Pawn shops are great for finding beautiful pieces of jewelry for very competitive prices — provided, of course, that you can sift through the not-so-desirable pieces in order to find a piece that you love. This is even more important if you're looking for a wedding ring at your local pawn shop in order to save a little money or find a ring a little more unique than your average jewelry place can swing.

But how do you find your unique ring among all the other pieces of jewelry? If you're looking for some tips and tricks to getting an engagement ring at your local pawn shop, then here's what you need to know.

Bring Some Equipment

You don't want to go in without a little backup, so make sure you've got a few things on hand: namely, a loupe, and a comparison ring that has a genuine stone (a diamond, for simplicity's sake) that you can compare your potential rings to.

There's plenty of guides to teach you how to use your loupe, as it's probably the most important tool you have for looking at potential stones up close for flaws, cracks, or signs that the diamond isn't a real diamond (such as bubbles). The comparison stone can help you to notice the differences between a genuine stone and a fake stone as well, as the fake will look different under the loupe.

Study Up

While you're not going to be able to learn everything about rings, materials, settings, and jewels in an afternoon, a bit of googling will help you learn enough to get by and not mistake low-quality items for their higher-value cousins. 

For example, do you know what cut, color, and clarity mean for diamonds? How about which settings are most secure and which are least? The value of non-diamond stones in a side setting? These things are easy enough to learn, however, and doing the research (and saving the pertinent info to your phone in a note for when you're out shopping) can help you avoid jewelry with low-quality materials, faulty settings, or diamonds that aren't up to snuff.

Check Off the Path

Generally speaking, pawn shop owners like to put new, flashy, or high-priced items right out where you can see them in order to invite you to buy them. If you take a little time looking in older display cases, however, you might just find a hidden treasure — and an item priced to move, as pawn shop owners like to move out old merchandise to make room for new stuff.

Check for slightly faded price tags in displays not at eye level for these older pieces; going off the beaten path might not always work out perfectly, but it's sure to give you a wider selection and is almost always cheaper than choosing from front-and-center display jewelry. To learn more, contact a pawn shop like Whittier Loan & Jewelry.