How to Buy a Diamond Ring without Getting Duped
Ah, diamonds! These exquisite, sparkling gemstones make every occasion memorable and every moment special. No wonder, many jewellery lovers choose to mark their special moments with diamonds, especially a diamond ring. Rings studded with these precious stones make for great gifts. Whether you are gifting it to a loved one, buying one for your engagement, or treating yourself to some bling, there is no comparison to diamonds. After all, what’s there not to love about diamond jewellery, especially diamond rings?
And no matter why you buy a diamond ring, you almost always spend a considerable amount of money for these sparklers. So when you are making a big investment for something so precious, how do you ensure you don’t get duped? That’s why you should choose a diamond ring as carefully as you choose your life partner. Here, we give you a quick guideline for buying diamond rings without getting duped. Read on and make an informed choice.
Things to Know Before Buying a Diamond Ring
If you thought it’s easy to tell if a diamond is real or fake by its dazzling shine, think again. In fact, it is the very shine of faux stones that make many mistake them for diamonds. For all you know, the stone you think to be diamond might as well be zirconia. It’s a simulated diamond that looks and also feels like a diamond, but isn’t really one. And to make things even more difficult, it’s hard to tell the two apart just by their looks. To be sure that you are buying a real diamond ring, there are a few simple steps you can follow. These include knowing the basics of diamonds, carefully choosing a reputable jeweller, and asking for diamond certification, among others. Keep these important things in mind while buying a diamond ring to get your money’s worth.
Get Your Basics Right: The Four Cs of Diamonds
The first step before even choosing a diamond ring is familiarising yourself with the language of diamonds. This includes the four Cs which stand for cut, color, clarity, and carat. These are the four most important factors that help you find out a diamond’s worth.
Cut: Of the four Cs, the cut is considered to be the most important. It defines how much a diamond sparkles. A poorly cut diamond will be dull and shine less as compared to a well-cut stone. Moreover, certain cuts like marquise or princess can make a diamond look larger than it actually is.
Colour: The second C, colour, is defined in terms of grades D to Z. Colourless diamonds graded D are the most costly of all the grades. The price of the diamond decreases as you move from D to Z.
Clarity: The next is clarity. What determine a diamond’s clarity are the tiny imperfections or blemishes in it. These imperfections are called inclusions. The clarity of a diamond decreases as the number of inclusions increases. The higher the clarity, the better the diamond will be. Diamonds with the highest clarity are called flawless (FL) diamonds.
Carat: The last C of the four is the carat. Carat is the term used to define a diamond’s weight. The bigger the stone, the more the caratage of a diamond. The price of the stone also increases as the carat value increases. However, you should keep in mind that two stones of the same carat value may differ in price depending on the other three Cs.
Does Diamond Certification Matter?
Yes, it indeed does! What determines the authenticity of a diamond is its certification. And reputed jewellers will always give you one for the diamond you choose. Real diamonds are certified by gemmological institutes or grading laboratories. A certification serves as insurance in case the ring you buy turns out to be a fake. In fact, don’t buy the diamond ring before asking for the certification. Let it be the other way instead. Buy a diamond ring from jewellers only if they issue a certificate of authenticity.
Buy Your Diamond Ring from a Reputable Jeweller or Online Retailer
With the ever-growing online jewellery business, it’s easy to buy a diamond ring anytime. You have no dearth of options and there are huge discounts you can avail. However, this boom is also the reason why there are many imposters in the market. Buy diamond rings only from a reputed jeweller, whether online or offline. Don’t be lured only by heavy discounts. Look for retailers and jewellers who have been in the business for a long time. Also, check whether they have reviews and active social media profiles. Ask if they can prove the diamonds on the rings they are selling are authentic (certifications, remember?). You need to consider their returns and refund policies as well, before making a decision.
Tips and Tricks to Tell Real and Fake Diamonds Apart
There is no compromising the basic precautions to follow before buying a diamond ring. However, there are some tricks you can use to check the authenticity of the diamond you’re about to buy. Here are two of the simplest tests you can use to tell apart the real diamond from the fake one.
The breath test: This test relies on the fact that diamonds are excellent conductors of heat. If you breathe on to a real diamond, the fog your breath creates will disappear almost instantly from its surface. Whereas, the fake diamond won’t conduct heat as efficiently and will take a longer time to clear up the moisture. However, there is a material called moissanite that is similar to a diamond in its properties. It might also pass your breath test. If you are concerned about the authenticity of your stone, check the facets of a stone of the same shape on the ring you’ve chosen. Since diamonds and moissanites are cut using different faceting patterns, the two will look different because of the difference in their facets.
The sandpaper test: Diamonds are the hardest things on earth. And all it will take to find out if a diamond is real or fake is a piece of sandpaper. Gently rubbing a piece of sandpaper on a real diamond will have no ill effects on it. However, the fake one will scratch easily.
While beauty does lie in the eyes of the beholder, no one would want to buy a fake diamond ring. If you think what the jeweller claims is too good to be true, it might be. Educate yourself about the basics of diamonds. Do your research from where when it comes to choosing the right jeweller. Don’t get lured by extremely low prices even if they are too hard to resist. Keep these things in mind and you can avoid getting duped into buying a fake diamond ring.
