DIAMOND BUYERS GUIDE AND INSIDE TIPS
DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER . HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU HEARD THAT EXPRESSION? I WILL OUTLINE SOME OF THE BASICS FOR POTIENTIAL DIAMOND SHOPPERS, WHETHER IT BE ON EBAY, RETAIL STORES, OR EVEN A PAWN SHOP, YOU WILL BE SURPRISED AS WELL AS INTRIGUED TO DISCOVER HOW KNOWING A FEW OF THE BASICS CAN MAKE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BUYING A GOOD DIAMOND OR BUYING A BAD DIAMOND. IN ORDER TO PURCHASE A GREAT DIAMOND YOU FIRST NEED SOME BASIC KNOWLEDGE THAT SEPARATES YOU FROM THE PROFESSIONALS.
WHEN BUYING A DIAMOND THERE ARE FOUR BASIC PHYSICAL FEATURES TO CONSIDER. THE FIRST THING YOU WANT TO DO IS DECIDE IS WHAT CUT DIAMOND YOU WANT. DEPENDING ON TRENDS, FASHION, AND PERSONAL TASTE YOU MOST LIKELY HAVE AN IDEA. THE CUT ALSO PLAYS A ROLE IN PRICE SO FOR THIS REASON IT IS A GOOD PRACTICE TO DETERMINE WHAT CUT YOU WILL BE LOOKING FOR. THE CUT OF THE DIAMOND VARIES AND INCLUDES, MARQUISE, HEART, AND TEARDROP CUTS. THESE ARE SOME OF THE LESS DESIREABLE CUTS SOUGHT AFTER IN TODAY’S MARKET. THE ROUND, PRINCESS, AND EMERALD CUTS ARE THE MOST SOUGHT AFTER TODAY. THIS HAS ALOT TO DO WITH TRENDS, AND I MUST SAY THE EMERALD CUT RULES THE MARKET AT THE MOMENT. THE PRICE WILL ALWAYS REFLECT THE MOST DESIRED CUTS. ROUND OR ROUND BRILLIANT AS IT IS SOMETIMES REFERED TO IS ALWAYS A SAFE CHOICE AS THIS CUT WILL NEVER LOOSE IT’S APPEAL. ROUND CUT DIAMONDS WILL ALWAYS BE IN STYLE. THE PRICES ARE NOT GOING UP AND DOWN AS YOU NOTICE WITH THE TRENDS, AND THEY HOLD THERE VALUE MUCH BETTER THAN SAY A HEART SHAPED DIAMOND WOULD. THE EMERALD CUT IS BY FAR THE MOST SOUGHT AFTER. IT IS ALSO THE MOST APPEALING AND ELEGANT SHAPE. PRINCESS CUT DIAMONDS HAVE BEEN IN THE SPOTLIGHT FOR SOME TIME, HOWEVER THE MARKET SHOWS THAT THE EMERALD IS NUMBER ONE WITH ROUND AT A CLOSE SECOND, WHICH MEANS THEY ARE PRICED ACCORDINGLY. THE CUT PLAYS A BIG ROLE IN PRICE, WHICH IS SOMETHING ALOT OF SHOPPERS DO NOT REALIZE. THE EMERALD CUT DIAMOND IS THE MOST DESIRED CUT RIGHT NOW SO YOU CAN EXSPECT A HIGHER PRICE. ALSO DEPENDING ON PREFERENCE YOU MAY CHOOSE TO ADD SIDE DIAMONDS TO YOUR CENTER DIAMOND. THESE ARE USUALLY SMALLER AND ARE SIDE MOUNTED TO ACCENT YOUR CENTER DIAMOND. A NICE EXAMPLE OF SIDE MOUNTED STONES ARE RECTANGULAR BAGGETTES, OR TRIANGULAR TRILLIONS. THESE ARE JUST A FEW EXAMPLES OF THE TYPE CUT STONES USED AS SIDE STONES. CHOSE THE SAME CUT AS YOUR CENTER DIAMOND OR BREAK IT UP WITH SOME PRECIOUS GEMS FOR ADDED COLOR AND STYLE. THESE ARE ALL GREAT WAYS TO ENHANCE YOUR DIAMOND RING.
ONCE YOU HAVE DETERMINED CUT, YOU WILL THEN WANT TO SET A PRICE RANGE AS A GUIDE SO YOU CAN STAY WITHIN YOUR LIMITS.
SETTING A PRICE RANGE AND DETERMINING THE DESIRED CARAT WEIGHT WILL GIVE YOU MORE TIME TO INSPECT A DIAMONDS QUALITY.
ONCE YOUR PRICE LIMIT IS SET AND CUT PREFERENCE IS DECIDED YOU CAN SPEND YOUR TIME INSPECTING INDIVIDUAL STONES FOR THE BEST QUALITY AND CLARITY. THE GRADING SCALE FOR A DIAMOND IS UNIVERSAL AND YOU WILL FIND THAT MOST BROKERS NEVER USE CERTIFICATES OR TRUST ONE. HAVING A GIA CERTIFIED DIAMOND IS NOTHING TO A TRAINED JEWELERS EYES. IT MUST FIRST BE WEIGHED AND THEN EXAMINED WITH A HAND HELD MAGNIFIER CALLED A LOOP. THE LOOP ALLOWS FOR 10 TIMES MAGNIFICATION WHICH IS VITAL WHEN INSPECTING FOR FLAWS. YOU WILL WANT TO LOOK FOR ANY IMPERFECTIONS THAT MAY NOT BE SEEN UNLESS CLOSELY MAGNIFIED. THESE FLAW CAN BE ANY TYPE DEFECT THAT IS INTERNAL. LOOK FOR CRACKS SOMETIMES CALLED FEATHERS, AND PAY ATTENTION TO ANY SMALL BLACK SPECKS, THESE ARE CARBON DEPOSITS AND ARE INTERNAL FLAWS. OTHER THINGS TO LOOK OUT FOR WHEN LOOPING A DIAMOND ARE VARIATIONS IN THE COLOR, MAYBE IT LOOKS CLOUDY, OR YOU NOTICE A CHIP THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN MISSED UNLESS MAGNIFIED. PAYING CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE INTERNAL PART OF THE DIAMOND GIVES TIME TO NOTE ALOT OF FLAWS MISSED BY THE NAKED EYE. THIS IS WHERE BUYERS LOOSE THE MOST. A FLAWLESS DIAMOND IS RARE AND VERY PRICEY SO REMEMBER UNLESS IT IS INTERNALLY FLAWLESS YOU THERE WILL BE SOME INTERNAL FLAWS, ALWAYS REMEMBER TO LOOP THE STONE AND REALLY LOOK FOR THE TYPE FLAWS MENTIONED EARLIER THEN APPLY THE KNOWLEDGE YOU HAVE TO DETERMINE THE NUMBER AND TYPE OF FLAWS. COMPARE THE STONE TO OTHERS IN THE SAME PRICE RANGE AND WEIGHT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR. REMEMBER IF THE INTERNAL FLAW(S) ARE ONLY DETECTABLE WHEN MAGNIFIED 10 TIMES, ARE SMALL IN NUMBER, AND NO CRACKS OR BREAKS THEN IT IS JUST A MATTER PRICE RANGE.
THIS LAST AND MOST IMPORTANT TIP I WILL SHARE WITH YOU IS A TIP ABOUT COLOR. THIS IS WHERE YOU SEE THAT FIRE AND SPARKLE THAT IS SO UNIQUE TO A DIAMOND. THE COLOR OF A DIAMOND IS THE BIGGEST HURDLE IN GRADING IT.
LET ME GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE OF HOW THIS WORKS. YOU ALREADY KNOW THAT CHECKING THE DIAMOND UNDER MAGNIFICATION WILL REVEAL ANY INTERNAL FLAWS NOT VISIBLE TO THE NAKED EYE. LET’S SAY YOU ARE VEIWING A ONE CARAT LOOSE STONE, YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN THE GRADE OF THIS DIAMOND THEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE DIFFERENCES. ONE DIAMOND HAS A FEW INTERNAL FLAWS WHEN MAGNIFIED BUT YOU CANNOT SEE THEM UNLESS MAGNIFIED 10 TIMES. THE CUT AND WEIGHT ARE WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR BUT THE COLOR IS LACKING THAT FIRE THAT YOU SEE IN SOME OTHERS. HERE COMES THE BIG DECISION, YOUR THINKING PURCHASE A BETTER CLARITY STONE, BUT THEN YOU REALIZE YOU LIKE HAVING THAT FIRE AND SPARKLE OF A BETTER COLOR LET’S SAY THE COLOR IS YELLOWISH OR CLOUDY BUT ON THE OTHER HAND ALSO HAS A NICE WEIGHT AND MINIMAL INTERNAL FLAWS, WHAT DO YOU DO? THIS IS WERE PERSONAL PREFERENCE AND TASTE PLAY A MAJOR ROLE SINCE EACH OF US HAVE OUR OWN TASTES AND STYLE. THIS TO ME IS WHERE MOST DIAMOND SHOPPERS GO WRONG, THEY GET CAUGHT UP IN THE TINY INTERNAL FLAWS ONLY VISIBLE WHEN MAGNIFIED TEN TIMES AND IN DOING SO THEY SACRIFICE COLOR OR CARAT WEIGHT. THE WORST PLACE TO PURCHASE DIAMONDS ARE RETAIL STORES, OR A MALL. ON AVERAGE THE MARK UP IS THREE TIMES IN RETAIL AND THE QUALITY IS POOR. ALWAYS THINK ABOUT IT , WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE A CARAT DIAMOND WITH MINIMAL FLAWS AND A YELLOW TINT OR A FIREY EYE CATCHING DIAMOND THAT MAY HAVE SOME INTERNAL FLAWS BUT NONE THAT CAN BE SEEN TO THE BARE EYE. . OTHERS WHO ARE CHECKING OUT YOUR NEW BLING WILL NOTICE IF IT HAS A YELLOWISH TINT IN IT, ESPECIALLY IF IT IS SET IN YELLOW GOLD. IF YOU FIND THE RIGHT COLOR, CUT, AND CARAT WEIGHT WITH A REASONABLE PRICE TAG GO FOR THE BLING. IT WINS HANDS DOWN. FEW IF ANY RETAIL JEWELERS WILL TELL YOU THAT THEY USE SPECIAL LIGHTS TO GIVE DIAMONDS FAKE FIRE. ALL IT TAKES IS PLACING ONE YELLOW STONE IN WITH FINER COLOR GRADES TO SEE JUST HOW HARD IT IS TO DETERMINE A DIAMONDS TRUE WORTH.
FOR THE MOST PART IF YOU FOLLOW THESE SIMPLE BUYING TECHNIQUES YOU WILL BE PLEASED WITH YOUR DIAMOND. NEVER PURCHASE IN THE SAME VISIT AND ALWAYS ASK THE COLOR AND CLARITY AND REMEMBER IF THINGS DON’T SEEM RIGHT THEY MOST LIKELY ARE NOT. THE BUSINESS OF SELLING DIAMONDS IS A TRICKY ONE AT BEST, THERE WILL ALWAYS BE A HIGH MARK UP AND A STRONG DEMAND. WHICH IS ALL THE MORE REASON TO SHOP AROUND. IF THEY DO NOT WELCOME MAGINFIERS THEN THERE IS A REASON. THESE ARE JUST A FEW OF THE BASICS THAT WILL HELP YOU GET ON THE RIGHT PATH, I HOPE TO CONTINUE WRITING REVIEWS AND GUIDES AS LONG AS THEY ARE HELPFUL. I DO HOPE THE INFORMATION IN THIS GUIDE IS USEFUL BE YOUR BEST . GOOD LUCK DIAMOND SHOPPING AND REST ASSURED THAT BUYING DIAMONDS ARE ONLY GOOD INVESTMENTS IF THEY ARE DESIRABLE IN APPEARENCE AND YOU HAVE A NICE COLOR WITH MINIMAL FLAWS. THIS IS THE BASIC INFORMATION FOR FIRST TIME BUYERS WHO NEED A FEW SIMPLE POINTER ON BUYING A DIAMOND. STAY TUNED FOR THE NEXT GUIDE, BUYING AND SELLING DIAMONDS FOR PROFIT. DON’T MISS OUT.