What You Need To Know When Buying Diamond Jewelry

What You Need To Know When Buying Diamond Jewelry

As any man who has ever bought a diamond engagement ring knows, buying fine jewelry is expensive but can be a bit scary too. You want the best you can afford but where do you go for advice? How can you make sure you don’t waste your hard-earned cash on poor quality jewelry?

First, find out what the purity of the metal is. All gold is not the same. Absolutely pure gold is called 24 karat (24K, 24ct). But because gold is a soft metal, it can only be used in jewelry if it is alloyed with another metal for strength. The more alloy is added the less pure the gold is. 18K gold is 75% pure. 14K, 10K and 9K gold respectively contain lower amounts of pure gold. The higher the number of karats, the better (more pure) the gold is.

When buying diamond jewelry, remember, biggest is NOT necessarily best. Diamonds are graded according to cut (round, princess, marquise, pear etc), clarity (the nature and extent of internal flaws, if any), color (white, fancy colored etc), and carat weight. All reputable jewellers can advise you about these qualities of your particular diamond. Remember to ask though as the more knowledgeable you sound, the more seriously you will be taken and the better deal you will get. If two diamonds are identical in clarity, color and both have a good cut, then the bigger diamond will be the more expensive.

Precious gemstones, such as diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds can now be created in a laboratory. Whilst these “created” crystals might be chemically similar to the real, mined crystals, they are considerably less desirable, and very much cheaper than the real thing. Nomatter how good a created crystal is, NEVER buy a diamond engagement ring with created stones just because you are looking for affordable engagement rings. No woman wants her engagement ring to consist of “fake” diamonds. Always buy real diamonds.

Set yourself a realistic budget bearing in mind you are buying a future heirloom. As a rule I always set a budget I know I can afford – and then double it. Fine diamond jewelry should last several lifetimes. If you cannot afford to buy something you can see yourself wearing for a lifetime, wait until you can.