Diamond & Jewelry News, Advice and Prices for Consumers
Diamond & Jewelry News, Advice and Prices for Consumers
September 30, 2010
A friend of mine told me a story about a terrible experience he'd heard about: A good friend of his was going to propose to his girlfriend and he bought a 1.5 carat ring at a particularly fraudulent jewelry shop. The ring looked terrific at the store, he spent a fortune on it and then came home to discover that the ring didn't look half as shiny or as white- it actually yellowish and kind of opaque. He returned to the store and complained. In the store the diamond shone a lot more again. Turns out they has special lighting to make the ring look better. The store would not accept the ring back and would not give him a refund. I was wondering how common this scam is and what can one do to avoid being duped when buying a diamond? How do you know that the store didn't mess with the lighting to sell its jewelry?
October 7, 2010
It's true that diamond jewelry stores use special lighting to make a diamond look more brilliant, or more sparkly. The best light in which to view a diamond would be regular daylight. It is important to view a diamond in the proper lighting so as to see if there are any visible inclusions or blemishes, what the exact color of a diamond is, and how much brilliance, or fire, the diamond exhibits. Unfortunately, there's not much you can do (besides not shop at a store that uses this kind of trick lighting). If you have the means, perhaps you can have a professional appraiser accompany you on your purchase. But really, the best thing for you to do is to educate yourself on the four diamond characteristics (cut, clarity, color and carat weight) before you make your purchase. Look online at diamond certificates and find out how to properly read a certificate. Then, instead of relying on your vision, you could ask to see the diamond's certificate which details the diamond's color level, its clarity grade, its cut and its carat weight. A certificate will not only guarantee the diamond's authentication, but it will also guarantee its quality.
October 1, 2010
Hi. So, actually, unfortunately, what you described is a well known trick. Jewelry stores use artificial lighting that makes diamonds with average-low color grading appear white and brilliant due to a blue component that makes yellow tinted stones seem more white than they are. There are two basic things you can do to avoid being fooled by these lighting scams: first of all, when at the store, just ask to see your diamond in a darker area. If you are about to make a significant investment you have the right to ask what your diamond jewelry is going to look like in different surroundings. Don't be shy. If the salesperson is reluctant to show you the diamond outside of the lighting it is displayed in - that should raise your suspicions.
Secondly - Ask to see a certificate of the stone. The gradings of the diamond's color, clarity, cut and carat weight will all be mentioned on the certificate and will indicate the overall quality of the stone.
