Just go to any store point at the most beautiful one with a price tag
you can afford, and go for it?
Actually, there is more to diamonds than that.
What do you want the diamonds for?
Really.
If you want them for investment, then quality is paramount.
Buy diamonds for investment
The clarity of the diamond should ideally be flawless, internally
flawless, VVS1 (very, very small inclusion 1) or VVS2.
Diamonds of grades lower than S1 or S2 are considered to be
commercial diamonds and are regarded by some particular jewelers to be
not fit for jewelry, let alone for investment. Times have changed.
Nowadays, some I1 to I3 grade diamonds are used for jewelry, albeit at lower
prices.
The color of the diamond should ideally be D, E, F or G.
You should go for class 1 (ideal cut) or class 2 diamonds.
You also should avoid treated diamonds.
This is for resale value.
A good diamond appreciates in price every year.
A poor quality diamond on the other hand is hard to sell.. let alone
for a profit.
For example, a flawless or internally flawless diamond with a color
grade of D appreciates in value at about 10% a year.
A SI1 or SI2 diamond of color grade I appreciates in value at about
6.5% a year.
(Figures taken from How to Buy a Diamond by Fred Cuellar)
Now if you plan to buy diamonds to be set and worn in jewelry, then
avoid the higher grades. I mean it.
Your flawless or internally flawless diamond could get chipped or
fractured by hard, sharp knocks.
Diamonds may be the hardest things on earth but they are not the
toughest.
They can get damaged through hard knocks in daily wear. Such damage
can lower the value of the diamond, from say a VVS diamond to an SI
diamond.
For jewelry, a clarity of VS1 to SI2 would suffice.
Buy diamonds as a gift
If you plan to give the diamond jewelry away, say an engagement ring
to your fiancée or a necklace to your wife, you should take into account
what she wants.
If she tells you I want a VVS2 diamond with Class 1 cut, 3 carats and
a color grade of D.. she has really expensive taste. Good luck to you.
More likely, she may say, "I like a big diamond, heart shaped,
white and sparkly.." or something like that. "Or how big can
it be?"
Pay attention to what she would like. Check your budget.
For an engagement ring, I've heard some girls tell one another that
it should cost 6 months of his salary, or it would mean that he really
does not love her.
Well, if she really loves him, she wouldn't expect him to go bankrupt
buying an engagement ring for her.
A more realistic view would be 1 month's salary, or 2 months if you
can afford it.
See where you can trade off. Maybe a bigger diamond for a lower color
grade or a lower clarity grade?
Maybe you could buy short.. but that is only if she is not that
particular of having, say and exactly 1 carat diamond. How far you can
go depends on her personality type.
Listen to her before you make your purchase.
If you have the budget and want to really impress her,
this stunning diamond will certainly leave her breathless. 10 carat diamonds
Certify your diamond.
Get a certificate from a FTC regulated lab like GIA or EGL or IGI for
your diamond. This is especially important if you are interested in the
eventual resale value of your diamond.
Do not just take your jeweler's word for the diamonds quality. The
jeweler could be mistaken, or worse still, dishonest.
You should have the specifications of the diamond in black and white
done by a lab.
This is to protect yourself from fraud.
Protect yourself
A few things you should bear in mind.
Don't be tempted to send your diamond jewelry for free cleaning from
a jewelry shop you do not really know well. They may switch your
valuable stone for a similar looking, less valuable one.
If you bring your stone to a jeweler to be reset or evaluated, note
its diameter, height, width, weight and where the flaws are so you can compare it against the diamond you
get back, to ensure the stone was not switched.
To evaluate your diamond, you can examine it yourself first through a
10X magnifying glass, or a loupe for flaws and check the color against
the back of a white business card. Get it evaluated at a lab, rather
than by a jeweler as labs are more reputable.
It is safest to get your diamonds certified by
The Gemological Institute of America (GIA)
European Gemological Laboratory Inc (EGL)
or
International Gemological Institute.
These are the best known FTC-Regulated laboratories in the U.S.
If you buy your diamond from an online store, make sure the store has
a presence in the real world and if possible, has been around for
decades. Never trust fly by night operations when it comes to buying
diamonds.
A store that has been around for decades and is reputable may seem to
charge a little higher, but at least you know they can be trusted. If
they were trick their customers, they would not have lasted so
long.
Some less reputable jewelers may appear to charge lower, as they may
have passed off lower grade diamonds as higher grade ones. You may think
you have gotten the deal of a lifetime, but in reality, your diamond is
worth far less than you think.
In the end, you would have gotten a better deal if you had gone to a
reputable jeweler in the first place.
All that said, I wish you all the best in getting the diamond of your
dreams.
Buy Diamonds
1 carat diamonds The lost diamond
Engagement rings