How to Sell A Diamond

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There are many reasons why you may want to sell a diamond that you own. Perhaps you’ve gotten divorced, or you are strapped for cash. The reasons why don’t really matter – getting the best possible price is what counts! The way to obtain the best price for the diamond is to not be in a rush. Slow down, and carefully consider all of your options – there are many.

First, have the diamond appraised. In fact, have it appraised by two or three jewelers to get an accurate idea of the diamonds value. Tell the appraiser that you want the Rapaport Value. This is the wholesale value of the diamond, and it basically tells you the highest price that you can sell your diamond for. If your diamond has no certificate, you should consider getting a certificate from GIA. This may help you get a better price for the diamond as well.

First, try to sell the diamond yourself, to people you know. Friends and family members may be interested. If you don’t have any luck with friends or family members, you should turn to outside sources. Absolutely avoid pawn shops! A pawn shop will only offer you about 10% of what the diamond is worth! Also avoid offers of selling the ring on consignment. There are many things that can go wrong, and there is no shortage of diamond scams – even in well known jewelry stores.

If the diamond is important, you should strongly consider auctioning it off through one of the famous auction houses, such as Christie’s or Sotheby’s. If it isn’t what is considered an ‘important’ diamond or a high-end diamond, you should try to sell it to an individual using classified ads, or even eBay. However, selling to an individual that you do not know could put you in danger – especially if the diamond is worth a lot of money.

Your final option should be a jewelry store. It is vital that you not let your diamond out of your sight while in the jewelry store – you might find that the diamond you walked in with is not the same diamond that you walk out with! The jeweler will try to tell you that your diamond is of poor quality or low weight. Inevitably, there will be some problem with the diamond. This is where your appraisal and/or certificate will come in handy. If the jeweler is fair, they will offer you between 60% and 80% of the value of the Rapaport Value. Do not accept anything less than this. Again, do not let the diamond out ofyour sight until you have been paid for it.

Famous Diamonds

Among the most well known diamonds is the Hope. This 45.52 carat steel blue diamond is currently on display at the Smithsonian. The legends of the ill-fortune and curse bestowed on the possessor of the Hope Diamond are many. This diamond was donated to the Smithsonian in 1958. The Hope was originally a rather flat, blocky 110-carat rough.

The Dresden Green stands out among the natural colored diamonds. It is the largest green diamond in the world weighing 40.70 carats. This diamond is historic, large and has a natural green color with a slight blue overtone. These facts make it virtually priceless. 

The Conde Pink is a pear shaped and weighs 9.01-carats. This pink diamond was once owned by Louis XIII. 

The Tiffany Yellow diamond a beautiful canary-yellow octahedron weighing 287.42 in the rough (metric) carats discovered in either 1877 or 1878 in South Africa. 

The gem after cutting boasts the extraordinary weight of 128.54 carats. And until recently, was the largest golden-yellow in the world.

The Koh-I-Noor ( Mountain of Light ) is now among the British Crown Jewels. This diamond weighs 105.60 carats. First mentioned in 1304, it is believed to have been once set in Shah Jehan‘s famous peacock throne as one of the peacocks eyes.

The Agra is graded as a naturally colored Fancy Light Pink and weighs 32.34 carats. It was sold for about 6.9 million in 1990. Since this sale, it has been modified to a cushion shape weighing about 28.15 carats.

The Transvaal Blue is pear cut. This blue diamond weighs 25 carats. It was found in the Premier Diamond Mine in Transvaal, South Africa.

The Great Chrysanthemum was discovered in the summer of 1963, in a South African diamond field. This 198.28-carat fancy brown diamond appeared to be a light honey color in its rough state. However, after cutting, it proved to be a rich golden brown, with overtones of sienna and burnt orange.

The Taylor-Burton Diamond is a pear-shaped 69.42 carat diamond. Cartier of New York purchased this diamond at an auction in 1969 and christened it "Cartier." The next day Richard Burton bought the diamond for Elizabeth Taylor. He renamed it the "Taylor-Burton”. In 1978, Elizabeth Taylor put the diamond up for sale. Prospective buyers had to pay $2,500 each to view the diamond to cover the costs of showing it. Finally, in June of 1979, the diamond was sold for nearly $3 million dollars.

Buying Diamonds Online

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With all of the potential for scams concerning diamonds, buying diamonds online almost seems unthinkable! However, you actually can purchase diamonds online, without any problems – as long as you are careful.

First, think about your reasons for wanting to purchase the diamond online, as opposed to making a purchase from a local jewelry store. The most common reason is price. Due to low overhead costs, online jewelers and wholesalers are able to offer lower prices. However, you must be careful – sometimes a price that is too low is a sure indication of a scam.

One of the best things about purchasing online is the unlimited selection. When shopping offline, you are limited to the selection in the stores in your general area. Online, there are no limits. But again, you must use a great deal of care and consideration before handing your money over to someone that you cannot see and have never met!

Before shopping, learn as much as you can about diamonds – especially cut, color, clarity and carat weights. When you are knowledgeable about diamonds, it will be harder for a con artist to rip you off. Once you know more about diamonds, you will be ready to start shopping.

Take your time. Don’t purchase the first diamond that you see that interests you. Instead, look for similar diamonds for sale. Do some comparison shopping to find the lowest prices. Once you have found the lowest price, start doing your investigation. You know about diamonds, you’ve found a diamond that you love, and you’ve found the lowest price – but you are still quite a ways away from actually purchasing that diamond!

Ask about the seller’s credentials, such as professional jewelry associations that they belong to. View and print the seller’s return, refund, and upgrade policies. Also inquire about additional services, such as settings and mountings, sizing, and free shipping. Do a search for customer reviews on this particular company around the Internet. Also check with the BBB Online to see if there have been any complaints.

Ask for a diamond grading report from an independent laboratory such as GIA, HRD, EGL or AGS. You should see this before making a purchase. Finally, use a reputable escrow service for high dollar diamonds – preferably one that will have the diamond appraised while it is in their possession. The seller sends the diamond to the escrow service, and you send the money to pay for the diamond to the escrow service. The escrow service has the diamond appraised, sends the diamond to you, and sends the money to the seller. This is the surest way to protect yourself…again, make sure that you use a reputable escrow service!

What Are Dirty Diamonds?

A dirty diamond is one of two things: a rough diamond, or a diamond that hasn’t been cleaned in a while. Rough diamonds are uncut and unpolished – hence, they are dirty. But that type of dirty diamond will soon be cut and polished and sitting in a beautiful jewel box in a display case. Then someone will purchase it, and before long, it will become a dirty diamond once again.

Diamonds become dirty. When you wash your hands with a diamond ring on, soap scum clings to it. When you put on hand lotion, it gets grease on it. Shower with your diamond earrings or necklace, and again, you get soap scum. In one short day, your brand new diamond could be dirty!

Purchase an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner the same day that you purchase your diamond jewelry, and use it every single day, without fail. The clarity of the diamond changes when the diamond is dirty – it loses its sparkle. By taking one minute each day to clean your diamond jewelry, you can avoid this, and your diamonds will never be dirty!

Bonded Diamonds

Before you start shopping for diamonds, consider dealing with a bonded jeweler. Bonded jewelers sell bonded diamonds, and there are very few bonded jewelers in the world. In fact, out of all of the jeweler’s in the world, only about 5% of them are bonded. Buying a bonded diamond will cost more than buying a non-bonded diamond, but when you look at what you get with the bonded option, you will see that it is well worth the extra expense.

First, bonded diamonds have a buy back policy for the life of the diamond. No matter how long you have had the diamond, you can take it back to the bonded jeweler and sell it back to him or her, for a 100% refund. If a jeweler does not offer a 100% buy back guarantee, for the life of the diamond, then you should take a closer look at the diamond to see what is wrong with it.

Bonded diamonds also have a breakage policy. If the stone breaks or chips, the bonded jeweler will replace it with a new one – one time. No jeweler would ever offer such a policy on any stone that was not 100% natural, so just the offer of such a policy should give you piece of mind concerning the quality of the diamond. Bonded diamonds are natural and untreated. Bonded diamonds increase in value, with a fixed appreciation rate that is designed to keep up with inflation. This means that a diamond that is worth a certain amount of money today will be worth more in the future, as the price of diamonds continues to rise.

This generally does not apply to buy backs, however. It typically applies to trade-ins. Alternately, by purchasing a bonded diamond, you are protected against the possibility of a market crash. If a market crash occurs, the value of diamonds will drop. However, the bonded jeweler guarantees to refund you the difference between what the diamond is now worth and what you paid for it before the market crash.

It may be difficult to find a bonded jeweler in your area, but if you can, this is who you want to deal with, as opposed to dealing with an un-bonded jeweler. Specifically tell the jeweler that you are only interested in bonded diamonds. You can find a bonded jeweler in your area by using various online resources, or by calling the local jewelry stores.

Conflict Diamonds

What are Conflict Diamonds?

Conflict diamonds are gems mined illegally by rebel groups and sold to buy weapons. As such, conflict diamonds help fuel wars and add to instability in regions with fragile governments, particularly in Western and Central Africa.

Avoid Purchasing Conflict Diamonds

As of 2009, more than 99% of the world's diamonds are conflict-free, according to the World Diamond Council (www.diamondfacts.org, viewed on November 13, 2009). However, the sale of even a few conflict diamonds causes great human suffering and helps undermine governments in struggling regions. Therefore, it is important for consumers to ensure that the diamonds they purchase are certified by the Kimberly Process, the U.N.-mandated system for tracking diamond shipments from suppliers to buyers which ensures the diamonds are obtained from a legitimate source.

Use the Four Cs to Select Diamond Jewelry

Cut, color, clarity, and carat are the four major criteria used to assess diamond quality. Although the majority of the world's diamonds are now conflict-free, consumers should determine whether their jeweler's diamonds are covered by the Kimberly Process Certification System, ensuring that these gems do not originate from war-torn countries.

Article By Molly Markey

Diamonds

Astrologically Diamond is the birthstone of April. It is also the gemstone for the 10th and 60th anniversary. Diamond is supposed to strengthen the planet Venus to increase luxury and enjoyment in your life. If you are a Virgo then according to Vedic astrology Diamond is the right gemstone for you. The glittering color, the four perfect cleavage directions and its endurability has made it the most popular gemstone.

For the interest of Chemistry student Diamond is nothing but a carbon. It is a polymorph of Carbon just like Graphite. Its chemical formula is “C” and only “C”. It’s a native element and belongs to the sub-class Non-metallic. Diamonds are available in wide variety of colors like Blue, Pink, White, Yellow. The diamonds processing industry values the brown diamond much more, which comes in three varieties called Champagne, Cognac and Coffee.

For the Physics students, its hardness is perfect 10 out of 10 in mohs hardness scale. Diamond is the hardest substance, gifted by nature. Just for the sake of interest, Diamond is four times harder than Sapphire or Ruby. Diamonds can scratch any other mineral and the myth, “Diamonds can only cut a diamond”, is true. The Clarity of Diamond is transparent. The specific Gravity of Diamond is 3.5, which is well above the average. Diamond conducts heat the best. For comparison purpose, its five times better than Silver. At this scenario of this very best, the Melting point of Diamond is 3820 Kelvin and the Lattice density is also the highest. Definitely Diamonds is empowered with many excellent properties to become the first choice, but again the myth of its indestructible or eternity has been proved to be a foolish notion.

Diamonds are available all over the world. Mostly it is available in Australia, Arkansas, Africa, Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Congo, and Russia etc. A large mine in South Africa has started its operation just five years back.

Diamonds have been used in treatment of mankind for ages. Medical sciences have been able to find its remedial utilities in several accidental and usual disorders due to injuries, fracturing of bones etc. It is supposed to be highly effective in several brain diseases and nervous system disorders. Diamonds even helps to control the hormone sequence of the human body.

How Diamonds Made

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Diamonds form between 75-120 miles below the earth's surface. According to geologists the first delivery of diamonds was somewhere around 2.5 billion years ago and the most recent was 45 million years ago. The carbon that makes diamonds comes from the melting of pre-existing rocks in the Earth's upper mantle. There is an abundance of carbon atoms in the mantle. Temperature changes in the upper mantle forces the carbon atoms to go deeper where it melts and finally becomes new rock, when the temperature reduces. If other conditions like pressure and chemistry is right then the carbon atoms in the melting crystal rock bond to build diamond crystals.

There is no guarantee that these carbon atoms will turn into diamonds. If the temperature rises or the pressure drops then the diamond crystals may melt partially or totally dissolve. Even if they do form, it takes thousand of years for those diamonds to come anywhere near the surface.

It takes millions of years to make a diamond. When you own a diamond, you own something which is a legend in the making. It has not been made in a factory just the other day. A diamond comes from the bosom of the earth. More interestingly not all the diamonds mined are made into jewelry. Only one fourth of the diamonds that are mined are made into jewelry. Every 100 tons of mud produces one carat of a diamond. And this one carat is not one stone! It could be anything from 0.005 ct to 1 ct. because much of the original stone is cut away in the process of cutting, shaping and polishing the diamond.

Diamonds come in different rough shapes. The next time you look at your diamond, think about the amount of time, energy and resources have gone into making that one.

Diamond Shapes

Available Diamond Shapes

If you thought all diamond shapes were the same, you may be surprised at the abundant number of diamond shapes that are available. Most jewelers offer at least nine of the most common gemstone shapes, including:

Diamond Shapes

Two diamonds that are the same shape will appear to look slightly different depending on the siz and weight of the diamond, as well as the type of setting that the stone is placed in. The same ring worn on two different hands can also look quite different, based on the size of the hands.

Difference Between Diamond Shapes and Diamond Cut

Many people mistakenly use the terms “diamond shapes” and “diamond cuts” interchangeably, but there is a difference between them. The cut of a diamond refers to how the artisan maximizes the features of the gemstone by creating angles and details, making the light go into the diamond and bounce back in the most brilliant way possible. The quality of a diamond's cut contributes greatly to the overall value of the gemstone, where as the shape of a diamond does not increase or decrease a diamond's value. When discussing diamond shapes, you are referring to the actual geometric shape of the diamond, whether it is round or oval, emerald or heart shaped, for example.

Choosing Diamond Shapes

With all the possibilities of diamond shapes, how do you go about choosing one? If you are buying yourself a diamond, it's just a matter of looking at all the different varieties and finding one that is most pleasing to your eyes, and the ones that look best when you put them on your finger, or wear in your necklace.

When choosing a diamond shape for someone else, it becomes a bit more difficult. For an engagement ring, many women prefer the traditional round shaped diamond, while others may enjoy having something more unique. A young woman or one who is considered a hopeless romantic may prefer to have a heart shaped diamond.

Other considerations for selecting diamond shapes for rings should be based on the size of a woman's hand. If she has long, slender fingers, can elegantly wear a pear shaped diamond, marquis, or oval shape. Place the same shaped diamond rings on a woman with shorter, wider fingers, and it will cover up too much of the finger and look bulky, and perhaps even awkward. Small hands typically look best with round shaped or princess shaped diamonds.

Most Popular Diamond Shape for Engagement Rings

Even though there is a wide variety of diamond shapes available, the most commonly purchased diamond shape for engagement rings is the round diamond. Round diamonds are considered the “classic engagement ring”, and the stones are often set in yellow gold or platinum. In fact, any diamond shape other than round is considered to be a “fancy” shape, since the round diamond is so popular.

Diamond Cut

Our love of diamonds and admiration of their fire and brilliance has given rise to many different cuts of diamonds. While we still see some of the earliest styles of diamond cuts – such as the round and emerald-cut, there are many more cuts today, some of them patented by their designers and costing hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The most popular cut for a diamond ring today is still the round, brilliant cut. It was developed in the 17th century in Venice. It is still preferred when the raw crystal is in an octahedron formation. Even though as much as 50% of the stone is cut away in the process, often two stones can be carved from an octahedron. More unusually-shaped stones are used for fancy cuts, such as a marquise, pear or heart shaped diamond. The earliest brilliants had 17 facets on the top of the stone and were called double-cut. This was soon improved with stones cut with 33 facets and were called triple-cut brilliants.

Brilliant Round Cut

In the 19th century, with the development of better gem-cutting tools, more innovations in diamond cutting styles were developed. In 1919, Marcel Tolkowsky combined the art of cutting with the science of light and refraction and published his book, Diamond Design. These relatively recent geometric calculations were the forerunner of much of diamond cutting work today and led to other, more precise mathematical models engineered to enhance the fire and brilliance of diamonds.

There are now cuts such as the princess cut, trillions, ovals, pear and heart-shaped. Some innovative cutters have even fashioned star or butterfly-shaped diamonds! One patented cut, the Ashoka diamond, is an oblong cut with rounded, brilliant ends, and requires a stone 3 carats or larger. It’s an exceptionally beautiful (and pricey!) diamond shape. Tiffany has also patented a cut of diamond called the Lucida cut. It’s the lucky bride whose fiancé gives her one of these highly coveted stones!

Colored Diamonds

Fancy colored diamonds are all the rage these days. Gemologists have developed new ways to create versions that are affordable for the average person - by treating less desirable diamonds. These less desirable diamonds are treated with irradiation followed by intense heat. This turns brown and yellowish diamonds into beautifully colored diamonds that you can afford. This produces stunning greens, blues, yellows, reds, purples and other colors. These colors are considered permanent, but there is a possibility they could change during repairs if a high heat is used.

Treatments like irradiation make it possible for more people to own these vividly colored diamonds. Most natural colored diamonds are rare and also extremely expensive. When shopping for colored diamonds you need to assume that any affordable fancy color diamond has been treated. Ask about the stones origin and request to view a lab certificate to verify authenticity.

Synthetic colored diamonds are another option if owning a colored diamond is something you desire but cannot quite afford. They are real diamonds, but they are created in a lab.

Natural fancy color diamonds get their coloring from different trace elements present in the stones, such as nitrogen, which produces a yellow diamond. Diamonds can be colored by exposure to radiation during its creation. An example of a diamond affected by radiation is a Green diamond. 


Another way that a natural colored diamond gets color is by its inclusions. Regarded as flaws and undesirable in a colorless diamond, inclusions give unique tones and brilliant flashes of color in a fancy color diamond. Remember that Natural fancy colored diamonds are very expensive, any colored diamond labeled to be sold as natural should be accompanied by a certificate from a respected grading lab. 


A "fancy" diamond is a natural diamond that has color. These colors vary from red, green, purple, violet, orange, blue and pink – and most shades between. Fancy color shades vary from faint to intense.

The most famous diamonds in the world are Color diamonds. The Tiffany Diamond, which is yellow and the Hope Diamond which is blue are colored diamonds. Color diamonds have an amazing financial track record. The value has never decreased on wholesale level in more than 30 years. Blue and pink diamonds have doubled every 5 years of a strong economy. In the 1970’s  you could have bought a very high quality blue diamond for about 50K and today the very same stone would be worth between 2 and 3 million.

Diamonds Durability

Diamonds are among the hardest substances on earth, in fact they use diamonds and diamond dust to cut diamonds. Other gemstones are hard as well, but not nearly as hard as a diamond. Diamonds and other gemstones are measured by the Mohs scale. It runs from 10 (hardest) down to 1 (softest). It is some what arbitrary and not linear. The range from 9 to 10 is much greater than 8 to 9.Harder minerals of course tend to be more durable and will not scratch easily. They’re good choices for jewelry because of their ability to withstand changes in elements or the arbitrary scratch or knock. Talc, with a Mohs hardness of 1, is the softest mineral and can be scratched with a fingernail.

Image via WikipediaQuartz is the most common gem mineral (citrine and amethyst) and ranges at 7 and above. Rubies and sapphires are nearly as hard as diamonds, with a scale of 9 on the Moh’s scale. People mistakenly think diamonds are indestructible and this is not true! Pliny the Elder in his Natural History stated that “these stones are tested upon the anvil, and will resist the blow to such an extent as to make the iron rebound and the very anvil split asunder.” If you tried that, however, you would more likely shatter the diamond, rather than the anvil! Many diamonds are cut to prevent accidental nicks, scratches and breaks. Except for the Princess cut, which is a square-cut diamond with pronounced corners, most corners on angular diamonds are rounded. A protruding point of a square or rectangular diamond could inadvertently be knocked against a surface and chip or scratch.

Your diamond should be protected in a soft, velvet-lined case if you’re not wearing it. Have the setting checked periodically and have the stone examined by a professional. Your diamond is not only an investment in money, but an investment in yourself or your relationship and is worth the small amount of extra care it takes to preserve it forever!

Diamond Clarity

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What is Diamond Clarity?

Diamond clarity is the measure of flaws found in and on the outside of a diamond. The less flawed a diamond is, the more value it has and the higher the price tag. There are very few diamonds which can be categorized as having no flaws at all, however, most diamond flaws cannot be seen without magnification of at least 10 times. Because issues with diamond clarity are often undetected when looking at a diamond, some people consider this to be one of the least of their concerns when selecting a diamond to purchase.

How is Diamond Clarity Determined?

The most well known measurement of diamond clarity is done by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). It ranks diamonds based on a grading system it created that ranges from flawless diamonds, to imperfect diamonds, with many different grade ranges in between. The better the clarity ranking, the more expensive a diamond will sell for as it has more value.

Types of Inclusions that Effect Diamond Clarity

Inclusions are flaws that effect diamond clarity. They make it so that the diamond is not “perfect”, and there are visual imperfections within the gemstone. Most flaws however, are un-noticeable to the naked eye and can only be seen under high levels of magnification.

There are names for many of the most common inclusions. Carbons effect diamond clarity because they are very small black dots found on the surface of a diamond, which may or may not be visible in regular lighting. Some may be so small that you need magnification to view them. Pinpoints effect diamond clarity because they are white dots along the surface of a diamond. Pinpoints are the most common of all diamond flaws. Clouds effect diamond clarity because they cause what look to be cloudy areas within the gemstone. The clouds are actually made up of many growths of crystals that are positioned very close together within the diamond, and their proximity to one another is what causes the cloudiness to appear. Feathers effect diamond clarity by causing cracks to form within the diamond, that look similar to that of broken glass.

Clarity Enhancements

Diamond clarity flaws can often be fixed or reduced by using a variety of clarity enhancement treatments. Some diamonds are painted, some get lasered in order to remove pinpoints and carbons, and some diamonds undergo a process by which tiny holes are drilled into the diamond in order to reach areas of inclusions within the gemstone, and then the cracks are later filled with molten glass. Having enhancements done to improve diamond clarity decreases the overall value of the diamond, but can improve it's appearance. Diamond certificates should indicate that enhancements were done on the diamond, so ask to see documentation before making a purchase. While most enhancements just cause the diamond to look nicer, some may actually cause the diamond to be weaker, and more prone to breakage than a diamond that has not had any treatments.

Diamond Carat

What is Diamond Carat Weight?

When shopping for a diamond, you've no doubt heard references to the 4 C's of diamonds. Diamond carat is one of those popular ”c's” to consider when evaluating a diamond, and it's a term used to describe how much the diamond weighs. A single diamond carat is equal to the weight of 200 milligrams, or .2 grams.

Diamonds are described two different ways in regards to the diamond carat. An abbreviation of “ct” is used to describe the weight of a single diamond stone while an abbreviation of “ct TW” is used when describing the total weight of an entire piece of jewelry- when it has more than one stone in place.

It's important to recognize that two stones may have the exact same carats, meaning they have the same weight measurement, and yet they are completely different in size and appearance. This is due to the actual density of the gemstone. The more dense a stone is, the more weight they have, and sometimes a smaller stone will actually weigh more than a larger stone because of density.

The Value of the Diamond is Effected by it's Weight

When selecting your diamond ring, you can choose between a single, solitaire style setting (a single diamond on the ring) and a setting that has multiple, smaller stones to make up the ring. The value of a solitaire one diamond carat will actually be more than if you buy a ring that has two diamonds that add up to one carat or greater. Larger sized diamonds are more rarely found when mining diamonds, making them more valuable and expensive than purchasing the same amount of diamond carats in smaller stones.

Selecting Diamond Carat

So how do you determine what size diamond to buy? Do you want a diamond carat of 1, or 2, or do you want a ring with multiple, smaller stones? The answer to this will depend greatly on your budget, as well as the person who will be wearing the ring.

A diamond will look larger on a slender finger, so keep that in mind if the recipient of the ring has thin hands. The actual diamond carat measurement is probably not as much of a concern as the appearance, shape, and setting of the ring. Particularly because a 1 carat diamond ring will not look half the size of a 2 diamond carat ring, it's far more important to select a ring that is pleasing to look at than it is to buy one with the most carats you can afford.

Determine how much money you have to spend, and then decide on the cut of the diamond. Once you have these two pieces of information narrowed down, you can start browsing the diamonds in your price range, in the style you want, and find out what diamond carat you are in the market to buy.

Diamond Certificates

Diamond certificates from independent organizations such as the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) provide a diamond grading report, that gives you valuable information about the 4 C's that were taken into consideration when the diamond was priced. It's important that you use an outside source for diamond certificates, instead of the jeweler who is selling the diamond you are interested in, because the jeweler wants to make money on the sale of the diamonds, the certificates may be slightly biased and you could be paying more than the market value of the diamond.

Reasons to have Diamond Certificates

When you go to a jewelry store, or consider making a purchase from an online retailer, the jewelry that has diamond certificates tends to sell for several hundred dollars more than diamonds that are graded the same that are without certificates. This is because the jeweler recognizes that they typically grade their diamonds one level better than an independent grading organization, like the Gemological Institute of America. The GIA is more conservative when grading diamonds because they do not gain anything from diamond sales.

Pay the Right Price for your Diamond

Diamonds are valued according to their quality based on a grading system that makes use of the 4 C's. You should receive diamond certificates (also called grading reports) from independent companies rather than a jeweler, to insure that your getting an unbiased reporting of the value of the diamond. Otherwise, you could be paying much more for your diamond than what the diamond is actually worth.

Protecting Your Investment

Diamonds are not the same kind of investment as buying stocks and bonds, but having diamond certificates gives you a better investment than just having the diamond. Diamond certificates make it easier to sell a diamond in the future, because you have documentation of how much the diamond is worth and why it was valued that amount. In fact, if you attempt to sell diamonds without having diamond certificates, most dealers will not buy from you and you would end up having a certificate drawn up anyway, so you may as well have a certificate grading report created at the time of purchase, for your current protection as well as future possibilities for selling.

Increased Security during Cleanings and Repairs

Many people hesitate to bring their jewelry into the jeweler's when they're in need of repair services or cleaning. It makes people wonder how they'll know for sure that they've received the same diamond back that they brought in. It is an extremely rare occurrence for a jeweler to purposely switch diamonds, however it could happen unintentionally. Diamond certificates act as an additional security measure in this case. They are like fingerprints stored in police databases, they contain all the data needed to match the person to the fingerprints, and diamond certificates have enough information on the diamond to match the diamond with the certificate and the owner.

Diamond Cost

How Diamond Cost is Determined

If you are in the market to purchase a diamond, you'll be learning all about the 4 C's of diamonds; cut, color, clarity and carat. But in the mind of the average buyer, there is a fifth “c” that just may be the most important of all them: the diamond cost.

The actual price of a diamond is determined by a grading system that takes into account the cut of the diamond, the color, the clarity and the number of carats. There is a non profit organization called the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) that has devised the official grading system of diamonds, and because of that system, a diamond that is of more carats may cost less than a smaller diamond if the larger diamond has inferior cut, clarity or color ratings. Cost is also determined by the retailer.

Buying Diamonds Online

The internet provides a wealth of information on diamonds, educating buyers on the value of diamonds based on size, shape and clarity and luckily, diamond cost is regulated by industry guidelines. This means you can shop for your diamond gem stones online with as much confidence as you would shopping for jewelry at your local retailer, especially if you take the time to become knowledgeable about diamond cost before beginning your search for the perfect stone.

Guide to Diamond Cost

Every jeweler sets their own prices on their gem stones, rings, necklaces and other items. When dealing with diamond cost, it also depends on the shape of the diamond. A ”round brilliant” shape will tend to cost more than an ”emerald” shape even when they are the same quality and the same size.

If you have a minimal budget, such as $500 or less, you can expect to find a diamond with a carat weight between .15 and .25, set in a 10-14k gold. If you're in the market for a diamond cost of $500 to $750, you can expect to be able to purchase one between .20 and .37 carats. If you are looking for a 1 carat diamond, you should expect your diamond cost to range between $2000 and $3500.

Get the Most Diamond for Your Money

When you are researching diamond cost, there are many more factors to consider than just the size of the diamond. Remember that the shape (cut) of the diamond will greatly effect the diamond cost, as well as the clarity of the diamond. You can get multiple, smaller diamonds for less cost than you can a single, larger diamond due to the rarity of mining a larger sized diamond. Sometimes a diamond will be beautiful to the naked eye, and have a reasonable diamond cost- but it may have a lower rating for quality or tone given by the GIA. When you are shopping for your diamond, you'll need to decide what is more important to you; the diamond cost, the size of the diamond, the quality (the rating as given by the GIA), or how it looks when it's worn!