The 60/40 Split

...don't even get me started on, 50/30/20.

Author

Laher Design
October 26, 2023

This is the Lei è Engagement Ring Journal.

Discover how to maximise your budget, decode the diamond industry, and ensure a smooth consultation experience.

Series Two…
Getting the most out of your budget

This week we are going through a design approach tactic to maximise the overall potential of your engagement ring…

We’ve touched on this a few times in recent weeks. You may have seen reference to the ‘60/40 split’. Or ‘50/30/20’.

What we are referring to here is your budget allocation. Allocating a small percentage to your engagement ring, and spending more to have a bolder wedding band.

Or with the, 50/30/20 - this is referring to, having a third ring to complete the set. Let your imagination run amok.

So this isn’t exactly ‘finding a cheeky way to extend your budget’, however it is reframing how you approach the purchasing decision and allowing the entire package to have overall a bigger impact.


Let’s be clear… It’s not a psychological ‘win’. Or a visual design trick.

The fundamental rationale is quite black and white.

This is the reason…

The thing that soaks up your budget most rapidly is the carat weight of single stones. What do I mean by this?

The value of a larger stone is more than the incremental increase of its weight. Simply put, the bigger your stone gets, the more you pay per carat for that stone. For example, a 2ct sapphire is far more than double a 1ct sapphire. As it becomes more difficult and thus expensive to source a stone of nice colour and clarity, the larger it gets.

This reality has tailored many of our ‘bang for your buck’ approaches.

So, if we take this concept and find ways to arbitrage for a better result, it leads us to a few solutions…

In this instance, it’s spreading smaller stones over several locations on the finger.

Remembering firstly, the smaller the carat, the cheaper per carat you pay.

Therefore, an amazing approach to spreading the budget, is by spreading the carats!

Each individual stone will have its own lustre and sparkle. Therefore a bed of several small stones across both the engagement ring and wedding band, makes for a stunning complete package.

Our method;

  • Choose a smaller centre stone;

    • Either a 0.5 to 0.75 carat diamond and then create a full cluster of small side stones.

    • Or a smaller gemstone or diamond, combined as a Three Stone or Five Stone design.

    • ‘Marry’ this up with a crown wedder of small rounds and fancy cut diamonds.

    • Then, the final feather in the hat… The third plain band.

Unbeatable combo for the same cost as a larger single solitaire.


Onwards!