BEST WAY TO BUY A LOOSE DIAMOND

The Best way to buy a Diamond (preferably loose and not mounted), is to be smart about a couple of choices.

You don’t need to spend tons of money on a Diamond.

You don’t need to buy the best quality either.

But there are some points you should consider.

Using these 7 tips listed below can get you a great looking Diamond with a ton of Brilliance and Sparkle, AND save you money at the same time.

Let’s begin…

1) Certification

Anyone buying a Diamond for an Engagement Ring MUST make sure the Diamond is Certified! And not just Certified, but Certified by one of the top two Certification companies in the USA.

• GIA – The Gemological Institute of America
• AGS – The American Gem Society

These 2 companies are very strict in their gradings and highly accurate.

Almost every Jeweler, Gemologist (expert in Gemstones), and Diamontologist (expert in Diamonds), uses GIA Standards for grading, evaluating, and pricing Diamonds.

They are the Certs to get!

All the other Certificates fall short and may be lax or exaggerated in their opinions. Which means, you could be overpaying for that Diamond you buy!

If you’re paying for an SI1, H Diamond, you should be getting one!

Stick with GIA or AGS and you’ll know you got what you paid for.

2) Diamond Fluorescence

Fluorescence can be a Diamond Sparkle Killer! Fluorescence can leave a high Clarity (like VVS or VS) Diamond look Cloudy, Hazy, Foggy or Milky!

It can stop light from entering and exiting the stone, which means the stone will lack Brilliance, Sparkle, Fire and Beauty!

Check Diamond Fluorescence. If a Diamond has Fluorescence (listed on the Diamond Report), you may want to pass that stone up… unless you compare it side by side with a similar quality of Diamond without Fluorescence.

Because it would be a shame to spend that kind of money on a high quality Diamond only to have it look dark, dull and boring (Brilliance and Sparkle brighten a stone).

3) H Color or Higher

Stick with Diamonds that are White in Color or higher.

D,E,F are Pure White Diamonds. G,H are Fine White.

Everything else can show traces of off color, like Yellow, Brown or Gray.

Yellow is the most common color and Yellow for the most part, does not make for a pretty Engagement Ring.

A Yellow hue can make the Diamond look Antique, Used, Old and Stained!

Stick with the Whiter Colors and the Diamond will also look brighter.

Plus, it will look great in a White Gold Mounting, where as a Yellow Diamond will stand out like a sore thumb.

H or Higher! But, if you want a Diamond that really POPS… Buy E Color!

E Color is my favorite Diamond Color. It is stunning and unbelievable. I simply love them!

4) SI1 or Higher

Here’s a tip: If you’re buying an Engagement Ring, you DO NOT want Inclusions in the stone that can be seen with the naked eye!

You don’t want your Bride-To-Be seeing Black Chunks and Flaws in her dream Diamond for the rest of her life.

Stick with SI1 or Higher Clarity and you’ll never hear her say “What’s that Black Speck in my Stone?”

SI1 or higher gets you into a Clarity where the Inclusions are invisible unless you Microscope them… (Eye-Clean Stones)

Which brings up a great point: You MUST view the Diamond you buy under 10x Magnification! This is Vital!

You want to see what Flaws and Imperfections are in the stone. You want to be able to memorize them, compare them to the Certificate and be able to identify your stone at a later date (or any time in your life).

A few Inclusions are fine. I actually advise it.

Look at the SI1 Diamond and the SI1 Diamond Plot below to get an idea…

Those Inclusions are what you’ll see under a Microscope or Jewelers Loupe.

When you get your Diamond back from the Jeweler (after Setting, Sizing or Polishing), you’ll want to view your stone with a Loupe or Microscope to identify your Flaws again.

You want to make sure you got your Diamond back (No Diamond Switching!).

Having a few Flaws to pick out makes this process so much easier.

This is also why I like having Certificates with a Diamond Plot on them. Not all Certs do, you don’t have to have a plot, but I like them and I like to align up my Flaws to verify that the Certificate I’m looking at IS for the Diamond that I’m viewing.

5) Excellent, Excellent, Excellent

If you want the Brightest, most Sparkliest (is that a word?) Diamond that you’ve ever seen in the World, you’ll want to buy a Diamond that’s Cut well!

The best Cut, is an Excellent Rating (by GIA’s 4C’s).

Take a look at the Excellent grades below…

P.S. The Diamond Certificate shown above is awesome. Here are the details:

CARAT WEIGHT, CLARITY, COLOR, CUT, CERTIFIED	PRICE	VIEW
.81, VVS1, H, IDEAL, GIA	$5,890	VIEW

(Update: This Diamond is now Sold, but Here are Diamonds of Equal Quality)

This Excellent Rating not only refers to the Cut Grade of the stone (GIA’s Cut Grade), but also to the Polish and Symmetry as well (listed under Finish).

If you get a Diamond that has 3 Excellent Ratings, Excellent in every Category… It will be like hitting the lotto with Diamond Beauty!

That Baby will Knock your Socks off!

3 Excellent Graded Diamonds are more important than any Color or any Clarity Grade. It’s the thing that makes the Diamond come to life.

It will make her get lost in the sparkle and stare at the Diamond like a thousand stars in the sky. It really is that COOL!

Now you can go a little less than Excellent. You can also get into a “Very Good” rating. With Very Good, you’ll get great Sparkle, Brilliance and Light…

But Excellent… Well, with Excellent you can’t get any better than that!

Check out the Cut and Finish, it makes all the difference in the world.

6) Buy Shy

To Save Money on a Diamond, Buy Shy! Buy a Diamond that’s a couple of points shy of the mark and you’ll save yourself hundreds of dollars.

Buy a .95 Carat Diamond instead of a Full Carat (1.00).

Buy a .71 Carat Diamond instead of a .75 Carat.

Buy a couple of points less will keep the price down and allow you to use that money towards other important aspects of the Diamond or ring. A couple of points won’t make any visual difference, but it will make a big difference in your wallet.

Saving money is always a good thing! :)

7) Diamond Return Policy

Don’t buy a Diamond if you can’t return the Diamond!

Make sure the store has a return policy. And not only do you want to make sure you can return it, but you want to make sure you will get a 100% FULL refund (no restocking or handling fees).

And also make sure this IS a money back guarantee and NOT just a store credit!

Because you’ll never know what happens in life (granted return policies aren’t that long), but things may not work out and you’ll want a way to get your money back.

She could say she wanted a Princess Cut instead.

You could inherit your Grandmother’s Engagement Ring.

She could say NO!

You never know what may happen, so a back up plan and an easy way to return it is always a great idea.

Who wants to be stuck with an $8,000 ring?

I Don’t!

So there you go, some great tips to help you choose the perfect Diamond… And save money at the same time.

P.S. James Allen has great deals on Diamonds and allows you to view the Diamonds under 10x magnification BEFORE you purchase the stone.

They also give you a 100% full refund for 60 days!

Plus, they allow you to search for Diamonds based upon Cut Grades!

Like so… Very Good and Excellent Graded Diamonds (Triple Excellent Diamonds, the BEST, are called True Hearts! :)

Check them out today! :)