With all of the potential for scams concerning diamond jewelery, shopping diamonds online almost seems unthinkable! However, you actually can purchase diamond jewelery 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 diamond jewelery, 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 sellers credentials, such as professional diamond 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 jewelery 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!
Is Diamond Jewelery Really Rare?
When you walk into a diamond jewelry store and see all the diamonds in all of the various settings that are for sale, it is difficult to realize that diamonds and diamond jewelery are indeed rare. Most people don't even stop to consider how that diamond came to be sitting in that jewelers case! There is quite a bit of work that is done before a diamond is ready to sell to the general public!
For every one million diamonds that are mined, only one will be found that is a quality one caret diamond. In order to find a two caret diamond, about five million diamonds must be mined. More than two hundred tons of ore must be mined to find one small diamond, and even then, more than 80% of the diamonds that are mined are only good for industrial use, such as diamond drill bits.
So, the next time you visit your local diamond jewelry store, ask to see the one carat diamonds. You should look at this diamond with new appreciation, knowing that it truly is one in a million!
Diamond Jewelery Brands and What They Mean
Diamonds are one of the few products that simply cannot be 'branded.' Even though there are different cuts, different grades, and different values placed on each and every diamond in existence, no diamond jewelery is any specific brand, just as gold is not a specific brand.
Branding is actually based on who owns the diamond. For instance, if DeBeers owns the diamond, it is a DeBeers Diamond, but it is still just a diamond. If the diamond was cut by a specific well known cutter, then it might be branded in that way as well, but it usually isn't. It is still branded based on who owns it at the time. So basically, when it comes down to it, diamond brands mean absolutely nothing at all.
Do not allow a diamond jeweler to try to talk you into paying an exorbitant price on diamond jewellery because it is a specific brand. This is a bit of trickery used by unscrupulous diamond jewellers when they know that they are dealing with people who don't know much about diamonds. Remember that diamonds are not actually branded, unless mother nature has her own brand!
