Determine Your Budget
You want to be sure to find a professional that will respect your budget and help you select the perfect diamond.
When buying an engagement ring, tradition suggests two months salary. While this is a suggestion, it’s important to determine the appropriate budget that is right for you.
Remember bigger and clearer doesn’t always mean better. You could easily overpay for perfection that's not nearly as striking. You'll see the true differences during your personal consultation with a diamond expert.
Find a Place that Specializes in Diamonds.
Avoid the jewelry stores that sell everything. It’s highly unlikely that they will have a staff that is as knowledgeable about diamonds as a diamond specialist.
A reputable diamond dealer will retain consultants who have proper diamond education. These specialists will know everything from how diamonds are produced to showing you the flaws and imperfections of the diamonds they carry.
Nothing is more frustrating than knowing more about diamonds than "the expert" showing them to you.
Buy Your Diamonds Loose
Buying your diamond loose will give you the following advantages:
Compare diamond cut, clarity, color, and size side-by-side.
Side-by-side comparison will show you differences in color, cut, and clarity, ensuring that you are selecting the right diamond and reaffirms quality.
See it in a laboratory environment.
Look at your diamond in a variety of conditions, from natural light to 10x magnifications with a jeweler’s loupe and under a diamond scope with back lighting. Color is compared on white grading cards, clarity examined under a microscope, and brilliance is measured with ultraviolet detection lights. We can also scan the diamond with special equipment to compare cut and symmetry.
Significantly lower the chance of being defrauded.
When the diamond is preset in a ring, it is simply too hard for an untrained shopper to see difference in cut, clarity, and color. Many times jewelers set prongs or designs to cover-up or mask an unsightly inclusion or chips in the diamond they don't want you to see.
We Encourage You to Go to the Store.
Buy a diamond by looking at it in person first is the ideal way: the interplay of direct observation, movement, and light can only be witnessed that way.
We wouldn’t dream of buying diamonds and stocking them in our store before looking at and comparing each with our own eyes, even if they are certified by GIA. Each diamond is different, and while a standard certification is a great tool to measure value, it can't show you how beautiful and unique each diamond really is.
The photographs cannot represent the diamond’s beauty accurately; they will always be inaccurate due to lighting, shadows, and such.
If you schedule a personal consultation and come to our showroom, an educated diamond specialist can show you the tiny differences in quality using a specialized microscope and other advanced technology. The consultation will allow you to see diamond options tailored to your specific needs and desires.
