Why You Should View Diamonds BEFORE You Buy!

Thinking of buying a Diamond for your Proposal? Read this first!

There is little, these days, that cannot be bought online, from the comfort of your own home, without the need to see the item first. Often, retailers offer money-back guarantees or free returns on their items, which makes sight-unseen online shopping a very tempting prospect indeed. However, diamonds are one of the rare exceptions to this practice. Let us take a look at some of the reasons you should view diamonds before you commit to buying.

The Certificate

The certificate (from AGS or GIA) should be viewed as soon as possible, perhaps even before you look at the stone itself. If you have read up on the four Cs of diamond rating, you will know what sort of ratings you are hoping for and you will quickly be able to disregard any that do not fall within your requirements or budget. Once you are happy with a number of certificates, you can ask to see and compare the stones they relate to.

The Shape

Seeing the actuality of a diamond’s shape can be something of a surprise if you have only seen diagrams before. For example, you may have dismissed a pear or marquise cut as being too small – you will be pleasantly surprised as both of these stones offer a bigger face, proportionally, than other deeper cuts, such as a princess cut or round brilliant cut. Seeing comparisons between the various shapes can help you to understand what cut you want for your diamond – and you might even find yourself drawn to a cut that you thought you disliked on paper!

The Size

Diamonds are weighed in carats which weigh a mere 200mg (milligrams) each. This means that one gram – a very small measure! – of a diamond is actually five carats – a large and respectably sized stone! This can muddle your perception of how big a stone you actually want or need, and seeing it in the flesh, so to speak, with a coin or something similar as a size reference can help you to fix its proportions in your mind before you make your choice.

The Sparkle

Viewing cold statistics on cut, weight and the number of facets can never conjure up the look of a diamond. Of the five senses, diamonds only really affect one: they make no sound, have no scent or taste, and they feel like little stones – but the sight of a beautifully cut diamond in the right kind of light can be a wondrous sight indeed! The properties of the stone give it the reflectivity and refractivity of mirrored water and light is bounced around, enhanced, and channeled through the jewelry to produce the most attractive effects. These are scintillation (a contrast of black and white twinkles), brilliance (rainbow glitter gleaming within and around the diamond), and fire (a sort of radiance caused by the channeling of the light inside and around the stone) – and they really do need to be seen to be believed! The good news is that you can do diamond viewings online! Many retailers, such as Pricescope, offer video showings and multiple photographs of a stone so that you can get a good sense of the stone before you buy it.