How To Purchase Diamond Jewelry

If you're a man, you're probably thinking of giving your bride-to-be a diamond ring and would like to ask her to marry you. The idea seems simple enough; you'd go to a jewelry store, select a diamond worthy for your beloved, pay for it and you're ready to go. In reality however, this is not always what it feels like especially if you are able to get a hold of the price tag of your chosen sparkler and you would soon realize how intimidating it is to purchase diamond jewelry gifts. If you have the intention to purchase a diamond in the near future, it is important that you know the tricks of the trade for you to take charge of your transactions and get a run for your money.

According to Fred Cuellar, gemologist and one of the world's top diamond experts, there are basically four things that a consumer has to remember when he or she intends to purchase diamond jewelry gifts, and these could be summarized as BEST: B-budget, E-expectations, S-savvy, and T-timetable. In terms of budget, you should try to figure out first how much you intend to spend on buying diamond, and you should stick to that budget outlay; a month's salary could already be a good starting point. For expectations, it is important that you know and understand the needs and wants of the person to whom you are going to give the diamond so that you will have an idea what to look for and what to pick out from the bunch. Being savvy requires you to know the given cost of diamond in the market and the best designs available, as they say knowledge is power; and for the element of timetable, you must have a laid plan about when and where you intend to give the diamond, do not haste things and be sure to give yourself enough time to analyze things.

Now that you have a crash course about making diamond purchase, you should also know where to buy your sparklers. You have two options where you could get your diamond jewelry gifts, first is for you to go online and second is to check your local jewelry shops. Buying online is probably one of the most practical means to buy diamond gifts because you don't have to break a sweat and everything is just one click away; however, the drawbacks with this are you cannot appraise the diamond and the possibility of scams are high but if you really want this option, be sure to do a background check on the online stores where you intend to purchase. The latter option of buying your diamond gifts on you local jewelry store is a better choice because you would be able to appraise the diamond personally and long time jewelers could help you out with your questions, which would assist you in arriving at the right decision.

As for the diamond, always remember the 4Cs: clarity, color, cut and carat; all of which are important elements that determine the real value of sparklers. Clarity is what determines how free from blemishes and inclusions a diamond is. Different types of diamond are assigned with clarity grades that may range from flawless to obvious inclusions. Sometimes, due to quality issues there are diamond pieces that are treated to reduce their imperfections by irradiation, filling imperfections, or laser drilling, these are known as clarity enhanced sparklers which are usually lesser in value.

When it comes to color, diamond pieces are available in virtually all colors; however, colored sparklers are rare and truly expensive so chances are, the sparklers you would see during your shopping are either white or yellow in color but between the two, it would be better to go for whiter diamond pieces. This is because the yellow coloring of sparklers came from nitrogen which affect their sharp and sparkly features; hence, as a rule of thumb, the yellower the diamond, the cheaper it becomes. When it comes to cut, diamond pieces could be cut in different ways, the most common of which is the round brilliant cut. More than indicating the shape of the diamond, a cut also determines how sparkly such gemstone will be.

It is never enough for a diamond to be clear and white, because your diamond will not sparkle unless it is cut properly. As cut is extremely hard to analyze, the three things that you should look at are brilliance, fire and scintillation; however, if you really want to make things easier, the standard round brilliant cut is probably the most preferable choice compared to other cut. Lastly, the carat refers to the unit weight of a diamond. Majority of diamond pieces used for fine jewelry often weight one carat or less; this is because a fraction of a carat can make a big difference on the value of diamond.

Purchasing diamond jewelry gifts is a daunting task. Hence, it is always best to be an informed buyer in order to get the most out of your money. Not because a diamond is round brilliant cut doesn't mean it's already a good purchase. Remember that there are still three remaining Cs that you have to consider. A clarity enhanced diamond might be inexpensive but also consider the quality. Educating oneself is a good way to make the right purchasing decisions.

-Lorraine Jacobs