$500 loose diamond. What can I expect?
Q.Anyone know what kind of diamond I can expect to get for $500, in terms of and size, color, clarity and cut? I just know that if I walk into a jeweler knowing what I know now, I'm going to be taken.
A.Any "good" stone will have a GIA certificate. Any reputable dealer will send the diamond to an independent appraiser of your choice. Cut is a matter of choice. Mine was a bit more expensive because I chose an emerald-cut diamond (harder to shape the stone to exclude flaws) and it was (and still is) out of fashion. I had platinum because I am a musician and use my hands constantly. Even with platinum after six months my engagement ring had noticeable wear on one side. (I'm also left-handed.) Go to the library and get a book on diamonds. Go to several different jewelers and compare. You can probably get at least a half-carat stone if are willing to accept worse color and clarity. The difference between 3 or 4 grades of color or clarity is hardly noticeable to the naked eye. Cut is probably most important and you can usually judge the quality of the cut by how much the stone sparkles (at least for round cut diamonds). A well cut I-I1 stone will look better than a poorly cut F-VS1 stone. One that is really worth about $100. Diamonds are an extremely poor investment. I would not buy a diamond from anybody except House of Onyx (which I think is on the web, try a search). They are the only people who guarantee their investment grade stones. They do not recommend diamonds generally, but if you buy a diamond from them you can at least be pretty sure it is worth what you paid for it, at least until De Beers decides it is time to adjust the price. Diamonds are not as rare as most people think, and the price is held up by controlled supply from the de Beers monopoly. I would really recommend that you investigate some of the other stones sold buy HOO. They will hold their value better than diamond, and some are more visually impressive. You cannot tell, without a loupe and graded color CZ's, the difference between a good diamond and a diamond that is worth 1/5 or 1/10 what you paid. It is the rare jeweler indeed who will not take advantage of this to rip you off. Even if you read the GIA ratings, without practice you will not know what you are looking at under a microscope. In general, a diamond that shows ANY VISIBLE COLOR AT ALL or which shows ANY VISIBLE INCLUSIONS AT ALL UNDER 10X MAGNIFICATION is a cheap diamond. Diamonds begin to lose value well before their flaws become noticeable to someone who is not trained in what to look for. I've been shown "investment grade" diamonds that were visibly yellow and had EYEBALL visible chunks of carbon in them.
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