There is nothing more frustrating then having an engagement ring you love, or a wedding ring that has been blessed, an expensive anniversary ring start falling apart on your finger after just a few month or few years of normal wearing.
How well rings are made, their quality, is always an important issue to consider, especially when buying an engagement ring, a wedding rings, anniversary ring, eternity ring. These rings have special meaning attached to them, and are worn a lot more then other rings or pieces of jewelry. Therefore they have to be well made to last.
My father always used to say, "Cheap is expensive, and expensive is cheap." It took me a long time to really understand what he meant. As a young man without a lot of money I was always looking for the best price, and wasn't very quality conscious.
Then I realized that the shoes he bought, the suit, the coat, still looked great after 10 years, and were always comfortable -while a was already buying the 10th pair of shoes, 10th pair of pants, because they would fall apart and never be that comfortable. One pair of shoes for $300, or 10 pairs for $30?!?
EYE TRAINING
Obviously a thorough inspection of the item is a good place to start. But how does an untrained person know if a diamond ring is well made or poorly made.
My recommendation is that you go into a number of upscale jewelry stores, whose prices may be a little high, but are likely to carry well made jewelry, including rings.
Take a look at the way the diamonds are set, look at the uniformity of the stones, the uniformity of the design, the engraving, or whatever details appear. See how clean and precise everything about the ring looks.
This is different from what people generally do when shopping for an engagement ring or wedding ring, which is that they almost exclusively look at the style. Looking for the design comes after you trained yourself to observe quality.
Once you've seen the way a diamond rings is supposed to look, it will be much easier for you to notice if a ring in a less pricey store is well made.
DUMPING GROUND FOR LOW QUALITY MERCHANDISE
Places like Flea Markets and downtown jewelry districts are generally the dumping grounds for manufacturers for the pieces that didn't go through their quality control. Instead of removing all the diamonds, melting down the ring, and loosing all that labor, they sell it at discounts to Flea Market and discount store operators, like Costco, Wla-mart, Macy's, Target, etc.
There are items you can buy in a Flea Market and get away with it. Maybe if a few links in a chain necklace are poorly soldered it isn't that noticeable. It only costs a few hundred dollars, not many thousands.
SECOND HAND JEWLERY
Would you like to buy an engagement ring, a wedding rings, an anniversary ring, an eternity ring that has been worn by one or more people, while thinking you were actually buying a new ring? Who wants to get engaged or married in an engagement ring or wedding ring from someone that just separated and needs money for a divorce?
You get what you pay for! When you are shopping in questionable places to begin with - Flea Markets, downtown jewelry districts like New York's 47th street - the great deals are almost always on jewelry that was purchased for a penny on the dollar from criminals or people who are down and out financially, getting divorced, etc.
It that the ring you want blessed?
WHO IS THE MANUFACTURER
The other important question when shopping for an engagement ring, a wedding ring, anniversary ring, or eternity ring is, "Who is the manufacturer?" The Federal Trade Commission requires that every ring is stamped with the company's trademark. If a jeweler won't tell you which company manufactured the item you're considering investing $2,000, $3,000 or more there is a real problem. Because it's not that they don't know or can't find out for you - it's that they don't want you to know.
Ask yourself why? Why would a store NOT want to tell you who made the ring you are interested in buying?
DO NOT buy a ring without knowing who the manufacturer is!
IN SUMMARY
Consider Quality - you get what you pay for.
Learn to tell good quality form poor quality.
Beware of second hand and reject merchandise.
Find out who is the manufacturer.