Purchasing Diamonds? A Short Guide

Most people usually feel thrilled and get excited while discussing about acquiring diamonds. Purchasing diamonds is a unique experience in itself. However, before you buy a diamond, it is worthy to delve deeper about its many intricacies. Since no two diamonds are similar, like snowflakes or fingerprints, it is always worthy to be familiar with certain thumb rules while purchasing diamonds.

Before stepping out to purchase a diamond, you should be aware of the 4C’s of a diamond. The four C’s include cut, colour, clarity, and carat weight.

Cut

A diamond’s cut is the measure of its proportions. A well-cut diamond appears radiant and fiery, while a badly cut diamond appears poor and lifeless. The cut is a set of measurements of how light enters the diamond and exits from the top.

Colour

The colour of a diamond is evaluated in terms of its colourlessness. While an ideal diamond is completely colourless, other diamonds have slight tones of yellow or brown.

Clarity

Clarity is the measure of cleanliness of a diamond. In other words, it is the measure of the diamond’s purity. Clarity determines the extent of flaws in the diamond and determines how capable it is to allow free passage of light without obstruction or absorption.

Carat

Carat simply denotes the size of the diamond. It determines the size and appearance of the diamond or jewellery. According to the definition of carat, one carat is 200 milligrams. By no way does a carat signify the purity of a diamond. As smaller diamonds are more common than larger diamonds, the price of larger diamonds grows exponentially with the size.

Certification

Yet another important aspect in purchasing diamonds is certification. A diamonds certificate is sometimes also called a grading report. This report is a complete evaluation of the diamond, which has been performed by a qualified professional. These assessments are carried out by utilizing special gemmological instruments. A very reliable and dependable institute is the Gemmological Institute of America (GIA). It is the number one and most respected institute. You can be thoroughly sure that a diamond with a GIA certification has reliable and consistent grading. At this institute, three to six gemmologists grade a diamond independently to ensure accuracy of the reports. This agency issues two types of reports - GIA document and the GIA dossier. The GIA document contains the full description of the diamond and a graphical plotting of the clarity characteristics of the diamond. This is usually done for diamonds that are more than one carat in size. The GIA dossier contains the full description of the diamond. However, the plotting is replaced with a laser inscription. This laser inscription can be used for verification. A dossier is generally done for smaller stones.

Shapes

Another important point in selecting diamonds is their shape. This is the intrinsic shape of the diamond as viewed from the top. The usual popular shapes are round brilliant, princess cut, emerald cut, asscher, Marquise, Oval, Radiant, pear, heart and cushion shaped diamonds. One can go in for any shape, but people who invest in diamonds usually prefer the round brilliant shape.

The next step in purchasing a diamond is to find a good jeweller in your area. It is always advisable to ask your friends and relatives about how good a jeweller is, or if they can recommend one. The jeweller you choose should be extremely knowledgeable about the marketplace. You should also feel comfortable about the jeweller and repose trust in him.

You can buy jewellery from both brick and mortar stores and online stores. In the age of the internet, relying on an internet store can be advantageous. This is regardless of whether you are a first time internet shopper or an experienced online buyer.

Buying from the internet is speedy, and saves you a lot of precious time. Simply fill out your information and click a button. It’s as simple as that. Moreover, most online traders do not have inventory or overhead costs, savings can be transferred to you so you save on great deals, that only the internet can offer. Purchasing from the comfort of your armchair is very convenient rather than enduring the hustle and bustle of conventional shopping at a mall or at a department store. More often, online diamond jewellery stores are able to offer a wider selection of merchandise than traditional jewellery stores because there are no limitations to space in the virtual world.

In this manner, it is best to secure yourself with some knowledge and education about diamonds to bag the right deal.