6 Things to Know Before Buying Diamond Jewelry

“It sparkles, it shines, and it’s big and spotless! It's the perfect diamond! You simply must buy it!” 

“We sell only GIA certificate diamonds; the best diamonds on the planet!”  

How many times have you heard these lines—a salesperson pitch, or a compelling ad convincing you a certain diamond is the most beautiful you will ever find? Well, doubtless sometimes that's really the case. But how can you know for sure?

We know diamond jewels are a significant purchase to make, and one which can potentially get confusing, especially with all the advertisements and social media out there. Surely, you simply wish to find the most impressive diamond your money can buy— no BS, just pure and natural. Here is what you need to know before choosing the perfect diamond jewelry for this oftentimes cornerstone moment in your life.

Beyond the 4C’s

You must have heard of the 4C's, and can read more about them in this article. Color, Clarity, Cut, and Carat are indeed key to making a decision to purchase a particular diamond. But there are a few less spoken of, yet crucial criteria that you must be aware of.

  1. Look for Diamonds with NO BGM

The Color of your diamond is extremely important. You should be looking for the whitest diamond your budget can buy. However, recently we've been seeing many white diamonds that also bear a BROWN/GREEN shade. The source of this shade can be found in the African diamond mines, and cannot be removed. This shade, most of the time, makes the diamond look milkier, and not as shiny and sparkling as it would otherwise be.

 

  1. You Don’t Want Less than an Excellent Luster Diamond

Luster is a fundamental issue when it comes to diamonds. Although often unmentioned in any gemological certificate, when diamond dealers sell or buy diamonds, luster is one of the top considerations they take into account. The best way of describing Luster is the way in which light is reflected off the surface of a mineral.

 

  1. Say No to CLARITY ENHANCEMENT / KM Diamonds

You may be surprised, but there are a few artificial processes that increase the clarity of diamonds. The diamond may look clearer, however, it is not in its original form of natural clarity. For example, one popular KM laser drill process is to make a small hole in the diamond and remove its black spot inclusions. Another popular clarity enhancement treatment, one that's usually preformed on diamonds that have cracks that make their clarity level very low, is to repair the diamond by filling the crack with a piece of silicon. This silicon glow might fade out after a few years, and the diamond will stay broken.  It is required by law that both these processes be mentioned at the selling point. Clarity Enhanced diamonds are far less valuable than natural ones because of the artificial involvement included in the processing of this natural mineral. So next time you are shopping for diamond jewelry, make sure the fine print doesn't say CA/ CE. 

 

Eye Clean Inclusions

Clarity is one of the 4'cs. The term is used to describe how big the inclusions on a given diamond are, and is graded according to their size. The scale goes from IF (internally flawless), to VVS1-2 (very, very slight inclusions), to VS1-2 (very slight inclusions), SI1-2 (slight inclusions), and finishes with I1-3. What people often don’t know is that VS and SI inclusions can sometimes be spotted with the naked eye. Nobody wants a black spot on their diamond jewelry, so it's important to check that the diamond is 100% eye clean. If not, our jewelry loses much of its value and general attractiveness.

                  

  1. Look for the Hearts & Arrows

The hearts and arrows are a beautiful and unique indicator of whether or not a diamond's been cut to the ultimate shape. You can see them with a special h&a magnifying red and blue glass. If you do, you can rest assured your jewelry will sparkle for a lifetime.     

 

  1. Check for a FLUORESCENCE / UV LIGHT Shine

One amazing, natural property that can be found in diamonds is called fluorescence shine. When put under a uv light, a diamond might shine in a different color. This characteristic is graded in 5 levels: none, faint, medium, strong, and very strong (blue, yellow, white, and green). In the 80's it was popular to buy jewelry with the highest level of fluorescence shine, and people were willing to pay extra for it. They used to call it "Bleu White Diamonds." But today we know that fluorescence in high levels might badly effect the brightness of a diamond—a thing we certainly wouldn't want. Fine jewelry will not have the highest level of fluorescence. So next time you purchase one for a special moment, keep that in mind.

 

  1. Only Choose Natural Diamonds

In the last two years or so, we've been seeing more and more jewelry being set with synthetic diamonds. You must know those are not real diamonds, and do not have the same physical properties. Diamonds are the strongest material our universe has to offer, and can't be broken unless scratched by other diamonds. When you invest so much money on jewelry, you want it to last you a lifetime, and even outlast you. Finding out the synthetic diamonds on your jewelry have been broken after only just a few years can be very disappointing. Only real natural diamond jewelry lasts a lifetime. We at ORD DIAMONDS create timeless jewelry only with real natural diamonds for life.

  

We at ORD DIAMONDS will take care of all aspects of your purchase.

We manufacture and polish diamonds from their rough, raw form, and create fine jewelry from the ground up to your hand.  

Have more questions? Feel free to reach out at info@orddiamonds.com

   

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