There is something about diamonds which is very alluring. With the boom in the economy in the last few years, the buying of diamonds is on the rise. Loose diamonds are no longer the unattainable dream?. Just look around and you will be pleasantly surprised to find out almost everyone you know owns some sort of diamond jewellery.



The diamond jewellery industry has its fare share of con artists and scammers. In this world of advanced technology it is almost impossible to simply look at a diamond and determine whether it is real or not ? especially if you don't know much about diamonds. There are some steps that you can take to make sure buying diamonds ends up a joy instead of a nightmare.

1.Reputation First, only deal with reputable jewellers and when you find one, stick with them. It is exactly like choosing your GP or dentist. You have to be comfortable with the seller. When they build trust, then you know you are parting with your hard earned cash to a genuine person. Also, when you like a loose diamond stone or a piece of jewellery like a diamond ring, ask for certification. If no certificate exists, do not walk but run out of the store (do not take this literally!!). What I am trying to convey is that with no certification, there is no way to verify the type of diamond you are buying. Any good jeweller will provide certification.

2. Certification Notice when you go to the dentist or your GP. Notice how their certificates are up on the wall. It makes you comfortable that you are in good hands. The same principal applies with buying diamonds. These days with a little research you should be asking for GIA diamonds. These diamonds are certified by the Gemological Institute Of America (GIA). Through testing and research, they have a way to grade diamonds. There were the first to introduce the 4C's. (Cut, Clarity, Colour, Carat).

3. Look You have zeroed in on a diamond ring or diamond necklace, take a close look at the setting that the stone is in. Look at the setting that the stone is in. Fake diamonds such as zirconium are usually set in low quality metals. Take a close look at the stone. Fake diamonds are not durable. Look for scratches and nicks.

4. Appraisal After purchasing a diamond, take it to another jeweller for appraisal. In fact, take it to two or three other jewellers for an appraisal to make sure that the appraisals are all fairly close. If you find that you have purchased a fake diamond, you may be accused of making a switch when you return to the store of your purchase. That is why it is of upmost importance to ask for a certificate.

5. Carat Scam Diamonds are such that unless you know a little about them, you could be easily fooled. One way is the carat scam. This happens with diamond rings. You look at the tag and it has the Carat Total Weight of all the diamond pieces. This is not right as the total weights for each diamond should be made available on the tag. This leads consumers to believe that the main diamond in the piece is actually bigger than it actually is. Be informed and ask the seller what the total carat weight of the centre piece is.

6. Fractions Beware of fractions. Depending on the jewellery stores, they are allowed to round off the diamond weights. For example, if you like a diamond and ask for its weight, the jeweller may tell you that it is a ? carat diamond. This means that the diamond is between ? a carat and ? carat. It may seem like nothing but the price range can be tremendous.

7. Lighting, Lighting How many times have you entered a diamond jewellery shop and were almost blinded by the lighting ion the store. Store owners love to show their diamonds in bright lights. Light makes the diamond shine and sparkle. Ask the seller to show you the diamond in a different type of lighting. Sometimes, you can bring the diamond jewellery out of the store (do not be surprised if 2 or 3 sales assistants follow you out). You may be surprised how dull or bright the diamond actually looks.

8. Beware of dodgy appraisers! It is hard to believe but there are some jewellery appraisers who will appraise your loose diamond or diamond jewellery for free.try to tell you that the diamond is worthless or worth less than it is actually worth! What they are attempting to do is take the diamond off your hands or in some instances; they will want to sell you a diamond of higher value. They will ask that you make up the difference with cash. The best way out of this is to have your jewellery items appraised at one or two more places to make sure you are receiving accurate information.

At the end of the day, I cannot stress enough the importance of choosing a good jeweller and once you have found them, stick to them. It may take time but it is a small price to pay for eventually owning a piece of outstanding diamond jewellery which will last you a lifetime. As they say, diamonds are forever and you can keep buying diamonds with the confidence that you are getting what you paid for.