Diamonds for Less

Diamonds for Less is a short but necessary education in purchasing diamonds for jewelry or for profit.

In my former life I was a diamond expert working for many years managing one of the biggest jewelry store chains in the country. I have included 5 topics which I hope will be quite helpful in determining what type of diamonds you will be investing in.

The Importance of Cut and Proportion

Cut does not mean shape. However cut affects brilliance. You want your diamond to be cut as close to ideal as possible. Not too deep or too shallow. It's all about light reflection folks! 

Body Color

From colorless to warm yellow, a great thing to remember when buying diamonds is that the more rare the more expensive. For example: the whiter the stone the more expensive because colorless stones are harder to find in nature. The color scale goes from D being the most colorless to usually P, in most jewelry stores, being the most yellow. A good color to buy is in the top of the near colorless range, say G or H. To the naked eye most people can't see the difference between these color stones and colorless, but you will save a heck of a lot of money by getting your Diamonds for Less!  

Clarity 

Clarity refers to how clear the diamond is or how free it is of inclusions. Some people call these flaws however being natural technically all diamonds have some type of inclusion. This is what makes them unique! After all you have beauty marks on your body don't you? How would you feel if someone called these unique markings on you, flaws?! A good rule of thumb here is the less you can see with the naked eye the better. Remember though, the less inclusions the more rare or expensive the diamond. You want your Diamonds for Less don't you? This scale goes from Fl (flawless) to I3 (inclusion 3). Your safe within the  SI (small inclusion) to VS2 (very small inclusion 2). Again a clean stone to the naked eye and saving you thousands more than buying cleaner stones that will only cost you for the reckoning.

Weight

1 carat = 1/5th of a gram. It may be easier to talk in points. 1 carat = 100 points, so 1/4 of a carat is 25 points and so on. Obviously the heavier the stone the more rare and more expensive it will be. Be careful with your ego on this one. You have to determine what is more important for you, size or quality! Always remember, Diamonds for Less is the goal.

Diamond Grading Reports

These are reports that give the specifics on your stone. Measurements, cut, color, carat weight etc. Think of it this way. You have a drivers license or passport that describes your specifics correct? This document however does not describe your sense of humor or your individual personality right? Are you catching my drift? These documents are only as important as you make them. Once you educate yourself a little about diamonds, you will see that the diamond itself will  talk to you not the piece of paper that describes it. If you must have a certification, Go with GIA. They are the most widely used company in the world for diamond certification.

I hope this article has helped inform you in the basics of buying diamonds for jewelry or for profit.

Diamonds for Less