When you decide to buy a diamond or two, it can be daunting to realize that there are so many considerations to take into account. It is also alarming to realize that there is so little difference – to the untrained human eye – between a very good quality, and therefore expensive, stone and a much poorer one. Or even a fake! When you are thinking about stepping towards bling, these are some considerations you should take into account.
Origin of the Stone
Where a diamond comes from is very important to those in the industry, while buyers who are just looking to give the appearance of glitzy wealth, it is the size and sparkle of the stones that matter the most. For example, film producers and theater directors will not be particularly bothered about the authenticity of a stone, as long as it looks good and expensive enough to be real. After all, there is that old saying about fake diamonds shining harder as they have more to prove…
So think about what you want from your diamond, and choose accordingly:
If you want a cheap gemstone that sparkles beautifully, why not opt for a fake diamond for a fraction the cost of a real diamond? You will get the size and the sparkle you crave, and you will not need to worry about big insurance bills, accidental loss or damage or any of the many considerations that diamond aficionados must take into account.
If you want a genuine diamond to grace your loved one or yourself, but don’t quite have the funding, a lab-grown diamond might be your answer. Lab grown stones are real diamonds, and tend to have much higher clarity than natural gems – having grown under the sanitary conditions of a lab, rather than in the slightly messier confines of a volcano as in the case of natural diamonds! – and they are tricky to produce, but they are still much cheaper than the real deal.
But, if your reason for buying a diamond is because you want to make a sensible investment, then you might want to hold out for the real deal and pay a fair price for a natural, mined diamond. Investors and many people in the diamond trade refuse to even deal with lab-grown versions, and consider them to be a glorified kind of fake. Anyone trying to get into serious big-money investment in the diamond industry is better to opt for certified all-natural diamonds, found in the earth.
Cut Up Rough?
Your next consideration will be to buy rough diamonds or those that have already been cut. The price of rough stones tends to be surprisingly cheap, but this is because you will almost be buying the stone sight unseen. A stone that seems large and in great condition could have some flaws in it that are only revealed during the cut, instantly causing a loss to the purchaser. Opting for cut stones is a better option in that you will get what you pay for – but you will pay a fair market price for it!
Finally, if you do opt to buy a natural cut diamond or set of loose diamonds, there is one thing that you should insist upon. Certification! AGS and GIA are the two main diamond authorities in the USA, and all commercial grade diamonds over a certain size will have passed through their hands, being graded and receiving a certificate. Bigger stones will have the certificate number engraved around the girdle of the stone, while smaller ones will have a paper copy of the certificate available on enquiry. The certification number can be checked on an online registry to confirm that what you are looking at matches the listing in every respect.
