Blog

Diamond Shopping

 

Clients constantly bring jewelry in that they’ve purchased from a chain retail shop hoping to sell it for scrap value.  Many times the jewelry has diamonds in it and they’re hoping to get extra money.  A common misconception is because the item was purchased for a certain price or that because it’s large that it’s a great stone and therefore worth a lot of money.  Unfortunately, often times that is not the case.  Four important factors have to work together in the right combination to create an absolutely stunning diamond.

 

**There are four critical factors to remember when shopping for a diamond.**

Remember them as the four “C’s”.

 

*Carat– The actual size of the diamond

*Color– The color of the diamond can fluctuate between colorless, near colorless, and yellow.  Stones can actually change colors depending on the setting they are placed into (white gold, yellow gold, platinum etc.)

*Cut-Round, Heart-shaped, Marquis, Princess, Cushion and many more!  This all depends on the client’s preference.

*Clarity– the presence of identifying characteristics on (blemishes) and within (inclusions) the stone.

 

Color Scale

 

How are diamonds graded for clarity?
Diamonds are graded for clarity under 10x loupe magnification. Grades range from Flawless (diamonds which are completely free of blemishes and inclusions), to Included 3 (diamonds which possess large, heavy blemishes and inclusions that are visible to the naked eye).

• F
  Flawless: No internal or external flaws. Extremely rare.
• IF
  Internally Flawless: no internal flaws, but some surface flaws. Very rare.
• VVS1-VVS2
  Very Very Slightly Included (two grades). Minute inclusions very difficult to detect under 10x magnification by a trained gemologist.
• VS1-VS2
  Very Slightly Included (two grades). Minute inclusions seen only with difficulty under 10x magnification.
• SI1-SI2
  Slightly Included (two grades). Minute inclusions more easily detected under 10x magnification.
• I1-I2-I3
  Included (three grades). Inclusions visible under 10x magnification AS WELL AS to the human eye. We do not recommend buying diamonds in any of these grades. 

REMEMBER

 Make sure and do your research on diamonds before going to purchase one.  Make sure you purchase your diamonds and jewelry from a trusted source.  It’s disappointing to the client when we break the news to them that they were misled and paid too much for the quality of stone they purchased.  Many of your chain retailers carry stones from low to middle grade. 

 We ONLY carry middle grade to the highest quality stones here at MacPherson’s Diamonds & Designs.

 

 Some information in this post was resourced from the below website.

For more detailed information on buying diamonds, please visit this website.

http://www.thediamondbuyingguide.