Diamond Buying Tips – The budget factor

It all boils down to a combination of the famous 4Cs that suits best the purposes of your purchase. The 4Cs are the major factors in forming the price of a diamond and moving one or more of this factors up or down one is able to adjust its price in order to fit it in ones budget frame. The different approach I will employ in this article is, that instead of starting to ponder the 4Cs and how they affect the appearance of your diamond, I will focus first on the budget. Your budget is yours alone, and the “best value for money” applicable to this particular budget is specific to it. There is not “one advice fits all” scenario, as $1000 has different value to people with different financial background and so has a one carat diamond to two women adopting different value systems.

The first budget I will categorize is the “no budget type”. This is easy and quick, since having no budget to worry about is already a decision by itself and it spells like “only the best will do”. However this is a very small pool of customers and if you are making the effort to read this article so far, you are probably not one of them. Setting budget to ones purchases does not mean that one is not wealthy but rather shows sense and ability to prioritize.
 
The second, much larger group is the high budget customers who have sufficient surplus on their earnings and do not have to save month to month or take credit to buy the diamond. With budgets in the range of $12K and up, this customers demand high quality of merchandise and service. In this segment people are willing to spend good amount of money for assurance that the diamond they purchase meet their (and in most cases the international) quality standards. The diamonds in this category may have reasonable investment value and I would suggest one, to focus on top performers showing an average of 10% growth p.a. These are sizes of 3ct. up color F, E or D with clarity between VVS1 and VS1. A certificate issued from GIA or AGS is a definite additional benefit and it should be given priority. Don’t forget the setting though. In this category platinum setting is a must, offering top safety and longevity of the ring. Proper designer or studio piece will add greatly to the overall impact of the gift  

There is something particularly important, attached to the diamond gift, independent from the price tag, which makes it emotionally charged. It is applicable to every budget segment discussed in this article but I think this is the right place to present it, since it becomes more relevant as the budget shrinks. This is the personal attention to detail. Even with a small budget one can achieve great emotional impact, if this section is properly researched and executed. What the personal attention to details entails? Knowing her style preferences, to begin with - if she likes chunky or delicate rings, flamboyant or minimalistic. Then comes her preferred metal type and color, her birth stone, her favorite designer brand and in the end her correct ring size. You will not make long lasting impression with a setting which is currently on special in a major department store. The women notice these things and don’t appreciate them. If your budget does not allow large impressive diamond you can do very well, investing in fine quality designer platinum setting in a beautiful handmade box. Even a short personal message engraved inside the ring, if correctly chosen will make its mark. The personal attention to detail has vital significance to most women.

The third budget group consists mainly of professional young people in a process of building a carrier. Since this is the common age associated with engagement and marriage this group is fairly large and forms major part of the diamond market. The budget of this group is between $3 to 10K and here, the value for money factor is already noticeably shifted. The diamonds in this price category does not have viable growth (less than 2% p.a.) in value and this is where the difference is. When you buy your diamond, the seller is making profit. Although the profits on diamonds are not huge, with 2% growth or less, it will take years to be able to resell your stone for the price you paid for. When you don’t have the investment factor to worry about the only thing left that matters is the look. Taking this in consideration there are diamond quality factors that you can downgrade without losing much of the look for the sake of others which will certainly make a difference. One quality aspect I will not suggest downgrading is the Cut, which greatly affect the overall appearance of the diamond. It is not necessary to go for “Ideal cut” but do not venture under “Very good”.  The Carat (size) and Color I place on the same level of importance and the preferences toward the one or the other depend very much on the taste of the fiancee to be. Colors of H, I and even J are perceived as white by most people if there is no whiter stone to compare with. If you go D,E or F, this will significantly reduce the size. Clarity is a place we can cut quiet deep. My personal opinion is that paying for the invisible difference of clarity over VS1 in this category is a waste of funds that could be spent much better on color and/or size. The best value for money clarity is between VS2 and SI2. Certificate (grading report ) of pedigree origin(GIA or AGS) is a bonus, but not something that is worth spending money for. Remember that since you can’t sell your diamond for the money you paid for in the near future the certificate will only have purpose for your insurance policy. However a grading report from a prominent independent lab is a must.

There is nothing to be ashamed from if your diamond budget is low.  As I mentioned earlier there are plenty of things one can do to make solid impact without spending a fortune. With budget of up to $2k there is number of things one can do to amplify the overall impression and the personal statement of one’s diamond gift. With limited budget the 4C factors should be given the right order of priorities. First, the cut. As with the other budget segments, this factor remains very important and my advice is to stick to “very good”, as the best option. The color is rather personal choice, but since the purpose of this article is professional advice I would recommend I or J. These colors are normally perceived as white, and with “very good” cut will make a brilliant gem. Remember that the color in diamond is a natural property and does not affect its brilliance and dispersion. Avoid high clarity grades if you have low budget. The best one to consider is SI1 but you can get fantastic stones even in SI3, if the inclusions are scattered close to the girdle. All the right choices up to this point will give you significant advantage in the size department or increase the amount allocated to the setting which is vital in this budget bracket. With a risk of repeating myself, I would like again to stipulate the importance of good quality setting aligned with the taste of the woman receiving the gift. 

Rationally assessed, the jewelry diamond is utterly useless with one only purpose it serves better than anything else. The diamond is the perfect courtship gift. Being beautiful, enormously expensive and lacking practical application, the diamond gift is the best display of focused personal interest and long term intentions. It stands to reason that it is the intention behind this gift, rather than the long price tag, that has true value, but sadly the general perception is different. Bigger and more expensive command much greater success rate in the proposal game and the intention and effort behind the purchase are often under appreciated. Two to three monthly salaries is all that it takes. It sounds rather easy but for a large group of people it spells like six to nine months of painstaking saving. If ones two to three months salary offering does not meet appreciation for what it is, then the girl is (or she think she is ) out of one’s league and it does not look like “happily ever after” scenario. I personally think of it as a perfect, natural last minute measuring up of two value systems, a test for match or no match.