs 25% more than all other shapes.
- Wegman said she aims to provide clients with the biggest bang for their buck without sacrificing the look of a ring.
Since 2013, Nicole Wegman's company, Ring Concierge, has designed engagement rings and sold diamonds on Instagram. As a New York City-based jeweler, she caters to clients looking for the latest trends. Each year she sells hundreds of custom rings ranging from $10,000 to six figures and advises clients to get the biggest bang for their buck without sacrificing the look of a ring.
And, in large part, that question comes down to the diamond shape a client chooses.
Round diamonds are the best-selling shape for engagement rings, Wegman told Business Insider. Notably, though, they are not a best seller at Ring Concierge - the classic look costs 25% more than all other shapes, she said.
"When we explain that to them, and we show them 'here's an oval that's 25% less, and actually appears larger than the round,' they start to gravitate towards these other shapes anyway," she said.
For the most part, Ring Concierge sells fancy shapes - ovals, emerald cuts, radiant, and antique diamonds. Much like fashion at large, engagement ring trends are impacted by celebrities; Wegman said that after Blake Lively got engaged with an oval diamond, ovals were in high demand.
"We're showing women there are other shapes besides the round," Wegman said. "You can get something a little more unique, you can get something a little more interesting. You don't have to wear a round Tiffany-style solitaire like everyone else is wearing."
Wegman meets with every client in person or remotely for a design session. If a woman is absent from an appointment, Wegman and her team provide a female voice during consultations. She said they take care to ensure a ring has everything a woman is looking for.
"We've never had a girl come back in and say he went too big. We have had a few people come in and say, 'alright how can we go bigger,'" she said.
"I've made settings with over 170 tiny diamonds set all over it," Wegman continued. "So we definitely have these more lavish designs but we still try to keep things tasteful and fresh. We don't like them to feel gaudy and over the top. Even if you can afford, you know, a $200,000 ring, you don't want to look like that gaudy lady walking down the street."
