4 Diamond-Buying Mistakes You Shouldn’t Make

So, you’re thinking of buying your first diamond. You’ve found an excellent vendor online. But before you purchase anything, it’s important that you make sure you are making the right choice not only of the diamonds you are buying, but also of the seller you will be buying from. More importantly, you need to make sure you won’t be making these mistakes.

1. Everything you need to know about a diamond is written on the certificate.

Thinking that all there is to know about a certain type of diamond is on the certificate is wrong. While depth and table percentages of a diamond may tell you something about it, relying on them is not advisable. Besides, even experts don’t rely on the numbers alone to tell whether a diamond is being properly cut or not. Some cutters may employ certain angle shifting techniques that could result in percentages that may seem to be correct on the certificate but don’t really make much difference on the diamond’s value.

2. All laboratory grading is always accurate and goes with industry standards.

This is not true because not all laboratories have uniform policies on diamond grades. There are also jewelers that use certificates from laboratories that tend to inflate diamond grades to increase profit margins. This could mislead customers into thinking they are getting a good bargain for an “excellent quality” rock. But the truth is they are buying a piece with a fictitious or false grade.

3. All diamonds have the same color, cut grade and clarity.

The GIA has gone to great lengths to move forward with their cut grading system for round diamonds. But this system is only one of many laboratory measurements. This is why there is a wide variety in how beautiful a rock may appear if compared at the high end of any cut grade. In other words, no two diamonds handle light and perform the same, even if they have the same percentages.

4. Clarity and color are the major factors to determine a diamond’s price.

The most important variant in determining the price of a diamond is the cut. Although each clarity and color grade sets different prices, these could overlap. Cutting could cause as much as 50% difference in price for a certain clarity and color grade while shortcomings in the stone could add another 25% variation.

By avoiding these mistakes, you can make sure that you are getting your money’s worth.