The iconic luxury brand dominates the engagement ring market, so people naturally think they are the holy grail when it comes to popping the question. But if you are looking for a unique engagement ring that’s as one-of-a-kind as your fiance, they may not be your best option and working with an independent jeweler might be the way to go.
An independent jeweler is a craftsman dedicated to creating an engagement ring that tells the story of your love, and they can deliver on a few key points in ways that Tiffany can’t:
- Customization
- Quality of service
- Value
Let’s take a closer look at the advantages offered by working with an independent jeweler.
- A More Personalized and Exclusive Service
- A Comprehensive Jewelry Service
- Jewelry is Never Mass-Produced & Always Top-Quality
- Adding diamonds to the band
- Adding a halo of diamonds to the center stone
- Mixing and matching stones and metals
- Choose from GIA-Certified or Lab-Grown Diamonds
- Access Wholesale-Priced Diamonds
- Looking For A Tiffany Engagement Ring Alternative?
- We’d Love To Craft It For You
1. A More Personalized and Exclusive Service
Whether buying in-store or online, selecting a mass-produced engagement ring off-the-shelf isn’t exactly… romantic.
Neither is telling your grandchildren the story of your engagement and thinking back to the hours you spent looking at numbers and toggles on a screen:
Your Tiffany consultant will chat with you about the specs of the rings in their inventory and help you pick out one that suits you, but they won’t necessarily have a genuine personal interest in who your fiancee is, her unique style, her personality, or the story of how you met.
That’s where independent jewelers like Peter Norman are different. If you entrust a local jewelry specialist to craft your customized Tiffany engagement ring alternative, you’ll receive a truly personalized service that could extend far beyond your engagement ring. Imagine walking into your jewelers and being greeted by name and asked about your family and kids – the furry kind, too!
Our reviews speak for themselves:
As an independent jeweler, we’re proud to offer a truly exclusive service to our customers. It’s a level of personalized care that Tiffanys can’t match.
2. A Comprehensive Jewelry Service
When Prince William presented Kate Middleton with his late mother’s engagement ring, it was seen as a beautiful gesture that honored Princess Diana’s memory.
The stunning sapphire ring did have to be altered slightly to fit Kate’s finger perfectly, and this is an essential part of a jeweler’s service.
If you’re stuck between a classic Tiffany piece and a treasured family heirloom, you’d have to choose one or the other. Global brands such as Tiffany won’t offer this service, so your engagement ring would be off-the-shelf only.
But with an independent jeweler, you’ll have the opportunity to:
- Alter or resize a family heirloom
- Use stones from your heirloom piece to fashion a new and unique engagement ring
The result is the best of both worlds – modern and traditional. Our complete jewelry service means the sky’s the limit for your engagement ring design.
3. Jewelry is Never Mass-Produced & Always Top-Quality
As we mentioned in our first point, Tiffany rings are never custom – they’re off-the-shelf. There’s no personalization, no customized touches to suit your preferences – just a limited range of styles.
And while the Tiffany styles are truly stunning, you are essentially dropping thousands of dollars on a ring worn by thousands of other women around the world.
This is where independent jewelers will always have an advantage over global brands like Tiffany. At Peter Norman, we offer a specialized custom engagement ring design that is unique – bringing your fiance’s personal style to life.
And if you’ve fallen in love with a particular ring at Tiffany, we can work with you to create an inspired alternative that’s yours and yours alone. Having your Tiffany engagement ring alternative custom crafted might include:
- Providing your own design concept for the jeweler to work from
- Receiving expert advice on style, stones, metals, and more
- Repurposing a treasured family heirloom into something new
- Choosing from vintage, classic, and modern designs – or a combination of all three
Your independent jeweler will put time and effort into learning who you are, the story of your relationship, and ask detailed questions about your style and preferences.
You might consider:
Adding diamonds to the band
If it is to your fiancée’s taste, inlaying diamonds in the band can enhance a Tiffany-style engagement ring.
Adding a halo of diamonds to the center stone
If you’ve been looking for engagement rings similar to the Tiffany Soleste, this is a good option.
Mixing and matching stones and metals
Here’s the thing about creating a custom design: the possibilities are endless! You can take inspiration from Tiffany and elaborate on it – creating your own unique vision. In the capable hands of a master jeweler, everything is possible.
You’ll be included and consulted throughout the process, so you can feel truly part of the creation of your engagement ring. This can make your proposal all the more meaningful and special to your fiancée: you are presenting them with a ring you had created just for them.
4. Choose from GIA-Certified or Lab-Grown Diamonds
Any good jeweler should be able to guarantee that your diamond is conflict-free. And although Tiffany promises that its diamonds are ethically-sourced, many big brands have been known to fall short on their safeguarding practices. This is where independent jewelers stand out from our mass-produced counterparts: mass-produced jewelers may not always know where their diamonds come from or may not want to tell you.
At Peter Norman, we source our diamonds directly from the wholesaler, offering you the option for conflict-free mined diamonds or lab-grown. We also specialize in repurposing materials from heirloom rings, a sustainable and ethical alternative to a new stone.
What’s the difference between mined and lab-grown diamonds? Take a look at the table below:
| Mined | Lab-grown | |
| Ethical impact | Conflict-free when sourced through an ethical jeweler | Always conflict-free |
| Environmental impact | High | Low |
| Quality | Every mined diamond is naturally unique | Of equal quality to mined diamonds by GIA standards, but without the prestige of being naturally-sourced |
| Cost | Higher due to mining costs | Lower, due to lower cost of lab production |
5. Access Wholesale-Priced Diamonds
Tiffany engagement rings retail from $14,000 – $80,000. At first, you might think “fair enough, they’re a world-class brand with world-class diamonds”. But how much markup do you think they’re making on those diamonds?
Here’s the thing – the markup for luxury jewelry has little to do with the quality of materials and everything to do with the prestige of the brand. At Peter Norman, not only do we always know where our diamonds come from, we even sell them at wholesale prices to bring you better value. We foster close relationships with our vendors and negotiate diamond prices, so customers receive the highest quality diamonds at wholesale price.
Looking For A Tiffany Engagement Ring Alternative?
We’d Love To Craft It For You
We understand the pull of big brands when it comes to buying your engagement ring. You want to get it exactly right, and the familiarity of a big chain like Tiffany can seem like a safe option for such a huge decision.
But at Peter Norman, we pride ourselves on personalizing our service to every couple. We’ll marry our experience and expertise in jewelry design with your unique knowledge of your partner to help you produce the perfect ring for your bride-to-be.
Get in touch to start the next chapter in your love story – we can’t wait to meet you.
The exact cost is unknown, but we estimate at least $150,000. Heather Rae Young’s engagement ring features an 8.08-carat diamond, which is a very rare stone.
Depending on the quality of the gem, the price per carat for an eight-carat stone starts at $15,000 and can reach as high as $50,000, so our estimate could even be on the low side!
In the collection of the House of Grimaldi, a royal Monaco dynasty. In 1297, the Genoese leader of the Guelphs, Francesco Grimaldi, established the house when he took lordship over Monaco.
It makes sense for Grace Kelly’s engagement ring to be in the Grimaldi collection as she married into Monaco royalty when she wed Prince Rainier in 1956. Learn more about Grace Kelly’s iconic engagement ring here.
Around five million dollars. The engagement ring features an incredibly rare 18-carat diamond in a split-shank setting. Beyonce received this ring from husband Jay Z at some point before the couple’s secret wedding in April 2008.
Most celebrities choose a custom jeweler, like Peter Norman, for their engagement rings. Going custom means having more control over the style and design of the ring, not to mention more choices over the central gem and any accompanying stones.
Custom jewelers can source the couple’s preferred diamond (or other stone) and then design the ring around this gem.
We don’t know exactly but estimates range from six to nine carats. Ajay Anand of Rare Carat told Insider that the ring cost around half a million dollars, noting that the ring seems to feature an eight-carat colorless diamond. Meanwhile, tabloid Page Six reports that the ring has a 6.9-carat stone.
An estimated 12 carats, but the exact weight is unknown. Blake received this engagement ring from now-husband Ryan Reynolds before the two married in 2012.
Unlike many other celebrities, Lively never posted a close-up shot of her ring on social media, nor spoke to the press about its details. We do know that the ring probably cost over two million based on its diamond’s estimated weight.
An estimated four to five carats, but we don’t know exactly how much the oval diamond weighs. This unusual ring was given to Ariana by fiance Dalton Gomez, who was very involved in the ring’s design. It also features an off-center pearl.
Read more about Ariana Grande’s ring and other celebrity engagement rings here.
20 carats and 15 carats. Kim Kardashian has two engagement rings, both were given to her by her now ex-husband Kanye West.
Since the pair broke up in January 2021, Kim has not been seen wearing either ring, but speculations abound that both rings are still in her private collection
A reported $160,000. At just under four carats, the engagement ring features three different gemstones in a traditional trinity setting.
The middle stone is cushion cut while the flanking stones are round. Although many celebrities have been sporting platinum, this ring highlights how beautifully yellow gold can work in an engagement ring.
About 12 million dollars. However, when purchased back in 2002, the ring cost about 1.2 million dollars.
Since that time, the value of the ring has skyrocketed, much in line with the popularity of pink diamonds, which JLo’s ring showcases.
Gwen Stefani’s ring features an eight-carat emerald-cut diamond with trapezoid sides. This stunning central stone is set in platinum and complemented by two smaller, flanking gems. Take a look at Gwen’s ring, and other celebrity engagement rings, here.
