Buying diamonds is always a costly process, as they are one of the most valuable materials in the world. The huge value diamonds possess made it a great option for investing money. Now, many people are buying loose diamonds as an investment for the future.
When diamonds are bought as savings, people usually go for the best diamonds. However, this can cost you a great fortune because the price of a diamond increases with its quality. But now you can get an incredible diamond even if you have a small budget. We are listing some tips that will help you to save money when you are buying loose diamonds.
Compare Stones with your Own Eyes
You have to be really careful when buying diamonds, because even a small defect can have a significant effect on the value. You definitely don’t want to pay a high amount for a diamond that has fractures or other defects. Therefore, it is important to compare the diamonds in person. Select a few diamonds that have different color grades and find out what color grade looks colorless for your eyes and where you start to notice a yellow or brown tint.
Labs like GIA (Gemological Institute of America) will provide a color grade for each diamond based on thecolor present in the stone. A colorless diamond is most desired among the different grades, but they are very rare. As the grades get lower, the color present in them will increase.
The diamonds with the highest color grades will be very costly and as the presence of tint increases, the cost will decrease. Hence, if you want to save money it is better to settle for a lower color grade that still looks beautiful. It will help you to save a considerable amount of money.
Avoid Whole Carat Diamonds
Diamonds with higher carat weights are rare, hence the value of diamonds will increase greatly when the diamonds get bigger. When buying diamonds, people usually go for whole carat weights including 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2, and so on. But the price for such diamonds will be high as they are also rare. Hence, if you settle for diamonds which is slightly less than or greater than the whole carat weights, then you can save money.
Select a diamond with 0.9 carats instead of a 1-carat diamond. These two diamonds will not have any considerable difference in appearance, but can have a great price difference.
Consider the Fact That Prongs Can Hide Inclusions
As the diamonds are evolving naturally, it is possible for them to have some inclusions or blemishes that will reduce the quality of diamonds. Most people desire for “flawless” diamonds that are free of blemishes and inclusions. But these diamonds will be very expensive.
If the loose diamonds you are buying have some inclusions near the edge of the stone, you can effectively hide them using the prongs when you are mounting them on a piece of jewelry. Therefore, even if you settle for a diamond with a small amount of inclusions or blemishes, you will be able to hide them easily. This will help you to save a significant amount on the diamond clarity.
Choose a White Metal for Mounting the Diamonds
The metal you choose for mounting your diamond will have a great impact on the color of your diamond. If you choose a white metal like gold or platinum, it will reflect the white color of the diamond, so your stone will appear whiter, and this will help the diamond to appear one or two color grades higher than it really is. Hence, even if you settle on loose diamonds with lower color grades, you can compensate it by choosing a white metal for mounting them.
Consider Fancy Shapes Instead of Round Brilliant
Round brilliant diamonds are the most sought out stones, as they have the maximum brilliance and sparkle out of all the diamond shapes, hence, they are also the most expensive. The fancy cut diamonds will have a lower price range than round diamonds. However, some fancy shapes will have less sparkle and brilliance. Hence, if you want maximum shine for your stone, choose a shape wisely.
To get a diamond that has almost the same brilliance as a round diamond, it is better to go for princess cut diamonds. Even though it cannot be matched with round brilliant diamonds, these diamonds still exhibit a wonderful sparkle and shine. They will also cost less than round diamonds. Therefore, you will get cheap loose diamonds if you choose princess cut diamonds instead of round diamonds.
Differentiate between a Flawless and Eye-Clean Diamond
A flawless diamond will have high quality and will be free from inclusions and blemishes and will not have any tint in them. They are the most costly diamonds as they are considered as pure colorless diamonds. You cannot find any flaws in a flawless diamond even if you observe it under 10x magnification.
You should be also aware of the “eye-clean” diamonds. These diamonds will have a small amount of imperfections, but they will not be visible to the naked eye. Therefore, these two categories have a great price difference between them. Hence, if you select eye-clean diamonds instead of flawless diamonds, you will be able to save money.