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Diamond Jewelry Gifts Purchasing Tips

by Lorraine Jacobs

So, you are a young man in love, with that burning desire in your heart to offer your bride-to-be a diamond ring and ask her to marry you. The idea appears to be very simple; you'll go to your local jewelry store, buy a diamond ring worthy of her love, set a date and propose to her. In reality however, this is not always what it feels like especially if you are able to get a hold of the price tag of your chosen sparkler and you would soon realize how intimidating it is to purchase diamond jewelry gifts. If you have the plans to purchase a diamond, it is vital for you to know the tricks of the trade so that in the future when you're ready you would take control of every transaction you make and be able to close a good deal.

According to Fred Cuellar, gemologist and one of the world's top diamond experts, there are basically four things that a consumer has to remember when he or she intends to purchase diamond jewelry gifts, and these could be summarized as BEST: B-budget, E-expectations, S-savvy, and T-timetable. When it comes to budget, you should be able to allocate the amount that you could afford and as much as possible should not exceed your laid budget plan; a month's salary could already suffice for you to buy a diamond. For expectations, it is important that you know and understand the needs and wants of the person to whom you are going to give the diamond so that you will have an idea what to look for and what to pick out from the bunch. Being savvy is a manner with which you must be aware of the cost of sparklers in the market as well as the designs available; and for timetable, you must know when you will purchase and when you will give the diamond, but be sure to give yourself more time to analyze things so that you could be prepared in any case.

Now that you have a crash course about making diamond purchase, you should also know where to buy your sparklers. You have two options where you could purchase your diamond jewelry gifts: go online or visit local jewelry shops. Buying online is probably one of the most practical means to buy diamond gifts because you don't have to break a sweat and everything is just one click away; however, the drawbacks with this are you cannot appraise the diamond and the possibility of scams are high but if you really want this option, be sure to do a background check on the online stores where you intend to purchase. The latter option of buying your diamond gifts on you local jewelry store is a better choice because you would be able to appraise the diamond personally and long time jewelers could help you out with your questions, which would assist you in arriving at the right decision.

For the diamond, always consider the 4Cs""clarity, color, cut and carat, as these elements help determine the true value of such gemstone. Clarity refers to the absence and presence of blemishes and inclusion in a diamond. As each diamond vary from one another, they are assigned with corresponding clarity grades that may range from flawless to obvious inclusions. There are also clarity enhanced diamond pieces that are treated to reduce imperfections through irradiation, filling imperfections, or laser drilling.

When it comes to color, diamond pieces are available in virtually all colors; however, colored sparklers are rare and truly expensive so chances are, the sparklers you would see during your shopping are either white or yellow in color but between the two, it would be better to go for whiter diamond pieces. The yellow coloring of sparklers came from nitrogen; hence the yellower the stone, the lesser its value this is because such color makes the diamond less sharp and sparkly. When it comes to cut, diamond pieces could be cut in different ways, the most common of which is the round brilliant cut. The first thing to know is that more than the indication of shape, the cut of your diamond also determines how sparkly it can be.

It is never enough for a diamond to be clear and white, because your diamond will not sparkle unless it is cut properly. Though cut is extremely difficult to evaluate, you could be able to do this by identifying three of its characteristics: brilliance, fire and scintillation; but if you want to take a short cut, the standard round brilliant cut is probably the best choice as all the other cut are considered as fancy shapes. Lastly, carat determines the standard unit weight of sparklers. Majority of diamond pieces used for fine jewelry often weight one carat or less; this is because a fraction of a carat can make a big difference on the value of diamond.

Purchasing diamond jewelry gifts is a daunting task. Hence, it is always best to be an informed buyer in order to get the most out of your money. Not because a diamond is round brilliant cut doesn't mean it's already a good purchase. Remember that there are still three remaining Cs that you have to consider. A clarity enhanced diamond might be inexpensive but also consider the quality. Educating oneself is a good way to make the right purchasing decisions.

Published July 22nd, 2010

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