What you’re actually paying for in a €5,000 engagement ring

The fine jewellery industry has a pricing problem. Not that prices are wrong — often they are quite reasonable given the inputs — but that prices are never explained. The ring appears in a case or on a screen, the number appears below it, and the buyer is expected to accept the gap between the two on the strength of the brand name and the velvet box.

I find this unsatisfying. Buyers at the €3,000 to €10,000 level are sophisticated people making a considered purchase. They deserve to know what they are actually buying.

Here, as precisely as I can manage it, is where the money goes in a €5,000 engagement ring from Rauno Oidram.

The stone: approximately 55–60%

In a ring with a central diamond of approximately 0.8ct to 1ct, the stone typically accounts for €2,750 to €3,000 of the total cost. This is the largest single line item by a significant margin.

What the stone price reflects: the four Cs — cut, colour, clarity, carat — the grading laboratory (GIA or IGI), and whether the stone is natural or lab-grown. A 1ct round, GIA-graded, G colour, VS1 clarity, excellent cut, costs considerably more than a 1ct oval, IGI-graded, H colour, VS2 clarity, even though both are technically one carat.

At Rauno Oidram, I source stones specifically for each commission rather than maintaining a fixed parcel. This means I can match the stone to the design and the client’s priorities, and I do not carry inventory costs, which I pass directly to you.

The metal: approximately 8–12%

A platinum ring in a size N uses roughly 7–9 grams of platinum. At current spot price, the metal value is €200 to €300. An 18ct white gold version finishes at a similar raw material cost.

The metal cost is relatively stable and relatively small. It is also one of the areas where less scrupulous manufacturers quietly reduce quality — using 14ct where 18ct is specified, or reducing shank weight below structural integrity. I work at 18ct or platinum only, and shanks are always built to wear for decades.

Design and production: approximately 20–25%

This is the line most jewellers obscure, and the one I want to be most transparent about.

Design cost includes the time I spend understanding your brief, developing the concept, producing technical drawings, and refining through feedback. For a signature piece, this is a fixed overhead amortised across the collection. For bespoke, it is charged per project.

Production cost includes the wax model or CAD-to-print prototype, casting, setting, and the polishing and finishing work done at my atelier partner in Valenza, Italy. The craftsmen in Valenza charge European artisan rates — not cheap, and correctly so. I have written about this process in detail in Designed in Tallinn, finished in Valenza.

Together, design and production in this price range account for roughly €1,000 to €1,250. This represents two to three weeks of skilled human attention applied to a single object.

Overhead: approximately 8–10%

Running a design studio — software, insurance, packaging, photography, the website you are reading now — costs money. At the scale I operate, these costs are real but contained.

What I do not have: a retail flagship on Bond Street, a global marketing budget, a team of 30 people, or shareholders expecting a return on capital deployed. The overhead of a designer-led house is structurally lower than a heritage brand’s, and that difference flows directly to you as better material quality at the same price point.

Packaging: cost price, no margin

The ring is delivered in a considered, minimal box. It is not cheap to produce — considered packaging never is — but I do not mark it up. It is a cost of doing the work correctly, not a revenue line.

I am not charging €400 for a box and calling it the full experience. The experience is the ring. The box holds the ring.

What is conspicuously absent

There is no line for brand equity, no line for heritage premium, no line for the name recognition the box confers. Those are real costs for brands that have built them. But they are costs that do not improve the object you receive.

At Rauno Oidram, you are paying for stone, metal, craft, and design. Nothing else is in the price.

Why this matters

A buyer who understands the breakdown can make a genuinely informed comparison between their options — not just a comparison of numbers, but a comparison of what those numbers buy. When you understand that €3,000 of your €5,000 is the stone, you understand why stone quality is the first decision. When you understand that the remaining €2,000 covers metal, craft, design, and overhead, you understand why the same €5,000 at a heritage brand buys you a less interesting stone inside a more expensive box.

The maths are not complicated. I have simply chosen to show them.

You can see the maths in my work. There is no markup for the box.

For more on the production process, read Designed in Tallinn, finished in Valenza. If you are concerned about being overcharged for a stone specifically, see The fear no one talks about: am I being overpaid for this stone?