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Man Made Diamonds ~ Save Big Money And Avoid Mined
by Robert Joseph
www.diamondnexuslabs.com
High quality man made diamonds are a bargain at about $80
per carat, and they do not increase in price exponentially
as carat weight increases. For example, a one-carat
synthetic diamond costs about $80; a three-carat man made
diamond would then sell for $240. A one-carat mined
diamond that sells for $3000 would go for $45,000 in a
three-carat size, all things being equal, which with mined
diamonds is never the case. Perplexing comparative
evaluations, exponential price growth, consumer confusion,
and the reality of diamond industry antics is why the
mined diamond business is awash in dirty tricks. Here are
descriptions of the most sneaky and pervasive mined
diamond scams:
THE BLUE-WHITE SCAM: A jeweler tells you, "This is a blue-
white diamond." This is a very old term. The dealer
will probably tell you that it is a better diamond, but
actually it is just the opposite. Blue-white refers to the
fluorescence that results in natural light, which contains
ultraviolet wavelengths. This blue fluorescence actually
makes a colorless diamond look a little oily or milky in
sunlight and decreases its value.
THE LIGHT MAKES WHITE SCAM: Bright lights make every
mined diamond look better. Of course, every jeweler wants
to show his or her diamonds in the best light, but there
are some lighting tricks you should avoid. Some bulbs have
a strong blue component, which makes yellow stones look
whiter. Special bulbs are often used with strong
ultraviolet wavelengths, which make most diamonds
fluoresce blue. This also has a whitening effect for
stones in the lower color ranges.
THE GRADE BUMPING SCAM: A jeweler exaggerates the grade.
The FTC says that a jeweler must be accurate within one
grade of color and one grade of clarity on a diamond. So
many jewelers bump the color and clarity just one grade.
Unfortunately, this can mean a great deal of money if you
are talking about a fine-quality, 1-carat diamond. For
instance, you might find a stone that the jeweler quotes
as a 1.00 carat F color / VS1 clarity for $6,500. However,
if you sent it to a reputable gem lab like GIA, it would
come back as a G color / VS2 clarity, which is only worth
about $5,500. This means you lose (and they profit) about
$1,000.
THE FRACTION SCAM: The tag says 3/4 carat, and the FTC
allows jewelers to round off diamond weights. So a diamond
labeled as 3/4 carat in weight might actually weigh
anywhere between .69 and .81 carat. This could mean a
significant amount of money, since diamond prices leap at
certain popular sizes. In this example, you might be
buying a .69 carat round G/VS2 worth about $2,100... but
paying for what you thought was a 0.75 carat worth $3,000.
You lose $900.
THE LASER DRILLING SCAM: Dealers drill holes to burn out
black carbon spots. About 1 in 3 diamonds in the United
States is laser drilled. Dealers use lasers to drill a
tiny hole into the depths of a diamond to burn and
evaporate large black inclusions to make them disappear.
The trouble with this little trick is that laser drilling
can make the diamond a little more fragile to breaking
with a good knock. Most dealers trade laser-drilled stones
for much less.
THE HIDING THE FLAWS SCAM: Every jeweler hides flaws
under the prongs if he can. In many cases, this can make
an I1 clarity appear like a VS2 if you look at it in a
ring setting. Structural flaws like feathers and cleavages
can be damaged by the high pressure exerted by the prong
on the diamond to hold it snug in the ring.
THE FRACTURE FILLING SCAM: New treatments to make flaws
invisible. There is a new process patented a few years
ago that melts a kind of crystal into surface-breaking
fractures in a diamond. This technique will slide by
consumers unnoticed. The treatment is considered slightly
fragile because it can be damaging under the extreme heat
of a torch when the diamond is set into a ring. Fracture-
filled diamonds should trade for much less than diamonds
without this treatment, but in reality they often sell for
as much or more because they look like a higher, more
expensive clarity grade.
THE CHEMICAL COLOR COATINGS SCAM: A little paint goes a
long way. This very deceptive practice involves a little
point of blue or purple paint on the lowest tip of the
diamond, called the culet. This is small enough that you
might not detect it, but the location spreads the color
throughout the stone. This counters the yellow tint in
lower color grades, making a diamond look like a more
expensive, colorless grade.
Man made diamonds or synthetic diamonds are manufactured
in a laboratory under controlled conditions. If anything
about synthetic diamonds is called into question it is
that they are too perfect. And since all mined diamonds
have inclusions, flaws, and birthmarks, under
magnification a trained jeweler can tell the difference.
Considering that man made diamonds cannot be distinguished
with the naked eye, lab-created diamonds have aesthetic
beauty matching~often besting~mined diamonds, and huge
savings are realized, jewelry lovers must regard synthetic
diamonds as an intelligent option. Plus, there is no
insurance to buy after purchasing man made diamond jewelry
and the thousands of dollars in savings can be banked!
Robert Joseph is an expert jeweler and founding partner of
http://www.diamondnexuslabs.com
To receive a FREE comparison chart on how Diamond Nexus
Labs lab-created diamonds stack up against mined diamonds
and register for a FREE no-obligation $50 Gift Certificate
giveaway send E-mail to: freechart@diamondnexuslabs.com
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