Certified Quality in Diamond Jewelry
posted in Shopping |If you are just beginning to shop for a piece of diamond jewelry you will have all ready heard all about the “Four Cs†of diamond buying: cut, clarity, color, and carat weight. But the most important “C†is not frequently mentioned: certificates.Having some knowledge about diamond grading is mandatory if you want to find the right diamond jewelry at the best price. Knowing about grading will also help you to know what the fair price is for a piece of diamond jewelry or a loose stone. But if you are buying diamond jewelry without a certificate from the Gemological Institute of America, the American Gem Society, or other reliable gemological laboratory, you are putting yourself at risk. This is because while many jewelers and jewelry stores will provide an “appraisal†on your diamond jewelry purchase it is not the same thing as an official certificate.
A certificate issued by one of the groups mentioned above guarantees a standardized method of diamond grading performed in a lab by a trained gemologist. It is easier to think of a certificate as a map of any diamond; listing exact measurement and weight and professionally commenting on the cut and clarity. This is not an appraisal, it is an official analysis.
When buying diamond jewelry it will be a guarantee of quality if a jeweler, jewelry store or Web site will provide a certificate with each diamond jewelry purchase. Buyers are free to shop around for the best deals when they know exactly what they are buying. Certificates will allow a shopper to compare one diamond of a certain weight and quality with another diamond of similar weight and cut to see which jeweler or jewelry store is offering the best prices. While the market value of diamond jewelry may change or fluctuate, the quality of a stone is permanent so it pays to have a guarantee.
