TIPS ON BUYING A DIAMOND

Buying a diamond can be a complicated affair, especially if the buyer doesn't know what to look for. The most important factor is to be prepared.

THE FOUR C'S

Understanding the Four C's is the first step in your journey to buying the perfect diamond. Many variations exist of the Four C's document but the overall content remains the same. FASHIONPAKISTAN.COM has prepared this variation of the Four C's detailing the Cut, Clarity, Color and Carat you should look for and ,of course, the points to avoid.

With the rarity of diamonds, and all diamonds are rare, it makes sense that gemstones that appear to be identical can show a wide range in value. To determine the relative worth of diamonds, you need to know your 4 C's of diamond buying :

THE DIAMOND CUT

To get from the raw diamond to the cut gemstone requires the skilled hand of a master cutter.

Proportions are everything. The better the proportions, the better the diamond handles light to create more sparkle. There are a number of shapes which diamonds traditionally take, depending on the original nature of the rough, uncut stone. Oval, round, pear, emerald, heart baguette and marquise shapes are by far the most popular. It all comes down to what you like.

(Note: The shape of a diamond is not its make. The make of Diamond is often referred to as its cut, or as its proportion and common diamond shapes are brilliant round, heart, oval, marquise, pear, princess, and emerald).

All jewellers and diamond retailers should (on demand) give you percentages or sizes that describe the depth and the table (top facet) of a stone - some do, particularly if the diamond is a brilliant round. Occasionally however, jewellers may ignore the "make" of a diamond when selling. Of course some Diamond retailers simply say they have only fine makes and leave it at that.

There are no international standards for "make", as there are for color and clarity and there is no dispute in the fact that the "make" of a stone affects the price. Within the diamond trade, you will find many different opinions when it comes to the "most desired" proportions or percentages. Some jewellers sell very poor makes of diamonds everyday under the guise of bargains.

Diamond Shapes

Round brilliant diamond
Marquise diamond
Pear diamond
Oval diamond
Emerald diamond
Baguette diamond
Heart diamond

Please Note: When buying if you are comparing two stones of the same grade and size but have no reference to compare "makes", you are lessening your chances of an informed decision. The relationship between seller and buyer is probably one of the most important factors in buying the perfect Diamond.

DIAMOND CLARITY

In order to determine the clarity of a diamond, you'll need someone with a trained eye to view it under 10-power magnification. The majority of diamonds are born with miniscule "birthmarks" known as inclusions. The smaller and fewer the inclusions, the more able light can pass through the diamond, contributing significantly to its rare beauty. More than any other gemstone, diamonds are capable of producing the maximum amount of brilliance. Thus a diamond which is free of inclusions and surface blemishes is more rare and, by definition, more valuable.

A diamond's clarity can be affected by two types of flaws:

External flaws: these are any of the impurities that are on the surface of the diamond. External flaws are the result of wear and tear on the diamond or from damage caused during cutting.

Internal flaws: These are any of the many impurities that reside solely in the interior of the diamond. There are many kinds of internal flaws. A few important ones that you should familiarize yourself with are:

Black or dark spots: carbon or other dark spots.
Clouds: Clouds, are microscopic inclusions that lower transparency.
Fracture (feather) - the majority of imperfections in diamonds are the result of breakage in the diamond chemical structure.

Clarity grading:

The most common instrument used for Clarity Grading is the hand held loupe or microscope (based on 10-power magnification). This means, for all intents and purposes, any imperfection that cannot be detected with a x10 magnification does not “exist” while grading a diamond.

I.F Internally flawless: Free From internal blemishes visible under 10x magnification (small external details tolerated).

V.V.S 1 Very very slightly included: Inclusions and/or external blemishes very very difficult to locate under 10x magnification.

V.V.S 2 Very very slightly included: Inclusions and/or external blemishes very difficult to locate under 10x magnification.

V.S 1 Very Slightly included: Inclusions and external blemishes difficult to locate under 10x magnification.

V.S 2 Very Slightly included: Inclusions and external blemishes rather difficult to locate under 10x magnification.

S.I 1 Slightly included: Inclusions and external blemishes rather easy to locate under 10x magnification.

S.I 2 Slightly included: Inclusions and external blemishes easy to locate under 10x magnification.

P.1 - 1.1 Imperfect: Inclusions and external blemishes very easy to locate under 10x magnification.

P.2 - 1.2 Imperfect: Inclusions and external blemishes easy to locate with naked eye.

P.3 - 1.3 Imperfect: Heavy inclusions located with naked eye.

DIAMOND COLOUR

From the faintest yellow or brown to the very rare pinks, blues, greens and other colors (known as "fancies" in the trade) it is still no color at all that takes the cake when it comes to diamonds. A completely colorless diamond allows white light to pass through it effortlessly - dispersing it again as rainbows of color.

Note:(In 1987 Sotheby's auctioned an approximately .95 ct. pink to purplish natural fancy color diamond and received $800,000 plus. Because of rarity.)

In Diamonds that are seen in the trade, most are near colorless to light yellowish. There are only about 25 impurity elements that effect diamond. In fact, 99.95% of all diamond is pure carbon. Some elements, that affect Diamond color, are:

nitrogen ... yellow

boron ... blue

crystal irregularities ... pinks, browns and reds

natural radiation ... green

Some diamonds are "fluorescent". Some even glow. This fluorescence is caused by the reaction between the light's energy and the diamond's atoms. Diamonds that fluoresce usually do so in blue.

Fluorescence should be disclosed and explained when a diamond is being viewed. Remember slight to moderate fluorescence could be a means of identification.

To grade color, Gemologists use master stones(stones graded and recorded at the GIA gem trade lab),white light and proper procedures.

DIAMOND CARAT

Diamonds were first discovered in India around 500 B.C. The first unit of weight used for diamond was the carob seed; the weight of a seed from the seed pod of the carob or locust tree was equivalent to a 1.00 ct. diamond.

Note: Do not confuse carat with karat. Carat refers to stone weight while karat refers to fineness of gold.

Determining the Carat Weight

The weight of a diamond is measured in carats. This is the easiest factor to determine. One carat is divided into 100 "points", thus a diamond with 75 points weighs .75 carats. However, two diamonds of equal weight may have a very unequal value, depending on their cut, color and clarity. Quality is not determined by weight alone.

Diamonds, today, are weighed using the metric system and the resulting weights are still converted into the carat as the unit of Diamond weight Devices used for calculating weight are the screw micrometer, the Moh gauge and the leverage gauge to mention a few.

PRACTICAL PURSE-FRIENDLY ADVICE

Color: a diamond should be more than just white but not necessarily Blue white

Clarity: a diamond should be far better than just eye-clean but should not necessarily be Internally Flawless

Cut: a diamond should be cut preferably in Antwerp (a city)where you can find the best craftsmanship on the market :It's the cut that makes a diamond sparkle ! The choice of platinum - white - yellow gold is yours although in general they should match your other jewellery.

CERTIFICATES

Certificates are granted for a fee by laboratories or gemmology institutes. The most important thing about these laboratories is the fact they are impartial in their examination. This ensures the stone will get the true grade if the grader sees fit to give it.

A diamond certificate is an A4 size laminated document containing the vital data about the diamond.

Any one holding the diamond can submit it for certification. It contains all the characteristics of the stone that will make up its value. Certificates do not contain any information regarding the monetary value of a diamond.

The types of certificates that are used widely in the industry are : GIA: Gemological Institute of America GIA certificate
IGI: International Gemological Institute.
HRD: High diamond council - Hoge Raad voor Diamant

SOME QUESTIONS

Question:Why should a diamond purchase in Antwerp be any better than in New York?
Answer:To begin with, Antwerp is the very source of the diamond trade with as much as almost 70% market share, in other words: a New York diamond most of the times is bought in Antwerp before it was put up for sale in New York. Secondly, Antwerp has always been the only diamond city in the world with three diamond-cutting schools where young people are molded into the worlds finest craftsmen in diamond polishing. The Antwerp-cut is therefore known for it's finest sparkle!

Question:Beside the 4C's that all diamond websites inform me about, are there anymore specific ' details ' I should watch out for. And can they devalue the diamond?
Answer:Absolutely! First of all, a diamond should be accompanied by one of the world's three leading certificates: The HRD or IGI in Antwerp and the USA based GIA. Other certifications may be less accurate. You should inform yourself about the priorities you set to your diamond's budget. Do you prefer colour to clarity? Do you prefer size to colour and clarity or will you go for the very top? In any case the cut should be perfect to near perfect!The reason is simple: cut is what you see! Infact it is sometimes better to buy a lower quality diamond with a perfect cut than to buy a gem quality with a poor cut. Fashionpakistan.com strongly recommends NOT to buy any carat weight that ends in .00 such as 1.00ct or 2.00ct. The diamond traders look at these stones with suspicion because most of the times the polisher has had instructions to do whatever necessary to keep the stone from becoming 0.99 or 1.99 ct. Some diamonds still have a bit unpolished (rough) just to maintain the commercially interesting 2.00ct weight!
Fluorescence. Diamonds can glow - have fluorescence - and even though 'none' to 'slight', are preferred this should not be an obstacle when you purchase diamonds.
'Medium' and 'strong' fluorescence should be avoided (unless you favour 'overblue') as this may cause the diamond to appear milky white in daylight.

Question:How can I see if a diamond is genuine?
Answer : An honest answer: You can NOT! You need to be an expert and use specialized equipment to make sure a diamond is real.
Do not trust ideas like scratching a beer bottle (it may damage the diamond too), thermal conductivity (Moissanite conducts equally well), looking through, comparing weight, etc. If the diamond is accompanied by a certificate you will know it is real and if it is treated artificially or not.
Tip:If you can not easily find inclusions under a 10 times magnification you should become suspicious, most likely it is not a real diamond. But be aware of the fact that some gas bubbles in cubic zirconium may appear like inclusions if you do not look carefully.

Question:The diamond market does not seem transparent to me. How do I know that I am getting a fair deal?
Answer:Well even to 90% of all jewellers this diamond market is not transparent at all! It therefore takes a good deal of informing yourself about where to pay attention to, as stated in the previous answer. Always bear in mind that when you think you can do the diamond deal of your life, you always get what you paid for! Fair prices exist , bargains do not, despite the fact that others may try to convince you otherwise.

KEEPING IN VIEW THE MURKY NATURE OF THE DIAMOND MARKET, FASHIONPAKISTAN.COM HOPES THAT WITH THE ABOVE KNOWLEDGE U CAN ATLEAST PORTRAY THE CONFIDENCE OF A SEASONED BUYER AND ANY TRADER WILL THINK TWICE BEFORE DEFRAUDING YOU. HOWEVER IN THE ULTIMATE ANALYSIS THERE IS NO SURE FIRE WAY TO OR PRICE ON OWNING A DIAMOND.

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