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Diamond Engagement Ring Buying Guide How To Buy Diamond Engagement Rings or Loose diamonds & Avoid Scams Your Host: Jeff Ostroff We created this diamond ring buying guide here on DiamondsExplained.com to help you avoid diamond engagement ring buying scams. Read Part 2 of this diamond ring buyer's guide also, don't read half the story thinking you have all the facts. Buying a diamond ring involves smart planning and good education. In this diamond engagement ring buying guide you'll learn: Reviews of top diamond engagement ring buying sites like Blue Nile, DiamondIdeals and Mondera What you need to know to buy diamond engagement rings and loose diamonds How to get the best ideal cut diamonds in the world at a fair price Common diamond ring buying mistakes and wholesale diamonds scams to avoid that cost you thousands Diamond engagement ring jewelry scams to avoid, diamond grading, 4 C's of loose diamonds How to tell if your jeweler is ripping you off, spotting fake diamonds How to find your fiancée's wedding ring size, appraising diamond engagement rings

Are You A Victim Of A Diamond Ring Scam or Other Bridal Scams?

We at DiamondsExplained.com need to hear from you! We are compiling a list of the common diamond related scams currently affecting brides-to-be. Your bad fortunes can be turned around to help other brides! No matter what category it's in, or how small a scam you think it is, please let us know. We moved our email form to our car buying site, so Click Here To Email Us. We can even offer you tips on how to get out of the scam, or how to seek restitution, and who to report the scam to.

After reading DiamondsExplained.com you'll know more about buying a diamond rings than most diamond store salespeople. View our Diamond Engagement Ring Deals Database, visitors email us specs and pricing of engagement rings purchased after reading our DiamondsExplained.com buying guide.

Some diamond engagement ring salespeople will Jedi mind trick you…

Diamond jewelry salespeople may lie to you that we only say what diamond advertisers pay us to say. That’s a lie, nice try, Darth Vader! Our

DiamondsExplained.com diamond buying guide was online long before we had advertisers, no one pays us to say anything. Our trusted reviews of diamond engagement ring sites are the most trusted, unlike diamond portals who often steal our content. It’s very difficult for diamond jewelry advertisers to make it through our strict, rigorous review process before we allow them on DiamondsExplained.com, then we join their affiliate program. We researched hard for diamond wedding ring sites so you don’t have to, and we turn away diamond jewelry stores every week for failing our tough diamond jewelry site approval criteria:

• They are all required to have at least 30 day money back guarantees
• Must provide GIA loose diamond grading certificate or equivalent for each diamond
• Must have satisfactory rating with BBB (Better Business Bureau)

Our visitors want real world direction and suggested diamond jewelry stores. You can rest assured you’re getting the best diamond engagement ring buying information on the web from us. Our diamond ring guide has withstood years of intense scrutiny by diamond jewelry industry insiders, GIA certified gemologists, and jewelry store sales people confessing their prior sins to us. We care only about you first, critics and salespeople second. We recommend the online diamond buying sites here because we personally know their CEO’s, our visitors report no problems, we have close working relationships with them, we’ve visited some of these diamond jewelry sites, we have monthly conference calls and often get you exclusive coupon codes. Our visitors always report into our Diamond Engagement Ring Deals Database with great honest deals from our DiamondsExplained.com recommendations. Bottom line, if you’re concerned about our impartiality, then simply ignore our recommendations of online diamond ring stores (but risk paying too much for your diamond ring), and focus solely on our diamond buying advice, which you’ll agree is the best anywhere. Don’t fall for diamond ring salespeople’s Jedi mind tricks about us, they are angry that we reveal all their tricks and scams. These scammers, often posing as caring members on diamond forums desperately want you to ignore our advice, hoping you’ll buy diamond rings from them. We just want to help you get the best scam free diamond ring deal possible, no matter who you buy your diamond engagement rings from.

Getting diamond prices and diamond ring quotes for your engagement ring
You should search major online jewelry sites to get a consensus of diamond prices right from your PC. Be sure to use "build your ring" and "compare diamond rings" features of online diamond jewelry stores to get your free price quotes, which usually beat mall diamond stores. While getting diamond prices, you are under absolutely no commitment to buy unless you enter your credit card in the shopping cart, so load up as many rings as you like into shopping carts, and choose the ring you want with the best price. Some sites even let you save your diamond ring comparison list and come back days later to compare more diamond ring prices and quotes, maybe add a platinum wedding ring set, or abandon your cart if you find a better ring on another site.

Diamond Engagement Ring Questions to ask yourself

What size diamond ring should I buy? What is an good diamond ring carat size? Platinum or gold?
The consensus among girls is that diamond engagement rings should be one carat. Engagement ring diamond prices per carat jump after 1 carat, so diamond cutters whose stones are .99 carat instead 1.0 carat are scolded. Some prefer a 1.05 carat loose diamond of lesser quality than a 0.95 carat loose diamond of a higher quality. Use the useful Recently Purchased Loose Diamonds at Blue Nile tool. I send lots of guys there to see what others are buying. Here's my formula:

Your love for your fiancé has nothing to do with diamond engagement ring pricing.

Don't let salespeople "Jedi mind trick" you when shopping for diamond wedding rings. Beware the leaven of the Pharisees! You are asking her to spend the rest of her life with you, that's the gauge of your love.

How do I find out my fiancée's wedding ring size before shopping jewelry stores?
It's not relevant, jewelers easily resize diamond rings later. You can get one of her rings when she's not looking and have it sized, then go shopping for her diamond engagement ring. Discount diamond engagement ring buying sites such as Blue Nile, DiamondIdeals and Mondera will resize the ring for you after you give it to her. Don't try to trace one of her rings, to get the size, you'll be off too much. Try sliding her ring down your finger and mark where it stops. Then your diamond ring jeweler can tell you her size.

Is it safe to buy diamond engagement rings online? Yes, and there's no obligation to buy
Our visitors here at DiamondsExplained.com report great diamond engagement ring savings when they use trusted sites, plus there's no sales tax. Many of our visitors buy diamond wedding rings online from Blue Nile, DiamondIdeals and Mondera. Some online jewelers are as close to wholesale diamonds as you can get. You and I wouldn't know a good loose diamond in our hand anyway so with trusted sites and certification, it's not a requirement to see it in a store first. It's safe to buy diamond engagement rings and other diamond jewelry online. We buy $3000 Dell computers unseen, you know it's a Pentium, yet you never see the computer first, right? Online diamond stores list the GIA grading report, you know what you are getting, no need to hug your diamond before you buy. Online diamond ring prices are equivalent to wholesale diamonds that you can't get at many mall jewelry stores. Most ship FedEx overnight, and have 30 day money back guarantees. Use the major sites that we recommend and you'll have no worries. Avoid diamond jewelry stores who have less than a 30 day return policy.

How can I buy diamond wedding rings online if I can't see it first?
Many honest online diamond ring sites will give you a great deal. The key here is the GIA certificates, you are buying diamond jewelry according to known published specs, just like you buy computers online from Dell according to the specs without seeing them. Many DiamondsExplained.com visitors email us with great success buying their diamond wedding rings from online diamond stores. Your credit card is safe and encrypted. At restaurants your credit card imprints end up in the dumpster for crooks to steal. Honest diamond ring sites make you feel at home, and you can buy engagement ring diamonds online safely. Here at DiamondsExplained.com we will not steer you wrong.

Canadians can get diamond engagement rings online now
Canadians often ask me where to buy diamond rings. Blue Nile ships loose diamonds & wedding rings to Canada, for our friends to the North! Most others refuse to ship diamond rings to Canada.

Information is power when you buy diamond wedding rings
Don't rely on diamond wedding ring salespeople to tell you what diamond rings are worth. Be wary of common diamond ring jewelry scams. We're not here to trash jewelers. Like any business, there's good apples and bad apples. When buying a diamond engagement ring, you should become an informed consumer. Once jewelers see you're an informed diamond ring buyer, they are less inclined to try to scam you. After reading all the information on DiamondsExplained.com you should be able to avoid diamond scams and save thousands of dollars.

Common diamond jewelry buying mistakes and scams to avoid
We hear from diamond ring buyers who get scammed because they violated my rules of protecting yourself when buying diamond rings. It's amazing how foolish young lovers can be when shopping for diamonds in the Caribbean islands, thinking they are going to get high end diamond jewelry at lowball prices. What they get are lowball diamonds at lowball prices, with lies about "how high it will appraise back home", or how it's "top notch jewelry." The cruise ships recommend local diamond jewelers, but remember, they are getting paid for it. This advice is for your use at any jeweler:

• Do not buy a diamond over 3/4 carat without getting a GIA diamond grading certificate, or an AGS certificate or equivalent.
• Force the diamond jeweler to put in writing on the sales invoice the exact 4Cs grading of the diamond, otherwise do not buy.
• Do not accept ANY appraisal from the store that is selling you the diamond engagement ring. DUH! Insurers don't accept them, so why should you?
• DO not buy diamond in the Islands, they lie like crazy, they have bogus guarantees of how your diamond jewelry will appraise. No laws will protect you outside the U.S.

Helzberg diamonds
We get asked all the time about Helzberg Diamonds lifetime guarantee if your diamond is chipped or is lost from the diamond ring mount. Diamond jewelry stores like Helzberg that offer these programs require that you bring your diamond ring into their store every six months for examination. If you miss one of these check-ups, your "lifetime" warranty at Helzberg jewelers would be voided.

WARNING: Synthetic Moissanite diamonds
Synthetic Moissanite diamonds (silicon carbide) gained widespread use in 1999. These fake diamonds are so good that standard diamond jeweler thermal conduction testers cannot detect them! Moissanite diamond rings sell for nearly as much as real loose diamonds, further confusing diamond engagement ring buyers. According to the Diamond Ring Buying Guide when you look through a 10x loupe, if you see double facets or a doubled diamond table reflection, it is a Moissanite synthetic.

Diamond engagement rings book reviews for buying loose diamonds
The best diamond ring book we've seen is Diamond Ring Buying Guide, with color photos of loose diamond cuts & shapes, clarity enhanced diamonds. Diamond colors show you shades of yellow and treated diamonds, how to judge loose diamond cut. Color photos show you good and bad cuts, tips on buying diamond wedding rings. There's color photos of inclusions, cracks, clouds, bubbles and photos of clarity grades I3 on up. Two other diamond engagement ring books you can check out:

• How To Buy A Diamond: Insider Secrets for Getting Your Money's Worth
• Engagement & Wedding Rings: The Definitive Buying Guide For People in Love

Loose Diamond Grading Reports, AGS & GIA Certified Diamonds
Two U.S. organizations protect us consumers, provide diamond industry ethics, and promote strict standards used to grade loose diamonds. The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and the American Gem Society (AGS) labs do not appraise diamond engagement rings, they grade loose diamonds. Internationally, International Gemological Institute (IGI) produces diamond grading reports, appraises diamond engagement rings. Most jewelry experts and diamond industry insiders we spoke to prefer GIA and AGS, with reputations for strict grading parameters. Another lab, European Gemological Laboratories (EGL), is unknown to most U.S. consumers. They created controversy with some jewelry industry people, adding a clarity level SI3, which jewelers have told us should be the lesser I1. This potentially allows a diamond that should be an inferior I1 to sell for more as an EGL SI3. Some jewelers view this as less strict than GIA, preferring to only sell GIA or AGS graded diamonds. Mondera Online Diamonds only uses GIA and AGS reports in order to provide consistency to customers and avoid the price fluctuations that may exist amongst different reports on the market.

Where do loose diamonds come from? How are diamonds formed?
Diamonds are composed of pure carbon, starting out as coal millions of years ago, heated and compressed into carbon crystals, which are very tightly packed groupings of carbon atoms. Each carbon atom is nicely bonded to 4 neighboring carbon atoms, so good luck trying to break that bond, I'm going for a beer instead. This is what makes diamonds so hard, and loose diamonds are used as industrial tools and drills as they are harder than the substance they are drilling into. Diamonds are mostly found in South Africa, Russia, Australia.

What Is De Beers Diamonds?
De Beers Consolidated Mines, Ltd., is the oldest, largest diamond mining company, with a number of diamond mines. A monopoly, they are illegal and cannot sell loose diamonds in the U.S. Instead, they sell loose diamonds to 150 "Site Holders" 10 times per year. Site holders then distribute loose diamonds to diamond cutters around the world. De Beers diamonds controls the most of the diamond industry. They changed Japanese tradition into giving diamond engagement rings in 1966 when they opened up shop there. De Beers makes some finished diamonds as well as uncut diamonds that are marketed to diamond cutters, diamond brokers, and diamond wholesalers, where they end up in diamond districts, finally diamond jewelry stores.

Loose Diamonds Lesson
This is the GIA description of the diamond engagement ring I bought my wife for your reference as you read this article:

Diamond Carat Weight: 1.03 Carats, Color Grade: H, Clarity Grade: VVS2, Diamond Cut: Round Brilliant, Fluorescence: NONE
Depth %: 57.5%, Table %: 64%, Girdle: Thin to medium, Culet: Small, Polish: Good, Symmetry: Good. This will all make sense real soon.

Rapaport Diamond Report And Rapaport Loose Diamond Price Sheet
The Rapaport Diamond Report is a subscription for the diamond and jewelry industry, providing diamond prices, news, business issues, and fashion of diamond wedding rings, consumer trends. Many jewelers subscribe to this "Kelly Blue Book" of diamonds. Jewelers rely on "Rapaport Sheets" for world-wide wholesale diamond prices. Rap sheets are weekly spreadsheets listing wholesale diamond prices by color and clarity on tables corresponding to the carat weight you choose. If you visit a Rapaport "member" (subscriber) jeweler, maybe they'll show you the wholesale price of your diamond, showing how much profit they are making, like some car dealers show you the invoice. They are under no obligation to, but the jeweler that sold me the diamond for my fiancé showed me the Rapaport Sheets and it ended up being the deciding factor of the sale. Jewelry stores, take note. Most jewelers buy diamonds at "a discount from the Rap Sheet", usually 10-20% off. So a jeweler can show you the Rap Sheet, charge you the "wholesale" price, and still make money, just like a car dealers make money selling you the car at invoice.

Which diamond engagement rings are people buying?
A good gauge is the Recently Purchased Diamonds at Blue Nile. That diamond search function is a snapshot of diamonds people are buying today. Then when you're on the diamond web sites, you can play with each of the "4 C" factors and see how it affects the price.

AGS or GIA Certified Diamonds, A Must Have
I recommend you only buy a diamond if it has a GIA Diamond Grading Report or equivalent, who only certifies loose diamonds, not diamond engagement rings. Jewelers call them "GIA Certs". Dated certifications are laminated and typed. Don't confuse this with an diamond appraisal, it's a diamond grading report, accurate the date of grading. Most jewelers will get a GIA if it's over 3/4 carat. You want GIA certificates dated 1 year or less, unless the diamond was in a vault unused. The GIA lab experts grade diamonds with microscopes, UV lights, etc. With the GIA cert, jewelers can't overstate your diamond, a violation of FTC rules. The GIA cert "maps" your loose diamond, showing inclusions and blemishes plotted as viewed from above or below. The GIA cert aids you to spot inclusions when you view the diamond through a 10x loupe. GIA reports might be stale if the diamond had abuse since it was graded. When you shop Blue Nile, DiamondIdeals and Mondera, they list the GIA cert online before you buy. How many mall jewelry stores will do that for you?

The "Four C's" Of Loose Diamonds
Welcome to the 4 Cs of loose diamond buying You've heard the "Four Cs" a million times while buying engagement ring diamonds, but what are the 4 C's?? They are Carat, Cut, Color, Clarity. Each "C" effects reflected light in it's own way. The Four C's are 4 important parameters that are used to define the quality (or lack thereof) in a diamond. These 4 parameters work together to control selling prices and how diamond engagement rings look.

How Do the 4Cs Affect Your Diamond Price?
It's hard for the novice to visualize how the price is affected by carat, cut, color and clarity. So I like to use the cool Interactive Search function For Diamond Engagement Rings and loose diamonds At BlueNile. It lets you see how quality and size tradeoffs affect diamond price. And narrowing your search from over 30,000 diamonds, it's easy to find the right diamond. Play around with the parameters and you'll see the price change. You can also Design your own diamond ring with them.

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