How to Purchase a Diamond

A diamond is one of the most expensive items that you purchase in the course of your life. In addition, since there is an entire body of knowledge behind this matter, which is apparently unknown to a lot of the consumers, I therefore collected some basic explanations and advices that may assist you when buying a real diamond without experiencing an anguish accompanied by a considerable fiscal loss.

It is advised to buy diamonds only at chain stores or at familiar and known stores that specialize in the field of diamonds. Under no circumstances should you buy at stores that offer you amongst other things, substitutes of diamonds, such as zircons and crystals. The biggest fear in regards to an unfamiliar store is that it may – even in good faith – sell you synthetic diamonds, or even worse than that, diamonds that have been processed.

The quality and price of a diamond are determined according to four factors: the color, the clarity, the cut and the carat of the diamond. There is an entire body of knowledge behind each one of these factors, and in order to simplify your lives, I am offering to you an explanation that shall grant you the highest value in return of an investment.    

In the white diamonds, the lack of color means that the diamond is of a higher value: a diamond is a gem that separates a beam of light into a rainbow of colors, and diamonds are valued according to the intensity of their color. In all the matters that are related to the color of the diamond, there are different degrees, when the whitest color is marked by the letter D, and the marking of the yellow shade starts from the letter K. I recommend choosing the colors G and H because they are white colors and give an excellent return on your investment.

Most of the diamonds contain internal and natural crystals that are invisible to the naked eye. The degree of clarity refers to the amount of this crystallization within the stone. My recommendation is to choose a diamond that is at a level of VS (Very Slight) because above this degree the prices rises considerably while there are no differences at these levels that are detectable without magnifying measures. On the other hand, if you choose a diamond that is under this degree of clarity, there may appear factors that are detectable to the naked eye. Therefore, VS is the recommended choice.

The meaning of this term is the way in which the rock is polished in order to expose its many facets. In a round stone there are 57 polishes, 33 of them are done above the belt of the stone and 24 of them are done below the belt of the rock. The polishing grants the rock a prism-like effect.

The polishing must be perfect, in order that the beams of light that penetrate into the diamond shall return and burst outside. In this matter the choice is also easy and simple: choose a round stone – in which the reflection of the light is the best, and that way you shall receive a return on your investment.

This is the article will save you the greatest amount of money. Of course the weight of the stone that you are interested in purchasing depends on your budget, but even after you have decided what your budget shall be, you shall be very surprised to learn how you can save a fortune through the right choice.

The measurement unit is a metric carat: one carat equals 0.2 gram. A carat is divided into 100 points. When you purchase a diamond, it is recommended not to choose points that are rounded number such as a full carat or half a carat because the offset of a few points (that are meaningless for the purchaser) can yield amazing differences in the price.

For example, if you choose a diamond that weighs 95 points- you shall pay less than what you would pay for a diamond that weighs exactly 100 points. Therefore, it is recommended that you choose a few points less and that would decrease your price. And most important of all – you should do your homework and surf in the leading websites in order to know how much a carat in a diamond we have chosen according to the mentioned parameters costs.

If you have purchased a diamond that weighs more than 30 points, then never leave the store without a gemological certificate – because that is the Identification Card of the diamond. In some chain stores you shall receive this certificate without an additional cost, and even if they request from you to pay for this certificate – then this shall be the best investment you can make in regards to this purchase.

In the certificate are all of the details pertaining to the diamond you purchased. I advise you to ask for a GIA certificate.

If you are offered a different certificate, then I recommend to you not to purchase the diamond.

If you are interested in placing the stone you purchased in one place in an existing jewelry that is elsewhere, then you should know that there were cases in which the stone was sent for placement, and the jewelry was returned with a completely different stone than the one that was submitted.

I would like to emphasize that you can be sure that the conclusive majority of the stone placers are decent and honest men. But unfortunately, there were incidents in the past in which the stone was replaced, therefore it is highly recommended, that already at the store you purchase the stone when it is placed in the jewel or that you ask to see the placer's work during the placement process.       

If you have done your homework regarding the price of the stone and you calculated how much it costs according to the weight you chose, then you can exactly know how much you need to pay, and of course you can bargain. Luck, blessings and good luck.

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