How to Buy Diamonds
Buying diamonds involves more than just finding the ring, earrings or bracelet that catches your eye. A diamond is an investment and you'll want to get the best diamond that you can afford. That means knowing what to look for when buying any diamond jewelry.
- Verify that the jewelry store is not dealing in conflict diamonds. Ask for documentation that their diamonds are warranted as conflict-free.
- Look at the cut of the diamond once you've established that they are conflict-free. The cut is the most important characteristic of a diamond and is what causes the sparkle associated with diamonds. There are four cuts of diamonds: ideal cut, very good cut, good cut, fair cut and poor cut. Ideal cut diamonds reflect nearly all light that enters the diamond and is a rare cut. On the other hand poor cut diamonds lose most of the light.
- Look at the clarity of the diamond. The clarity is number and size of imperfections in the diamond and has the least affect on the appearance of the diamond. Diamond clarity is graded as Flawless (FL), Internally Flawless (IF), Very, Very Slightly Included (VVS1, VVS2), Very Slightly Included (VS1, VS2), Slightly Included (SI1, SI2) and Included (I1, I2, I3).
- Consider what carat diamond you want. Carat represents the diamond weight and is used when determining the size of the diamond that you want.
- Color refers to the lack of color in a diamond. The less color in a diamond the better quality the diamond is. The color grade of diamonds begins with the letter D which is the highest grade and ends with Z, the lowest grade. The lowest grade diamond has noticeable color.
- Consider what shape diamond you want. The different shape diamonds are: round, princess, emerald, asscher, marquise, oval, radiant, pear, heart and cushion shape.
- Ask to review the certification that the diamond has been examined by an unbiased professional party such as the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) or the American Gem Society Laboratories (AGSL).