Are you considering buying a diamond online?
Welcome! This is the first blog entry of many to come and we hope you enjoy reading the useful information and advice here as you shop for jewelry. A little about me: My name is Andrea and I have been working in the luxury jewelry industry for over 10 years. I currently work in a lovely, local jewelry store, Saxon’s Diamond Centers, in Harford County, MD that has been in the community for over 65 years. As a team at Saxon’s, we have over 200 years of combined experience and I will be sharing with you some of our tips, advice, and feedback to help you as you are shopping. We are Harford County’s most trusted jeweler (according to the Baltimore Sun’s “Harford’s Best” opinion poll), we treat our customers like family, and we have been blessed to have the ability to share our experience and advice with our customers in the store. Now we would like to share our advice and experience with you every other week, through this blog.
Are you looking for an engagement ring? As you are shopping around, are you considering buying your diamond from an online retailer? These are questions that we see selling engagement rings at our store and we have some few pointers for you before you commit to buying something sight unseen.
Most diamond customers that I meet in the store have already done some online research before walking in the door; however, there are some unknown elements that are not always clear from the online diamond retailers. There is a lot of information to unpack as you are looking at diamonds, beyond the basic 4 c’s (cut, carat, color, and clarity). Some of the elements of a diamond that may make it undesirable are also not easy to identify. You have to click on the GIA certificate and check to make sure that the cut is what you want (50% of the value of the diamond is in the way that it is cut). Are the proportions on the diamond cut ideal? Is there any fluorescence? Is the girdle cut medium to thick? If so, then you may not want this stone.
Our best advice is to look at the diamond certificate (provided by GIA or EGL, not the retailer) and thoroughly look at the specifications listed and pay attention to the following:
- Is the diamond certified by GIA or EGL? These are the two most respected certification companies in the diamond industry, and the two companies that we prefer here at Saxon’s.
- Is the cut, polish, and symmetry very good or excellent? This is what you want! 50% of the value of the diamond is based on the way it is cut. You want maximum fire, brilliance, and scintillation in your diamond.
- Is there fluorescence in the stone? Most people do not want fluorescence. It will cast a bluish tint under a blacklight.
- Is the girdle medium to thick? This is a waste of carat weight and can make the diamond look smaller from the top.
- Are the proportions ideal for that shape of stone? It is important that your marquise shaped stone is not too skinny or that your princess cut stone is really a square.
As you are investigating what you see on the diamond certificate, always know that we are here for you to answer your questions! Please stop in, send us an email, or give us a call and we can help you. We want to make sure your diamond sparkles beautifully and that this is a purchase you can feel confident making.