IS THAT DIAMOND A GOOD DEAL?

Everybody always wants to know if the Diamond they’re interested in buying is a good deal or not?

They basically want to know “Am I getting Ripped Off?“

So, is there a way of finding out if that Diamond is worth it?

YES!

But you need to get your facts straight.

Literally!

Every aspect of that Diamond can affect the overall price of that Diamond, from the littlest dot, to the biggest Table.

Sometimes it could be hundreds of dollars different, and other times it could be thousands of dollars.

Something as simple as Fluorescence could throw the price off by tons.

It makes comparing Diamonds a nightmare!

The only true way to know if the Diamond is a good deal or not, is to compare that Diamond with another Diamond of similar quality.

And when I say similar, I mean it! As close to an exact match as possible. That is the key!

You have to compare apples to apples to get to the truth.

If you’re looking at a 1 Carat Diamond (say 1.06 CT) somewhere, and you see another Diamond in the Mall being called 1 Carat (.96 Points), that little difference in Carat Weight could cause an extreme difference in price.

So how do you know what to look for?

You have to look at everything!
You not only need to look at matching up the 4 C’s, but you’ll also need to match up other things as well.

Let’s look at the full list of what you should be comparing, not just the standard Color and Clarity that most people do.

Diamond Shape

Let’s get one thing straight… A Round Brilliant Cut Diamond will NOT be the same price as a Princess Cut Diamond of the exact same Clarity, Color and Carat Weight. Take a look at the chart below…

(Prices from James Allen Diamond Search as of the date of this post!)

CARAT WT, CLARITY, COLOR, CUT, CERT, SHAPE	PRICE	VIEW
1.00, VS2, G, IDEAL, GIA, ROUND	$8,180	VIEW
1.01, VS2, G, IDEAL, GIA, PRINCESS	$5,470	VIEW
1.03, VS2, G, IDEAL, GIA, EMERALD	$5,070	VIEW
1.01, VS2, G, IDEAL, GIA, SQUARE	$5,050	VIEW
1.02, VS2, G, IDEAL, GIA, CUSHION	$4,810	VIEW

Every Shape of stone could command a big difference in price. Sometimes, as you can see, by thousands!

So if you’re looking at a Round Brilliant Cut Diamond at one place, stick to looking at Round Diamonds at another just to make sure you’re comparing Diamonds, Shapes and Prices correctly!

Color Grade

If the Diamond in one Jewelry Store is a G in Color, then by all means, the Diamond down the street should be G Color as well.

This way Color can’t influence a difference in price.

To see what I mean, let’s compare the same Diamond Quality, with the Same Specs, just one Grade difference in Color.

CARAT WT, CLARITY, COLOR, CUT, CERT, FLUORESCENCE	PRICE	VIEW
1.01, SI1, H, EXCELLENT, GIA, NONE	$6,440	VIEW
1.01, SI1, G, EXCELLENT, GIA, NONE	$7,780	VIEW

See how Color affects price?

It’s still in the same Clarity Range (Near Colorless), and to most people the Diamonds will face up the same with no visible difference in Color, but the biggest difference will be the price. $1,340 is a lot of money difference for Diamonds that are almost alike!!!

Compare same Colors if possible to really compare Diamonds, Prices and Deals!

Clarity Grade

Just like Color, one step higher or lower in Clarity could shift prices like crazy.

So if one Diamond Clarity is VS1, then the other Diamond should be a VS1 as well. Note that the 1 and 2 in Clarity is IMPORTANT! VVS1 & VVS2 are NOT the same. VS1 & VS2 will be different prices. Same with SI1 and SI2, all different. I1, I2 and I3 different as well. If the salesperson just says “SI Clarity“, make sure you find out if that means SI1 or SI2. It’s a big deal!

That little step can cause the Diamond to be hundreds of dollars different. This could, of course, make one Diamond seem much better than the other in price, until you find out that one Diamond is SI1, and the other is SI2. Keep your eyes and ears open!

Compare same Clarities and you’ll really see who has the better price.

Carat Weight

Yes, a couple of points one way or the other could be a difference of money. It could put the Diamond into a totally different Carat Weight bracket and boy will it show in price.

Carat Weights are one of the hardest things to match up. This is because most Carat Weights are not perfect, not exact amounts and are cut by man.

Diamonds are like people. Try to find two people in the same room with the exact same weight. Sounds simple. But it’s not! One person will be 151 lbs, the next 157 lbs. How many times will you find people weighing exactly 150 lbs? It’s proves rather difficult.

Diamonds are cut in various Carat Weights depending on the parent rock, the Clarity and Quality of the stone, and the best way to maximize profits. So finding 2 Diamonds with identical Carat Weights may not be as easy as it sounds.

Usually you’ll be within a couple of points, but as long as you are very close, I suspect that will be as good as you will find. If you do find 2 Carat Weights that match, chances are the Color, Clarity or Cut will be different. Take a look around, you’ll see…

Cut Grade

If one Diamond has an Excellent Cut Grade to it, so should the next. Comparing the same Cut Grades keeps the Diamonds on equal terms and won’t sway the price any.

Compare these 2 similar stones below with different Cut Grades to see what I mean. Look at the difference in price…

CARAT WT, CLARITY, COLOR, CUT, CERT, FLUORESCENCE	PRICE	VIEW
1.01, SI1, E, VERY GOOD, GIA, NONE	$6,990	VIEW
1.01, SI1, E, EXCELLENT, GIA, NONE	$7,680	VIEW

Symmetry

How well a Diamond is Symmetrical, or equally proportioned, can affect price as well.

If you really want to find out who gives you the better deal, compare it all!

Compare Excellent Symmetry to Excellent Symmetry (the best). Very Good to Very Good (second best).

A difference in Symmetry could make a difference in deals.

Polish

How well a Diamond is Polished can also affect the price of a Diamond. If one stone has a better Polish, it can make the price tag rise as well.

Make sure Polish on both stones is the same when you’re comparing similar Diamonds. An Excellent Grade is the best!

Fluorescence

Fluorescence is something very few Jewelry Stores talk about. They almost NEVER bring it up unless you bring it up first.

You could be comparing almost exact quality Diamonds, but one may have Strong Blue Fluorescence and that Diamond could be way cheaper in price!

I recommend buying a Diamond with no Fluorescence (listed as None on a Diamond Report).

Certification

The Cert Matters!

Different stores sell different Diamond Reports (or Certification) with their Diamonds.

They all look official and impressive and laminated, but that doesn’t mean they are all alike.

They Aren’t!

The best Reports to obtain are from GIA, and second best would be AGS. These two are the ONLY two Diamond Reports I would ever recommend. They ARE the best in the business and highly respected in the field for their amount of detail and accuracy.

So if you’re looking at stones, compare GIA to GIA. Comparing GIA to IGI will be no comparison at all! I don’t advise it!

Compare the same Certificates to make sure the grading system is the same.

P.S. also, if the one Diamond is Laser Inscribed, I would recommend the other one to be Laser Inscribed as well. Laser Inscription is great for identifying your Diamond and making sure it matches up to the actual Diamond Report!

The Mounting

The type of Mounting the Diamond sits in will affect price greatly. The best way to really compare Diamonds is to ONLY compare Loose Certified Diamonds. Buy your Diamond LOOSE and then have it set in the mounting of your choice later.

If you do happen to buy one pre-set, make sure the mountings are as similar as possible in Karat Content (14k, 18k, Platinum) and make sure any side Diamond Quality and Weight are similar as well.

A different type of mounting could tack on hundreds or thousands of added cost.

Policies

Lastly, compare the Jewelry Store’s Policies, Warranties, and Plans. They can all affect the price of the Diamond.

One place could have a 3-month money back guarantee. Another place could have NONE.

One place could give you a Lifetime Diamond guarantee, another could give you nothing!

I would look at their finance plans as well. Do they give you interest free financing? What about their Trade-in Policies, Exchange Policies, Service Plans or Return Policies???

It all adds up!

Comparing Diamonds

Comparing Diamonds could prove highly impossible the more Diamond Characteristics you match up.

Since all Diamonds are different, finding a stone as similar to the one you like could be like finding a needle in a haystack.

You may start with one Round Diamond being SI1, H, 1.00 Carat, and find several matches for that. But then when you factor in Cut Grade, Symmetry, and Polish all being the same, you could knock off 95% of your findings.

Then going further and matching stones with no Fluorescence and being GIA Certified could drop all the potential stones down to zero.

As you hone in with likeness, the search narrows less and less.

As an example, I’ll look at my favorite Diamond Quality: 1 Carat, VS1, E Color, Excellent Cut, GIA Certified… Doing a search on James Allen only brings up 2 Diamonds that match! JUST 2!

Take a look at the two stones that are very similar in quality…

CARAT WT, CLARITY, COLOR, CUT, CERT, FLUORESCENCE	PRICE	VIEW
1.00, VS1, E, EXCELLENT, GIA, NONE	$12,100	VIEW
1.00, VS1, E, EXCELLENT, GIA, NONE	$12,100	VIEW

WOW! Good comparison? YES! And they are the exact same price! :)

But is there a difference?

YES!

These 2 Diamonds are virtually identical in quality. But there are still 3 more things I would then look at…

1) Culet

If one Diamond has No Culet, Very Small Culet, or a Small Culet, that’s good. But if one Diamond has No Culet and the other has a Very Large Culet, then that’s a big difference! Culets should be similar.

No Culet, Very Small, or a Small Culet is the best Culet to get!

2) Girdle

With everything else being similar, the size of the Girdle says a lot about how well a stone is cut.

If one of the Diamonds has a Thin-Medium Girdle, then that’s cool, so should the other. Thin, Medium or Slightly Thick are the best Girdles to get!

But if one stone has a Thin Girdle and the other stone has an Extremely Thick Girdle, then I would quickly side with the Thin one.

3) Measurements

The last thing that catches my eye with these 2 particular VS1 Stones are the Diamond Measurements.

A One Carat Diamond has an Ideal MM Size of 6.5mm. So if everything else is similar, I would get the Diamond with the better mm size.

In this case, the first Diamond has a mm of 6.34-6.4mm. The second Diamond has measurements of 6.51-6.55mm. Clearly if I was choosing between these 2 similar Diamonds, I would pick the second stone. It’s a definite winner!

6.5mm wins hands down!

Diamond Buying Checklist

These tips in this article should help you really compare stones to stones. All you need to do to get the best deal is to literally do your homework. Keep track of the Diamonds you’ve looked at, go all over town, list what their qualities are and what their prices are.

And there is no better way to do this then with my FREE Diamond Buying Checklist.

Take a look…

Using my FREE Diamond Buying Checklist will make it easier for you to compare apples to apples and to remember what you’ve looked at and where.

Print it out. Take it with you. It’s my gift to you!

Happy shopping!