Thursday, August 5, 2010

Simple Guidelines On Buying Diamond Jewelry Gifts

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. Realistically speaking though, this isn't always the case because when you first look at the price tag of your chosen sparkler you'll soon realize how nerve-racking it really is to purchase diamond jewelry gifts. If you have the intention to purchase a diamond in the near future, it is important that you know the tricks of the trade for you to take charge of your transactions and get a run for your money.

Fred Cuellar, a gemologist and world-renowned diamond expert, believed that there are four things that a buyer has to consider when purchasing diamond jewelry gifts: budget, expectations, savvy and 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. As for expectations, it is advised for you to know and understand the needs and wants of the person to whom you're about to present the diamond; by doing this you would have a feel of what diamond type would be appropriate for that person. 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. There are two options available for you to be able to secure your diamond jewelry gifts: go online or visit your local jewelry stores. 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.

Now for the diamond itself, you must always consider the 4Cs of diamond which stands for clarity, color, cut and carat as they are the determining factor of how the diamond will cost. Clarity is an indication of how clear the gemstone is and how free it is from blemishes or external imperfections and inclusions or internal imperfections. 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.

With regards to color, diamond pieces are available in different shades; however, colored diamond pieces are very rare and expensive, so it is more likely that when you visit shops you'd observe that only white and yellow sparklers are available but between these two colors, it's always best to settle for whiter diamond pieces. This is because the yellow color of sparklers came from nitrogen, which significantly affect the stone's capability to let more light pass through, making it appear less shiny and sparkly; hence, as a rule of thumb, the yellower the diamond, the lesser its value. In terms of cut, sparklers may come in a whole range of shapes including round brilliant cut, box, marquise, and pear to name a few. More than indicating the shape of the diamond, a cut also determines how sparkly such gemstone will be.

Aside from being clear and white, a diamond cannot be considered as a diamond unless it sparkles, which could only be achieved by properly cutting it. As cut is extremely hard to analyze, the three things that you should look at are brilliance, fire and scintillation; however, if you really want to make things easier, the standard round brilliant cut is probably the most preferable choice compared to other cut. Lastly, the carat refers to the unit weight of a diamond. 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.

Diamond jewelry gifts are not easy to purchase especially if you're not aware of what you're looking for. Round brilliant cut diamond could be truly beautiful but it can cost you an arm and a leg, while clarity enhanced diamond might be inexpensive but you might be sacrificing the quality of your sparkler. As a simple rule, always look at your budget and analyze the 4Cs of diamond, this way you would be able to know the tricks of the trade.

-Lorraine Jacobs

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