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Diamond Buying Checklist

A diamond buying checklist is a very useful tool for helping one buy diamonds from a jeweler or dealer. Buying an expensive item such as a diamond or diamond jewelery warrants careful thought and action and I recommend you print this checklist for your own personal use when you buy your next diamond or diamonds. Buying such expensive items on impulse is not the best way to go about it yet many dealers would like their customers to do just that. It then means that the sales techniques employed by jewelers have the best chance of success and they can sell pretty much anything they want.

But when you get the diamond jewelery home who can measure the disappointment when you find the diamond you have bought is not what you really wanted or expected.

Here then is a checklist one can use when buying diamonds to ensure you get the best value and the most economical price for your diamond and diamond jewelery.

1. Establish exactly what you want and what you are willing to pay for it.

a. Work out exactly how much you can afford. Be prepared to pay at the top of your budget to get the best diamond for the price you can afford.
b. Know exactly what you want in terms of the diamond. Weight, color, clarity and color. What type of jewelery even down to the type of gold, silver or platinum you want. The more exact you are the more likely it will be that you will get what you want.

2. Browse the jewelers and dealers until you find at least two that have exactly or a close match to exactly what you want.

3. Check that both dealers

a. Have full contact details, name, postal address, contact phone and fax numbers. Email address. Reasonable contact times and hours
b. Are accredited with the Better Business Bureau
c. Have some history on the site that explains who they are and how long they have been in business
d. Have at least one shop which an individual can enter and buy diamonds. That they are NOT just a website only.
e. That both have a returns policy.
f. Check the terms and conditions and privacy policy of both dealers. Yes I know it sound boring but it is important to know and understand what the dealers will and will not do.
g. That both offer INDEPENDENT gemological certificates for the diamond or diamonds they offer from such institutes as the GIA (see GIA Diamond Certification ) or EGL (see EGL Diamond Certification ) for example.

4. Contact both dealers and find out what their best price is. If one is cheaper than the other for exactly the same diamond or diamond jewelery (and this is not uncommon as many buy their jewelery from the same wholesalers) then negotiate to get a lower price, perhaps citing the other jeweler as an example. A phone call can work wonder in this wise. Email is easy to refuse but a customer on the phone who is likely to spend a few thousand dollars is worth holding on to these days. Many jewelers can easily offer a 10 percent cut in the price of the diamonds on offer.

5. Once you have selected the jeweler, make the payment as per the system used by that jeweler. If you are visiting a jeweler or dealer you can pay on the spot or make suitable arrangements for payment.

6. IMPORTANT . Do not use the credit facilities of dealers and jewelers. For the most part they are excessively priced. i.e. the interest and other 'charges' are very high and any minor default (such as being late with a payment for a day or so) can adversely affect your credit rating. Better to use your own established credit card, or your own funding arrangements, say with your bank or whatever. The charges and terms are more relaxed and much easier to handle. Of course Cash is definitely the better way to go. You get the diamonds at the cheapest price and there are no other or hidden charges.

7. If you are buying online, ensure that the dealer or jewelery provides suitable shipping. This should be in a plain packaging so there is no indication that the contents have any value and the item should be suitably insured. You will be expected to pay for shipping so make sure you know in advance what it is going to be. Get all the details from the dealer before committing to buy the item.

8. Once the diamonds arrive first check that they are exactly as portrayed on the website. The description, any certificates should all match. If not, contact the dealer immediately and explain what the situation is. Most bona fide dealers will ask you to return the diamonds so they can check. In which case use a secured, insured carrier and arrange that the dealer signs for the return package.

9. Provided everything looks fine I would strongly recommend that you get an independent valuation of the diamond or diamonds you have bought to ensure that you did indeed buy what you wanted in terms of color, cut, clarity and weight. Sometimes the minute differences in these aspects of a diamond can mean that you get a diamond of lesser or inferior quality to the one your ordered. A difference of a few points can mean a big difference in the value and price of diamonds. Being just under a carat, for example, can mean a difference in value of up to a thousand dollars, so it is well to double check these things.

Provided the valuation is correct and all things being equal you should, if you have followed this diamond buying checklist, have diamond jewelery fully to your satisfaction.