Diamond Secrets Revealed

This article is about diamond secrets revealed. Learn these little secrets about diamonds online, and buying diamonds will make more sense. The first little secret I would like to cover is that the vast majority of websites selling diamonds online do not actually own the diamonds, or even have them in their possession for that matter. There are 2 major diamond databases that exist for online diamond sellers to use. These diamond databases are where all of the major diamond cutters of the world upload their inventory to. Once they have uploaded their inventory to these databases, the online diamond retailers just pay a programmer to integrate a diamond search engine in to their website. These 2 diamond databases are managed by a company that works with the retailers and charges them a fee according to how many diamonds they want to list for sale on their website. The more diamonds that you list on your website, the larger the fee you will pay per month. If you pay close attention to the diamonds you are looking at, you will probably even see the same diamond listed on more than 1 website. You might even see it on for sale on several websites.

Note: I just looked at one of these diamond databases to see how many diamonds are available for uploading to a retailers website. There are currently 302,217 certified diamonds and 29,224 non-certified diamonds available. That is 331,441 diamonds total. No company I am aware of actually pays to list every diamond available. Many of them are very small or low quality and not worth paying to list. Retailers can limit the sizes that they list and may choose to only list diamonds that are larger than 1/2 carat for instance.

Have you ever gone shopping for diamonds and noticed that some websites tout how they have 25,000 diamonds available? Then you go to the next website and they have 50,000 diamonds for sale. And then you will even find some websites that have 100,000 diamonds for sale. Have you ever wondered how many diamonds 100,000 is? It’s a lot of diamonds. As I write this I am wondering myself how much space 100,000 diamonds would actually take up. I don’t know. I have never had even close to that many. 100,000 is probably a lot of diamonds to even the diamond mining companies.
Now let’s figure out in a pretty raw and quick form, how much those diamonds could be worth. Remember, some of those diamonds will be 1 carat, some will be 2 carats, and some will be 3 carats and even larger than that. So 100,000 diamonds is probably more than 200,000 carats. Now if you calculate that a 1 carat diamond of pretty decent quality can easily cost $4,000-$5,000 and 2 carat diamonds can easily cost $15,000-$25,000 and 3 carat diamonds can go as high as $70,000 (or higher for top quality) the total dollar value of those diamonds is staggering. Even though my formula may be inaccurate, I think if you were to know the actual dollar value of these 100,000 diamonds listed for sale on these websites, I believe that you would see for yourself that it is ridiculous to think they own them all. (Or even any of them)

Note: I just looked up the most expensive diamonds currently for sale on a well known website and listed them below. I have included all of the more popular diamond shapes and their specifications. The Most expensive diamond ever sold at auction was called "The Wittelsbach". It’s a 35.56-carat blue diamond that was mined in India and sold for $24,300,000 in December of 2008.

* Round Brilliant Cut

Price: $1,338,291
Carat weight: 11.52
Cut: Ideal
Color: D
Clarity: Internally Flawless

Can you imagine how expensive the round diamond listed above would be if it were a better color grade or better clarity grade, or both? WOW!

* The Princess Cut Diamond

Price: $245,555
Carat weight: 5.00
Cut: Very Good
Color: F
Clarity: VVS2

* The Emerald Cut Diamond

Price: $920,104
Carat weight: 10.02
Cut: Very Good
Color: E
Clarity: VVS2

* The Asscher Cut Diamond

Price: $383,946
Carat weight: 8.22
Cut: Good
Color: H
Clarity: VVS2

* The Marquise Cut Diamond

Price: $662,594
Carat weight: 6.48
Cut: Very Good
Color: D
Clarity: IF

* The Oval Cut Diamond

Price: $538,996
Carat weight: 5.27
Cut: Very Good
Color: D
Clarity: IF

* The Radiant Cut Diamond

Price: $635,136
Carat weight: 11.16
Cut: Very Good
Color: D
Clarity: VS2

* The Pear Cut Diamond

Price: $1,112,115
Carat weight: 13.01
Cut: Very Good
Color: E
Clarity: VVS2

* The Heart Cut Diamond

Price: $617,935
Carat weight: 5.78
Cut: Very Good
Color: D
Clarity: Internally Flawless

* The Cushion Cut Diamond

Price: $539,721
Carat weight: 5.12
Cut: Very Good
Color: D
Clarity: Internally Flawless

Now if you add up the cost of these 10 diamonds, you will see that they total just under $7,000,000. Again remember this is just 10 diamonds listed on this website. Now imagine if you have 100,000 diamonds listed on a website. I would like to add that up for you, but unfortunately I don’t have a week to do it, but I am sure the total amount would be staggering.

My point is that if you sit down and really think about it, you will see that it is almost impossible for any ONE online retailer to actually own all of these diamonds. (Unless you are De Beers) You will certainly have a larger selection to choose from if you visit a diamond search engine with 100,000 diamonds listed, but don’t let them fool you in to thinking that they have them in their possession. Just call them for yourself and ask them to pull one out of their safe and examine it for you. They will more than likely tell you that they can’t. They will have to call the diamond wholesaler first and have them do it. They may try to tell you that it is out on "memo". This means that they "allegedly" loaned the diamond to another retailer to try and sell. This is probably the most widely used fabrication in the industry. It is simply used as a stalling technique to allow them more time to get the diamond in to their possession from the diamond wholesaler.

Now you are prepared with the truth about how diamonds are sold online. As you go shopping for your diamond engagement ring, call and speak with some of these companies. Listen for yourself to their answers and see if they are being honest with you about the diamonds they sell and their company. Don’t be afraid to ask them about their company and how they can assure you that you will be protected in your purchase. If you really want to be safe from unscrupulous "Diamond Companies", due your homework and be your own investigator. There actually are many good and honest engagement ring sellers out there today to buy from, just make sure you pick one of THEM!

A little bit about our engagement rings company. It’s called Engagement Rings By Secret Diamond and it is located at www.SecretDiamond.com. We are a custom manufacturer of designer diamond engagement rings. All of our engagement rings are handcrafted in the USA using only the finest materials. We make all of our engagement rings to order, per your specifications. You can have your choice of precious metal that include all of the following: 14k white gold, 14k yellow gold, 18k white gold, 18k yellow gold, Palladium and Platinum. We will make your engagement ring exactly to your ring size and we will even manufacture in 1/4 sizes. If you get the ring size wrong, we will resize it for free. All of our engagement rings are shipped fully insured and signature required. You are not responsible for a lost or stolen engagement ring unless you sign for it. Although our engagement rings website is built to cater to the clarity enhanced diamonds market, we also have access to all of the diamonds you see listed on other websites. We will make your engagement ring with the center diamond of your choice, whether it’s an EGL certified diamond, GIA certified diamond or certified clarity enhanced diamond. You may also purchase only the engagement ring setting if you would like and we use only non-enhanced diamonds in all of our settings. The diamonds in our engagement ring settings are all high quality diamonds with an average clarity grade of VS2-SI1, and average color grade of G. They are all very well cut diamonds that will sparkle nicely. Please feel free to call us on our toll free number at 1-877-999-9920 with any questions you may have. We enjoy speaking with our customers very much and we will take as much time as you need, to make you feel comfortable with buying a diamond online. We know it can be a little bit scary making such a large purchase, but we can assure you that we have done everything we can to make our company as transparent to you as we can. We have an excellent reputation and our standing with the BBB is top rated. We have never had even a single complaint registered against us in thousands of online diamond engagement ring transactions. We stand proudly by our record and we hope to hear from you soon.

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Buying Engagement Rings Online

How do I know it’s safe buying engagement rings online and how do I know which online jewelers are the most reputable?

This is probably one of the most common questions we are asked by our prospective customers. Considering the average customer that wants to buy an engagement ring is budgeting anywhere from $3,000 to as much as $10,000 (or even more sometimes), it’s no wonder they are a little bit concerned. Often times this is by far the most money they have ever considered spending online. It may even be the single largest purchase they have ever made anywhere. I mean let’s face it, some cars may not even cost that much.
Most customers start out shopping for engagement rings in their local jewelry stores. I hear quite often our customers saying "I have shopped everywhere!" They like the idea of buying an engagement ring from their local jewelry store, but when they see how expensive it can be and how little they are getting for their money, they start looking on the internet.

This is where it starts to get fun and scary at the same time. The number of companies (and so-called companies) selling jewelry online can almost be a little overwhelming. Depending upon which phrases you use when searching for your engagement ring, you start to see more and more companies selling engagement rings. For instance "affordable engagement rings" will bring back different results than "engagement rings sale". And the search phrase "engagement rings" will bring back different results than "diamond engagement rings". This holds true for almost every different search phrase.

Tip:
When searching for engagement rings online, go to your favorite search engine and type in many different search phrases. This will allow you to see many more vendors returned in the search results. Search engines "Rank" websites for different phrases. By using various phrases in your search, you will see many more options available than if you use the same phrase over and over. You may also consider browsing past the first page of search results. Many of the most legitimate engagement ring companies are not always located on the first page for every search result. It does not necessarily mean that they are not good jewelers. It may just mean they are too busy running their jewelry business to "Optimize" their website, to be found everywhere in the search engines. Search engines do not rank websites by the quality of the jeweler. Websites are "ranked" by search engines using entirely different methods that have nothing to do with the quality of their work.

Back to our tips. The fun starts when you begin seeing how much money you can save on your engagement ring. Then it gets even more fun when you start to see the larger selection of engagement rings available online. (We also hear from our customers that we have the most unique and beautiful engagement ring selection available anywhere) It’s quite common for customers to search everywhere else first, and still not find their "perfect engagement ring".
UNTIL THEY COME TO OUR ONLINE ENGAGEMENT RING STORE. I hear from many of our customers that they came back to our website as many as 15-20 times trying to decide which "perfect engagement ring" to choose from. The trouble was not being able to find one that they liked. The trouble was just choosing which one they liked the best.

Tip:
When you search online for engagement rings and you start to see many different websites selling the same engagement ring, using the same photo, that typically means that they are not making their own engagement rings. They are probably buying the engagement ring from an engagement ring casting company, and then just setting the diamonds. Quite frankly, they may not even set the diamonds. In the large diamond districts such as New York or Los Angeles, there are many companies that perform various services. Some companies may just make "raw castings" and some companies may just "set diamonds". This makes it very easy for the so-called "jewelers" to put together an engagement ring and sell it to you. Often times these various specialized companies will even be located in the same building, making it even easier for these individuals to present themselves as "jewelers".

This is where the scary part begins. How are you supposed to know which engagement ring sellers are the "real deal?" After all, there are so many of them to choose from. How are you supposed to know if they will deliver the engagement ring that they are promising you? Or even at all? Also, will they actually honor their return policy? What is their return policy, and do they even have one? And how likely is that they will be there 5 or 10 years from now to stand behind their work and help you properly maintain your engagement ring? (Engagement Rings do require proper maintenance) THESE ARE ALL VALID QUESTIONS TO ASK ANYONE YOU ARE CONSIDERING PURCHASING AN ENGAGEMENT RING FROM. And any other question you are concerned about.

Although it can be scary trying to figure all of this out, especially considering the large sum of money you are about to spend with a complete stranger, there are some simple steps you can take to protect yourself. Listed below are basic ideas you should consider before making your engagement ring purchase online.

* CHECK FOR THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU LOGO ON THE WEBSITE AND CLICK IT TO MAKE SURE IT IS VALID
Engagement Rings By Secret Diamond is a proud member of our local Better Business Chapter and we are in excellent standing. Every reputable online seller of engagement rings that we are aware of, is also a proud member of their local BBB. You can easily click on the BBB logo on their website and check to see if it is valid. If it is valid, you should be taken to their individual report page listed in the BBB. This page will tell you if there are a large number of complaints against the company. It will also tell you how they handled complaints and if they resolved them, or just ignored them. The trick here is to not just look for the BBB logo and assume it is valid. There are online companies that may have belonged to the BBB at one time and decided not to renew their membership because they did not like being held accountable. There are also companies that place the BBB logo on their website that don’t even belong the the BBB. They are hoping that you won’t click on it, or that you don’t even know it should take you to the BBB report on their company. And then there are the companies that just don’t even bother belonging to the BBB because they already have too many complaints against them that are unresolved, or resolved in a questionable manner. The last trick that unscrupulous sellers will use, is to place the BBB logo on their website and even make it clickable to the BBB online. However rather than bringing you to their report page, they will just bring you to the homepage of the BBB, again hoping you don’t know any better. Well now you do.
Remember, reputable online diamond sellers realize that you want to be protected in your purchase, and they will PROUDLY belong to their local BBB chapter.

* DON’T BE AFRAID TO ASK QUESTIONS
You can learn a lot about a business when you ask them questions. Listen to their answers carefully and judge for yourself if you feel they are answering your questions honestly and in a well informed fashion.

* Reputable jewelers will gladly spend as much time as needed to make you feel comfortable with your purchase. They should not rush you through the process of buying a diamond. If you feel you are being rushed, you should carefully consider your decision if they are the right company to buy from.

* A reputable jeweler will not be offended by relevant questions. If you are asking a jeweler valid questions about the diamond you are considering buying (such as it’s quality) and he or she seems to get offended, they could be trying to hide something. The same thing holds true for relevant questions about their business. Don’t forget that you are considering spending a lot of money with this jeweler. You have every right to make sure you are protected with your purchase.

* Check For Online Reviews About The Company
Although this can be an excellent way to find out more about the reputation of an online company, you have to be a little bit careful with this method. This process can be easily abused, and abused both ways. Some online diamond sellers are well aware of these review sites and will place fake reviews on them. It can even be difficult to distinguish between the real reviews and the fakes ones. However if you see an overwhelming amount of positive reviews, chances are pretty good that this is an established and well run business. The other way this process can be abused is by the businesses competitors. I have even seen where an online competitor left a fake review portraying the business in a negative light. Considering how large the internet is, sometimes these fake bad reviews can take a long time for the legitimate business to be made aware of, especially if they are not interested in abusing the process. They may not be regularly visiting these review websites because they are actually letting their customers leave the real reviews

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Purchasing Diamonds & Engagement Rings Online

Over the years we have answered numerous questions from customers about purchasing their diamonds and engagement rings online. It seems that most people are very interested in the idea of buying diamonds or engagement rings online for a couple of reasons. The main reason we hear is that our prices are dramatically less expensive than those of their local jewelry store. This is really not surprising when you consider why. The first reason why we are less expensive is low overhead. We do not have fancy jewelry stores that have a significant amount of overhead. Think about all of the expenses that jewelry stores have that we do not. Many jewelry stores may have only 1 or 2 locations. These stores can only sell to the local customer base, so they have to spend an enormous amount of money on advertising to convince the locals to buy from them instead of online. Typically they are not selling their engagement rings worldwide like we are, and in many cases they may not even have a website to display their diamond rings. At Engagement Rings By Secret Diamond, we do not spend a single penny on advertising, throughout most of the year. Lets say that a local jewelry store has an advertising budget of $50,000. (Not really that much) Just imagine how many diamonds or engagement rings have to be sold, just to pay for that advertising. Again consider that they are more than likely, only selling to their local customer base. I think you would be surprised to hear how few engagement rings some jewelry stores actually sell. That advertising expense is added to the cost of your diamond engagement ring.

The second reason why we are much less expensive is because we work directly with the diamond importers, right at the source. Unlike your typical jewelry store that has maybe 3-4 companies that mark-up the diamond before it gets to them, with Engagement Rings By Secret Diamond you are buying a diamond that has the fewest number of companies marking up the diamond before it gets to you possible! Fewer companies marking up the diamond, means a lower cost to you. Now when you have sold as many diamond engagement rings online worldwide as we have, you have a very large base of happy customers. Just read our testimonials page located at the link below to see what our satisfied customers have to say about our Engagement Rings Store. Also please feel free to visit our Better Business Bureau page to see that we are a proud member of the BBB online, and in excellent standing.

Again this means lower prices to you. Why? Because we receive many sales referred to us by other satisfied customers. Customers that refer us to their family members, co-workers and best friends. In business they say that the best form of advertising is "Word of Mouth" advertising. When we sell an engagement ring to someone that is referred to us by our happy customers, that sale cost us nothing in advertising dollars. That means that we do not have to "Add The Cost Of Advertising" to the price of our engagement rings, which means additional savings to you, our future customer.

We want you to know that at Engagement Rings By Secret Diamond, we take "Word of Mouth" advertising very seriously. We are very proud of our commitment to our customers (Past, Present and Future Customers) And we want you to know that we will work very hard to earn your trust, and to make you our next satisfied customer. We want to earn YOUR future business, as well as all of the future business you refer to us including YOUR family members, co-workers and friends.

I think it is important to note that this is not an article meant to criticize your local jewelry store. Everyone I know would like to spend their money in a local community business, including us at Secret Diamond. Also, a jewelry store can add a certain value to your engagement ring buying experience. You will actually be able to see, touch, feel and try on the engagement ring before you buy it. And it will most likely be easier to have your engagement ring worked on for routine maintenance, or cleanings without having to ship it back to us. However if you are working with a limited budget, or you have the money & you just don’t want to pay a lot more than you have to, buying diamonds or engagement rings from our online store is without a doubt, the best way to save.

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Very Cheap Engagement Rings

Sometimes we are asked about very cheap engagement rings by couples working with a tight budget. First you would have to ask yourself if you really want a very cheap engagement ring, or just a nice quality engagement ring at an affordable price. Since cheap can have 2 different meanings, my guess is that people really mean affordable engagement rings. Everyone wants a cheap price, but nobody wants cheap quality. Unfortunately often times when you pay a cheap price, you get cheap quality. The key to purchasing a really cheap engagement ring and getting good quality, is to do your homework first and study diamond quality (The 4 C’s). Realize that you do not need to purchase an engagement ring that is Flawless in clarity, or even VVS in clarity. The vast majority of diamond buyers out there, just want their diamond to be bright and sparkly, without visible inclusions. This means that you can often times go as low as SI1 clarity, and still have a clean to the naked eye diamond. (You will not see imperfections with the naked eye-No magnification) This is particularly true when buying a GIA certified diamond, since their grading standards are the most strict in the world. If you buy a GIA certified diamond, you can be rest assured that it is EXACTLY the grade they say it is. After all, they invented the diamond grading system that is in use worldwide today by every single company in the diamond industry. Unfortunately, this also means that a GIA certified diamond will probably not qualify as a "Very Cheap Diamond." Quite frankly, they are typically the most expensive diamond that you can buy. Any diamond that is GIA certified, will command a premium as opposed to diamonds certified by almost all other labs. However if you would like to purchase the best quality diamond that money can buy, at least you know that you can save some money by lowering your clarity grade a bit. A higher clarity grade diamond will not necessarily look better than a lower clarity grade diamond.

The clarity grade of a diamond is really not nearly as important as the "Cut Grade" or "Color Grade" of a diamond when it comes to how much it will sparkle or how good it looks to your eyes. If you don’t have an unlimited budget to work with, just make sure the diamond is clean to the naked eye, and then get the best "Cut Grade" you can afford. Remember that it’s the "Cut Grade" that will determine how much your diamond will sparkle! Don’t allow yourself to be fooled by a jeweler that is trying to sell you a VVS1 or VVS2 diamond by telling you that you have to buy a high clarity grade diamond in order for it to look good. That is just not true in most cases!
Now as far as color grade goes, that is a little bit more complicated when it comes to Very cheap diamonds that still look good. You see, the "Color Grade" of a diamond is something that you CAN SEE WITH THE NAKED EYE. And since some people are more sensitive to color than others, this can get a little bit tricky to recommend. The vast majority of customers that I speak with, want a diamond that is as white as possible. Most people don’t want a diamond that looks yellow, unless of course they are buying a "Fancy Yellow" diamond. (That’s another subject) So I am often asked, "What color grade diamond is the best to buy if I want a cheaper price, but still not get a diamond that appears too yellow?" To start with, I highly recommend that you look at our diamond color grade charts available on this page. http://www.secretdiamond.com/info/diamondcolorinfo.htm

It is important to note here that the diamond grading scale begins with "D", not "A". This is because in years past, before GIA invented the 4 C’s, there was no universal standard method for diamond grading. Diamonds grades were called all sorts of different things by different jewelers. So when GIA invented the 4 C’s, they wanted to start fresh. They did not want to be confused with the way diamonds were graded in the past. Now let’s get back to "Color Grade".

Even though D, E and F color grade diamonds are all in the "colorless category" of diamonds, only "D" color grade diamonds are truly colorless. Let’s repeat that. Only a diamond that is graded "D" in color grade, is truly colorless. Every letter after that, you are getting a diamond that is slightly more yellow in color, than the grade before it. So an "E" diamond has just a tiny little bit if color to it. An "F" diamond has a slight bit more, and so-on. However "E & F" color grade diamonds have so little color present, that GIA decided to place them in the same "Colorless Category" as D. The same method applies to diamonds in the "Near Colorless" category. These diamonds are "G, H, I and J" Now remember, every color grade you go down the scale, the diamond gets a little bit more yellow. So by the time you get to "J", you are 6 color grades away from a colorless diamond (That’s quite a bit), even though it’s in the same "Near Colorless" category as "G".

(I would also like to mention here that at least to my eyes, it is very difficult to see a difference in diamond color grades that are only 1 color grade apart, like between F & G. It becomes a little easier to see the difference, when there is a 2 color grade difference, like F & H)

In my own opinion, "J" color grade diamonds start to look too yellow for my own personal taste, especially in certain types of lighting. For instance, you can really see the yellow color in bright sunlight. The only way I would personally buy a "J" color grade diamond, is if it was graded by "GIA" (remember they are very strict) and it was very well cut, maybe even "Ideal Cut". The massive sparkle from an Ideal cut diamond, will help hide the yellow color of a diamond. However an ideal cut "J" color grade diamond, will not look as impressive as an Ideal cut diamond with a better color grade. That is just my opinion. I am sure there will be some people reading this with "J" color grade diamonds, that disagree. More power to you! Again I would like to mention that some people are more sensitive to diamond color than others.

Now let’s get back to the subject of "Very Cheap Engagement Rings" and "Very Cheap Diamonds". The color grade of a diamond is somewhere that you can save some money on diamond engagement rings. You don’t have to buy a "D" color grade diamond for it to look good. I have even had customers tell me that they are actually TOO CLEAR, that they actually like a little bit of color. (Beauty is in the eye of the beholder) That’s why I would venture to say (again in my own opinion) that you don’t even have to buy an "E" or "F" color grade diamond for it to look pretty darn good. If you want to save money on your diamond engagement ring, most people would be pretty happy with the appearance of a "G" color grade diamond. Many honest jewelers will tell you that if you want to get the most "Bang For The Buck" when buying a diamond, consider buying a "G" color grade diamond. They are still pretty colorless looking, and they will cost less than D, E and F. (Maybe put some of the money you saved towards getting a better "Cut Grade?!)

RECAP: So if you are looking for "very cheap engagement rings" or "very cheap diamonds", you can go as low as SI1 clarity grade (Especially GIA certified) and as low as "G" color grade (again especially if GIA certified). This is called a G/SI1 diamond. But please remember, try not to sacrifice on "Cut Grade". I would strongly recommend that you don’t go any lower than "Very Good" cut grade. And even consider buying "Ideal Cut Grade" if you can afford it.

Tip: Before you save money by purchasing a diamond online, consider visiting a local jewelry store to look at diamond color grades in person. This may help you see for yourself how sensitive you are to color. But be aware of the tricks jewelers use to make all of the diamonds they sell look good. It’s common to have special lighting in jewelry stores that help their diamonds look whiter. Ask them for a white cloth to place diamonds on. If they have a "D" color grade diamond, use that for comparison. You can also place your hand above the diamond to block the "Special Lighting". Then look at the diamonds. Also don’t forget to flip the diamonds over and look at them from the underside, if they are loose and not set in a ring. Some diamonds "Face Up" white, but are actually yellowish in color. If you can’t look at the diamond from underneath because it is set in a ring, look at it from the side. Just don’t be fooled by tricks. Do your due
diligence.

Another way to save money on diamonds and engagement rings, is to buy a diamond that weighs just slightly less than what is referred to as a "Key Weight". In other words, buy a .98 carat instead of a 1.0 carat diamond. Or buy a 1.98 carat diamond instead of a 2.0 carat diamond. Once a diamond hits 1.0 carat, the "Price Per Carat" goes up. And when a diamond hits 2.0 carats, the "Price Per Carat" goes up. If you go just slightly under these "Key Weights", your diamond will probably look just as big, but your price tag won’t! We will write more about this "Money Saving" method later, so check this blog often for more diamond buying tips that will help you save. You see at Engagement Rings By Secret Diamond, we don’t sell engagement rings with cheap quality, we sell exceptional quality engagement rings with cheap prices.

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