To buy a diamond from us, and feel good about it, we know you want to save money, but to buy a diamond from a stranger without seeing it; you must do the following which would involve leg work:
You must visit upscale diamond jewelers who subscribe to the ethics of strict gemological guidelines. The important thing is that you are going to have to visually see what a well cut diamond looks like. You should also know what an I color stone looks like against a colorless stone like D-F. Here is how you can get familiar with these in short order: Most jewelers are not very forthcoming because there are certain areas where many stones of a certain gemological grading look similar to other stones with lesser gradings. Sound confusing? Well it is. This is why there is so much fraud in the diamond business.
I’ll give you an example; here is how a diamond is graded at the laboratory. In the morning, theoretically, when ones eye sight is most acute because of recent sleeping, the diamond to be graded is taken out of its paper and laid on a white porcelain tray. It is then placed under special lighting that simulates the north light in the sky, which traditionally has been viewed as the light to grade diamonds. Then somebody at the laboratory will go to the vault master and get some stones that have been previously anointed to be I color, K color, et al. It is kind of a primitive way to do it, but it works. There are always great points of contention between the colors H-I-J or G-F. It is kind of a crap shoot, but like I said, it works. Now you the layman might be asked by me, to send me a check for 15000 for a 3 carat stone that is graded that is H VS2.
It will make my job a lot easier if you know what I am talking about. If you live in a metropolitan area, here is how you can be certain that the jeweler is absolutely showing you a properly graded stones. To my knowledge, Tiffany is the only jeweler who doesn’t BS. But if there is a decent jeweler in your area, you can ask to see the certificate. This is the only way you can know for certain what the stone is. To trust someone blindly is not a smart idea. If you like to call us, we would love to help you get some good advice.
Unfortunately, in the jewelry business, there is a kind of silent dictate that advises against wising the client up. Then there are other situations that develop. Because the process of grading these stones is kind of primitive, without a certificate, you are absolutely on your own. The very reason that most jewelers do not show you certificate, is because they do not feel like paying for them. Just because they might have been in the business for 30 years, does not mean he knows. It is almost the luck of the draw. If you phone us, we can walk you through this, it is an uncomfortable process.
If it is an engagement ring, or redoing a ring for your wife, a real decent woman is a lot easier to satisfy, but if you are married to an anal retentive wife, and she wants a diamond with a high gemological grading, you just have to bite the bullet and do it. Years later and your wife gets into a financial bind, or you have passed away and your wife is in one, a certificate can guarantee the stone. Some financial binds include children’s tuition, mortgage payments, et al, you will be glad you did the right thing. The first thing to do is to get off your duff, and view certified stones.
After selling hundreds of millions dollars worth of diamonds to thousands of satisfied customers we’ve formulated some common sense guidelines that will help make your research fast and simple.