Making The Grade When Buying A Diamond, There Are Many Factors To Consider, From Its Size, Clarity, Cut And Color To Price

You popped the question.

She blushed and said, “Yes.”

Now that the champagne bubbles have faded away, you’re ready for your first major purchase as a couple.

A diamond engagement ring.

Diamonds have symbolized love and commitment since Tiffany & Co. first introduced diamond solitaire engagement rings in 1890. The emotion that surrounds buying a diamond, however, also leaves consumers vulnerable to bad deals.

“At first glance you say, `Oh, it’s gorgeous,”’ said Jennifer Shauvin, lead broker/manager at Kantor Diamond Co. in Spokane. “The uneducated person can really get taken.”

Educating couples about diamonds is a personal passion of Jan Quintrall, president of the Better Business Bureau of the Inland Northwest. “I’ve seen some horrendous things,” she said.

In her former job with the BBB in Colorado Springs, Colo., Quintrall twice testified against a jeweler who misrepresented the grade of diamonds he sold. Unscrupulous jewelers targeted the area’s big military base and transient population, she said.

Quintrall hasn’t run into anything like that in Spokane or Coeur d’Alene. But with just a little education, couples can protect themselves by become more discerning diamond shoppers, she said.

“Know your diamonds before you even go out there,” advises Jan Jennings, owner of Master Jewelry Appraisal Services in Spokane. “If you want to get the finest quality diamond within your budget, you should be familiar with the 4 C’s.”

The four C’s of diamonds

Diamonds are what Penn Fix of Dodson’s Jewelers calls a “blind value.”

“Every diamond is different. There’s no established retail value,” said Fix, co-president of jewelry stores in Spokane and Coeur d’Alene.

That complicates comparison shopping. All half-carat diamonds, for instance, are not created equal.

To compare diamonds, the Gemological Institute of America developed a diamond grading scale in the 1950s. The scale rates the quality of stones in four areas: carat, clarity, color and cut.

Consumers are usually most familiar with carat. The carat is the size of the stone as measured by weight. The proverbial one carat diamond is referred to as “100 points.” A half-carat is 50 points.

Clarity refers to the presence of flaws, or inclusions, in a diamond. Inclusions are the stone’s birthmarks - bits of carbon, cracks or other imperfections that look like tiny crystals, clouds or feathers.

Diamonds are considered “flawless” when inclusions cannot be detected at 10 times magnification. The larger the inclusion, the lower the stone’s grade.

Color also affects the diamond’s value. Most stones are twinged with gray, brown or yellow. Truly colorless stones are the most rare, and grade highest on the scale.

Cut is the fourth, and perhaps the most important “C.”

“If it’s not well cut, it won’t have the sparkle or scintillation diamonds are known for,” Fix said.

A well-cut diamond is like a “perfectly round stadium of mirrors,” said Ron Meier of Everson’s Jewelry in Coeur d’Alene.

Light travels from one mirror-like surface to another, dispersing through the top of the stone. “A well-cut diamond dances. The light moves around it constantly,” Meier said.

Jewelers often recommend purchasing a smaller, higher-quality stone with a good cut over a larger, less-brilliant one.

“That smaller diamond will actually out-sparkle the large one,” Meier said.

Be inquisitive when you shop

So now you know a little bit about how diamonds are graded. How do you ensure you’re getting a good buy?

Start by shopping around. Ask lots of questions. Test jewelers’ knowledge of the stones.

A jeweler should be knowledgeable about the diamond’s grading, said Shauvin of Kantor Diamond Co.

When Shauvin was getting her diamond grading certification, she went shopping as part of her education.

In some stores, the sales clerks couldn’t answer basic questions about the color, clarity or cut of the diamonds for sale. Beware of stores that use an in-house grading system, she added.

“It may be a No. 1 in clarity on their scale. But how does that compare with the Gemological Institute’s?” Shauvin said.

Ask to see the diamond under a microscope, and view it against a white background.

Buying a diamond without looking at it under magnification is “like buying a car in the dark,” Fix said.

The jeweler should show the stone under 10 times magnification, and point out its flaws. But even flaws visible to the naked eye can be difficult to detect on a well-cleaned stone, Shauvin said.

“If you spend a lot of time staring at the diamond - which most new brides do - they become much more obvious,” she said.

Looking under a microscope is particularly important when you’re buying higher-quality diamonds, said Jennings, the jewelry appraiser.

A microscope’s bottom lighting lets you see into the diamond. A separate scrutiny with top lighting will reveal whether any inclusions reach the surface - which makes the diamond vulnerable to fracture, Jennings said.

Viewing the stone against a white background is also important.

A black or navy background will mask variations in coloring. Examine several stones at once to get a feel for the shading. Turning the diamonds over helps you better judge the color.

Jewelers have mixed views on the benefits of buying a certified diamond, which comes with a detailed description prepared by an independent lab. Customers pay more for the certification, but the paperwork can be valuable if the diamond ever has to be replaced.

All this sounds more technical than it really is.

“When you start looking around and comparing, you will learn what a really beautiful diamond is,” Jennings said.

It’s a personal choice

At a certain point, selecting a diamond becomes a matter of taste and budget.

Do you have $500 to put toward that glittering stone, or $35,000?

“Diamonds have their own personalities,” Shauvin said. “Look at the diamond. Is it pretty to you?”

A customer might prefer a less ideal cut, for instance, if it makes a 3/4-carat diamond look like a full carat. Some people will take a yellow-twinged stone if it sparkles more than the white one.

Others want the biggest diamond they can get for the money.

Those trade-offs are fine, as long as the customer isn’t hoodwinked, said Quintrall of the BBB.

As an example, she brings up the 3/4-carat engagement ring an ex-husband bought for her. It was so flawed that jewelers wouldn’t reset it because they feared it would break.

“He should have known better,” Quintrall said. “A good value is a combination of price and quality.”

Finally, jewelers recommend picking out a loose diamond, then selecting the mount. It gives you more control over the quality of the stone.

And if you’re the guy who wants to present the ring when you ask the question?

Many stores will set the diamond in a simple solitaire ring, with an agreement to exchange it if your fiancee prefers another mount.

“That way, he’ll spend the time picking out the highest-quality diamond he can afford,” Quintrall said. “To me, that sounds really romantic.”

This sidebar appeared with the story:

FAST FACTS

When they’re hot

Contrary to popular myth, the time around Valentine’s Day isn’t the busiest season of the year for diamond sales.

Overall jewelry sales are highest at Christmas, said Jennifer Shauvin, lead broker/manager at Kantor Diamond Co. in Spokane. Sales of engagement rings are steady all year long.

Ron Meier at Everson’s Jewelry in Coeur d’Alene sees a similar pattern, though the store sells lots of tennis bracelets, diamond earrings and pendants this time of year.

“You can see the same excitement in 60-, 70- and 80-year-olds as you can in the first-time buyers,” he said.