You’ve got your money, you want to buy the diamond gift—a ring, a pendant, earrings—for a special someone, but you want to be sure you’re getting the best you can buy. But how? If you don’t know much about diamonds before you head off to buy jewelry in the DC area, it’s good to bring an expert along—but you still don’t want to cede everything to someone else’s knowledge. This is your buy, and you want to be part of the conversation. Here’s an easy starter guide:
- Discreetly find out what shape your recipient would prefer. If there isn’t a way to discreetly find out, choose round, as it’s the hands-down most popular.
- Determine how large a stone you want, either because the recipient has made it clear that nothing less than a certain weight will do, or because you feel nothing less than a certain weight will do.
- Visit jewelry stores and pawn shops in Loudoun, VA, and ask to see the highest quality diamond in that shape and size that they have on hand. They may also know of pieces in other stores that you can see. If the price is out of range, start making adjustments in clarity, then color, going as low as VS2 in clarity and H in color before making adjustments in other areas.
- The next areas are cut, where you can go to Very Good in round diamonds, and Good in fancy shapes.
- If the diamond still isn’t coming in line with your budget, try shaving a little off the size; a few points won’t be noticeable to either you or your intended and may make enough difference in price.
If after going through these steps, your budget still can’t accommodate your desire, repeat with lower thresholds, or reevaluate your budget and requirements. In the next few blog posts, we’ll go over some of these “concessions” in more detail.