Diamond Brands and What They Mean
Diamonds are one of the few products that simply cannot be ‘branded.’ Even though
there are different cuts, different grades, and different values placed on each and every
diamond in existence, no diamond is any specific brand – just as gold is not a specific
brand.
Branding is actually based on who owns the diamond. For instance, if DeBeers owns the
diamond, it is a DeBeers Diamond – but it is still just a diamond. If the diamond was cut by
a specific well known cutter, then it might be branded in that way as well – but it usually
isn’t. It is still branded based on who owns it at the time. So basically, when it comes down
to it – diamond brands mean absolutely nothing at all.
Do not allow a jeweler to try to talk you into paying an exorbitant price on a diamond
because it is a specific brand. This is a bit of trickery used by unscrupulous jewelers
when they know that they are dealing with people who don’t know much about
diamonds. Remember that diamonds are not actually branded – unless mother nature
has her own brand!
Buying Diamonds Online
With all of the potential for scams concerning diamonds, buying diamonds online almost
seems unthinkable! However, you actually can purchase diamonds online, without any
problems – as long as you are careful.
First, think about your reasons for wanting to purchase the diamond online, as opposed to
making a purchase from a local jewelry store. The most common reason is price. Due to
low overhead costs, online jewelers and wholesalers are able to offer lower prices.
However, you must be careful – sometimes a price that is too low is a sure indication of
a scam.
One of the best things about purchasing online is the unlimited selection. When
shopping offline, you are limited to the selection in the stores in your general area.
Online, there are no limits. But again, you must use a great deal of care and
consideration before handing your money over to someone that you cannot see and
have never met!
Before shopping, learn as much as you can about diamonds – especially cut, color,
clarity and carat weights. When you are knowledgeable about diamonds, it will be
harder for a con artist to rip you off. Once you know more about diamonds, you will be
ready to start shopping.
Take your time. Don’t purchase the first diamond that you see that interests you.
Instead, look for similar diamonds for sale. Do some comparison shopping to find the
lowest prices. Once you have found the lowest price, start doing your investigation.
You know about diamonds, you’ve found a diamond that you love, and you’ve found the
lowest price – but you are still quite a ways away from actually purchasing that diamond!
Ask about the seller’s credentials, such as professional jewelry associations that they
belong to. View and print the seller’s return, refund, and upgrade policies. Also inquire
about additional services, such as settings and mountings, sizing, and free shipping. Do
a search for customer reviews on this particular company around the Internet. Alsocheck with the BBB Online to see if there have
been any complaints.
Ask for a diamond grading report from an independent laboratory such as GIA, HRD,
EGL or AGS. You should see this before making a purchase. Finally, use a reputable
escrow service for high dollar diamonds – preferably one that will have the diamond
appraised while it is in their possession. The seller sends the diamond to the escrow
service, and you send the money to pay for the diamond to the escrow service. The
escrow service has the diamond appraised, sends the diamond to you, and sends the
money to the seller. This is the surest way to protect yourself…again, make sure that you
use a reputable escrow service!
Diamond Certificates
A diamond certificate is also known as a Diamond Grading Report. This report comes
from the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), and you should require this report
when you are purchasing a diamond.
With a diamond certificate, you can verify the color, cut, carat, weight, and clarity of the
diamond. You don’t have to worry about a diamond dealer telling you anything less than
the truth, because the certificate comes from the GIA – not the dealer. You may be
required to pay for the certificate, but the cost is usually low, and in many cases, it
will help you negotiate a better price on the diamond – or keep you from purchasing a
lower quality diamond altogether.
If you buy a high quality diamond, and then later decide to sell the diamond, you will
need to have the certificate, or you will have a hard time selling it to someone else.
Furthermore, you can use the Diamond Grading Report to look up the wholesale
value of the diamond in question. Use the guide that is used by the diamond cutting
industry.
With the Certificate, or Diamond Grading Report, there won’t be any doubts when you
are trying to purchase a diamond. You can easily find out what the diamond is worth.
This will prevent you from overpaying, and it can prevent a seller from under-charging as
well.
A copy of the Diamond Grading Report should be given to your insurance company
as well, when you insure the diamond. This provides absolute, unquestionable proof of
the value of the diamond should it be stolen in the future. Insurance companies cannot
argue with the report.
Avoid diamond dealers who seem reluctant to provide a certificate! Also avoid sellers
who tell you that a certificate diamond will cost you more – the only additional cost
should be the cost of the certificate, which is low. If the dealer doesn’t want to provide
a certificate, then you don’t want to do business with that
dealer.
Don’t accept certificates from Gemological Laboratories other than GIA. There are many
fly-by-night Gemological labs these days, but in the end, GIA has been established as the
most respectable and trustworthy – not to mention oldest – of the lot. So avoid dealers
who don’t want to use GIA for certification purposes as well.
Don’t buy an expensive diamond without paying the extra cost of the certificate. If a
dealer tries to convince you to make the purchase without the certificate, or if they
want to use a company other than GIA, you can be sure that the dealer has probably
greatly inflated the price of the diamond – they have something that they are hiding
from you.
How Diamond Prices Are Determined
Pricing most products is quite easy. Determine how much it costs to make the
item, how much it costs to market that item, and then mark it up by 15 – 30% or more.
Simple, right? Well, pricing diamonds isn’t quite that simple. There are many factors
that are considered when diamonds are priced.
Diamond prices are determined first by adding the cost of the rough diamond, the
cost of cutting the diamond, and all other costs necessary to turn the rough diamond
into a marketable diamond. Depending on the importance of the diamond, an
independent company may be called in to certify the grade of the diamond based on
color, cut, clarity, and weight.
At this point, the diamond becomes more expensive each time it changes hands, until
it finally reaches a retailer, where the price is raised a bit more. Before reaching the
retailer, however, the diamond must travel from the mine, to the cutter and polisher, to
the independent grading company, and then to the Primary market. Once it has
reached the primary market, it will be purchased by diamond dealers and
wholesalers, and from there it will be sold to retailers.
As you can see, the earlier you can purchase a diamond in the process, the lower the cost
of the diamond will be – but not the value. The value is based on what the diamond will
sell for in the market place – through a retailer.
If you own a diamond, and you have no idea how much it is worth, you can have it
appraised, but the appraisal may not be accurate. You will be better off obtaining a
certificate through GIA – Gemological Institute of America. With the information on this
certificate, you can use a cutter’s guide to accurately determine what your diamond is
worth.
There are also many diamond price calculators available. These can be found
on the Internet, and many diamond dealers use these as well. You must realize, however,
that before you can accurately price a diamond, without a Diamond
Grade Report, you need to know quite a bit about diamonds,
such as different cuts, clarity, color, and weight – and how each of those aspects adds to the
value of a diamond, or decreases the value of the diamond as the case may be.
Again, you will be better off if you get a Diamond Grading Report on the diamond,
and use that information to look up the price in one of the guides that the diamond cutting
industry uses. This will give you the most accurate value of the diamond in your
possession, or of the diamond you are considering purchasing.
How to Spot A Fake Diamond
In this world of advanced technology it is almost impossible to simply look at a
diamond and determine whether it is real or not – especially if you don’t know much
about diamonds. There are some steps that you can take to avoid buying a fake diamond,
however.
First, only deal with reputable jewelers, and when you find a reputable jeweler, stick with
them. Avoid buying diamonds or other jewelry from jewelers that you have never
dealt with before in the past. Ask to see the certificate for the stone. If no certificate exists,
walk away.
Look at the setting that the stone is in. Fake diamonds, such as zirconias, are usually set
in low quality metals. Take a close look at the stone. Fake diamonds are not durable –
natural diamonds, on the other hand, are the most durable stone on the planet. Look for
scratches or nicks.
After purchasing a diamond, take it to another jeweler for appraisal. In fact, take it
to two or three other jewelers for an appraisal to make sure that the appraisals are all fairly
close. If you find that you have purchased a fake diamond, you may be accused of
making a switch when you return to the store of your purchase; therefore, it is important to
have a certificate for the diamond. No two stones are alike.
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