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What type of certified diamond are you really buying?
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It seems that many people in search of buying a certified diamond are running in to a little bit of confusion. Many of these people believe that they are buying a GIA certified diamond when in fact, they are not. It’s not necessarily that the person selling you the diamond is outright lying to you, it’s just that perhaps he or she is using a little "slight of the hand" so to speak.
Almost everyone buying a diamond is going to perform some amount of research first. Some people are comfortable with doing a small amount of research on just the basics such as the 4C’s of diamonds, and yet many others are very thorough with their research. I have spoken with many of our customers that have literally researched diamonds for months, before they even picked up the phone or stopped by a jewelry store. Thorough research in regards to diamonds is not a bad thing. The vast majority of people buying diamonds know absolutely nothing about them before they set out looking for one. Given the fact that you could easily be on track to spend thousands of dollars on this little gem, I would highly recommend that you learn as much as you can before you buy a diamond. If you think about it for a second; Would you spend $4,000 to $10,000 (Or more) on anything else, and not want to know as much about it as you can?
Wanting to learn about diamonds before you spend that much money is not the problem.
The problem may actually be with who you listen to and what you read on the internet. There is a lot of valuable information on the internet explaining about diamonds. There are also many good diamond sellers that will supply you with even more helpful information, and answer your questions honestly.
But on the flip side of that, there is a lot of really bad information on the internet about diamonds, AND there are some diamond sellers that don’t necessarily have your best interests at heart.
Many of the people that buy engagement rings from us, like to to call us first with their questions. I love when they do that, and I always welcome any question from our customers. This gives me the chance to not only answer their questions honestly and thoroughly, but also to make sure that they have been given accurate information by other diamond companies. I have heard some really strange things that my customers have been told, prior to speaking with me. Everything including stuff about the size of diamonds, the shape of diamonds and the cost of diamond engagement rings.
What I have discovered is that when a customer is told something by another diamond company that is way off-base, it’s often because that particular diamond company wanted to sell the customer a particular diamond. Maybe it’s because the diamond company got a really good deal on a particular diamond (through whatever means) and wants to make a huge profit. They don’t really care what you want, they just want to sell you that particular diamond. So they will tell you everything good about that diamond, and everything bad about the diamond that you want. They will try to make you think that the diamond they have, is the best. (Or best deal)
Anyway, enough of that and back to our point about certified diamonds.
THERE IS A HUGE DISTINCTION ABOUT CERTIFIED DIAMONDS THAT YOU NEED TO LEARN ABOUT.
You need to know the difference between an actual "GIA Certified Diamond" and other diamonds that may come with something like an independent GIA Certificate, or appraisal. Only diamonds that have been certified by the laboratory GIA (Gemological Institute Of America) are actually GIA certified diamonds. GIA is not just a laboratory, GIA is also like a college. They train people to become GIA certified gemologists. Once you have graduated, you become a GIA graduate gemologist. (Now you can even start your own diamond grading laboratory.) Some people refer to them as "Certified GIA Gemologists." That is where the confusion starts, and some diamond companies use that confusion to sell diamonds that are not GIA certified, and lead you to believe that they are. They may tell you that you are buying an "Independent GIA Certified Diamond" (Or something along those lines) Many people hear this and assume that they are buying a GIA certified diamond, and they are not. They are just buying a diamond that has been certified by a certified GIA graduate gemologist. That’s why the diamond seller is careful to use the word "Independent".
Now the reason that you need to know about this distinction is this. GIA certified diamonds (That is diamonds that have actually been certified at the GIA laboratory).
Those GIA certified diamonds will actually cost more than almost every other certified diamond out there. That’s because GIA is respected and known to be the most accurate and strict diamond grading laboratory in the world. If GIA says that you have a VS2 clarity diamond, nobody is going to argue with that. Or if GIA says that you have a "G" color grade diamond, no-one will argue with that. You can be rest assured that your diamond is exactly what it says on the certificate.
Now this is not a slam on all the other diamond grading laboratories in the world, or all the diamonds graded by them. You can actually buy a diamond graded by another laboratory, that is actually nicer than some GIA certified diamonds. For instance: A diamond that is graded by another diamond grading lab as "D" color grade, VVS1 clarity grade and an Ideal cut grade, is probably going to be a lot nicer than a diamond graded by GIA as "J" color grade, SI2 clarity grade and just a Fair cut grade. But the point is that if you compare apples to apples (that is 2 diamonds with exactly the same grades as stated on the certificate) a GIA certified diamond will almost always be nicer and more expensive.
So we are ABSOLUTELY NOT SAYING that you should only buy a GIA certified diamond.
Some of the prettiest diamonds, best diamond deals , even most affordable engagement rings are not GIA certified diamonds. What we are saying is that you should know exactly what type of certified diamond you are buying. If you want to buy a GIA certified diamond, just make sure to ask if the diamond was certified by GIA (The actual Lab), and not an independent GIA certified gemologist. Ask to see the actual GIA certificate supplied with the diamond. Don’t let yourself be a victim of this confusion. It is absolutely fine to buy a diamond that was graded by another laboratory, just make sure you know that it was and that you pay accordingly.
You also need to be aware that "Fracture-Filled" Clarity Enhanced Diamonds are never certified by GIA. Only "laser-drilled" clarity enhanced diamonds can be certified by GIA. I would highly suggest that you read our other post "fracture-filled versus laser-drilled clarity enhanced diamonds".
Save Money By Buying A Clarity Enhanced Diamond
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Question: I am shopping for an engagement ring and I would like to save money by buying a clarity enhanced diamond, but I am scared. My cousin works for a jewelry store and when I showed them your website, they told me that the diamond will change over time and start to look horrible. Is this true?
Answer: That is not correct. Often times we hear things that are said by professionals in the diamond business about clarity enhanced diamonds that are way off base. These individuals either do not understand clarity enhanced diamonds, or they are trying to scare you so you will buy a diamond from them. It is important to note that we also sell non-enhanced diamonds with all certifications such as EGL and GIA certified diamonds so it doesn’t matter to us if you buy a clarity enhanced diamond from us, or a certified non-enhanced diamond from GIA. We choose to also sell clarity enhanced diamonds because we understand them very well and we know that they are an excellent value to offer our customers that want a bigger diamond for less money. So back to your question. The color grade of a clarity enhanced diamond will never change, Period. When you enhance the clarity grade of a diamond, you are not changing the original color grade of the diamond. So if you buy a clarity enhanced diamond that is a perfectly colorless "D" color grade, it will never change, ever. The same applies to all color grades of clarity enhanced diamonds. The color will never change. The same thing applies to the "cut grade". If you buy a clarity enhanced diamond with an "Ideal" cut grade, you will always have an ideal cut diamond. Even 50 or 100 years from now. The cut grade will never be affected by the clarity enhancing process. Remember, you are not enhancing the cut grade and you are not enhancing the color grade of a clarity enhanced diamond. You are only "Enhancing the clarity grade".
The absolute worst case scenario that will happen to your clarity enhanced diamond if the material used to enhanced it is reversed, is you will be able to see the feather that was enhanced. It will not turn in to a black lump of coal, it will not crumble in to a thousand pieces, it will not turn yellow or green, and it will not instantly become worthless. All you have to do is send the diamond back to us and we will re-enhance it for free. Quite frankly a good quality clarity enhanced diamond can even look nicer and still be worth more money if the enhancement process is reversed, than a some diamonds that are not enhanced. If you go out and buy an SI2 diamond with a J color grade and just a good or fair cut, you are not buying a very nice diamond. The SI2 will probably have visible flaws and the J color will look yellow, and with a poor cut grade, your diamond will not sparkle. The argument that all clarity enhanced diamonds are less valuable or less desirable than all non-enhanced diamonds just doesn’t make sense. Does this mean that everyone in the world should just go out and buy clarity enhanced diamonds? No. You have to decide what is the right choice for you. If you don’t mind spending $6,000 to $10,000 on a 1 carat engagement ring, or $15,000 to $25,000 on 2 carat engagement rings, then by all means give us a call. We will gladly offer you the best deal on a GIA certified diamond engagement rings. However if you don’t have that kind of money, or you have it and would rather spend it on something else, you can be rest assured that your clarity enhanced diamond engagement ring will stay beautiful for the rest of your life and we will stand behind it with you.
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A famous national jewelry store chain that sells a lot of engagement rings and goes by the name of The Shane Company, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this past Monday 8/31/2009. It also appears that the famous voice of the commercials on the radio, Tom Shane himself, is the largest unsecured creditor.
The company filed papers in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Denver. The jewelry store chain is based out of Centennial Colorado and listed it’s liabilities & it’s assests at between $100-$500 million dollars in the documents that they filed with the bankruptcy court.
Just twenty of the largest unsecured creditors of The Shane Company are owed as much as $26 million dollars according to a court filing. Located in the diamond district of New York, Dison Gems is owed $4.7 million dollars and is listed as the largest unsecured creditor of the jewelry company.
But a late filing revealed that Tom Shane (The President, CEO, Chairman and the company’s famous voice) is owed the most money. Tom Shane has loaned The Shane Company approximately $20 million dollars during the past couple of years, according to the court filing.
It is estimated that Tom Shane owns approximately 70 percent of the jewelry store chain. The rest is owned by a series of trusts created to benefit his children.
It was stated by the company’s attorney that the current economic conditions as well as the declining retail market for the companies luxury jewelry, has left the company strapped for cash. The company hopes to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection by the end of the year.
"The severity of this past holiday season dramatically impacted existing liquidity requiring the company to seek this bankruptcy protection," Tom Shane said in a written statement. "I am confident that this action will guarantee that our customers will continue to enjoy the top-notch service, expansive selection, and unbeatable prices that they have enjoyed since the days of my grandfather."
The Shane Company currently operates 23 stores in 14 states and was founded in 1971. The company advertises that "Now you have a friend in the diamond business.” It claims that customers pay “no middleman markup” because the company buys its diamonds and precious gems directly from the cutters throughout the world.
Tom Shane is the third generation in the Shane family to be involved in the jewelry business.
The board and shareholders of The Shane Company decided on Jan. 7 to authorize the Chapter 11 filing, according to a document filed with the court.
Shane Co. has about 6,000 creditors, including about 750 secured lenders, vendors, consignment creditors and landlords, and about 4,600 customers. The company filed a motion with the bankruptcy court seeking approval to: process credit card payments, honor the company’s warranties, guarantees, upgrades and gift cards. The company would also like to be able to continue its layaway program.
The Shane Company stated that approximately 70 percent of the purchases that occur in its brick and mortar jewelry stores and the company’s online jewelry website, are made with credit cards or debit cards. On average, the company says that it pays approximately $243,000 a month in credit card processing and other fees.
With one exception (Pearls) The Shane Company provides a lifetime warranty on it’s jewelry and engagement rings. The jewelry store chain also offers an "upgrade policy" that allows customers to return any jewelry made of gold or platinum and set with diamonds, rubies or sapphires. In order to take advantage of the upgrade policy, a customer must purchase another item of at least double the cost. The company will then offer a full credit of the original purchase towards the new piece of jewelry.
Shane Co. also said it had outstanding obligations As of Dec. 27 2009 the jewelry store chain stated that it had approximately $260,000 of outstanding obligations through its gift card program and the gift cards carry no expiration date. The jewelry store chain also said it’s holding $3 million dollars in deposits for the "Layaway Plan" for approximately 4,300 customers.
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How do I know it’s safe buying engagement rings online and how do I know which online jewelers are the most reputable?
This is probably one of the most common questions we are asked by our prospective customers. Considering the average customer that wants to buy an engagement ring is budgeting anywhere from $3,000 to as much as $10,000 (or even more sometimes), it’s no wonder they are a little bit concerned. Often times this is by far the most money they have ever considered spending online. It may even be the single largest purchase they have ever made anywhere. I mean let’s face it, some cars may not even cost that much.
Most customers start out shopping for engagement rings in their local jewelry stores. I hear quite often our customers saying "I have shopped everywhere!" They like the idea of buying an engagement ring from their local jewelry store, but when they see how expensive it can be and how little they are getting for their money, they start looking on the internet.
This is where it starts to get fun and scary at the same time. The number of companies (and so-called companies) selling jewelry online can almost be a little overwhelming. Depending upon which phrases you use when searching for your engagement ring, you start to see more and more companies selling engagement rings. For instance "affordable engagement rings" will bring back different results than "engagement rings sale". And the search phrase "engagement rings" will bring back different results than "diamond engagement rings". This holds true for almost every different search phrase.
Tip:
When searching for engagement rings online, go to your favorite search engine and type in many different search phrases. This will allow you to see many more vendors returned in the search results. Search engines "Rank" websites for different phrases. By using various phrases in your search, you will see many more options available than if you use the same phrase over and over. You may also consider browsing past the first page of search results. Many of the most legitimate engagement ring companies are not always located on the first page for every search result. It does not necessarily mean that they are not good jewelers. It may just mean they are too busy running their jewelry business to "Optimize" their website, to be found everywhere in the search engines. Search engines do not rank websites by the quality of the jeweler. Websites are "ranked" by search engines using entirely different methods that have nothing to do with the quality of their work.
Back to our tips. The fun starts when you begin seeing how much money you can save on your engagement ring. Then it gets even more fun when you start to see the larger selection of engagement rings available online. (We also hear from our customers that we have the most unique and beautiful engagement ring selection available anywhere) It’s quite common for customers to search everywhere else first, and still not find their "perfect engagement ring".
UNTIL THEY COME TO OUR ONLINE ENGAGEMENT RING STORE. I hear from many of our customers that they came back to our website as many as 15-20 times trying to decide which "perfect engagement ring" to choose from. The trouble was not being able to find one that they liked. The trouble was just choosing which one they liked the best.
Tip:
When you search online for engagement rings and you start to see many different websites selling the same engagement ring, using the same photo, that typically means that they are not making their own engagement rings. They are probably buying the engagement ring from an engagement ring casting company, and then just setting the diamonds. Quite frankly, they may not even set the diamonds. In the large diamond districts such as New York or Los Angeles, there are many companies that perform various services. Some companies may just make "raw castings" and some companies may just "set diamonds". This makes it very easy for the so-called "jewelers" to put together an engagement ring and sell it to you. Often times these various specialized companies will even be located in the same building, making it even easier for these individuals to present themselves as "jewelers".
This is where the scary part begins. How are you supposed to know which engagement ring sellers are the "real deal?" After all, there are so many of them to choose from. How are you supposed to know if they will deliver the engagement ring that they are promising you? Or even at all? Also, will they actually honor their return policy? What is their return policy, and do they even have one? And how likely is that they will be there 5 or 10 years from now to stand behind their work and help you properly maintain your engagement ring? (Engagement Rings do require proper maintenance) THESE ARE ALL VALID QUESTIONS TO ASK ANYONE YOU ARE CONSIDERING PURCHASING AN ENGAGEMENT RING FROM. And any other question you are concerned about.
Although it can be scary trying to figure all of this out, especially considering the large sum of money you are about to spend with a complete stranger, there are some simple steps you can take to protect yourself. Listed below are basic ideas you should consider before making your engagement ring purchase online.
* CHECK FOR THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU LOGO ON THE WEBSITE AND CLICK IT TO MAKE SURE IT IS VALID
Engagement Rings By Secret Diamond is a proud member of our local Better Business Chapter and we are in excellent standing. Every reputable online seller of engagement rings that we are aware of, is also a proud member of their local BBB. You can easily click on the BBB logo on their website and check to see if it is valid. If it is valid, you should be taken to their individual report page listed in the BBB. This page will tell you if there are a large number of complaints against the company. It will also tell you how they handled complaints and if they resolved them, or just ignored them. The trick here is to not just look for the BBB logo and assume it is valid. There are online companies that may have belonged to the BBB at one time and decided not to renew their membership because they did not like being held accountable. There are also companies that place the BBB logo on their website that don’t even belong the the BBB. They are hoping that you won’t click on it, or that you don’t even know it should take you to the BBB report on their company. And then there are the companies that just don’t even bother belonging to the BBB because they already have too many complaints against them that are unresolved, or resolved in a questionable manner. The last trick that unscrupulous sellers will use, is to place the BBB logo on their website and even make it clickable to the BBB online. However rather than bringing you to their report page, they will just bring you to the homepage of the BBB, again hoping you don’t know any better. Well now you do.
Remember, reputable online diamond sellers realize that you want to be protected in your purchase, and they will PROUDLY belong to their local BBB chapter.
* DON’T BE AFRAID TO ASK QUESTIONS
You can learn a lot about a business when you ask them questions. Listen to their answers carefully and judge for yourself if you feel they are answering your questions honestly and in a well informed fashion.
* Reputable jewelers will gladly spend as much time as needed to make you feel comfortable with your purchase. They should not rush you through the process of buying a diamond. If you feel you are being rushed, you should carefully consider your decision if they are the right company to buy from.
* A reputable jeweler will not be offended by relevant questions. If you are asking a jeweler valid questions about the diamond you are considering buying (such as it’s quality) and he or she seems to get offended, they could be trying to hide something. The same thing holds true for relevant questions about their business. Don’t forget that you are considering spending a lot of money with this jeweler. You have every right to make sure you are protected with your purchase.
* Check For Online Reviews About The Company
Although this can be an excellent way to find out more about the reputation of an online company, you have to be a little bit careful with this method. This process can be easily abused, and abused both ways. Some online diamond sellers are well aware of these review sites and will place fake reviews on them. It can even be difficult to distinguish between the real reviews and the fakes ones. However if you see an overwhelming amount of positive reviews, chances are pretty good that this is an established and well run business. The other way this process can be abused is by the businesses competitors. I have even seen where an online competitor left a fake review portraying the business in a negative light. Considering how large the internet is, sometimes these fake bad reviews can take a long time for the legitimate business to be made aware of, especially if they are not interested in abusing the process. They may not be regularly visiting these review websites because they are actually letting their customers leave the real reviews
Purchasing Diamonds & Engagement Rings Online
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Over the years we have answered numerous questions from customers about purchasing their diamonds and engagement rings online. It seems that most people are very interested in the idea of buying diamonds or engagement rings online for a couple of reasons. The main reason we hear is that our prices are dramatically less expensive than those of their local jewelry store. This is really not surprising when you consider why. The first reason why we are less expensive is low overhead. We do not have fancy jewelry stores that have a significant amount of overhead. Think about all of the expenses that jewelry stores have that we do not. Many jewelry stores may have only 1 or 2 locations. These stores can only sell to the local customer base, so they have to spend an enormous amount of money on advertising to convince the locals to buy from them instead of online. Typically they are not selling their engagement rings worldwide like we are, and in many cases they may not even have a website to display their diamond rings. At Engagement Rings By Secret Diamond, we do not spend a single penny on advertising, throughout most of the year. Lets say that a local jewelry store has an advertising budget of $50,000. (Not really that much) Just imagine how many diamonds or engagement rings have to be sold, just to pay for that advertising. Again consider that they are more than likely, only selling to their local customer base. I think you would be surprised to hear how few engagement rings some jewelry stores actually sell. That advertising expense is added to the cost of your diamond engagement ring.
Now also consider the very well known, national jewelry store chains that spend literally millions of dollars a year on advertising. I know they have a lot of stores to spread the expense around to, but I can’t even begin to imagine how many engagement rings they have to sell, just to pay for their advertising. Now add the cost of renting the mall space, the cost of the salespeople, the cost of fancy store displays, the cost of fancy lawyers, fancy accountants, fancy salaries for the fancy corporate executives and so-on, and it is really no wonder why they are SO EXPENSIVE.
The second reason why we are much less expensive is because we work directly with the diamond importers, right at the source. Unlike your typical jewelry store that has maybe 3-4 companies that mark-up the diamond before it gets to them, with Engagement Rings By Secret Diamond you are buying a diamond that has the fewest number of companies marking up the diamond before it gets to you possible! Fewer companies marking up the diamond, means a lower cost to you. Now when you have sold as many diamond engagement rings online worldwide as we have, you have a very large base of happy customers. Just read our testimonials page located at the link below to see what our satisfied customers have to say about our Engagement Rings Store. Also please feel free to visit our Better Business Bureau page to see that we are a proud member of the BBB online, and in excellent standing.
Again this means lower prices to you. Why? Because we receive many sales referred to us by other satisfied customers. Customers that refer us to their family members, co-workers and best friends. In business they say that the best form of advertising is "Word of Mouth" advertising. When we sell an engagement ring to someone that is referred to us by our happy customers, that sale cost us nothing in advertising dollars. That means that we do not have to "Add The Cost Of Advertising" to the price of our engagement rings, which means additional savings to you, our future customer.
We want you to know that at Engagement Rings By Secret Diamond, we take "Word of Mouth" advertising very seriously. We are very proud of our commitment to our customers (Past, Present and Future Customers) And we want you to know that we will work very hard to earn your trust, and to make you our next satisfied customer. We want to earn YOUR future business, as well as all of the future business you refer to us including YOUR family members, co-workers and friends.
I think it is important to note that this is not an article meant to criticize your local jewelry store. Everyone I know would like to spend their money in a local community business, including us at Secret Diamond. Also, a jewelry store can add a certain value to your engagement ring buying experience. You will actually be able to see, touch, feel and try on the engagement ring before you buy it. And it will most likely be easier to have your engagement ring worked on for routine maintenance, or cleanings without having to ship it back to us. However if you are working with a limited budget, or you have the money & you just don’t want to pay a lot more than you have to, buying diamonds or engagement rings from our online store is without a doubt, the best way to save.
As the economy deteriorates, the number of new couples ” Searching For Wholesale Engagement Rings” and Diamond Engagement Rings with low prices, seems to be increasing.  Recent studies have discovered that the average amount of money spent on a diamond engagement ring has been decreasing over the past couple of years and is expected to continue to decline to an amount as low as $2800 from an average high of approximately $4800. Many people wonder what is driving this sudden downturn in the average spent on engagement rings.  Although there has been an increased interest in engagement rings of different types, such as colored gemstone engagement rings or wedding bands with no diamonds, the traditional diamond engagement ring is still high on the list of newlyweds-to-be. Now it could be a shift in trends or it could be a tight economy, or it even could be a combination of both. However there is no disputing that couples getting engaged these days are wanting to spend less on their engagement ring. As this happens, we are starting to see an increase in the number of visitors to our engagement rings website, searching for Wholesale Engagement Rings, Discount Diamond rings and cheap diamond rings.  Now I know that our customers are NOT really looking for a cheap engagement ring. What they are really searching for is a nice looking “ENGAGEMENT RING WITH A CHEAP PRICE.” Â
Now at SecretDiamond.com we do not sell cheap engagement rings, however we certainly do sell absolutely gorgeous diamond engagement rings with extremely affordable prices. Â Our enhanced clarity diamonds are probably one of the best ways to save a significant amount of money on your diamond engagement ring. We also sell diamonds with certification from GIA and EGL. Below is a couple of tips you can use to save money on engagement rings from any source, including a brick and mortar, engagement rings jewelry store.
In the diamonds industry, diamonds are sold in parcels to wholesalers. These diamonds are sold on a “price per carat”  basis. The cost of a 1 carat diamond is higher “per carat” than diamonds that are even slightly smaller. That means that if you purchase a slightly smaller diamond, such as a 0.98 pointer (1 carat is 100 points) you will save some money, because it will cost less “Per Carat.”  Chances are you won’t be able to notice much of a difference (If any at all) in the smaller weight diamond anyway. And remember, diamonds are sold and measured by carat weight, not carat size. This rule also applies to 2 carat diamonds, 3 carat diamonds, 4 carat diamond and so-on. Certain sizes are referred to as “Key weights.” If you stay just under these key weights, you will save money. Another way to save money is probably also one of the best ways.  Lowering your diamonds Clarity grade. Although I don’t recommend lowering the clarity grade so low that you can see the inclusions with your naked eye (Naked eye means without a loupe or a microscope) This is an excellent way to save money on a diamond ring. Many times people are tempted to pay for a higher clarity grade than is really necessary. It is absolutely unnecessary to buy a diamond with a higher clarity grade than VS2 if you are trying to save money on your diamond engagement ring or just get more diamond for your money. You will not be able to tell the difference between a diamond with a VS2 clarity grade or a flawless diamond with your naked eye. And chances are you won’t be able to tell much difference even under a loupe or a microscope if you are not a certified gemologist. And your friends, family and co-workers will never be able to see that you spent extra money to buy a VVS1 diamond just by looking at the diamond. You will have to show them the certification. You will only have bragging rights for all that money you spent, because your diamond may not look any better to them. But chances are that if you are searching for cheap priced engagement rings, you are not looking to spend a fortune.  In most cases it is even fine to go with an SI1 clarity grade diamond, because that is still an eye-clean diamond.  Lowering your clarity grade WILL save you money. And as long as you stay away from the really low clarity grades, you can get an absolutely gorgeous diamond for a lot less money.
Next blog post we will show you how to get a nice diamond color grade and save money. We will also show you what to look for diamond cut grades.Â
Remember the 4 C’s of diamonds are
1) Color
2) Clarity
3) Carat weight
4) Cut Grade
The Engagement Rings By SecretDiamond Collection is a large collection of engagement rings and engagement ring sets that are customizable with your choice of center diamond and your choice of precious metal, including Palladium.  We offer one of the largest collections of unique engagement rings offered anywhere, online or offline.Â
Princess Cut Diamonds and Round Brilliant Cut Diamonds are the 2 most popular diamond shapes purchased for diamond engagement rings, by far. They are also the most popular diamond shapes used for diamond stud earrings. Traditionally Round Diamonds have been the most popular, however the Princess Cut Diamond has been surging in popularity for the past several years. I personally know many people in the diamond business and they all confirm that Princess cut diamonds are their best sellers. Even though Round Brilliant Cut Diamonds probably account for more diamond sales throughout the country, we actually sell more Princess cut diamonds at our online Engagement Ring Store. Below are pictures of a Princess diamond and a round diamond, as well as how they are faceted.
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The 3rd most popular diamond shape is Radiant. Radiant diamonds are probably not as well known to new couples, as Princess and Rounds. If they were better well known, I am sure there would be more sales of them Nationally. Quite often I speak with a customer that did their preliminary shopping at a Jewelry Store and saw a Radiant cut diamond. They probably went in to the jewelry store thinking that they wanted a Princess cut diamond, but changed their mind after seeing a very well cut Radiant. Radiants are faceted differently than Princess diamonds and when they are cut well, they can be extremely sparkly! However they do not have the Glamorous name “Princess” cut diamond, and I believe that has an impact on their sales. The name is not as memorable or Romantic. What woman does not want to be treated as a Princess?
Radiant diamonds sparkle differently than Princess diamonds. They tend to sparkle all over the entire diamond more than Princess, and their sparkle tends to resemble the sparkle of a round diamond.
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Below you will see a Radiant cut diamond as well as a diagram of it’s faceting.
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A Radiant Cut Diamond placed in a Diamond Engagement Ring Setting
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All of the rest of the diamond shapes combined do not total the number of Princess cut diamonds or round cut diamonds sold in the USA. This includes shapes such as the Marquise, The Emerald, The Cushion, The Trillion, The Pear, The Heart and The Asscher Cut Diamond.
One more note. If all of the characteristics are equal in 2 diamonds such as it’s clarity grade, color grade , carat weight and it’s cut grade, a round brilliant cut diamond will cost the most. This is because there is more waste created. It takes a larger rough diamond to create the same carat weight round diamond as it does the other shapes.
If you are the “End User”; of that engagement ring or piece of diamond jewelry and if you are not in the business of buying from manufacturers with the intent of reselling to consumers, you can not buy your engagement ring wholesale. You may feel that you received a price similar to “Wholesale“, but you can not actually purchase your engagement ring wholesale. (In the truest and legal sense of the word) Unless you are a wholesaler with a Federal Tax ID number and possibly a state resale tax ID #. In many cases when engagement rings and diamonds are being advertised for sale to the public as wholesale, it is at least misleading, and possibly even illegal in some states. This actually applies to most types of products for resale, not just diamonds, and engagement ring sets. It is true that purchasing your engagement ring online can save you quite a bit of money, but you are still technically buying at retail. That means you are purchasing affordable engagement rings, not a wholesale engagement rings. The savings typically are because when you buy online, you are enjoying a lower profit margin on that loose diamond or diamond engagement ring. This is possible because many online jewelers do not have the large overhead that a traditional brick and mortar jewelry store will have.
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