6 Handy Tips on Buying The Right Diamond
1. Learn about diamonds
Sometimes, I just can't help myself but to keep on emphasizing
this to anyone who wants to buy a diamond online: LEARN
SOMETHING ABOUT DIAMONDS! Sorry, I don't mean to shout. But in
reality, many people are still very ignorant about diamond.
Believe it a not, there are jewelers who are unable to
differentiate a diamond cut from a diamond shape. Everyone is so
hyped up about the carat weight and has totally forgotten about
the other 3 characteristics of a diamond.
It won't take you years or months to learn something about
diamond. There are plenty of articles and information on the 4C
of a diamond. Spend some useful time in the library or internet
and learn about diamonds. Who knows, you may become an expert in
diamonds.
2. Prioritize the 4 characteristics
There are much more about diamonds than just the 4Cs. But at the
end of the day, the 4Cs are still the major factors influencing
the quality and price of a diamond.
Before you start prioritizing the 4Cs, you got to know what your
girl actually likes about a diamond. If she like big one, go for
a diamond with big carat weight but with poorer quality in terms
of color, cut or clarity. If she likes the brilliance of a
diamond and doesn't mind the size, choose one with excellent cut
and clarity. Whichever the case is, prioritizing the 4Cs will
give you a better idea of what diamonds will suit her taste as
well as your budget.
3. Do a price research
With your list, do some price research at some of the online
jewelry stores (Here are some of the top online jewelry stores).
Based on your list, you should have a rough estimate of the
market price of the diamond you are looking for. If the price is
out of your budget, try going for a grade lower than your
expectation and you may eventually find one that suits you well.
4. Do some background research on the jewelry stores
If you have been doing researching, you would have come across
information on cubic zirconium diamonds. These synthetic
diamonds are D-color graded, flawless and cut to perfection. In
short, a CZ diamond is a 'perfect' diamond. It is brilliant,
flawless and yet cheap. Their prices do not increase
exponentially with their quality unlike diamonds.
And there are also some natural diamonds which have undergone
treatments to reduce its blemishes thus enhanced its appearance.
It is still a low grade diamond and dishonest dealers may try to
pass it off as a good graded diamond and sell you at a higher
price.
So, before you start swiping your hard-earned money away, do
some research about the jeweler as well. Ask your family,
relatives or friend who have purchased from the dealer. Online
forum is a good place to ask around and there are plenty of
sites that provide reviews on jewelry store online.
Give the jewelry store a call, talk to their staffs and decide
for yourself if you are comfortable with the store.
5. Always ask for a money back guarantee
There are risks in very form of transactions, so do buying
diamonds. Protect yourself and minimize any risks by making sure
that the store has the complete details about their return
policy. It should include information about the validity period,
what to do if you wish to return your purchase and their address.
As a rule of thumb, online stores should offer you no less than
21 days return policy. In fact, most of them have a return
policy of 30 days.
6. Choose jewelers who provide grading reports
Certified diamonds will come along with a grading report by
reputable gemology organizations such as GIA or AGS. Some online
jewelry stores certified their diamond by in-house gemologists
and they may be using different grading standards from GIA or
AGS, while others may not provide the grading reports. Diamonds
from top online jewelry stores generally comes accompanied with
a grading report.
After you have purchased your diamond, you should get it
appraised again with the grading report by a trained gemologist.
The grading report will be very helpful in ascertaining whether
the diamond you have bought is up to the specifications shown on
the report.