Archive for the ‘Buying Diamonds’ Category

How to Find the Best London Diamonds Stores

October 8th, 2009

(… you can also find the answer here http://www.superidealdiamonds.co.uk/blog/where-to-buy-diamond-jewellery/)

The supposition here is that you either live in London, or you are visiting the city; and that you are in need of buying some sorts of diamond items (perhaps a diamond ring, a diamond necklace or something of the ilk). The need for diamond identified, the next step would naturally be to find the London diamonds stores from where you can then proceed to purchase the items you so want. Of course, seeing that diamonds tend to be in the category of ‘prestige’ items, chances are that you will not only be looking for stores dealing with diamonds in and around London, but actually for the very best London diamonds stores from where you can purchase the items you are looking to buy.

 

There are a number of approaches you can employ to finding the best London diamonds stores.

 

One approach is simply taking the London telephone directory (if you can find one), going to the section on jewellers, and then calling up (or better still visiting) some of the firms there, and comparing what they offer in terms of diamonds. Take note, if you opt to go this route in your search for the best London diamonds vendors, that the sample you are likely to get won’t be exhaustive, because although almost all London diamonds traders are sure to be listed on the ‘ordinary’ white pages of the directory, only a few opt to be listed on the ‘yellow’ pages where firms are classified according to their businesses (and which is often considered a premium service, for which they have to pay). Indeed, the top London diamonds vendors, who already have a well established reputations and client bases may not see the need to list on the yellow pages. Yet attempting to go through the white pages, identified the firms that might be dealing with jewellery could be a tall order in terms of the time and effort requirement for such an undertaking.

 

Another approach you could take to identify the best London diamonds vendors would be to conduct an online search for the same. As it turns out, quite a good number of London diamonds vendors have listed on Google map service, where you are not only told where they are to be found in the relatively extensive city of London, but where you are also shown how to get there by Google maps. Of course, if you want an exhaustive sample, it would help to go beyond the few firms listed on top of the Google search for ‘London diamonds’ and explore other options down the results,  as not all firms dealing with diamonds in London are likely to have the resources or inclination to list on Google maps.

 

Besides these two approaches, you could also decide to go traversing through the streets of downtown London, looking through shop fronts to see if you can spot jewellery shops dealing in diamonds. The thing to keep in mind in this approach, though, is that it is likely to be very time consuming, and seeing that most London diamonds dealers are holed up in tall buildings with no external signs whatsoever that they deal in the diamonds, you could actually end up walking through the length and breadth of certain streets in London, without ever identifying any diamonds vendor.

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Marquise engagement rings – Should you buy?

September 28th, 2009

Getting married is a major decision in your life.  This decision has a lot to do with the relationship you are going to share with your life partner.  Once you have decided on your life partner, the next step is to buy an engagement ring to solemnize your wedding. An engagement ring symbolizes and is a token of conveying your feelings about the journey you would like to take up with your partner.

A marquise diamond is oval in shape stretched outwards and has pointed ends. It has 56 facets and is referred as navette. The introduction of marquise designs started somewhere in the 18th century and France was the birth place of these diamonds.

Marquise engagement rings are preferred by many couples because of its sensibility and affordability. Marquise engagement rings are economical as compared to the oval cut and round diamond engagement rings. If you want to choose something different, then the marquise engagement ring is the ideal option. The elongated shape of the diamond can make the engagement ring bigger and heavier as compared to the carat size of the diamonds. The marquise engagement rings is intricately cut and hence lends the effect of a bow tie, when light falls on it. It shines when sunlight falls on it and this unique quality makes it a popular choice amongst many couples.

When it comes to Marquise engagement rings, the cut of the diamond plays an important part. The other benefits of a marquise engagement ring are that it makes the fingers look long, slender and womanish. The marquise diamonds cover a large area and the carat size of the diamond looks larger than its actual carat size.

As per jewelry experts, a marquise engagement ring should have a ratio of 2:1 only then it will be able to lend a glowing bow tie effect.

Marquise engagement rings can also have other precious stones and gems. If a solitaire diamond is used in the ring, it lends a sophisticated and elegant look. The intricate cut of the marquise engagement ring is a delight on every woman’s ring finger, thanks to its designs and cuts. It makes the fingers look elegant and elongated.

When it comes to prices, Marquise engagement rings are economical and cheaper as compared to the round brilliant cut diamonds. While buying marquise diamond engagement rings, make sure you go to a reputed jeweler. Do you homework and research on the internet to get more details about these rings. Browsing the net would give you a good idea on how to purchase and tips which need to be followed to get the best deal.

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London Gems Heist

August 11th, 2009

On 11 August 2009 it was reported that an armed robbery at the Graff jewellery shop in Bond Street London resulted in the theft of 43 items of jewellery totalling £40 million in value – that is about £930,000 per item of jewellery.  The thieves certainly knew what they were doing as you do not see many items in a shop window of the value, they surely must have had some inside knowledge about the actual stock being held.

It is also interesting to not that Graff are reported to have quoted the retail value of the items stolen to be £65 million.  Thus in effect Graff are saying that they retail jewellery as 162.5% of the actual value, that is 62.5% profit.  Fair enough if you are selling a loaf of bread, but on a typical item stolen they would have been making a profit of £358,000.  This is a lot of profit, so lets be clear about these figures, if what has been released in the press is correct, then:

Graff would retail an item for £930,000 which “only” cost them £572,000, a profit of £358,000.

Now these are rounded figures, there could be a margin of error amounting to a thousand or two, but we are talking about huge profit margins here. The message is clear, if you are going to buy top-end jewellery then maybe you need to shop around, vast amounts can be saved by going to specialist suppliers such as www.designsbyindigo.co.uk who work on minimal profit margins.  Just think, the amount of money saved on one item of jewellery could buy a luxury flat in London. 

It certainly makes you think!

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Does it make sense buying loose diamonds?

August 11th, 2009

Loose diamonds are the choicest options. They are available in different sizes and shapes. Couples select these wonderful diamonds and then identify the setting for the engagement ring. This is the ideal way to create perfect engagement rings. Buying loose diamonds are ideal ways to replace the older diamonds, without disturbing the setting.

When buying loose diamonds, you have a wide selection when it comes to shapes. You could opt for oval, triangle, round or even tear drop shapes. It is advised that you check out the color, size, shape, carat weight and the cost of the diamonds. The greatest advantage in buying loose diamonds is that you would save considerable amount of money. If you buy the whole ring, it would turn out to be a costly proposition; on the contrary, loose diamonds are preferred. This is an ideal way to create the engagement ring of your choice and that too within your budget.

There are jewellery shops which give you the option of buying these loose diamonds. If you want to shop for these loose diamonds for your beloved, the shops would help you select these. Make sure you get things clarified and get proper answers for all your questions, before settling down for loose diamonds. Make doubly sure that you have got all your doubts clarified, since you would be spending your hard earned money on them.

Before opting to buy loose diamonds, do a little research about them and understand the 4Cs which would ease your selection process. The cut of the loose diamonds play a very important role. Next comes Clarity. There could be many flaws and defects in diamonds which are not visible to many of us. Color plays a very important role when it comes to diamonds. Diamonds come in pure white as well as shades of white. The lesser the color, the better is the diamond since it would help in reflecting light. The lighter the color, the greater the sparkle of the diamond. Last but not the least, the carat weight is important. If the weight of the loose diamonds is more, you would have to shell out more for these diamonds.

When buying loose diamonds, insist on a 10X Loupe, so that it helps in easy examination of the interior of the diamond. This helps in detecting flaws and any broken surface. It is important that the characteristics of the diamonds reflect in the certificate too. If the store does not have the Loupe, it is advised that you buy your loose diamonds from a jewellery store which has one.

A Loupe magnifies the diamond and you would be able to view the diamond and check for flaws, if any. Some common shapes of loose diamonds are Round Brilliant, Princess, Radiant, Pear, Marquise, emerald, baguette, heart and oval.

The Round brilliant is preferred the most since it lends sparkle and brilliance to the diamonds.

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Fake or real diamond?

July 24th, 2009

Many people will have heard of someone who has mistaken a fake diamond for a real diamond.  There have also been some articles published where after many years of marriage, the partner dies, then the widow or widower finds out the diamond they purchased all those years ago was a fake . 

Real diamonds have been created naturally over  millions of years.  Carbon under extreme pressure over millions of years creates what we see today as the diamond we admire so much.Real diamonds are also unique, a bit like a finger print, they have imperfections, and when they are cut for your ring, bracelet, or other piece of jewellery, they acquire more uniqueness.  The imperfections can be measured and recorded as a fingerprint for the diamond, a company called GemPrint was established to do just that, record a “gem print”.

Moving onto fake diamonds, typically these are crystals such as Moissanite.  These “fake diamonds” will appear very pure, and it would be very easy for a diamond expert to tell the difference.  However from a distance most people would not be able to see the difference, a bit like a fake handbag, you would not let anyone examine it closely to find out that you are passing off a fake as the real thing. 

Then there are man-made diamonds.  These are not fake diamonds, but equally they do not have the character of real diamonds.  It is a bit like hand made chocolates or machine made chocolates … most of us prefer the luxury of hand made chocolates.  The man-made diamonds tend to be perfect in structure, so whilst the real thing in terms of crystal structure, they simply do not have the character of a real diamond, a character that has evolved over millions of years.

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Cut – Clarity – Colour – Carat

July 17th, 2009

The diamond cut, clarity, colour and carat are commonly referred to as the 4 Cs.  knowing a little about the 4 Cs is fundamental when buying a diamond or diamond engagement ring.  So here is a brief overview of the 4 Cs.

Cut – this is how a diamond is cut to form both its shape such and to create maximum sparkle. Of the many shapes such as Princess, Pear, Marquise, Asscher, Cushion, it is the Round (Brilliant) cut that reflects the maximum light and thus sparkle.  But even with each shape there are good and bad in how the diamond is cut to maximise reflected light.  Sometimes diamonds are cut shallow, thus looking down you see a bigger diamond, but you lose the sparkle and value.

Clarity – this is all about how pure the diamond is.  Almost all diamonds have imperfections, usually referred to as inclusions.  The more inclusions the lower the value of the diamond.  But its not just the size and number of these inclusions, it is about where they are situated and thus their visibility to the eye.

Colour – this can range from white (clear transparent) through to pink, yellow, brown and blackish colours.  The most popular and most common is white, but there are grades with D being the best, followed by E, F, G, etc, where the diamond starts to take in tints of colour, usually a faint yellow.  That said some coloured diamonds such as bright yellow and pink are very rare and expensive to buy. 

Carat – the weight of a diamond.  As the carat size increases so does the price per carat.  Thus a 10 carat diamond is worth much more per carat than a 1 carat diamond, simply because larger diamond are so rare.  You will also find that diamonds with carat weights of 0.99 or 1.99 (which look like 1 carat or 2 carat to the eye) are very rare, tihs is because the diamond cutters will sacrifice some of the cut characteristics to maximise the weight … on the principle a 2 carat diamond is worth more per carat than a 1.99 carat diamond.

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Buying a diamond engagement ring

July 16th, 2009

There will come a time when most guys buy a diamond engagement ring and propose to their wife-to-be.  But it is a daunting time, how much do you spend? How do I know she will like the ring? If I chose with her then she will find out how much I paid.  These questions and thoughts are some that might go through the mind whilst looking for the ideal engagement ring. So, how do you go about it?

Firstly, you need to know what sort of design your girlfriend would like.  This is not so difficult, take her to a few high street shops, note what draws her attention in terms of design and price.  get a feel for the type of diamond ring she would like.  Of course this depends on how open you are about the engagement, it can be done discretely, or you can openly discuss the designs and prices.

Once you have an idea what your girlfriend would like you can then set about finding a company that will provide you the quality diamond engagement ring at a price which meets your budget.  The good bit here is that you can expect to pay up to 50% less than the prices you see in the high street shop with companies such as designsbyindigo.co.uk.  These companies will also offer advice on design and source a diamond direct from the cutters in Antwerp to meet your budget.

Once you have chosen your design and placed your order the ring is made for you, usually in 2 – 3 weeks.  You can then view, check, and make your final payment.  All of this, if you wish, without your girlfriend knowing.

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The Diamond Blog

July 15th, 2009

This is the first post in our blog.  Our blog will focus on diamonds, everything from the history of diamonds through to diamond jewellery, the diamond markets, diamond related news, and of course buying diamonds.

There are so many misunderstandings when it comes to diamonds that it is very easy for people to buy on emotion and pay well above a diamonds true retail value.  Hopefully by reading through our blog our readers will gain much valuable information helping them to make an informed choice about buying diamonds.

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