What you need to know before you buy diamond jewelry!

Diamonds have always been associated with unending love and deep commitment. They’re little pieces of celestial perfection which express what mere words could never. But they can also be quite the money pit, if you do not know how to pick up the right diamonds at your price point. There have been umpteen cases where unsuspecting people have been ripped off, by unscrupulous elements, in such cases people have mostly been given a stone that looks like a diamond, but when evaluated turned out to be a synthetically simulated stone or a fake altogether. This post therefore is to enlighten the reader about facts they ought to know about diamonds, before embarking on the purchase of diamond jewelry.

What you need to know before you buy diamond jewelry:

1. Diamonds never wear or crack: The most basic fact to remember is that diamonds are the toughest element in the known universe. Diamonds cannot crack, break or wear down. Artificially simulated stones however do not share the same durability as natural stones. These simulated diamonds do break occasionally, and are infinitely cheaper than  the real deal, so always be on a look out for them. Buying your jewelry from a reputed jeweler or jewelry website is normally a guarantee that what you’re paying for is a natural diamond and not a man made imitation.

2. GIA certification: GIA or the Gemological Institute of America is the institution that came up with the 4Cs and other procedures to verify and certify purity of diamonds. Pure diamonds almost always carry a GIA certification or at the very least a certificate of purity endorsed by GIA. Most reputed jewelry brands and websites around the world will always provide you with one or the other certificate upon purchase. The GIA certification comes in handy when you’re trying to resell your diamonds or having them appraised.

3. The 4Cs: The 4Cs stand for Cut, Clarity, Colour and Carat Weight and are the most important tool to ascertain the value of a diamond. The cut of a diamond determines not just its shape, but also the level of shine as the diamond cutter can choose to add many facets and angles to the diamond to enhance its reflective index. Clarity is measured on six scales from flawless (highest value) to included (I3 being the least valuable), the clearer and more transparent the diamond, the greater its value. A diamond’s color or rather the lack of it determines its value, according to the GIA scale of color, diamonds are graded from D to Z (D being flawlessly transparent, Z being colored and therefore not completely transparent.) Stones that are almost perfectly transparent or colorless are rated between a scale of D to F and are a whole lot more expensive than diamonds that come under the scale from I onwards. A diamond’s dry weight is called its carat weight, and as a rule of thumb, the heavier the stone, the more expensive it is.

4. The wearer’s personality: Knowing technical details about a diamond before buying diamond jewelry is a must, but so is taking into consideration the wearer’s personality. Whatever the piece of jewelry may be, it needs to be in sync with the way the ultimate wearer is perceived by others and themselves. If a woman is an introvert by nature, it is best to select a piece of jewelry that is understated and draws attention to what the woman has worn, and not to itself. In sharp contrast, a contemporary or offbeat design might be just what the doctor ordered for a woman who has an extroverted streak in her. Also bear in mind the versatility of the design of the ornament, the context in which it can be worn, whether or not it will match every look you can envision your woman in, etc.

These easy to remember pointers will ensure that A) you never get taken for a ride when it comes to selecting a diamond and get exactly what you pay for and B) you alway pick the right ornament for your woman, keeping in mind her unique personality and sense of style.