Diamond Buyer Guide

Determining the value of a diamond varies significantly based on the cut, color, clarity, carat and additional details of the diamond. If you are feeling uncertain about spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on a diamond, relax. That’s normal. Besides, there are many diamond scams and pitfalls of the complicated diamond industry.

Although they are real and do occur, most scams are dramatized by the media. Most jewelers are honest. But honesty does not necessarily translate into low prices. One store might sell a diamond for $2,000 while another sells the same stone for $5,000.

In the diamond trade, you will find every style of business from a discount broker in a tiny downtown office to a large retail chain store in a high-rent mall.

Each of these businesses has different expenses and therefore different markups. Markups are necessary to cover costs, but with the efficiency of the Internet, costs are coming down. This can represent big savings for you, the consumer — if you shop intelligently.

Every diamond is unique and no two are alike. That means you can never compare apples with apples when it comes to diamonds. Never. Even if two diamonds have the same color, clarity, shape, and carat weight (the 4 Cs), you could still have up to a 10 - 40% difference in value due to proportions, finish, age of the certificate, fluorescence, etc.

So how do you compare prices from one diamond to another and one dealer to another without becoming a gemologist? Talk to a professional, or get information from experts. But remember the information is biased if the expert sells diamonds, since he or she will try to persuade you to buy a diamond from that store. An unbiased expert can tell you the true wholesale price from the info on any good lab certificate, adjusted for each factor of color, cut, carat weight, clarity, fluoresence and other complicated factors.