One of the first tips to buying diamonds is to have some understanding of diamonds, what types there are and what are the characteristics of a diamond.
There is a wealth of information on this site to cover just about all there is to know about diamonds and how to buy them.
But to make it easy I have put some useful tips on buying diamonds into one articles into this article in point form.
1. Given that one has some understanding of diamonds and their characteristics, the first tip is to known exactly what you want by way of diamonds and how much you want to spend. Make sure you include the setting, such as a ring or earrings for example. Is it to be gold or platinum, if gold what karat you want. Ideally 18 or 22 karat is good. Most jewelers sell gold jeweler in 9, 19 or 14 karat. The 14 karat is fine but any less and you will find you are paying too much for the gold. There is little resale value also in a jewelery piece of under 14 karats gold.
2. Secondly browse online to find out the sort of diamonds that are available and how much they will cost. Do comparisons with different diamond dealers and jewelers. There can be a big disparity in the prices between them. Make sure you compare apples with apples. The same characteristics for each diamond should be as near as possible. What is the cut, the weight in carats, the color and clarity. These should be as close as you can possibly get to get a good idea of the prices available.
3. The third tip is to know your dealer. Whether you are buying from a jeweler or dealer online, or from a shop close to you or down town or from an auction site such as eBay, you need to know something about the person or business you are buying from. Who are they. Especially if you are thinking of buying from an auction or online. You need to know who they are, where they are, what sort of guarantee and returns policy they have. There is little point in buying a diamond sight unseen and when you get it home find it is not what you expect if there is no provision for you to be able to return it. Most good quality jewelers will have a returns policy of 10 to 30 days where you can inspect in the comfort of your own home the merchandise to see if it is firstly, as was described and secondly is the right color, size and shape for what you want. Are there contact details? A fixed address, phone and fax numbers, email address you can actually get a human response from? All these may not seem important but when it comes to contacting the person after the sale it can become very important.
4. Can you negotiate with them? These days many dealers or jewelers are willing to negotiate a price with you so do not be afraid to ask. In Asia negotiating, or bargaining, is common and expected. No reason why it should not also be done in the big city or even in a small country town. You would be surprised what sort of a discount you could get. Even on eBay sellers are starting now to offer an option of “make an offer”.
5. Shipping should have insurance to cover the cost of the diamond also. What if the Postal service or courier loses the diamond or it is stolen during transit? Unless it has the right amount of insurance you will only get the standard insurance value which is usually only a hundred dollars or so. Not good when a diamond is worth say 5,000 dollars. Always make sure appropriate insurance for shipping is included.
6. This brings us to the very important sixth tip on buying diamonds. Make sure you have a certificate of authenticity from a gemological laboratory. This certificate should list the characteristics of the diamond. No two diamonds are alike. There are always some differences, even with a number of small diamonds cut from a larger diamond. You want to know that the diamond you bought is genuine to start with. Then you also want to know that it is the right diamond for the price. The price of diamonds can depend very much on the color and clarity of a diamond. Industrial diamonds are worth very little compared to a jewelery diamond. Only 5 percent of all diamonds found are suitable for jewelery. The others are only suitable as industrial diamonds, suitable for cutting. Many industrial diamonds find their way into the jewelery market however and are sold in cheap diamond shops such as you might find in the Mall. These diamond are unlikely to have a proper certificate of authenticity. Only a certificate by the jeweler selling the diamond and that is usually worthless. A certificate from a proper gemological laboratory such as the IGA for example is invaluable in establishing that the diamonds is as it is presented. As well as for insurance purposes.
7. Lastly, you should insure diamonds for REPLACEMENT VALUE not market value. If the diamond was stolen, how much would it cost to replace it? This is because the market value of a diamond is going to be less than the price you paid for it. If you want to know the market value of a diamond take it to a jeweler and find out how much they will give you for it. You will find it is going to be around a third of the price you paid for it. Even diamonds sold at action are sold above the market value.
The above tips on buying diamonds will go a long way to ensuring that you get what you pay for and that you are satisfied with your diamond provided they are observed and some common sense and due diligence is applied.
